More generally, and now after two months... My memory of the Group of Sessions is dominated by the herculean tasks we undertook on the issues of women bishops and clergy, tasks which were significantly helped by the recent introduction of electronic voting.

I am sure that the Synod dealt all the related issues very thoroughly, and that the outcome did represent as near a consensus as the Synod could possibly have reached. While on the Saturday, with the discussions in Groups, I had high hopes that a compromise solution would be received by all in good grace, by the end of Monday I became aware that those hopes were not be be realised, and that the traditional strains within the broad Church of England, strains present since the Reformation, were still making themselves felt.

I see the Open Synod Group as having a vital role in soothing those strains, encouraging people of all views to accept the way ahead as a blessed and honourable compromise and to live with our differences within the broken, but united, Body of Christ

Edmund Marshall Committee member OSG