Taking the Long View - three and a half decades of General Synod

by Colin Buchanan

(Church House Publishing, 2006, xii + 324pp, £22.50)

A Fulcrum Review by Gordon Kuhrt

This volume has not received the attention and reviews which it deserves. It is an unusual book by an extraordinary churchman (I choose the word advisedly). It is a personal account of the author's involvement in the C of E's General Synod and related bodies over 35 years. Though not strictly-speaking an autobiography, it is high-quality journalism with lots of unashamedly autobiographical elements. I found it well-written, informative, not-a-little controversial and quite absorbing. However, his and my lives have frequently touched, I am interested in every aspect about which he writes, and I have been a participant myself in several of his stories.

COB has played a very significant role in liturgical developments, theological debates and synodical life. This is of particular interest to Fulcrum supporters and readers because he has combined a fairly conservative Evangelical theology with a willingness radically to re-evaluate liturgical, ecclesiological and some social/political issues. These elements have emerged with a warm personal character, a dynamic energy (not least in speed of speaking, writing and publishing - sometimes too fast for his own good), and a forensic enthusiasm for debate and even controversy. The period of his adult life - from the mid-50s - has witnessed the transformation of the C of E from an almost unchallenged liberal-catholic hegemony with Evangelical scholarship and leadership almost invisible, to a startlingly different situation in both respects today.

Much of his life's work was determined by obtaining full marks in his ordination exam on worship - brought to the attention of Archbishop Michael Ramsey. 1961 - ordained, and a founder-member of the Latimer House Liturgy Group which later became the Group for the Renewal of Worship. 1964 - appointed lecturer at the London College of Divinity, and to the Liturgical Commission. 1967 - involved in preparation for the Keele Congress. 1970 - elected to the new General Synod, and a member continuously until 2004 (except for '85-'90). 1970 - launched Grove Books with its renowned series of Booklets and News of Liturgy. 1978 - Principal of St John's Nottingham. '85-'90 bishop of Aston and '96-'04 bishop of Woolwich. 1993 - Lambeth DD. His resignation from Aston (as a result of the Desmond Tutu visit) and subsequent "exile" to Rochester '89-'96 is touched on only briefly.

His interests, and hence the book, range far beyond his beloved liturgy - to ecumenism, theological education, minority ethnic issues, the charismatic movement, electoral reform, disestablishment and the Anglican Communion. On most of these he has written (and published) - copiously, and mostly to good effect.

Since it is a very personal book, my review might be permitted a personal element too. His writings and 'career' have been a major influence on me as one seven years his junior. I have read (and sold) hundreds of Grove Booklets, was secretary of Latimer House and member of its Ecclesiology Group, was involved in Eclectics, NEACs andCEEC, wrote on baptism, unity and theological education, was a senior inspector of theological colleges (not least St John's Nottingham just after he left). Like him I was on the Committee for Black Anglican Concerns, was a member of General Synod '86-'96, and senior member of staff (Director of Ministry) '96-'06. I was the only Evangelical member of the Steering Committee for the ordination of women (through to the end), and gave key-note addresses to the conference of Grove Book authors and the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation in Toronto. COB chalked up 30 years close involvement with the GS, I managed only 20 - we overlapped for 16. My few advantages over him were my close involvement with the early years of the Archbishops' Council, and my 10 years Head of the Ministry Division. The reason I have mentioned these things will become clear when you look at the book's Contents page - as I hope many of you will.

COB describes himself as a genuinely back-benching ordinary member. Well, take that with a hefty pinch of salt! Technically, maybe. In practice, he was a major player in numerous capacities - making speeches, proposing amendments, asking questions, raising points of order, presenting diocesan and private-member motions, membership of Steering and Revision Committees - he didn't miss many synodical tricks!

