Let us learn from how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and let us support each other in mission across our diocese, said Bishop Toby in his first address to Synod.
Regarding the financial challenges faced by our, and many other dioceses, Bishop Toby said: “We will need to pray and to talk about money more and in different ways than we have done previously.
“I put it to you that being open with God and with one another about how much money we have as churches and benefices and how we intend to spend that money feels a bit like taking off our shoes and socks and washing one another’s feet. It’s not easy.
“Each of us loves our particular areas: our clergy, the people of our parishes and benefices.
“But we hold that love with a commitment to the flourishing of the other areas and to the flourishing of our diocese as a whole.”
Bishop Toby’s Presidential Address may be read in full below:
Thirty-first Diocesan Synod, Saturday, 22 March 2025
Presidential Address
At the heart of the gospel is our shared conviction that God brings salvation and healing to our world by embracing what is difficult and painful.
We see one of the most powerful demonstrations of this divine way in John’s Gospel, when Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. It was a hard thing for Jesus to do, to lay aside his rabbi’s robe and wrap a towel around himself, the dress of an enslaved person. But it was hard also for the disciples. They had to let Jesus look at and touch their dirty, smelly feet, while their friends watched, and probably commented.
I’ve been struck by the strength of the language that Jesus uses once he has finished the footwashing, in telling the disciples that they need to do the same.
"If I your lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their masters…” (John 13)
We see in this story not just the deep truth that we find healing and grace when we lean towards what we would rather run away from, as Jesus demonstrated supremely on the cross. We also hear a command from Jesus that we cannot live our Christian lives without opening up what is difficult and painful to God and to one another.
There are positive encouragements for us as a diocese as we reflect on these words. After the final meeting of the diocesan Vacancy in See Committee earlier this month, the Archbishops’ Appointments Secretary, Stephen Knott, wrote to me these words: “It has been a great joy journeying alongside the Diocese of Leeds in your Vacancy in See process. I have been struck by the scale and diversity of the Diocese as well as the evident relational emphasis.”
Isn’t that good to hear, unsolicited, from someone who has listened to many people both inside the churches and outside of them? It is also a tribute to Bishop Nick’s leadership in how he steered the creation of our diocese and has led it up until now.
I’m so grateful, by the way, to those who contributed to the work of that committee, including all those who participated in our diocesan consultation which, in turn, informed our Statement of Needs (which is now published on our website). Let’s continue to pray for the Crown Nominations Commission as they meet next year to choose our next Bishop of Leeds.
That’s a welcome encouragement, but there are also serious challenges that we face in our diocese.
Last week I received a call from a senior producer at the BBC who wanted to know how we as a diocese were responding to the use of Christian imagery and symbols in some of the protest marches and demonstrations that we have seen recently. Aleem Maqbool, the
BBC Religion Editor was in Bradford and Leeds yesterday and is expected to be in Wakefield today.
Bishop Malcolm, who will be leaving this synod early in order to be present where a so-called “Great British National Protest” has been planned in the precinct of Wakefield Cathedral with a counter-protest to take place close by.
Malcolm, I know that you did not take the decision lightly to leave synod early, but it’s the right call, and we will be praying for you and those with you as you represent Christ and his body in that difficult situation. Bishop Arun also spoke powerfully at a march in Leeds last week with a positive Christian message which was warmly received.
One of the vicars who spoke with the BBC yesterday told about a young man who had been on that big Tommy Robinson march in London a few weeks ago and was inspired to go to church. His own parish church where he showed up welcomes refugees and asylum seekers, and the vicar spoke about their congregation as a safe space for all where relationships and dialogue can help bridge painful differences, a place where, as the vicar put it, “Christ is preached rather than Christianity.”
Having these kinds of difficult, political sensitive conversations before God and with one another is a bit like taking our shoes and socks off and washing one another’s feet. It can feel very vulnerable, but it can also be where Jesus is powerfully present.
These interactions and many more are a reminder that the Church of England is at its heart local churches worshipping God, following Jesus together and loving their communities. Bishops and archbishops have credibility particularly when they speak in the public square from that perspective.
But, as Bishop Nick reminded our clergy earlier this week at his final Diocesan Bishop’s Study Day, the structure of our diocese needs to be able to bear the weight of the mission of our churches in their local communities.
And that’s partly where we come in as Diocesan synod this morning. With PCCs, deanery synods and chapters, with the Diocesan Board and the Finance Committee, with Bishop’s Staff, and with Jonathan Wood’s comparatively small team at Church House (all who work above and beyond), what we’re about is weight bearing.
When we discuss and debate clergy wellbeing and the diocesan budget, we’re ensuring that our diocese can continue to maintain the parishes and benifices, the chaplaincies and Bishops Mission Orders that do the work of mission and evangelism, of pastoral care and service which is our calling as the body of Christ.
And a big focus today at synod will be the numbers. It is not comfortable to look together at a deficit, but there is an opportunity here.
We have probably 15 months or so before a new diocesan bishop takes up their role. I see this time as both as a vacancy and as a period of interim ministry. The ordinary business of this diocese will carry on, like it does in a parish during a vacancy, and it’s up to us to keep that going. But there are also specific challenges that we will need to address, and this stubborn and unsustainable budget deficit is one of them.
The invitation is for us to lean in towards one another especially during this time of vacancy. To wash one another’s feet. To hold our vulnerabilities openly and together.
This is a challenge for us as bishops and archdeacons. Each of us loves our particular areas: our clergy, the people of our parishes and benefices. But we hold that love with a commitment to the flourishing of the other areas and to the flourishing of our diocese as a whole. A commitment to making sure, for example, that we don’t just drift into talking about the diocese as if it were all urban. Or to taking decisions without communicating with and consulting one another.
We will need to pray and to talk about money more and in different ways than we have done previously. I put it to you that being open with God and with one another about how much money we have as churches and benefices and how we intend to spend that money feels a bit like taking off our shoes and socks and washing one another’s feet. It’s not easy. It might even be a good idea to practise by talking and praying with friends and family about our own personal finances.
We have already begun the process of talking about parish share agreements. But what if we were to begin these conversations together across our deaneries now?
It was uncomfortable and counter-cultural for the disciples to allow Jesus to wash their feet and to wash one another’s, but it opened up a new dimension to their understanding of him and of the ministry to which he was calling them.
As we obey Jesus’ command, my prayer is that we will also grow in our understanding and experience of him in our own ministries this morning and in the months ahead.
The Rt Revd Toby Howarth, Bishop of Bradford