Faith and Fracture – York Minster

Officers and members of the General Synod of the Church of England attended services at York Minster on Sunday – the first time since March 2020.

Synod members and officers were also among the first to view the newly installed artwork ‘Faith and Fracture’, a glass sculpture made from 2,500 pieces of glass which will go on show from mid-July and was commissioned by the bishops of the Church of England as part of the “Living in Love and Faith” project which saw an 18-month long discussion held across the Church on the subject of human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.

Synod members and officers were also invited to attend a special Evensong Service later on Sunday celebrating 25 years of girl choristers at York Minster.

Former girl choristers sang alongside the current group of girl choristers and the adult singers of York Minster and the guest preacher was the Bishop of Whitby, Paul Ferguson, who was Precentor of York Minster 25 years ago when the first group of girl choristers gave their debut performance.

The Revd Canon Dr Victoria Johnson, Precentor at York Minster said:

“We are delighted that the General Synod of the Church of England will join with the worshipping community here at York Minster to pray and break bread together.

“Worship transforms us as individuals and as a community, we belong to one another through worship, we become the people God wants us to be through worship and our faith in God is shaped through our worship. We pray that through our worship on this day, the mission and vision of the whole church may be enlivened and encouraged.”

The General Synod’s July meeting is took place in York from 8 -12 July.

Photo credit – Charlotte Graham