Reviewing a book with this range of concerns poses a real problem. One day, a Ph.D thesis (or festschrift) will evaluate his massive contribution to liturgy and worship not just in this country but globally. Many of the stories are gripping, historically significant and theologically instructive. His theologically informed forays into the politics of electoral systems/STV, church-state relations and the appointment system for diocesan bishops are vigorous, and for this reader, compelling. The story of the FOAG (Faith and Order Advisory Group) report The Priesthood of the Ordained Ministry needs to be widely known (see pp114ff). The account (and COB's demolition of the report) is a serious omission in my own Ministry Issues for the Church of England - Mapping the Trends. His astringent commentary on the later ARCIC Reports deserves careful study. The chapters on homosexual issues and on the appointment of diocesan bishops are particularly fine essays. The appendices are interesting and helpful.

In the chapter on the ordination of women, COB observes that on the famous decision day, 11 November 1992, "proponents and opponents alike expected it to go down". Yes - and my three (liberal) colleagues on the Standing Committee, as we sat on the platform together, had the same fear - after our five years of work on the legislation. However, I just might have been the sole exception. I had introduced the legislation to the Canterbury Convocation and obtained a 114-48 majority in favour. More significantly, I had been engaged in debates in various Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships, and heard lay people saying of my explanation of some of the biblical passages about women "O, I have never seen it that way!" In the event, the switching of 3 or 4 (Evangelical) lay votes was decisive (pp 172ff).

The book is handsomely produced, but there are problems with the footnotes in chapters 15 and 16. They are explained in an errata slip available from the author.

There is one chapter with which I take issue - chapter 11 on Theological Colleges. Re the Hardy (Bishop of Lincoln) report recommending closures, there was indeed spirited defence of individual institutions. However, more significantly, there was trenchant criticism by myself (in the Church Times leading article) and by David Edwards in General Synod (the first speech from the floor in the debate) of the flawed methodology overall of the Report. I was an elected member of ABM (Advisory Board of Ministry), and the Report went to the House of Bishops and Synod without any prior reference to our Board. The Synod refused even to take note of the Report - almost the ultimate insult to a piece of work. JohnOliver, Bishop of Hereford, was asked to do the job again and at speed. His Report was accepted, he was later appointed the new chairman of the Board, and was then instrumental in my appointment as Chief Secretary. It was quite a revolution - and I haven't told the half of it!

COB fails to appreciate the range of the role and recommendations of the Hind Working Party, in which I was Assessor and senior Ministry Division staff member. The remit was to examine the funding and structure of ordination training. COB directs his fire on an (always problematic) mechanism of re-direction of funding. Fair enough - but along with many other critics of Hind, he fails to engage with the systemic problems across the country. In short, they were

-too many institutions (colleges, courses, OLM schemes, Reader courses)

-many of them too small, and not fit for purpose

-not value for money overall

-unable to ride volatility in numbers (without special help)

-not integrating the fault lines between pre- and post-ordination training

full-time and part-time (and mixed mode)

ordained and lay

I had earlier flagged up some of these in my report to (and commissioned by) the archbishops Issues in Theological Education and Training (GS Misc 507, ABM Ministry Paper 15, 1997, rev 2nd ed 1998). COB may well have been right about the particular suggested mechanism, but the overall project had enormous significance beyond that - and has borne real fruit. The six Evangelical Colleges have generally had reasonable to good numbers (though with real volatilities and sometimes needing special assistance) and been imaginatively entrepreneurial (eg re independent students). Ordinands were never going to be restricted to their regional College (contra p 159), and the Synod resolution merely clarified that.

Instead of a defensive guarding of the status quo for every institution, it would have been good to see a wider creative engagement with the big issues of

-a learning church

-flexible pathways through training

-regional training partnerships with genuine co-operation

The Hind Report along with the McLean Report are of great significance for two areas to which COB devoted much of his life - theological education and the episcopal care of clergy.

I commend the book warmly. If I cannot give it the full marks with which COB started his (liturgical) career, 9 out of 10 is not to be sneezed at!

PSI have just received a Spring Sale advert from Norwich Books offering this volume for £3 (till 19 March). Tel 01603 612914. Reference code: SALE10AB.Too good to be true!