Synod’s same-sex discussions are still stuck

Yet there were some glimmers of hope, says Rev Jago Wynne. Here’s what a way forward for the CofE might look like

I was watching the Graham Norton Show a couple of weeks ago. In his opening monologue to camera, Norton spoke of a Sat Nav glitch which keeps directing drivers down a set of stone steps into a town’s local park. As he spoke, images appeared on a screen of cars, vans and even lorries that had followed the Sat Nav and ended up stuck on these stone steps as they attempted to reach their destination.

That feels an all too accurate a picture of the Living in Love and Faith process. As the Church of England General Synod continue to debate same-sex relationships and sexual practice, I have lost count of the number of times I have heard people say: “We just need to get on with implementing the decisions that have already been made” or: “We’ve voted for it – let’s not delay”.

Yet there has been little forward movement. It feels like Synod has voted to turn but, again and again, we’ve found ourselves on the stone steps, unable to move.