working class
evangelism, digital communications and social media, climate crisis, Crown Nomination Commissions, transparency, working class ministry, support for the Commissioners’ Fund for Healing, Justice and Repair (Project Spire)
During this time, I have been especially passionate about supporting working-class vocations, promoting racial justice and inclusion, and advocating for the Church's discernment through Living in Love and Faith.
My vocation has taken me from a working-class upbringing in the West Midlands to ordained ministry, and now to serving as a Bishop's Chaplain.
As a working- class, dual-heritage woman in ordained ministry, I am grateful for those who encouraged and supported my vocation.
I speak up I’ve spoken in debates, asked questions and proposed amendments on a issues including Living in Love and Faith (LLF), working-class vocations, estates ministry, women's ministry, finance and neurodiversity.
Some of my focuses will be: Prayers of love and faith; Cautious and limited use of AI; Women in ministry; Working-class ministry opportunities; The eco church.
I would like to be elected as one of our General Synod representatives for the following reasons: I am a member of multiple under-represented groups (queer, disabled, woman looking at ministry, young, working class) in the national church, due to this I have unique insights into many of the concerns of these groups and I am willing to listen and speak up in important debates.
I have spoken in a number of debates that matter to me and our diocese, including safeguarding, motions on encouraging working class and lay vocations, Living in Love and Faith and the importance of the parish.
I am a member of the Ministry Development Board and the Working Class Task Group, and am confident in speaking into such conversations, always bringing the needs of our diocese to the table.
I am from a working-class family, and in the 1960s both of my parents were trade union shop stewards.
Alongside this I was pleased to support relevant items in General Synod, including Rev Alex Frost’s motion on encouraging/supporting working-class vocations, and a motion on reviewing the limited access to national LINC funding.
ENCOURAGING THE CALLINGS OF GMH AND WORKING-CLASS CLERGY AND LAY MINISTERS Jesus called those whom others regarded as outsiders or unworthy to be the leaders of the community he was trying to build – not the religious elites and scholars of his time.
We must do more to find and encourage the people God is calling to serve the Church from GMH and working-class backgrounds.
Who I am I grew up in a working-class, ex-mining village in South Yorkshire, and I have a deep devotion and loyalty to my roots.
University simply wasn’t an option for my working-class family.
My current role Today, I serve in the wonderful village of Thurnscoe, a working-class, ex- mining community in South Yorkshire.
We need to make sure that working-class people know that the Church belongs to them too – not as a project to be fixed, but as equal partners, leaders and disciples in the life of the Church.
General Synod is important to me because I want to bring the voice and experience of working-class communities, particularly those in the North of England, into the conversation.
I also led on national policy supporting working class people through the discernment and ordination process.
Recent Synod work on working-class vocations is an important part of this.
Working Class Vocations (featured in the Church Times),
Fr Alex Frost brought the private members’ motion to champion working class vocations and he was able to accelerate EETG’s agenda into the legislative agenda of the Church.
Through this active engagement at General Synod, I was invited to Lambeth Palace to have further discussion about the barriers that affect the full participation of working-class people in the Church of England.
Theological formation should be lifelong, and we must seek vocation beyond familiar networks, working with working-class communities, churches led by people of Global Majority Heritage, disabled and neurodivergent people, and LGBTQ+ groups.
As the established Church, we have a particular responsibility to speak without fear for those whom voices in public life exclude or turn against: refugees and people seeking asylum, people living in poverty and working-class communities.
I come from a working-class background, and I am neurodivergent.
During my time on Synod, I have: challenged inconsistencies in safeguarding practice, including DBS checks for PCC members, because safeguarding should be robust, fair, and consistent wherever you serve spoken about the financial pressures facing ordinands, including the “missing month” between training and first stipend championed working-class vocations advocated for parish ministry reported back regularly on Synod debates and decisions, because national decisions must always be grounded in the realities of parish life My experience so far Member of General Synod since 2025 Recently trained as a Pastoral Supervisor for clergy Teacher of the LLM optional module on Creative and
Previously part of the Diocesan Vocations Team, and Diocesan Young Vocations Champion Contributor to the South East regional consultation on working-class vocations I am delighted to be proposing Trudi for General Synod, she is considered in her opinions, takes time to understand the complexities of arguments and is not afraid to speak her mind on matters of deep significance for the life of the church, particularly supporting those who are often pushed to the margins.
A key issue for Synod is the resourcing of ministry and the nurturing of disciples within working-class neighbourhoods and rural parishes.
In addition to this I completed a group project on northern working class voices in music, art and literature presenting it at St Nicholas’s Cathedral.
In addition, seeing people who are young, working class or of the global majority play a role in filling up our churches is another desire of mine.
I spoke in support of the working-class vocations motion in February 2026 (“an eloquent and moving speech”, +Mark, Chester) to highlight the outstanding work in our diocese and what we have learned, and to call for a national strategy which removes the opaque institutional barriers to the full flourishing of working-class ministers.
I retain love for the rural working-class community in which I grew up and the small parish church that sent me.
My years working in engineering have given me a particular concern that people from working-class backgrounds know that the Church is a place where they can belong, flourish and be called to ministry.
