General Synod backs strategy to encourage working class vocations

Members of the General Synod heard a debate brought by Burnley vicar Father Alex Frost, calling on the Church of England to be ‘bold and ambitious’ in its work to attract people from working class backgrounds to lay and ordained vocations.

He told the General Synod that ‘Jesus called the working class to be his apprentices’ and reminded them that the Disciples Andrew, Peter, James and John, were fishermen.

He said: “In many urban areas of our country, the Church of England ministry is vital. On the ground, in working class communities, there is some wonderful and outstanding work going on, that is fighting injustice, that is saving lives through foodbanks and community projects, that is educating children and standing up for the most vulnerable people in our society.”

But he added that in spite of this, “the Church of England in many places is speaking a completely different language.”

Backing the debate brought by Fr Frost, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said there were many ‘inbuilt prejudices and barriers’ to welcoming people from outside the Church.

He spoke of his own experiences as a pupil at a secondary modern school who later gained a degree from a polytechnic, the first boy from his school to get a degree.

“There are so many – in our system – inbuilt prejudices and barriers and cultural difficulties,” he said.

“I wasn’t brought up going to church. I know what it is like to be outside of the church, I can just about remember it, and you have to learn the culture of the church, and many, many, many people are turned away.”

Bishop Mark Tanner, Chair of the Church of England’s Ministry Development Board, welcoming the debate, emphasised that vocations were not just about ministerial roles.

“We in the Church need to be those who champion others, whatever they are called to in order that they can be salt and light across our communities, we believe that this is part of our prophetic role,” he said.

He also urged the Church of England to listen rather than impose ‘middle-class solutions’ on issues faced by those who are working class.

Lay member of the Synod Nicola Denyer, from the Diocese of Newcastle, who grew up in a council house, said: “I only started going to church in 2012.

“I didn’t have a clue what anybody was talking about when I walked in through the door. I didn’t understand the language, I didn’t know when to stand up or sit down and nobody in my church spoke like I did.”

She added: “Believe you me, people in working-class communities may have a deeper knowledge and love of God than some other people in more privileged circumstances.”