The General Synod of the Church of England meets in a perpetual stasis of crisis, excitement, fear and hope.  I guess like all Synods past and present, they are convened, at best, out of a general sense of “we are not quite where we ought to be”, or “not quite what we could be”, or “Help! …this is a time of extremely serious crisis-management”. Or, is it in fact another a “mission opportunity”? (please discuss in your small groups)”. This is then followed by a range of calls that cover the spectrum: from “Emergency..! ..man the lifeboats, all hands on deck…” (NB: young people and children first, naturally) to “gracious me, this seems like quite a good opportunity to rearrange the deckchairs too, especially when everyone seems to be distracted by other less important things that seem to be going on”. (NB: never under-estimate the motives and powers of people who want to sort out the seating for you at a time of existential crisis, in the hope of keeping the passengers comfy, and perhaps picking up a few more when the ship next docks. Provided, of course, it has not sunk before reaching port…).