Part 239. Two key events.

The General Synod of the Church of England  meets at the end of February. The agenda includes an item on Safeguarding, a contentious issue as the current arrangements are not working. The Synod will be considering proposals for the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith saga. The talk is of 'reconciliation', but the proposals are a capitulation to the demands of Conservative Evangelicals and their Anglo-Catholic allies and another kick in the teeth for LBGTQ communities, unless they are rejected or significantly amended.

The first weekend in March sees The Salvation Army holding a conference entitled 'Belonging and Believing'. The results of an extensive survey of opinion within the United Kingdom & Ireland Territory will be published at the conference. A report from the conference will be presented to divisional and national leaderships for them to decide what to recommend to the top brass.  It is to be hoped the conference and report focus on how to stop and reverse the downward march in membership,  how to recruit many more officers and how to achieve full inclusion.