(All Synod NEWSlink messages are designed to be displayed with a
non-proportional typeface, such as Courier or Terminal. To subscribe
to or un-subscribe from this list, see the bottom of this message.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
monday, june 5, 1995
___________________________________
t h e f i r s t w o r d
Good morning. You are waking up to a new Anglican Church of
Canada. It is one with a renewed mandate and a sense of
transition from an old, inherited structure which wasn't
working to a revitalized and energized church.
Members of Synod this afternoon voted to accept the overall
plan of restructuring the national church. You'll find the
plan in this evening's Synod NEWSextra.
(This newsletter is a bit late -- as the business of Synod
gets more and more in depth, I'm finding it harder to commit
time to working on this, much as I enjoy it. Perhaps next
Synod, the church will let me come to General Synod and do
nothing but electronic networking, but this time around I am
first and foremost a member of the Synod, representing the
youth of my diocese and serving on the Synod resolutions
committee; it's a task I take seriously and one which takes
priority over the "hobby" of Synod NEWSlink. I know you'll
understand if the issues are somewhat delayed.)
___________________________________
q u i c k t a k e s
AND THE FOOD SHALL LEAD THEM?!...
On this, the first full day of actual Plenary business,
it was somehow ironic that the breakfast menu was
serving "Frizzled Ham" on the menu for members. Members
who had attended the 1989 General Synod in the Maritimes
noted it struck a similar chord to the "Fried Baloney"
which was served the day major resolutions got underway.
CYBERNUNS? BELIEVE IT!
Got an e-mail a couple of days ago from an address
called CyberNun. Curious, I inquired further. Sure
enough, it's a real address, apparently used by an
order of nuns in the U.K. Glad you're with us!
NOT EVEN A SPELL-CHECKER WOULD FIX THIS
Overheard on the floor of Plenary: "You know, we're only
one letter away from 'Preparing the War', not 'Preparing
the Way'." (Also noted: A typo in a resolution,
commending the federal fisheries ministry for its swift
action in the "fist" (not "fish") war.)
ANGLICAN DIOCESAN NEWSPAPERS ONLINE?...
There's nothing official yet, but I had lunch today with
the editor of a diocesan newspaper. We are very excited
about the opportunities to get Anglican news distributed
in more forms and hope to publish stories from that
newspaper each month. From there, who knows? I'll keep
you posted as the idea grows wings.
"INTEGRITY" MEMBERS TURNED DOWN FOR VOICE AT FORUM
Late last evening, one Synod member asked that two
representatives from the Integrity Group of gay and
lesbian Canadian Anglicans be permitted a voice on the
floor of the hearing on homosexuality. This morning,
the Primate announced that the officers had denied the
request, restating that only members of Synod and the
task force were eligible to address the floor.
NEW HUMAN SEXUALITY RESOLUTION
In Saturday's NEWSextra, I mentioned that there was
rumour of an additional motion coming to the floor on
same-gender unions. Sure enough, it was given notice
to members today. It has not been moved formally on the
floor yet.
"THAT the Doctrine and Worship Committee, or its
successor, initiate broad-based consultations within
the Anglican Church of Canada concerning the
liturgical recognition of committed monogamous
same-gender unions, and report to the next General
Synod."
OH, YOU MEAN I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAND THE BALLOT IN?...
Today's election of the Prolocutor did not quite go as
planned. With six nominees on the first ballot, a
majority was not reached, so members went to a second
ballot. Members voted a second time, with the nominee
receiving the fewest votes dropped, then a third time.
And then something happened. Ballots from the second
vote were found mixed in with the third, forcing members
to grudgingly go back to the second ballot. (It should
be noted that the third ballot was coloured Episcopal
Purple, and the re-count was a sad blue.) In the end,
Rendina Hamilton, Chancellor of the Diocese of Kootenay,
was elected after six votes on four ballots, a key
advisor to the Primate. The Rev. Ben Arreak from the
Diocese of the Arctic was elected Deputy Prolocutor.
THE LOAVES AND THE ANCHOVIES?!
