The direction and progress of the Legacy of Slavery Working Group was one of the main sessions on Day Two of General Synod 2026, held at the Stirling Court Hotel.
The Working Group was set up to look into the Scottish Episcopal Church’s links to the transatlantic slave industry, and in an introduction to this latest update, the Primus, Bishop Mark Strage, reminded members that the Church should be able to ask questions about its own place in the history of the slave trades, “so that it could answer those questions asked of us and that we could take some responsibility for the legacy which we carry.”
“This is not a blame game,” said the Primus. “This is gaining knowledge to allow us to acknowledge our past, share these with our brothers and sisters across the communion and stand tall when we are called upon to stand alongside those persecuted because of the colour of their skin.”
The Rev Aaron Moffat-Jackman (pictured above), chair of the Working Group, gave a summary of the work of the group and why it matters, listing four guidelines for the project:
- To understand the Church’s historic connections to slavery
- Consider how relationships may be repaired
- Discern a faithful response today
- Guided by the Working Group
Rev Moffat-Jackman explained there are two parts to this work:
- Research – what can be evidenced that connects the Church to slavery.
- Listening – having conversations across the Church and with partners across the Anglican Communion.
The Rector of St Saviour’s in Bridge of Allan stressed that the project is not about blame or reparations, but about trying to bring what is hidden into the light, through remembering, repentance and reimagining.
Synod then heard from Dr Simon Buck, who has been hired by the SEC for 12 months to research the history of the Church in relation to the transatlantic slave trade. Dr Buck is five months into his work, which has taken him to many archive sources across the country, as he attempts to answer two key questions:
- What impact did Scottish Episcopalians have on enslaved people, the Atlantic slavery system, and slavery’s ambition?
- What impact did slavery have on the Scottish Episcopal Church?
Dr Buck gave evidence of links he had found already between the Church and the slave trade, and when his research is complete his findings of evidence will form a report for the Working Group to consider.
Synod then broke into table groups, and feedback was gathered for later review.
The day also saw the new Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Rev Dagmar Winter, lead her first session at the General Synod following her installation at the end of May. Bishop Dagmar was greeted with a round of applause from the floor, and thanked Synod for the warm welcome she had received in the Province.
Her session began with a presentation from the Provincial Environment Group. The out-going convener of the Group, the Rt Rev Ian Paton, offered thanks to all those across the Province who had engaged with the Group, and with the Net Zero team across the years. Bishop Ian then handed over to the Rev Dr Valerie Cameron, Vice-Convener, who shared that over two-thirds of the charges in the Province had submitted information to the Energy Footprint Tool, and that from the data provided they could calculate the reduction in emissions across the province. She shared the trajectory of emissions, showing that there had been a marked dip in carbon emissions thanks to many churches switching to renewable tariffs.
The Rev Lewis Shand-Smith, a member of PEG, detailed a series of good news stories from charges which had undertaken projects to improve their energy efficiency in recent years. He said that the data gathered by the group indicated that a minimum of £750k had been successfully applied for from a variety of funding sources to support individual charges’ Net Zero projects, with the figure expected to be higher when local awards are taken into account. He then welcomed the Rev David Rushton, Rector of Holy Trinity, Dunoon, who spoke about their church’s current plans to utilise the land they own for solar generation, but also for biodiversity improvements.
This tied in with the indication from the group that the focus of their work would be shifting over the coming years away from concentrating heavily on Net Zero carbon emissions, broadening their horizons towards the other themes of the Net Zero Action plan, including biodiversity, pollution, and theological development on creation.
Bishop Ian concluded by thanking PEG and the Net Zero team for their work, and subsequently Rev Valerie proposed a vote of thanks to Bishop Ian who is stepping down as Convener of the Group.
Friday’s business had begun with a presentation from the Scottish Episcopal Institute, titled ‘Resourcing a Hopeful Future’.
Rev Dr Anna-Claar Thomasson-Rosingh (pictured above left), Acting Principal of the SEI, was pleased to report that 13 new students will start at the Institute in September. “We are growing,” she said. “We may want to think about what that looks like, to resource it well.”
Dr Victoria Turner (pictured above right), SEI Director of Studies, gave a summary of Programme Development which involves extra students and extra modules. “We need to diversify who we teach and how we teach,” said Dr Turner, who highlighted a developing library and increased administration support as ways of helping to develop a ‘Hopeful Future’. This is in the context of the SEI “equipping, enabling and encouraging theological reflection”.
Dr Thomasson-Rosingh guided Synod members through the concept of Contextual Formation, the successor to what was known as Mixed Mode Training.
The SEI session rounded off with a period of Bible study.
Later in the morning session, Synod accepted the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the financial year ended 31 December 2025, and agreed a proposed change to Stipend, which will increase annually by the greater of CPI or the amount required to maintain parity with the Church of England’s National Stipend Benchmark.
As always, there was an engaging session on the Church’s liturgies, with new liturgies for discussion at first and second reading, including the addition of Blessing of a Marriage (2026), which will be added to the Schedule to Canon 22. There was also discussion on the removal of liturgies from the Schedule which were seen as no longer fitting with the needs and practice of church worship today. With the encouragement of ecumenical partners, including Archbishop Leo Cushley representing the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Synod committed to support further consideration and of the global ecumenical initiative on a feast of Creation, to take place on the first Sunday in September.
The afternoon session opened with reflections on mission by the Rt Rev Nick Bundock, Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway. Bishop Nick said to members that a church’s health cannot be divorced from its mission. “Without good church health, the best mission in the world will not be enough,” said the Bishop. “You will struggle to make new disciples. You will struggle to make new Episcopalians.”
A highly amusing narrative around the case study of the fictitious St Krankie’s Church was well received with much laughter, but Bishop Nick’s serious point was not missed, as he outlined the eight characteristics that lead to church growth: leadership (that enables), ministry (where gifts match tasks), spirituality (that informs our lives), structures (that work for the common good), worship (that inspires), outreach (that meets real needs), groups and teams (which bring life), and relationships (that are loving).
Question packs were then issued for table discussions, with feedback gathered.
A Rule 10 motion was introduced during the afternoon, proposing that Youth members should be admitted to Synod, as had been suggested in the previous day’s representation from PYC member Amie Byers (Diocese of Glasgow & Galloway). The motion, proposed by Rev Canon Dr Sophia Marriage (Diocese of Edinburgh), was accepted for consideration by Synod and will be debated on Saturday.
