THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CHURCH IN WALES

MINUTES OF A MEETING HELD IN LAMPETER

ON 11 AND 12 SEPTEMBER 2013
An Ordinary Meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales
was held at University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter on
Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 September 2013.
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The President, the Archbishop of Wales, was in the Chair for the start of
the meeting.
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13/20

Prayers and Bible Study

The Reverend Chancellor Dr Patrick Thomas led a Bible Study and

Prayers.
13/21

Presidents Mandate

In accordance with Section 16.2 of the Regulations to Chapter II of

the Constitution, the Lay Secretary certified the due execution of the
Presidents Mandate.
13/22 Minutes
The Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Governing Body held on
10 and 11 April 2013 were confirmed and signed.
13/23

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising.

13/24 Representatives of Cytn and Other Churches
The President welcomed those attending the meeting to represent
Cytn and other churches:
Cytn
Mr Geraint Hopkins
The Methodist Church
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The Reverend Lin Healey

The United Reformed Church
The Reverend Sally Thomas
The Presbyterian Church of Wales
The Reverend Wyn Rhys Morris
The Church of England
The Venerable Cherry Vann, Archdeacon of Rochdale
13/25

Consent for non-members to speak

Noting that a number of non-Governing Body members would be involved

in presentations, the Governing Body gave its consent for non-members to
speak during the meeting.
13/26

In Memoriam

The Governing Body stood in memory of the Right Reverend Roy

Thomas Davies, Bishop of Llandaff from 1985 to 1999 and formerly
the Clerical Secretary to the Governing Body, Dr David Causton, a
member of the Governing Body since 1992, and the Venerable Elwyn
John, former Archdeacon of Brecon, who had all died since the last
meeting.
13/27

The Presidents Address

The President made a statement about Credit Unions and then

addressed the
Governing Body.
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Mr Paul Bennett was appointed as the Assessor.
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The President vacated the Chair which was taken by Dr Gill Todd.
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13/28

Report of the Standing Committee

His Honour Philip Price QC, Chairman of the Standing Committee,

presented the Report of the Standing Committee and proposed the
following recommendations which were seconded by Mr Nigel
Williams:
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Dates and Venues of Governing Body Meetings

That the Governing Body meet on Wednesday and Thursday, 15
and 16 April 2015 in the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells, and on
Wednesday and Thursday,
16 and 17 September 2015 at University of Wales, Trinity Saint
David, Lampeter.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
Criteria for lay membership of the Governing Body, Representative Body
and
Electoral College
That the Constitution be amended in accordance with the principles
set out in
paragraph 14 [of the Standing Committees Report].
The resolution was passed with one abstention.
Approval of the Report
That the Report of the Standing Committee be approved.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
13/29

Church in Wales Review Issues

Mrs Helen Biggin proposed and the Bishop of Bangor seconded the
motion:
That the Governing Body:
(i)

ask dioceses to embrace the vision commended by the

Church in Wales Review of a re-energised Church and to
develop and enhance its ministry by the development of
Ministry Areas;

(ii)

adopt The Provincial Framework for Ministry Areas (August

2013) as an expression of Provincial endorsement for the
concept of Ministry Areas;

(iii)

commend the development of specialised ministries,

especially to young people, to reach those currently
outside the regular worshipping community of the
Church;

(iv)

request Provincial Bodies to continue to provide all

reasonable assistance to dioceses in this work;

(v)

ask dioceses to report to the Standing Committee

annually on progress in developing Ministry Areas and
Ministry Area Teams;

(vi)

ask the Standing Committee to bring forward proposals

for any Constitutional changes necessary to enable the
implementation by dioceses of plans to introduce
Ministry Areas and Ministry Area Teams;

(vii)

remind all members of Governing Body to accept their

responsibility to engage with, communicate and support
this process.

The resolution was passed with two abstentions.

