04/07/2022
Officers and members of the General Synod of the Church of England will attend the Sung Eucharist service at York Minster at 11am on Sunday 10th July for the first time since March 2020. The General Synod’s July meeting will take place in York from 8 -12 July.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell will preside at the service. The sermon will be given by Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs. The Choir of York Minster will perform at the service which will be livestreamed.
The Revd Canon Dr Victoria Johnson, Precentor at York Minster said: “We are delighted that the General Synod of the Church of England will join with the worshipping community here at York Minster to pray and break bread together. Worship transforms us as individuals and as a community, we belong to one another through worship, we become the people God wants us to be through worship and our faith in God is shaped through our worship. We pray that through our worship on this day, the mission and vision of the whole church may be enlivened and encouraged.”
The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said: “It will be so good to welcome the General Synod of the Church of England back to York after a three year gap, and especially to York Minster itself.
“None of our business makes sense except that it is rooted in our worship of God, our fellowship around the table of the Lord, and the nourishment of word and sacrament.”
Synod members and officers will be among the first to view a spectacular, newly installed artwork at York Minster. ‘Faith and Fracture’ a large scale art installation inspired by the Church of England’s “Living in Love and Faith” project which will be on display at York Minster from mid-July to mid-September. The art work was commissioned by the bishops of the Church of England as part of the “Living in Love and Faith” project which saw an 18-month long discussion held across the Church on the subject of human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
Later that day, Synod members and officers will be invited to attend a special Evensong Service at 4pm celebrating 25 years of girl choristers at York Minster. Former girl choristers will sing alongside the current group of girl choristers and the adult singers of York Minster for the celebratory service. The guest preacher will be the Bishop of Whitby, Paul Ferguson, who was Precentor of York Minster 25 years ago when the first group of girl choristers gave their debut performance at the Minster.