The first three of six Bills have been given their first and second readings at General Synod.  All three have passed through the initial stages of debate and will be given their final readings, with a view to final approval, on the third day of Synod.

Bill No 1:  Introduced by the Rt Rev Harold Miller, Bishop of Down and Dromore, Bill No 1 seeks to provide for the inclusion of a prayer for Northern Ireland in the Book of Common Prayer.  Introducing the Bill, the Bishop told Synod members that the proposal builds on the existing tradition of formal prayers for the State.  Seconding the Bill, Rev Canon Michael Kennedy hoped that the prayer would be widely used in the Province.  An amendment to the Bill, brought by its proposers, was approved and makes minor amendments to the text of the prayer.

Bill No 2: Bill No 2 seeks to introduce an "ecumenical Canon" in Chapter IX of the Constitution to provide for the regulation of local ecumenical partnerships.  Proposing the Bill, the Ven Philip Patterson explained that the proposal had been drafted at the request of the Standing Committee, the intention being that regulations could be attached to the proposed Canon and would then have a similar binding status to that of the Church's regulations in relation to child protection and marriage.  The Very Rev Nigel Dunne, seconding the Bill, spoke of the need for a clear framework for ecumenical partnerships and commended the proposal for its simplicity, which would allow it to be applied across a variety of contexts.

Bill No 3: Brought at the request of the Legislation Committee and proposed and seconded by Honorary Secretaries Mrs Ethne Harkness and the Ven Robin Bantry White, Bill No 3 seeks to amend Chapter I of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland in order to provide that incoming members of the General Synod, who are elected by their dioceses on a triennial basis, should in future assume office on the day preceding the Synod session in May.  Under the current provisions, members officially take office on 1 January, leaving a period of several months during which any outgoing members who were not re-elected become ineligible to complete their triennium of work on the various committees of Synod.  The Bill also proposes to provide for the triennial nomination of members to the Synod's Standing Committee to be carried out by the incoming "members-elect" early in the year, in order that the Standing Commitee may continue to be in place by the first day of Synod.  An amendment to the Bill, brought by its proposers in order to enact transitional provisions to bridge the gap between the old and new systems, was also agreed.