Living in Love and Faith at the inaugural General Synod

Bishop Sarah reported that LLF engagement at the Synod had been well received. This included a presentation, a ‘Living in Love and Faith drop-in’ at which the latest LLF film was shown, and a dinner reception for new members of General Synod. The group also agreed actions relating to each of the Synod Questions which Bishop Sarah had promised to take to the Next Steps Group.

Living in Love and Faith at Diocesan Synods in 2022

The group agreed to offer Diocesan Synods a range of materials which they can choose from and adapt as appropriate for their contexts at their meetings in early 2022. The purpose of the materials will be to encourage members of Diocesan Synods to play their part in reflecting on emerging themes and to consider their role in shaping the character of the Church’s discernment processes.    

Interim Report on Responses to the Living in Love and Faith Questionnaire

The meeting welcomed an interim report on the Living in Love and Faith Questionnaire. Respondents have generally found the course positive with their understanding deepened. The story films and book proved consistently positive,  with almost 75% of respondents saying they would recommend the course and over 80% saying they have shared the information with others. The Next Steps Group encouraged ongoing efforts to increase the response rate by the end of April and emphasised the importance of continuing to hear from a broad range of respondents.

Discernment to Decision Making

The meeting agreed to work on shaping the process of discernment that will begin once the findings of ‘listening to the whole church’ had concluded. A sub-group will be formed to consider this over the coming months. It will draw on a diverse group of people for wisdom and advice.


Source URL: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/llf-next-steps-group-meeting-24-november-2021