The retiring Primus forecast in his opening address that the Synod would be ‘ground clearing’ rather than ‘ground breaking’ and it proved a sound forecast. He looked for the Church to become centrifugal rather than centripetal, and he did not wish the Church to be strangled by financial constraint. The Synod could not, however, be unaware of the stringencies of the current financial climate.

ACCOUNTS

While the Accounts showed a healthy surplus for the past year and the finances of the two retirement homes had been rearranged, the Pension Fund was not in a healthy position and cuts were proposed in the allocations to the various Boards. Budgets had been pruned and the deficit for the forthcoming years was likely to be greater than envisaged. Contributions to the Pension Fund as a result of a triennial valuation would have to go up, with a congregation paying 34.9 per cent of standard stipend as its annual contribution and Central Funds contributing a lump sum of £2 m. It was hoped that this would put the Fund once more in balance and rectify the deficit over a period of 15 years.

CLERGY

There was a need for more candidates for the Ministry as in the course of the next five years one-third of stipendiary clergy would reach retirement age. Younger candidates were to be encouraged and a balance maintained between stipendiary and non-stipendiary clergy. Services to hospitals, prisons and classrooms had to be carried on. Synod members were encouraged to voice this need for candidates in their respective chapters.

THE ANGLICAN COVENANT

There was no motion before Synod about the Covenant, since the Ridley Cambridge draft had still to be considered by dioceses. Comments were to be asked for by mid-October because a response was sought by the Anglican Commission by 13 November. Until the final version of the Covenant was available, the precise process to be followed by the Scottish Church for consideration and possible adoption could not be finally determined. It was hoped that the Covenant might come before the Synod in 2010.

A member who asked the College of Bishops to indicate which of them had blessed or taken part in a blessing of same-sex couples at any time in their ministry and which of them, since becoming a bishop, had attended civil partnership ceremonies and blessed them by their presence, was told that the College would examine his question and give a considered response.

Concern was expressed that the Anglican Church was being steamrollered to meet timetables regarding the current process and on the limits placed on the scope for responses. The Primus assured the Synod that there was no intention of foreclosing the expression of opinion provided that it met the timetable.

PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE

The Conference planned for 2009 had been cancelled, but the concept of a Provincial Conference would be kept on the agenda.

CANONS

In keeping with modern electronic communication, an amendment was proposed regarding the sending of notices. A motion was passed for the first time permitting the notice convening a meeting of a General or Diocesan Synod to be sent electronically. The main Synod papers would continue to be provided in hard copy.

Another canonical alteration considered for the first time was the proposal that members of the Standing Committee should remain members of the Synod automatically until they completed their term of office on the Standing Committee.

An alteration to Canon 35 was passed for the first time which excepted ‘minor works identified by the Provincial Buildings Committee’ from the rigours of the Canon's requirements; but this was to be elucidated by adding detail to the Resolutions made under the Canon. The additions could not be passed until the Canonical change had been passed for the second time, at next year's Synod; they could, however, be considered and discussed in the meantime. It was proposed that in the case of buildings not included in the statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural and Historic Interest that, before making a final application to the Bishop and Diocesan Buildings Committee for a change, a vestry should advertise its proposals to the congregation in the form set out in the Appendix to the resolution. Another aim was to ensure a credible process for consultation and decision-making about interior alterations so as to preserve the current exemption from Listed Building Consent for such alterations.

Various other alterations to Canons were proposed. A Canon which provided that no discussion could take place about a division or amalgamation of dioceses when there was a vacancy in any see was found to be too restrictive because there was often at least one vacancy and, as a result, there were significant periods of time when no discussions could take place. It was therefore proposed to amend the Canon to allow discussion to take place despite a vacancy. This alteration was passed without discussion by all three Houses.

A motion requesting the Faith and Order Board to consider amending the Canon dealing with episcopal elections so that various anomalies could be corrected was duly passed; these changes included adding to the list of electors stipendiary clergy and lay Church Army Officers licensed in the diocese. The Board was also asked to consider altering a Canon to include as full members of a Diocesan Synod Deaconesses licensed to do pastoral work, lay Church Army Officers ministering under licence and Lay Readers if in charge of a congregation.

It had been hoped at the 2009 Synod to launch a joint initiative on theological training with the URC's National Synod of Scotland and the Methodist Church in Scotland. This had been delayed; but a Statement of Partnership with these bodies was approved. This would support local ecumenical partnerships; and all congregations were asked to participate in such events to celebrate the centenary of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910.

LITURGY

The project of the new Scottish Prayer Book (with revised texts of Calendar, Lectionary, Daily Prayer, Psalter and liturgies of Baptism, Funerals, Marriage and the Ordinal) had been put on hold for financial reasons. Consideration, however, would be given to a provincially-acceptable structure for a Service of the Word and Administration of the reserved Sacrament. A questionnaire had been issued about liturgical changes and numerous responses received, in which a recurring theme was the language used. These would be submitted to the College of Bishops.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

An amendment was approved to the Canon setting out the process for matters of grievance on the part of clergy which had been passed at the Synod in 2009. This did not apply to clergy licensed to institutions such as prisons and hospitals. It was stressed that this should not supersede the use of mediation as a first step. The amended Canon was passed for a second time.

Amendments to Canons relating to age discrimination (required to comply with secular legislation) enabling persons holding stipendiary office to continue working after the age of 70 if they wished to do so were passed for the second time. There was considerable discussion on the meaning of ‘normal’ in the phrase ‘normal age of retirement’; but an attempt to alter the wording failed to get the requisite majority.

PENSION FUND

The funding deficit in respect of past service was £8.8 m. A recovery plan had to be produced and approved by the Pensions Regulator and a draft plan had been prepared. The first step was for the Church to show its willingness and ability to deliver its part of the bargain and to agree to the Employers' Covenant. It involved an assumed investment return of 5.5 per cent, a plan lasting 15 years, and a lump sum contribution of approximately £2 m; the employers' contribution would be 34.9 per cent of standard stipend or pensionable salary. The Synod was asked to commit itself to such an arrangement. No discussion or comment took place on this proposal, which was agreed.

UNIT TRUST POOL

It was reported that the investments generally had lost a third of their value during the part year, and that there had been a significant reduction in dividend payments. As a result, the investment policy of the Fund had been altered to include more fixed interest and overseas investments. A ‘total return’ policy had been introduced.

FINANCES

The Finance Committee had noted that among other cuts the Grants for Ministry Fund had had its budget for 2010 cut by £25,000, and that for 2011 by £60,000. To avoid further cuts, the Committee proposed a two-year moratorium on building grants. Over the two years the saving would be around £300,000. Congregations would require to look to their own diocese for assistance. Reference was made to expenditure needed in relation to disabled access.

MISSION OF THE SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH

There was considerable discussion about the mission of the Church, covering a wide field of views. All denominations were now minority Churches in a secular society: in which connection there was a need to build a relationship between Scottish Churches and the Scottish Parliament, as well as forming relationships with people of other faiths.

As this discussion revealed, members of Synod were more concerned with mission than with finance. The current financial crisis and the consequential steps to be taken by the Church led to little comment, and it was subjects such as the Covenant, grievance procedure and inter-church relations that stimulated debate. Liturgy was also a topic on which members had strong views.

The Synod was in no mood for splitting the Church by embarking on the more disputatious subjects of the day. The main agenda was the ordinary domestic subjects; innovative ideas were constrained by the financial stringency which was affecting grants, pensions and new ventures. As the Primus had predicted, old ground was cleared rather than new ground broken.