13 October 2012
The Secretary General of the Church of England, Mr. William
Fittall, has today issued a statement in response to the
announcement that Dr. Colin Podmore has been appointed as the new
Director of Forward in Faith:
"Forward in Faith has today announced the appointment of the Dr.
Colin Podmore, who currently serves as the Clerk to the General
Synod, as its next Director, upon the retirement of the present
incumbent.
Colin has accordingly given notice that he will be leaving the
Church House staff at the end of March to take up the new role. He
will continue to fulfill the full range of his current
responsibilities until the end of that six-month notice period,
except that, at his request, I have agreed that he will not play a
role in relation to the Women Bishops legislation.
While Colin will have been in his present role for only a couple
of years he will, by the time he leaves, have served in a variety
of roles at Church House for nearly twenty five years. His
outstanding skills and depth of knowledge are going to be greatly
missed. If there is any consolation it is that he will still be
devoting his notable abilities to the cause of mutual flourishing
within the Church of England.
There are some discussions to be had before the process for
finding a successor can begin. My expectation is that the Synod
will be invited to approve a resolution in July confirming the
appointment of a new Clerk to the Synod."