After about two hours into Plenary today, a young and
slightly confused pizza delivery person stumbled onto
the floor of Synod with a small Pepperoni pizza
addressed to the Primate. "Members of Synod never cease
to amaze me by their generosity and inginuitity,"
Archbishop Peers remarked, and took under advisement a
request from the floor to distribute the pizza evenly as
represented by diocese and not provincial caucuses.
GREMLINS INVADE SYNOD
No-one is quite sure where the information sheet --
which was distributed to members, outlining live
television coverage of tonight's human sexuality forum
-- came from. I reported from that sheet that it was to
have been carried live on Vision. It wasn't the case
(as many of you who tuned in probably discovered). Next
Synod, perhaps...
___________________________________
d i d y o u k n o w ?
Synod members who want to propose a motion don't just stand
up on the floor and move it. Did you know that a lot
happens behind the scenes before Synod members ever see the
motion?
First, members must submit their motion, with an explanatory
note, to the Resolutions Committee. That committee doesn't
actually debate the MERITS of a resolution, just ensures it
meets certain criteria like being national in scope and not
an embarassment to the church.
Once approved by Resolutions, the motion is sent to the
Expenditures Committee to determine what, if any, financial
implications of the motion would occur as a result of its
passing.
From there, it's to the Agenda Committee who schedules the
motion for debate on the floor. Unless the motion was
distributed before the Synod to members, it is only at this
point do members even HEAR about the motion.
It is then printed and distributed to members for voting.
And did you know that whether or not motions from actual
members even hit the floor for debate at all is in doubt.
Motions are classified into three priority categories:
1. Motions from committees
2. Motions from dioceses
3. Motions from individual members
So a motion coming from an individual member is given the
lowest priority and comes last on the agenda. If Synod runs
out of time before dealing with the motion, the motion
simply disappears. (This is a change from previous times,
when all motions not dealt with are handed off to the
National Executive Council for implementation; last time,
the Synod sent dozens of motions to NEC).
___________________________________
r e f l e c t i o n s
This evening, the forum on Human Sexuality went on.
(Overall, I found it a helpful forum of listening to other
points of view, though I doubt anyone changed their mind.)
The Primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, joined our diocese
(the diocese of his birth) and sat across from me at the
table. Having met the Primate before on several occasions,
I've grown to respect and like Archbishop Peers a great
deal. He and I swapped jokes, chatted occasionally, and so
forth. Much as anyone would with any other member of Synod.
It's a far cry from an experience I had several summers ago.
Back in 1991 (or thereabouts), I was priviledged to attend
the Worldwide Anglican Encounter in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
It was an amazing gathering of the Anglican communion --
young and old alongside every vibrant colour of skin among
our churches. The conference theme was on Women's Rights
and injustice around that issue in church and society.
Like this General Synod, there were bishops coming out of
the proverbial wordwork. One notable absent bishop: the
Presiding Bishop of the U.S. (their equivelant of the
Canadian Primate). He did eventually fly in for a day and
made a brief appearance -- I can't remember if he spoke or
not -- but I recall specifically the reaction of the
American delegates: complete and utter awe. Or perhaps
terror. Or perhaps overwhelming adoration. It was hard to
tell, but they certainly did act as if they were in the
presence of royalty.
It's a difference I found quite apparent between the
American and Canadian churches, and one which surprised me.
I've been active in youth ministry in my diocese for a
number of years, so I've met my share of bishops -- perhaps
it's a case of "you've met one, you've met them all", but
they are all human.
I got to thinking about this in particular this afternoon,
when the General Synod decided to work with the Lutheran
Church in Canada (it's late, I've forgotten the full title
and am too lazy to track down which binder it's in, so bear
with me) to establish stronger links between our two
churches. It's almost as if we have as much to learn about
churches in our own Anglican communion as well!
On a side note, Brazil reminds me of a couple of other quick
reflections. At each of the Eucharists we shared at that
conference, I recall the music during the sharing of the
bread and wine. In *my* part of Canada, at least, we play
quiet, reflective hymns (Abba Father always seems to crop up
for some reason; must be legislated somewhere). The
Brazilians, by contrast, played fast-paced, spirit-charged,
"fun" music -- I mean more than toe-tapping material, this
was "Get out and DANCE" material!