I was born in Leeds to a working class family with working class values.
I was born in Skipton into a working-class family and studied at Durham.
working class ministry.
Support for bringing more working class Priests and Lay Ministers into our Church.
Too often, people from working-class backgrounds, council estates and areas of deprivation do not see ministry as something that is open to them.
More vocations from working class communities and council estates.
A determination to encourage vocations from working-class backgrounds.
mental well-being, while actively encouraging vocations from working-class and non- traditional backgrounds.
Whether that is how the gospel reaches my working class family or what it means to be intercultural in a diverse congregation not just preserving our individual cultures but influencing each other so we are more than the sum of our parts.
Coming from a working-class background, I often feel that the voice of ‘ordinary’ people is
In Chester, I have worked on From Lament to Action, working-class vocations and removing barriers to participation.
taking forward the work on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage arising from Living in Love and Faith However, we have also dealt with important legislation on Clergy Conduct, the central Governance of the church and the distribution of funding; have approved better remuneration and pension arrangements for clergy; have had lively and often moving debates on topics related to full inclusion in the life of the church related to mental health, disability, neurodivergence and access to ministry for working class people.
Working class ministry People from a working class background face barriers within the Church to access ministry at all levels.
I will work to promote access to ministry for people of all backgrounds, and especially those from a working class experience.
• Having been born into a very poor working-class, single-
I come from a working-class background and was brought up by a single mother in former mining communities in Derbyshire.
Coming from a working-class background where I was the first in my family to obtain a degree, I have a strong desire to see more working-class candidates being selected to and supported in training as Lay Ministers and Clergy.
[email protected] 0161 989 5785 vicarage I'm from a working-class background – I grew up in Durham coalfields during the miner's strike – and would love to see a church that reaches across class divides and sees more people from backgrounds like mine in ministry.
And the biggest group currently excluded from the C of E is the working class.
With my past experience in TEI admissions, I am all too aware of the complexities in discernment and ordination training pathways, which create barriers to individuals with a genuine call to ministry, especially those from working-class, non-white or neurodiverse backgrounds.
A voice for the urban and working class parishes Growing up on a council estate in Scotland and now serving in one of our most urban parishes, I want to represent voices and experiences not heard enough at a national level.
I am passionate about sharing the experiences of our estates and urban areas whilst working together to see opportunities explored for working class vocations and models of training that work for all.
It has been a privilege to represent the Diocese of Chelmsford on General Synod for the last five years and to have seen real progress in areas such as safeguarding, racial justice, working class ministry, clergy wellbeing and recognising the place of neurodivergent people within the church.
There are some encouraging steps in addressing this: the recent rise in stipend levels; work to promote working class vocations.
I have supported measures to improve clergy wellbeing including stipend and pension uplifts, reform of CDM, better support for working class clergy and neurodivergent clergy, and an increase in rest periods.
I understand the realities of ministry in diverse, working-class, and resource-stretched contexts.
Life Outside the Collar: I come from a working-class background and grew up in social housing.
I want leadership at every level—lay and ordained—to reflect the social and economic breadth of our parishes, particularly people from working-class and estate backgrounds.
At the 2025 London working-class consultation, I heard our collective barriers echoed clearly.
Pathways, Not Roadblocks: I will challenge Synod to look honestly at how training, housing, finance, and institutional culture block working-class candidates.
Born and raised in Liverpool, into a working class family, I would represent the majority of voices across the diocese, but a majority that is often underrepresented.
This enables me to speak with a depth of understanding in debates around deprivation, social cohesion, and how we reach working class people with the gospel.
My working class roots shape how I listen, how I lead, and whose interests I hold when hard choices are made.
Mission Priest St Edmund’s Church Bearpark and Visiting Fellow in Anglicanism, St John’s College, Durham says, ‘Donna is a crucial voice for the Church of England to hear: a fine priest, rooted in the Catholic Anglican tradition and working class.
She brings a vital working class perspective to General Synod, with a wholehearted desire to serve the people of Durham Diocese.’
About me I’m a working class Black Country boy who God called to the Church of England when I was four years old.
As someone who is working class, I believe that the Church of England still has a long way to go to ensure equality of opportunity when it comes to supporting working class lay and ordained vocations.
This includes more working class people having the opportunity to become bishops, deans or archdeacons.
Children and young people Working class vocation I would also appreciate it if you could give a high priority vote to Becky Elliott and Claire Lording
Steps to encourage the voca- tions of working-class people to lay and ordained ministry.
I want to see greater representation of women in important selection processes; serious commitment to racial justice; better inclusion of disabled and neurodiverse people; and genuine opportunities for people from working-class backgrounds to enter both lay and ordained ministry.
Promoting ministers of different backgrounds – for our parishes to welcome people of all backgrounds, our parishes ought to be led by people of all backgrounds, especially those of working-class backgrounds or from minority ethnic groups.
I greatly welcomed the unanimous vote of the last Synod to support working class vocations
About me I come from a working-class background and was not raised within the Church.
