The central and Anglican Communion members of the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) have been announced and include our very own Canon Claire Lording, Vicar of Pershore with Pinvin, Wick & Birlingham.
Claire is one of those voted by the General Synod to be the national church representatives on CNCs leading the appointment process for diocesan bishops. Claire works in a pair with the Revd Jo Stobart and they decide between them who will be part of a particular CNC.
Claire said: “It feels like the most enormous privilege and a huge responsibility to be part of the CNC which will be involved in the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury. I hope that we can work together as a CNC to make the right nomination for the Church of England, while also bearing in mind the needs of the wider Anglican Communion.”
The general process of appointing the Archbishop of Canterbury is the same as with other diocesan bishop appointments. The CNC will spend time agreeing the role profile and person specification and there will be longlisting, shortlisting and then interviews. However, the Canterbury CNC is chaired independently rather than by the Archbishop of York and there are five representatives from the Anglican Communion and a bishop elected by the House of Bishops – in this case the Bishop of Norwich (and former Bishop of Dudley), Graham Usher.
Claire continued: “I’m looking forward to hearing from a diverse group of people on the Canterbury CNC. It’s bigger than for other diocesan appointments and I hope we can be open in discerning who God is calling to be leader of our Church and open in how the Spirit is moving. It’s a very prayerful process. We also need to hope that if the CNC is drawn to a particular person, they also feel the Spirit is calling them.”
“This is a time full of opportunity and possibility for the Church with exciting things starting to happen as we live out our vision and strategy. I am excited by the conversations that will happen in this process with people representing each part of the Archbishop’s Ministry and hope that together, the whole of the Church of England can grasp that we are all Kingdom People. I also know that as a CNC we’ll be well supported by the team at Lambeth Palace and the Prime Minister’s Appointment Secretary.”
The full Canterbury CNC will be as follows:
Voting members
- Chair: Lord (Jonathan) Evans of Weardale (appointed by the Prime Minister)
- Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell
- Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher (elected by the House of Bishops)
- Anglican Communion representatives (nominated by the 5 regions of the Communion):
- Americas: Mr Joaquín Philpotts
- Oceania: The Revd Canon Isaac Beach
- Africa: The Revd Professor Grace Nkansa Asante
- Asia: The Most Revd Hosam Naoum
- Europe: The Right Revd Mary Stallard
- Central Members (drawn from the CNC Central Members elected by General Synod, or a member of the General Synod nominated to represent them):
- Ms Christina Baron
- Miss Debbie Buggs
- The Revd Canon Paul Cartwright
- The Revd Lis Goddard
- The Revd Canon Claire Lording
- Mr Clive Scowen
- Canterbury Diocesan representatives: This will be announced at the conclusion of the Canterbury Vacancy in See process.
Non-voting members
- Secretary to the Commission: Stephen Knott (Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments)
- Jonathan Hellewell (Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary)
- The Right Revd Anthony Poggo (Secretary General of the Anglican Communion)
Read more about all the members of the Canterbury CNC
