Proposer: Dr Jack Shelly Seconder: Mrs Penny Doe

Paul Reisbach

Halls Loft, Aylesbeare

t: 07717 305599

Personal Details

I was born in the London area in 1979. When my father passed away shortly afterward my mother and I moved to Bath where I attended Widcombe CofE School and the Ralph Allen Secondary School. I was a chorister at Bath Abbey and at the age of 15 I started to attend Weston AllSaints Church where I served on the PCC from the age of 18.

I have an honours degree in Business Management from Birmingham University and a Masters in Theology from King’s College in London. Alongside my role as the Diocesan Youth Work Adviser, for the last five years I have served as a trustee for VOYC in Devon (a charity serving the needs of those working voluntarily with children and young people), more recently I have become a director and trustee of Exeter YMCA and have also been elected to serve on the Community Committee at Exeter Cathedral.

I have spent almost my entire adult life working in the charity sector. I have served oversees as a missionary and had the privilege of working to share the good news of our faith in over seven countries across three continents. I moved to Devon six years ago to begin a new role here and I have become especially fond of our rural countryside.

The Church of England in Devon

As a church I believe that one of our great strengths is unity in diversity. In recent years however, I have become concerned that our unity is fracturing as we seek to move forward in our mission to England. I am concerned that as we become less united we will also become less effective in being good news to the nation that we want to reach.

There have been decisions made that have been hurtful for some and difficult for many in recent years and I have felt the pain of those choices. That being said, I also believe that we cannot, as a church, afford to look backwards. Moving forward in developing a healthy biblical theologyfor life and for mission is a necessity if we are going to grow.

Our churches must be as welcoming as possible, both in terms of the greeting we give and the liturgy that we follow.

Serving on General Synod

I believe that the model for unity set out in The Five Guiding Principles is an essential guide for us as we move forward in mission. At its heart is the respect that we hold for the many traditions within our church and I believe that such a respect is one of the most precious and unique features of our denomination.

There is no doubt that our priests perform a pivotal role in our church.However, we must be realistic about the fact that priests make up less than 5% of our numbers in Devon and have direct contact with less than 1% of our unchurched population. Much of their time is taken up with the vast amounts of administration that is involved in taking care of their increasing benefices. As laity we also have a pivotal role to play and I feel strongly that working to train and equip the laity to serve alongside our priests is vital.

In February 2017 General Synod voted to take forward the recommendations outlined in the Setting God’s People Free report.

Setting God’s People Free suggests that there are two “shifts” that need to take place in order for us to see a fundamental cultural change in our church that will again enable it to “fulfil our calling to evangelise the nation”. In both cases these shifts call for both lay and ordained to be teachers and equippers; to be both taught and equipped in order that together we might reach the nation more effectively.

General Synod is a real gift to us as a church as its united purpose is to seek to understand God’s will for the church. It can only be limited in that goal when gaps emerge between those who serve in synod and those whom synod seeks to serve. I hope to be a positive voice in synod, listening carefully to deliberations, engaging in the fringe discussions and offering what insight I have into our contemporary culture so as to aide our journey forwards, together.

If elected it is my intention to:

Support the continuation of the work set out in Setting God’s People Free.
Support the creation of inclusive liturgy that serves to welcome all while still maintaining the core values of the Church of England.
Work to ensure that changes we must make to progress are grounded in sound theology as well as caring to ensure that we change and grow together.

I really want to serve you as a representative on General Synod and would ask that you please consider giving me your first preference vote (or as high a preference as you are able). Please also hold with me in prayer all the candidates seeking to serve in this casual election, as together we seek to serve and to grow God’s kingdom on Earth.

Yours, in Christ,

I would very much like to hear from you if there is anything in this election address you wish to discuss further.