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An electronic daily update of events
from the Anglican Church of Canada's
General Synod 1995 in Ottawa Ontario
___________________________________
S y n o d N E W S l i n k
by tod maffin
thursday, june 1, 1995
___________________________________
t h e f i r s t w o r d
Hello and welcome to the wrap-up of Day One from the
Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod 1995, being held
in the nation's capital of Ottawa, Ontario.
In case you're curious about who your fellow readers are,
here's a rough breakdown of the subscribers as of this
morning: (listed by top-level domain of Internet provider)
51% Canadian (.ca)
24% commercial providers/United States (.com)
12% educational institutions (.edu)
10% large networks (.net)
5% Australian (.au)
4% non-profit organizations (.org)
3% British (.uk)
and one single subscriber from Japan (.jp)!
Among the e-mail messages I picked up yesterday were a
number wondering how this newsletter is actually put
together and sent out. Here's how it's working so far: I
have a steno pad with me to jot down notes throughout the
day, and I'm packing a laptop in my backpack wherever I go.
Each evening (or when I have a spare moment, as I am right
now in the mid-afternoon, sitting on the lawn of the
Carleton residences), I prepare the newsletter -- in pieces,
sometimes working a couple of days ahead when possible (as
with the 'Extra' and 'reflections' section). Then it's a
quick call to my Internet provider in B.C. where it's
blasted out, and a final call to place it on the Anglinet
systems, through NWnet in Port Moody, B.C..
___________________________________
q u i c k t a k e s
TONIGHT'S "EXTRA" FOCUSSES ON THE NEW STRUCTURE
The "extra" edition sent to you with this issue deals
entirely with the proposed massive restructuring of the
Anglican Church at the national level. It's probably the
biggest thing we'll be doing here, and it's something I'd
recommend you look through. (Tomorrow, I'll cover off some
of the resolutions coming to the floor dealing with Human
Sexuality.)
NEWS COVERAGE OF SYNOD ACTION BEGINS JUNE 2/3
Here in Ottawa, national church house staff will prepare
daily reports covering the actual "business" of General
Synod -- motions passed, actions taken, etc. Those reports
will be sent out to this list in addition to this Synod
NEWSlink daily newsletter. Look for them to begin with the
Friday or Saturday edition.
OTTAWA HOSTS: VERY ACCOMMODATING INDEED...
I can't say enough about how wonderful the volunteers are
here at General Synod. The host diocese of Ottawa has
really done a superb job -- right from being met at the
airport to having someone carry bags up to our rooms.
That's why it was particularly amusing to get an invitation
to tea at the cathedral parish among the 375 lbs of paper we
received. "Between 2 & 4pm, just drop in," the invitation
reads. "We will be pleased to see you and honoured by your
presence." It goes on to describe the wonderful Evensong of
Pentecost they have planned, the particular Cantcles and
anthem they've selected, and it's complete with the bishop
of Lebombo, Mozambique preaching. Except one problem --
they don't tell us which date it's on! :-) Perhaps there's
a service every evening?
VERY ACCOMMODATING, PART TWO...
Speaking of being accommodating, the Synod organizers kindly
reserved a space for youth members to call their own -- sort
of our own lounge to regroup, etc. But I wonder if anyone
has noticed that the room they have assigned to be the Youth
Member Lounge is, in fact, the residence PUB?! Oh sure, it's
closed for the summer, but I wonder if anyone has tried the
cabinets....
ANYONE FOR REAL-TIME CHAT FROM SYNOD?
I'm curious to know how many people have access to IRC
(Internet Relay Chat) and would be interested in showing up
for a Synod meeting online in an IRC channel some time this
week. E-mail me if you're interested.
A LITTLE LIGHT READING...
Some of you may have participated in the "Hearing Diverse
Voices, Hearing Common Ground" consultation on human
sexuality in the last three years. (If so, you may
recognize me on the supplementary video giving a speech at
the '92 Synod.) You may get a kick to learn about the list
of "suggested readings" we received at registration. All
totalled, organizers listed more than two hundred books
which they think we should absorb to more fully understand
the issue. Uh-huh. And can I use the church account at the
Anglican Book Centre?... (For the record, the Anglican Book
Centre reports it has sold 2,400 of the curriculum books and
280 videos as a result of the study.)
THE "YOU SURE IT'S NOT TOO COMPLICATED" DEPT.
Among the 80 or so resolutions thus far submitted to the
Resolutions Committee for approval was this ever-so slightly
vague resolution:
"Be it resolved that this General Synod encourage the
Primate to facilitate the communication about the
dialogue throughout the church."
Uh-huh. At this morning's meeting of the Resolutions
Committee, members politely returned the resolution for
some, um, rewording for clarification.
SHHH... BE VEWY VEWY QUIET. I'M HUNTIN' WIBERALS!
Two members of General Synod were quite disappointed this
afternoon after bussing their way to the Parliament
buildings for a tour of the House of Commons, only to find
that Parliament was in session and the MPs couldn't be
disturbed. Today, "in session" meant only FIVE MPs were
actually present. (For those who keep score, it was 3-2
Liberals over BQs, I'm told.)
HEY, WHAT IS EVERYONE DOING IN THE POPCORN AISLE?
If there was any doubt that General Synod was meant to be
held at Carleton University, it was shattered early this
evening when I wandered by the little corner store in the
lobby of the residence buildings. The store is called
"Abstensions." Presumably, this is where we will run if we
choose to not vote on a particular resolution.