Mind you, that makes me think of Hymns and the proposed new
Hymn Book, but it's late and I have likely rambled on long
enough for this evening.
I'm not even sure if tonight's reflection made any sense, in
fact, so it's a good thing I'm not ordained and subjecting
parishioners to sermons like that!
___________________________________
s n i c k e r i n g s
Archbishop Lewis Garnsworthy used to describe the difference
between a Suffragan and a Coadjutor bishop in this way:
Every morning, when arriving at the Synod offices, the
Suffragan pokes his head into the Diocesan bishop's
doorway and says, "Good morning, my Lord!" The Coadjutor
bishop does the same but says, "Good morning, my Lord.
And how are you feeling today?"
-- Submitted by Richard Tanner
Barrie ON, Canada
P.S. I'm running out of snickerings... if you have a good
Anglican joke (I especially like Bishop jokes) please
e-mail them to me at tod@direct.ca
___________________________________
g l a n c e a h e a d
TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 1995 (all times Eastern)
7:30 a.m. Breakfast -- can they beat Frizzled Ham?!...
8:30 a.m. Bible study and worship
9:45 a.m. Coffee
10:00 a.m. "Preparing the Way": Enabling Resolutions
11:30 a.m. Provincial Caucuses meet to elect members
to the Council of General Synod (CGS)
12 noon Lunch
12:15 p.m. Eucharist
2:00 p.m. Business in plenary
- Election of CGS members-at-large
3:30 p.m. Hearing: Proposed new Hymn Book
5:15 p.m. Close of resolutions
Dinner Dinner off campus
5:45 p.m. Buses leave for the Museum of Civilization
7:15 p.m. Banquet hosted by the Diocese of Ottawa
10:00 p.m. Buses return to Carleton
HIGHLIGHTS: Now that the overall plan for restructuring the
church is passed (see tonight's Synod NEWSextra), we work
tomorrow on the "nuts and bolts". First up: A motion to
change the membership on the National Executive Council. We
may NEVER get home... :-)
___________________________________
y o u r t u r n
** SPECIAL "YOUR TURN" TONIGHT **
Thank you for all the wonderful comments you've been sending
in about Synod NEWSlink. I'm delighted you're enjoying it
and I'm having fun preparing it throughout the day.
Now I'd like to ask you to help me a bit...
I have mentioned the motion I hope to move on the floor
about the church using electronic networks to better
facilitate communication and sharing of resources. Here's
where you come in.
If you have the time, I would be encouraged to hear your
thoughts on how the church could use new technologies to
reach people outside the church or to help us inside the
church communicate better. Even if all you want to say is
"We, as a church, need to pay attention to this," I would
strongly encourage you to do it now.
Send your message to tod@direct.ca and PLEASE use
"networking" as your subject header. This will help me
sort through the messages and make sure yours is printed for
review here at Synod. Please sign the bottom of each
message with your name, parish, diocese, and city. Thanks!
I'll keep you updated on what's happening with your
comments.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT INFO: Synod95 is a read-only mailing list; any
messages you send to the list will be politely returned.
If you'd like to contact the editor, e-mail tod@direct.ca.
SUBSCRIPTION INFO: To subscribe to Synod NEWSlink, send an
e-mail message to "synod95@infomatch.com" with the words
"subscribe synod-list" in the message body. To leave the
list, send an e-mail message to "synod95@infomatch.com"
with the words "signoff synod-list" in the message body.
Or visit our website at:
http://infomatch.com/~haibeck/as_basic.html
THE LEGAL STUFF: You are encouraged to distribute this text
to people known to you, provided no automated mailing list
software is used to perform this forwarding function. No
fee may be charged for distribution of this text, nor can
this text be bundled with other information or programs if
a fee is charged for such package. The views expressed
herein are not necessarily those of the Anglican Church of
Canada or any sane person for that matter.
* END OF TEXT *