Mrs Helen Biggin and the Reverend Paul Mackness then gave a short
progress report on the work of the Implementation Group, and
members were given the opportunity to ask questions.
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Dr Todd vacated the Chair which was taken by the Venerable Peggy Jackson,
Archdeacon of Llandaff.
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13/30

Report of the Representative Body

Mr James Turner, Chairman of the Representative Body, and Mr Paul

Marshall, Deputy Chairman of the Representative Body, introduced:
the Report and Financial Statements of the
Representative Body
for the year ended 31 December 2012;
the Common Investment Fund Accounts for the year
ended
31 December 2012;
the Minutes of the Meetings of the Representative Body
held on
21 November 2012, 6 March and 6 June 2013.
Mr James Turner proposed and Mr Paul Marshall seconded the
motion:
That the Report of the Representative Body be approved.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
13/31

Membership and Finance Report

The Reverend Canon Bethan Bailey (non member), Childrens Officer

in the diocese of Bangor, introducing the Membership and Finance
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Report, gave a presentation on the Churchs activities in connection

with families and children.
The Bishop of Bangor proposed and Mr James Turner seconded the
motion:
That the Governing Body do take note of this Report.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
13/32

Question Time

Oral answers to written questions from the Reverend Alison Jones, Mr

Justin Davies and the Reverend Richard Wood were given by the
Archbishop and Mr Nigel King.
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The Venerable Peggy Jackson, Archdeacon of Llandaff, vacated
the Chair which was taken by His Honour Philip Price QC.
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13/33

The Alternative Ordinal

In accordance with the Liturgical Bill procedure agreed by the

Governing Body in April 1996, the Chair invited the Governing Body
to agree to the suspension of Standing Orders for this item. In
accordance with Standing Order 13, a majority of members indicated
their support for this recommendation.
The Archbishop introduced this item and invited members to
comment on the proposed Ordinal.
There followed a discussion in which three members spoke. The
Archbishop responded to the points raised.
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Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned until the following day.
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The Meeting of the Governing Body resumed on Thursday, 12 September
2013.

Celebration of the Holy Eucharist

There was a celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
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The President was in the Chair.
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Mr Tim Davenport was appointed as the Assessor.
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13/34

The National Society and the Church in Wales

The Reverend Janina Ainsworth, General Secretary of the National

Society for Religious Education in England and Wales, addressed the
Governing Body.
The Bishop of St Asaph proposed and the Reverend Canon Robert
Townsend seconded the motion:
That the Governing Body:
(i)

celebrate the contribution of the National Society in

assisting in the foundation of the network of Church in
Wales schools across Wales over the last two hundred
years;

(ii)

express its gratitude for the ongoing support of the

National Society in the educational and schools work of
the Church in Wales;

(iii)

welcome the signing of a memorandum setting out the

commitment and co-operation of the Church in Wales
and the National Society to support Christian education
and schools in Wales in the future.

The resolution was passed unanimously.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Church in Wales and
the National Society was then signed by the Archbishop and the
General Secretary of the National Society.
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The Chair was resumed by His Honour Philip Price QC.
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13/35

Bill to Enable Women to be Consecrated as Bishops

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The Chair reported that, in accordance with Bill Procedure, both the
Select Committee and the Standing Committee had advised that the
Bill was not non-controversial. It would therefore be debated in
accordance with the full Bill Procedure.
Proceedings in Committee
It was resolved:
That the Governing Body do go into Committee.
Appointment of Committee Chair
It was resolved:
That Mr Nigel Williams be appointed Chair of Committee.
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His Honour Philip Price QC vacated the Chair which was taken by Mr Nigel
Williams.
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In Committee
The Bill was considered in Committee.
The Venerable Jonathan Williams, Archdeacon of Newport, Chair of the
Select Committee, presented the Report of the Select Committee and
reported on the recommendations agreed by the Select Committee on the
amendments which had been proposed to the Bill. The Select Committee
did not recommend any of the amendments but wished to propose one
amendment of its own.
The Committee considered and voted on each of the proposed
amendments in turn.
The Reverend Sarah Geach proposed that the second preamble be
amended to read:
AND WHEREAS it is now appropriate in the Church in Wales that
both men and women be eligible for consecration to the Holy Order
of Bishops
The amendment was rejected by a very substantial majority.
The Reverend Sarah Geach proposed that Clause 3(1)(a) be
amended to read:

