As we begin another program year, please take a moment to glance through The Year Ahead webpage that outlines the major diocesan events of the 2024/2025 program year.
November 1–2, 2024 we will be gathering as a diocese in synod. Whether or not you are an elected synod delegate, please join us for the opening worship on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria. If you are unable to travel to be with us at the cathedral, the service will also be livestreamed. It will be a beautiful All Saints service, which will also include my charge to synod and the installation of Jenny Replogle as our canon for lay-led parishes and parishes-in-transition, and Lisa Alexander as our canon pastor. Following the service there will be a reception and a chance to gather with and meet members from across our varied and beautiful diocese.
Synods are, in my mind, first and foremost about trust building and transparency. At synods we elect representatives to diocesan council, provincial synod and general synod, we review the diocesan financial statements. At this synod we will also be asked to adopt new canons (which are similar to by-laws) for our diocese. All these things are part of building trust and transparency. We need to be open and clear about how we are governed, how we spend our collective resources and who has which roles and responsibilities in our collective life.
The canons that are being presented at synod were developed after the following motion was passed at the May 2023 synod:
“That the canons committee as constituted from time to time undertake a complete review and redrafting of the canons and regulations with the intention that the canons committee present to Synod 2025 a revised set of canons and regulations that:
- Is in plain language;
- Is internally consistent in terms, process and formatting;
- Reflects the current experience of the diocese;
- Reflects the appropriate division among issues that belong in the canons, those that belong in the regulations and those that belong in a policy manual;
- Is forward looking and allows for future flexibility where flexibility is appropriate. ”
We are indebted to the diligent work of our canons committee as we are (for the first time in church history?) ahead of schedule on a project. Our hope is that they can be passed at the November Synod and come into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
You may wish to look at the substantive changes to the canons document on the diocesan website to see an overview of the major changes in the canons.
At Synod 2023 the theme of my charge to synod was “the future is not going to look like the past, and the future is bright.” I have been encouraged by how many people and parishes have quoted this phrase back to me, and have wrestled with how this applies to their own contexts.
Synod 2024 will be a continuation of that theme, reminding us that it is all of us, together, who must grow into the bright future that God is calling us to.
Please mark your calendars for 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, and join us in person or online for the opening worship of Synod.
