General Synod

Greetings! I write to you from my dorm room at St. Mary's University in Halifax as a member of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada.

I arrived on Thursday and due to some technical difficulties I was unable to get to the internet before now.

Thursday we opened with a grand celebration of worship at the Cathedral Church of All Saints. The building was filled to capacity and beyond. The worship was joyful, lively and profound. The preacher was the Right Reverend Miguel Tamayo who is the Bishop of Cuba and Uruguay - one of the very few bishops who oversees two dioceses. His message was powerful and inspirational. He spoke about Jesus being the vine and we are the branches and when those branches are pruned it is not us who do that work, it is God. God prunes and does away with all that will not give fruit.

The next day we began the business of Synod. Friday was a day full of presentations and resolutions. Lots of debate and discussion. We had fun as well. The folk from Adventureworks in Canterbury Hills, Ontario lead us through a series of team building exercises that were very interesting and fun.

The highlight of this day was the Presidential Address by our Primate, the Most Reverend Fred Hiltz. In his speech he spoke passionately about where his hopes lay for the church at this time and in the years to come. Best thing you can do is to hear it for yourself by going to the website and checking it out.

Today, Saturday, has been full of getting to know our Galley Groups, presentations and resolutions. But most notably was when two very special guests spoke to us. The Right Reverend Suheil Dawani, Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem and his wife both spoke to us. Bishop Dawani painted us a picture of what Christian life is like in "the land of the Holy One" and it is a picture of much pain AND great hope. Mrs. Dawani spoke to us about her role in upholding the ministry of women in that part of the world. They were inspirational people and it was a blessing to be present with them.

So that gets you caught up for now. I'll try to write more soon.