invite receive and consider proposals for a scheme of provision for

Members of the Church in Wales who, for reasons of conscience,
cannot accept the gender of a duly elected Bishop.
The amendment was rejected by a very substantial majority.
The Reverend Canon Peter Williams proposed that the fourth
preamble be amended
by deletion of the words:
subject to the provisions of the civil law relating to equality and
other relevant matters,
The amendment was rejected: 72 voted in favour, 35 against and there were
15 abstentions.
The Venerable Peggy Jackson, Archdeacon of Llandaff, and the
Reverend Canon Jenny Wigley proposed deletion of Clauses 3 & 4
and substitution of the following:
(3) The provisions of this Canon shall come into force one year after
promulgation of this Canon.
(4) In approving this Canon the Governing Body entrusts the Bench of
Bishops without delay to agree a Code of Practice which commits the
Bench to making provisions such that all members of the Church in
Wales including those who in conscience dissent from the provision of
section 1 may have a sense of security in their accepted and valued
place within the Church in Wales.
The amendment was agreed: 72 voted in favour, 46 against, and there
were 6 abstentions.
Consequent on the approval of the amendment above, the Venerable
Jonathan Williams indicated that the Select Committees amendment
would not now be put as it related to the original Clause 3(2) which had
been deleted.
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Mr Nigel Williams vacated the Chair which was resumed by His Honour
Philip Price QC.
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Report
The Governing Body Meeting resumed.
Mr Nigel Williams, as Chair of Committee, reported that the
Committee Stage of the Bill had been completed and that the Bill
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had been approved in Committee with amendments to Clauses 3

and 4.
The Bishop of St Asaph proposed and the Bishop of Bangor seconded
the following motion:
That the Bill be passed.
20 members rose in their places, in accordance with Standing Order
10, and demanded that a vote be taken. The Chair put this proposal
to the meeting and it was rejected by 70 votes to 52 with 3
abstentions.
After further debate the votes of each Order on the Bill were taken
by division and resulted as follows:
The Order of Laity voted 57 in favour of the Bill, 14 against and 2
abstentions.
The Order of Clergy voted 37 in favour of the Bill, 10 against and 0
abstentions.
The Order of Bishops voted 6 in favour of the Bill, 0 against and 0
abstentions.
The Chair declared that the Bill had achieved a two-thirds majority of
members present and voting in each of the three Orders. In
accordance with the Constitution, the Bill
to Enable Women to be Consecrated as Bishops was promulgated by
the President as
a Canon of the Church in Wales.
[The Canon forms Appendix I to these minutes.]
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His Honour Philip Price QC vacated the Chair which was resumed by the
President.
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13/36

Report of University of Wales, Trinity Saint David

The Bishop of St Davids proposed and the Chair seconded the

motion:
That the Report of University of Wales, Trinity Saint David be
received.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
13/37

The Widows, Orphans and Dependants Society

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The Venerable Robert Williams, Archdeacon of Gower and a member

of the Widows, Orphans and Dependants Society, proposed the
following motion which was seconded from the Chair:
That the Governing Body do take note of this Report.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
13/38

Date and Place of Next Meeting

The next Ordinary Meeting of the Governing Body would be held on 23 and 24
April 2014
at Venue Cymru, Llandudno.
13/39

The Reverend Peter Walker Hmm Poetry Foundation

At the invitation of the President, the Reverend Peter Walker from

the diocese of
St Asaph, representing the Hmm Foundation, an organisation
committed to bringing poetry into the workplace, read three of his
poems to the Governing Body.
This concluded the business of the Meeting and the Archbishop gave the
Blessing.

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