The Spring Synod 2025 will be held on Saturday, 26 April 2025 at Redhill Methodist Church, Gloucester Road, Redhill, RH1 1BP.
Attendance If you are a lay representative and are unable to come to Synod, please send your apologies through your Superintendent Minister, who may be able to ask a substitute to come in your place. Presbyters and deacons in the active work who are unable to attend should request permission to be absent (a 'dispensation') from me in writing. All Supernumeraries, Authorised and Associate Ministers are very welcome, but not required to attend Synod, so do not need a dispensation. If you are unable to attend Representative Synod please email the District Chair requesting a dispensation.
Further Representative Synod dates:
Previous Synods
The Autumn Synod 2024 will be held on Saturday, 14 September 2024 at Emmanuel Church, Eastbourne, 48A Upperton Road, Eastbourne, BN21 1LQ.
The Spring Synod 2024 will be held on Saturday, 20 April 2024 at Redhill Methodist Church, Gloucester Road, Redhill, RH1 1BP.
The Autumn Synod 2023 will be held on Saturday, 23 September 2023 at Haywards Heath Methodist Church, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 3DN.
The Spring Synod 2023 will be held on Saturday, 22 April 2023 at The Church on the Heath, The Key, Elvetham Heath, Fleet, GU51 1HA.
Membership of the Synod
This Constitution should be read in conjunction with Standing Order 410 of the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church
The Representative Session of the District Synod shall consist of the following persons:
a) The Vice-President, if relevant, and all ex-Vice-Presidents of the Methodist Conference in membership in the District
b) All presbyters, deacons and probationers stationed in the District, all presbyters and deacons residing for the purposes of the stations in the District, and any other presbyter, deacon or probationer entered in the stations as a member of Synod.
c) One circuit steward of each Circuit in the District or a substitute elected by the Circuit Meeting
d) Lay representatives or their substitutes, elected by the Circuit Meeting of each Circuit in the District, the total number for each Circuit being determined by the Synod. At present the total number of lay representatives elected under this clause is equal to the district ministry deployment figure.
e) All members of the District Council
f) The Secretary of the Synod
g) The District Treasurer
h) The District Property Secretary
i) The Training Officer
j) The District Development Enabler
k) The Lay Representative, if appointed, to the Methodist Council
l) The District Lay Stationing Representative
m) Representatives to Connexional Committees, as relevant
n) Representatives to Regional Committees, as relevant
o) All persons elected by the Synod to attend the last preceding meeting of the Methodist Youth Assembly
p) Conference-elected lay representatives to the Methodist Conference
q) All lay representatives elected by the Synod to both the last preceding and the next following Methodist Conference
r) Such lay District Officers as the Synod may determine
s) Synod-elected lay members in numbers determined by the Synod
t) Lay employees within the District as determined by the Synod; the Synod of September 2011 agreed that lay employees will no longer be members of Synod by virtue of their appointments.
