Jeanette Appleton, currently our Faith and Policy trustee, has just been elected as one of the three lay reps from St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocese on General Synod. This is a huge achievement, and Jeanette is confident that it won't detract from her time on MU things, but will instead enable her to raise the profile of MU amongst those attending General Synod.
This was her election address:
Personal background: I am married with three grown-up children and two grandsons. My husband is a Lay Reader and now semi-retired. We moved to Suffolk in 2016 and while living in the village of Holton St Mary, worship at St Mary the Virgin in East Bergholt where I am an active member of the Mothers’ Union. I am committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and roles within the church, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, socio-economic status, mental health or sexuality.
Professional Background: I qualified as an occupational therapist in 1977 and have worked in paediatrics specialising in the developmental care of premature and sick infants. I left clinical practice in 2007 to take up a four-year research post at Liverpool University in the department of Behavioural Psychology. This focused on the investigation of the risks and processes in early infancy that led or contributed to the development of childhood conduct disorders.
I currently have my own training and consultancy business training professionals involved in the care of the newborn.
In 2014 I was elected to the role of Public Governor of a tertiary NHS Oncology hospital in the North West. I was an advocate for the introduction of patient-led care, which moved away from the medical model, with the patient as a passive recipient of care to focus on patients taking an active role in their treatment and also in decisions relating to care environments and processes. I believe this resonates with the future of the Church of England where there is a call, as voiced by Archbishop Cottrell, to, ‘Encourage a new way of being church, a way that enables and empowers the laity’
Church Background
Due to both my father and husband’s employment in the medical profession, I have lived and worshipped in eight different dioceses in the UK as well as two years in Vancouver, Canada. This has given me a valuable insight into how different communities live out their lives and how different church communities live out their faith. I have been an active member of the church all my life, taking on a number of roles, from bell-ringing as a teenager to Sunday school leader, music director and PCC and deanery synod member. In Chester Diocese I was initially line manager for the Diocesan Family Development Officer and then chair of the partnership group that oversaw this appointment, initiated by Bishop Peter and funded jointly by the diocese and Mothers’ Union. I was elected within Mothers’ Union, to the role of Worldwide Rep for the Province of York and subsequently to the Central Action and Outreach committee; which oversaw the allocation of grants and development of projects and programmes in the 84 countries where Mothers’ Union has a presence.
General Synod: When I was asked if I would agree to be nominated to General Synod I thought carefully about my potential contribution. I am, as I stated at the beginning of this address, committed to inclusivity. I believe that I have both professional and personal experience that enables me to be a voice for the disabled, the child and the vulnerable family. I would like to offer these skills to enable General Synod to open the doors wider and make space in the physical and liturgical aspects of the church for these people. This is a challenge as inclusion means being focused on unlearning, learning and relearning. Also, to acknowledge the views we have that exclude, which need to be faced with honesty and commitment.
Addressing the specific issue of individuals with a disability. These people are currently under-represented at all levels in the Church of England. This needs to be addressed and should be part of our discussions and debate at General Synod. Not simply as a token towards inclusivity, but with a real and living commitment to understand their needs and take positive steps to replace current barriers, so that all are fully valued and included.
I promise to listen, encourage, participate and facilitate and only when absolutely necessary will I stand up and speak. This is based on my experience that you are more effective in creating growth and change when you ‘show and don’t tell’.
Election to General Synod is not a position I am ambitious to hold, but a role I will undertake faithfully and with prayerful commitment, if you as God’s people elect me.