I have a particular passion for encouraging and supporting those whose voices have too often been overlooked, including working-class people, lay ministers, women, younger people, people with disabilities and neurodiverse people, and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Research commissioned by the National Ministry Team has highlighted the alienation experienced by working-class clergy.
I am a 47-year-old working-class priest with 16 years of ordained ministry.
This gives me a deeply rooted, lived understanding of working-class communities, bringing a vital perspective and hard-nosed realism to General Synod.
I am proud of the differences I have made and of the discussions I have contributed to in that space, especially as a young, female, working-class member of the House of Laity from a rural parish, hopefully at times adding a different viewpoint.
I seek to ensure that the church embodies the priesthood of all believers and is committed to the flourishing of all vocations I have been an active member of General Synod and have been called to speak in debates on a wide I have been an active member of General Synod and have been called to speak in debates on a wide range of topics, including estates ministry, pastoral care of those experiencing the loss of babies, working class vocations, the effects of misogyny in the church and the impact of the current war in Gaza on interfaith relationships That experience has helped me understand how Synod works, how decisions are shaped, and how important it is for clergy voices from across the diocese to be heard clearly and respectfully.
WORKING-CLASS VOCATIONS
WORKING-CLASS VOCATIONS – As a council-house child who would never have imagined being called to ordained ministry, I am passionate about breaking down barriers and raising up leaders from low-income communities.
I have served as a member of the National Working-Class Vocations Advisory Group.
Whilst fully embedded in a working class non church going community retaining a significant mode of behaviour which was spiritual and contemplative.
These early experiences have culminated in me now being a self-supporting ordained priest, and curate in the Rural North West Kent Group of churches It was from my working class and deeply rich childhood and adolescence and through the prism of the suburban council estates and their communities within which I lived, that inspired an exciting sense of the numinousness of the everyday experience and a passionate spiritual awakening within me.
During my first two years on General Synod, I have actively contributed to debates on Living in Love and Faith, working-class vocations, safeguarding, mental health, poverty and pension reform.
Throughout my own ordained ministry I have been involved in vocations work and am encouraged by the steps Synod has taken towards enabling the ministry of disabled people and those from working class backgrounds.
Since beginning ordination training, I have always noticed a lack of people coming forward from working- class backgrounds – and those who have been called from such are met with various hurdles in a system built around a very different demographic.
Working class, West Country
I also believe wholeheartedly in a church that welcomes everyone - Jesus prioritised time with the working class, the poor, the vulnerable, women, the outcast, and He wants us to welcome them now.
Spoken frequently in debates (often being amongst the first to be called), and regularly tabled questions, spanning topics such as lay ministry, ordinand candidates, working class vocations, same sex relationships, safeguarding, governance, trust, Synod conduct, stipends, central costs, diocesan financing, and investment policy.
As a member of General Synod I have been fortunate enough to speak into a number of debates including recent motions concerning Working Class Vocations and Neurodiversity in the life of the church.
Born of a Hindu Indo-Mauritian father, and a Christian white British mother, I was raised by working class parents in highly deprived area of Kent.
As the solo-minister of a small to medium sized congregation in a working class area, I am keen to give a voice to the majority of those who serve in our Diocese and in this Church: the hardworking clergy who graft in under-resourced and under-financed parishes.
I come from a working class background, have mixed heritage and have been diagnosed with ADHD.
Working Class Group (Feb 25 - Feb 26) - I supported Fr Alex Frost’s motion and was part of the working group that drove it home over the following year.
As someone from a working-class background, a voice still under-represented in our national conversations, I want to ensure that Synod reflects the breadth of the whole Church of England.
A Church that listens to working-class voices, recognising the gifts, wisdom, and faithfulness present in every community.
My working-class background has enabled me to work sensitively alongside those who are marginalised by society due to a lack of education, opportunities and various other difficulties.
I have been involved in both the debate and preparation work around working-class vocations.
I want to help represent the many working-class people found in our churches, communities and diocese—particularly those whose voices can struggle to reach the rooms in which decisions are made.
I would be honoured to represent the diocese and to bring the experiences of working-class communities, estate ministry and recovery into the life and decision-making of General Synod.
I have been a Vicar, Rector, University Chaplain, Area Dean, and a Residentiary Canon of our Cathedral; a member of the diocesan Vocations Team, and a national Vocations Advisor, helping to shape policy and practice to support more candidates for ordained ministry from working class and minority communities.
I also support the emerging national strategy to encourage people from working class backgrounds discernment, training and ordination.
To encourage the vocations of working-class people and underrepresented groups.
Colleagues tell me I am courageous and not afraid to speak up against injustice; if elected I will use my voice to advocate for those people who are often excluded; working class, LGBT community members and BME amongst others.
Over the next 5 years Synod will have a lot to work on; continuing discussions on our ecological mission and responsibility, supporting and encouraging vocations from working class backgrounds and the next steps following Living in Love and Faith.
I also want to advocate for inclusion, migrants and ethnic minority groups, multicultural worship, children and youth discipleship, families in the life of the church, supporting the vulnerable and marginalised, gender equality, supporting those from the working class, single parents and female/women leadership, mission growth, and a safer, welcoming Church for all.