Any doubt lay Anglicans strongly support Archbishop Jensen's passionate opposition to ethics lessons as an alternative to SRE, were buried on the floor of Synod last night.
A lay-led coup significantly strengthened the official motion moved by Dr Bryan Cowling, head of the Anglican Education Commission, with the Synod calling on the NSW Government and Opposition not to extend the ethics lessons in any state primary school.
The final vote was overwhelming, taken on the voices without any audible dissent.
One member went as far to describe the ethics proposal as an "insult to both the departmental teachers and the very many current SRE volunteers".
"Ethics is already written into every key learning area [and] simply does not belong on SRE time. Ethics does not belong to St James Ethics Centre .. but should be taught by the professionally trained people employed by the Department," he said.
The amendment which aimed to state clear opposition to the ethics lessons as proposed by the St James Ethics Centre and the Parents and Citizens Association was moved by Michael Meek SC, a barrister from Naremburn.
After the debate Sydneyanglicans.net spoke to Mr Meek, who agreed Synod had firmly rejected a "softly, softly approach".
Likewise a lay representative from Christ Church Gladesville argued to Synod that, "if we want to make point we need to make it or not say anything at all."
Councillor Andrew Guile, who represents the parish of Berry, supported Mr Meek's amendment on the Synod floor, expressing doubts the Government will make a "wise and just" decision.
"The reality is that governments decide matters politically," he told Synod. "If we are losing this debate anywhere it is the P and C meetings because the association is working very hard to influence local schools against us."
After the debate, Councillor Guile, who is an independent on Shoalhaven City Council, described the original motion as "politically naïve".
The laity's feistiness on the issue was displayed on a number of occasions.
To loud applause a north shore public school principal who said he "believed strongly in SRE" challenged the Synod and Anglican churches "to put some money behind SRE".
"The school I am currently principal at is in an area where most people would nominate themselves as Christians, even Anglican," he said, "and yet the number going to non-Scripture has gone up fourfold."
"Scripture is largely taught by well-meaning people" who find it very difficult to teach children in 2010," he said.
Dr Cowling outlines "Verity's choice"
In moving the original motion, Dr Bryan Cowling, head of the Anglican Education Commission, explained proponents of the ethics classes say they want to do something for "the perceived large number of students who don't attend SRE lessons"
"Nathan Rees thought he had found the solution to that practical problem when he succumbed to the very effective campaigning over many years by the Federation of Parents and Citizens Association in cohoots with the St James Ethics Centre to introduce" a series of lessons in ethics into primary schools," he said.
However, this year's trial of ethic lessons demonstrated "the problem Nathan Rees set out to solve was not solved", he said.
"Only a portion of the non-SRE attenders chose to attend the classes so the numbers were supplemented by students who were already enrolled in SRE classes," he said.
In seconding the motion the Rev Zac Veron, CEO of Anglican Youthworks which provides SRE of behalf of the Anglican Church in NSW, pushed this point further.
While sympathising with parents concerned their children weren't being properly supervised, he argued that its local school's implementation of the Education Department's guidelines that had "caused a pool of dissatisfaction'.
"If there is a problem it is school management that has failed the students not SRE," he said.
Dr Cowling also sketched the pandora's box the NSW Government has now created for itself, describing the complex decision the Minister faces as "Verity's Choice".
"She appears to have made one decision and that is not to change the legislation which permits SRE to be offered in all public schools. I am sure you will agree: that has been a wise and just decision.
"But she must now decide how to deal with the competing claims from a variety of stakeholders, including the hundreds of parents and other citizens who have registered their preferences directly with the Minister or via their local MPs, the SRE providers and other groups," he said.
Dr Cowling said the Minister now has at least seven options before her none of which "can be easily discarded", including: "local school decision making"; “undefined” requests to allow ethics “to be taught K-6 as an alternative to SRE from at least 85 school P and C branches”; "that Secular Humanism should be approved - as it is now in England - as a legitimate alternative"; and "she has received letters and petitions arguing that nothing should be allowed to be taught at the same time as SRE, even when the number of non-SRE attenders is greater than the SRE attenders in a school."
Dr Cowling expressed little confidence that the NSW Government can easily implement a change of the required magnitude within the timeframe.
"If the Minister and the Department of Education and Training could not get the trialling for ten weeks in nine city and one country school in place between September 2009 and April 2010 without significant stuff-ups, what confidence can we have that a change to the status quo of the magnitude of any of these seven options will be able to be put in place effectively in the next 8 weeks?"
"For the good of our society, for the good of our State, and not for our own interests, we appeal to the Minister to decide wisely and justly, carefully and not hurriedly," he said.
Activating parishioners
Explaining that he had spoken to church members that didn't understand the opposition to the ethics classes, the Rev Nigel Fortescue from St Peter's, Campbelltown, has moved a separate motion requesting the Diocese's submission to the Government be "electronically distributed to rectors and where practical distributed electronically to parishioners".
Mr Fortescue argued that it is ordinary parishioners who are best placed to present the church’s viewpoint in the appropriate community arenas.
His motion will appear on the business paper today.
