The morning debate was mainly taken up with a debate on religion and the meda. The motion to be debated was
That this Synod calls upon the BBC and Ofcom to explain why British television, which was once exemplary in its coverage of religious and ethical issues, now marginalizes the few such programmes which remain and completely ignored the Christian significance of Good Friday 2009
It probably isn’t often that a General Synod CofE Private Members Motion makes 5Live, but even Victoria Derbyshire used it as the theme of her morning phone-in discussion this morning (with Anne Atkins and someone from the National Secular Society on spiky form).
There was much bemoaning of the state of religious broadcasting, with buzzwords such ‘downgrading’ and ‘dumbing down’ in plentiful supply. In true Synod form the biggest debate seemed to be around an ammendment to remove the BBC from the motion – something passed despite several challenges.
Highlight of the session was the Archbishop of York asking the BBC’s Robert Piggot and Nick Higham (religion and media correspondents respectively) to take the message back directly to the BBC – no motion or debate needed for that!
This afternoon is another contentious issue – whether the breakway North American Anglican grouping – the ACNA – should be recognised.
You can follow comments from many in the press gallery (and others) on Twitter at #synod
More later …
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Full cast dramatisation from Focus on the Family. Price £29.99. ISBN 9781589973244. Published by Tyndale.