___________________________________
r e f l e c t i o n s
As I left for the airport at some hideous hour yesterday, I
was chatting with my roommate about the flight out to Ottawa
(I live in Vancouver).
"Sure would be cool to run into another Synod delegate on
the plane, eh?" my roommate asked. I agreed, and she joked
that all I'd need to keep my eyes out for a fellow Anglican
on board would be the telltale grey hair.
It was a jab meant in good humour, and one which circulates
with affection around youth ministry circles in my diocese.
(In fact, at the last General Synod in Toronto 1992, we
joked at the opening service in roll call fashion,
describing the processing clergy and Bishops as they passed
like this: "Grey hair, grey hair, blue hair, no hair, no
hair...")
While amusing, the stereotype really doesn't hold true any
more. In a church blessed by our diversity in liturgy,
music, and theology, we are also becoming much less
"predictable" (read: WASP) in our demographics. But slowly.
In my diocese's biggest city (Vancouver), while fully 25 per
cent of the population is Asian, only two or three churches
in our diocese have predominantly Asian congregations. And
we have more than 80 parishes. Are we meeting Christ's
mandate to us as being worshipping communities of the
people? Or have we been navel-gazing too long to realize
that the makeup of our communities has shifted, and we're
not meeting the challenge of keeping pace.
Sadly, the church has been one of the last of society's
institutions to be open to change. On board the flight
yesterday, I noted with interest that a quarter of the
headphone music channels carried Asian programming (compared
to one French-language service). A credit union I work with
at work prides itself on offering service in more than 20
languages.
And it's not just the makeup of our ethnic origins. For too
long, the church has held to the status quo, afraid to make
changes, while society around us has changed dramatically.
No longer does the community rally around its local parish;
perhaps we should be reaching out to rally around our
communities.
In a national Anglican youth consultation two years ago,
young members of our church sent this sobering message:
"As young people, we grew up in a country that is
increasingly heterogeneous and did not experience the
Church as the dominant and central force in our
communities, as did previous generations. We are very
aware of living in a post-Christian age and feel it is
difficult to grieve for a Church we never knew."
Sobering words indeed. It's time we wake up.
___________________________________
s n i c k e r i n g s
Q: How many extestentialists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: A fish. -- Erin Rutherford
White Rock BC, Canada
___________________________________
g l a n c e s a h e a d
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1995 (all times Eastern)
7:00 a.m. Breakfast
7:30 a.m. Eucharist
8:45 a.m. Worship in Plenary
9:00 a.m. Plenary: - Host diocese welcome
- Introductions and loyal address
- Housekeeping resolutions
- Resolutions, including age of
youth delegates to G. Synod
11:00 a.m. Evangelism presentation
11:45 a.m. Overview of General Synod work
12 noon Box lunch, review of displays
1:45 p.m. Information Dialogue, session one
3:00 p.m. Information Dialogue, session two
4:15 p.m. Diocesan caucuses
5:00 p.m. Dinner
5:30 p.m. Primate's dinner with First Timers
7:30 p.m. "Preparing the Way" -- Presentation of the Plan
9:30 p.m. Night prayers
EXPECTED PLENARY HIGHLIGHTS
Zzzzz.... Oh I'm sorry, were you talking to me?
Probably very few highlights tomorrow. We're mostly
expecting housekeeping motions to come to the floor
(greetings to the Queen, defining the role of the
Resolutions Committee, etc.) Scheduled for debate is second
reading to a motion which would allow dioceses to elect
youth members to General Synod from age 16 onward.
Currently, youth members have to be 18 or older (which puts
many dioceses, whose definition of diocesan youth delegate
ENDS at 18, in a catch-22).
___________________________________
i n t e r c e s s i o n
During this Synod, members will review and vote on a major
proposal to restructure the national church. (See the
"Extra" with today's Synod NEWSlink for full details on the
proposal.) Although Synod members have already begun
discussing the 70-page proposal informally, and it comes to
the floor of Synod Tuesday afternoon.
In the meantime, General Synod has prepared this prayer.
Perhaps you'd share it with your parish this Sunday:
"We look for you, O God, in the shaking foundations of
this retreating age and we rejoice in the anticipation of
your new creation. Purge us, we pray, with the live coals
from the fires of your future and transform your people by
the renewal of our minds that we may perceive the hope
which is set befoe us and faithfully prepare the way for
your salvation at the beginning of this our second
century. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."
___________________________________
y o u r t u r n
"I really appreciate your 'blow by blow' account of General
Synod. Extremely well-written. After reading your messages
today, I feel like I've just arrived in Ottawa (in 31 degree
weather) and that I'm participating."
-- The Rev. Richard Tanner
Barrie ON, Canada
"I think an 'Extra' is a great idea. I enjoyed the report
of your diocesan youth consultation."
-- Bob Chandler
Windsor ON, Canada
"You do the Church a wonderful service. (I have fantasies of
our parish patron [Nick from Myra] e-mailing from Nicaea.)
Your mailings will be run off and printed (without charge)
on our parish board. Thanks for your work; blessings;
assurances of prayers from us here in 'Quakeland.'
-- Dr. Howard Happ
Encino CA, USA
"I'm interested in knowing what sort of angle this will take.
I would like to see the issue of Anglican Essentials
(Montreal Declaration) be present in the Synod Updates, so
that I can know that it is important."
-- Jennifer Whicker
Winnipeg MB, Canada
[Ed: My understanding is that the Montreal conference will
not be discussed formally at this Synod.]
(Like to add your own thoughts? Just e-mail tod@direct.ca
with the words "your turn" in the subject header.)
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