Synod examines church's governance; lack of consultation raised by members.Members of General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Church of England In the Church of England, General Synod was instituted in 1970 and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had took a step toward changes in the governance and structure of the Anglican Church of Canada by approving a motion allowing the primate primate, member of the mammalian order Primates, which includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians, or lower primates. The group can be traced to the late Cretaceous period, where members were forest dwellers. , after consultation with the house of bishops, to begin discussion with the provinces and dioceses about the "possible reform" of the church's provincial and diocesan organization and structures. Discussions concern such possibilities as the elimination of the provinces and the transfer of their powers to General Synod, adjustments of diocesan boundaries to reflect modern day transportation patterns and demographics, and reduction in the number of dioceses. However, Synod referred two motions to the Council of General Synod (COGS These are all the Cogs found in Disney's Toontown Online. Names that are moved forward are leaders of the HQ of that specific Cog type. Bossbots
One motion proposed changes to the church's declaration of principles, its constitution and rules of order, so that amendments, other than those concerning doctrine or discipline, may be made at one meeting of General Synod. Under current rules, these amendments require the approval of a two-thirds majority of each of the three orders of General Synod (bishops, clergy and laity LAITY. Those persons who do not make a part of the clergy. In the United States the division of the people into clergy and laity is not authorized by law, but is, merely conventional. ) at two successive synods. (General Synod takes place every three years.) Between sessions, they must also be taken to all diocesan and provincial synods "for consideration." A recurring re·cur intr.v. re·curred, re·cur·ring, re·curs 1. To happen, come up, or show up again or repeatedly. 2. To return to one's attention or memory. 3. To return in thought or discourse. argument made by those opposed to the motions was lack of consulta tion and information. "People need to know what the issues are in order to make an informed decision. We're away from the seats of power and often what happens is we don't get a voice," said Bishop William Anderson William Anderson or Bill Anderson may refer to:
Others were fearful about the effect possible changes in structures would have on dioceses with smaller parishes in remote parts of the country. "We still have churches that we can only travel by boat ... We're not afraid We're not Afraid! is a website which was created just hours after the 7 July 2005 London bombings as a place for Internet users from around the world to state that they were not being intimidated by the actions of the terrorists. of change for efficiency. But I would urge you to consider not just the numbers and business side of it. We're a relation al body," said Mary Ann Boote, diocese of Saskatchewan. The governance working group told Synod members that they were only being asked to approve the motions on first reading and that there would be an opporumity to discuss them at the provincial and diocesan level between now and the next General Synod in 2010. They were also reminded that the review of the Church's governance had been mandated by the 2004 General Synod. Robert Falby, a member of the working group, also said that one of the motions "does not deal with anything other than (eliminating) a duplication of rules." Canon John Steele, diocese of British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography , urged Synod to approve the motions, saying that failure to do so would set back by three years the timeline for allowing a conversation on governance to begin. Wendy Newman, diocese of Niagara, echoed this sentiment, saying, "I think we need to give our heads a collective shake. I'm a new member and I've worked for the non-profit sector The nonprofit sector, also called the third sector, civic sector or voluntary sector, is a third area of an economy, distinct from the public sector and the private sector. It is made up of all of the non-profit organizations in the economy. and other areas and I have never, in any dimension of my working life, seen anything like the difficulty we're having now. We need to ask ourselves, ate we a church of committee or commitment?" MARITES N. SISON STAFF WRITER |
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