AUDIO
 |
Archbishop Peter Jensen's Christmas Message 2011 on the centrality of Jesus to human history
|
I have a confession to make…I really enjoy Synod.
Like the saints in my church at Campbelltown did yesterday, you are probably shaking your head and wondering why. There are three reasons:
1. Synod gives you the opportunity to see the bigger picture of what is going on in the diocese. We clergy spend most of our time looking at our own navels and don't really pay much attention to what God is doing elsewhere. The Diocesan Mission update, Missionary Hour and the Archbishop's Presidential Address give us the opportunity to hear, celebrate and pray for the work of God around the diocese.
2. Synod gives you the opportunity to be involved in the direction and decisions of the Diocese. Motions will be debated and voted on. Rules and laws will be discussed and implemented or repealed. And while all that sounds boring to many, much of those debates and discussions will profoundly impact the way we do ministry in our churches. We need to be on the ball with Bibles open to ensure we make good decisions.
3. Synod gives you the opportunity to catch up with friends and hear what is going on in their parish (for clergy, that is code for "find out what they are doing and steal their best ideas").
So Day One is upon us. There will be a church service, the Presidential Address and lots of procedural organisation. We may get to a bit of business but the real action will begin on Day Two.
Day One also gives Synod members the first opportunity to ask a question. You can ask a question about anything on the Synod agenda or about Sydney Anglican committee, board or commission. Your question can't contain assertions, opinions, arguments, inferences disrespect or seek a legal opinion. I have a couple of questions I want to ask, but what about you? If you could ask a question, remembering the rules above, what would you ask?
The Rev Nigel Fortescue is rector of St Peter’s, Campbelltown
For instance, we have on the agenda the canon law about matrimony. Currently no wedding is to go ahead in an Anglican church if neither party has been baptised. I wonder if, in every parish, if this is high on the agenda of questions asked of the excited wedding couple as they seek a church wedding, and whether we have married any couples where one of the persons was not baptised.
I am not embarrassed to say I often have a tear in my eye hearing about the front line gospel work. And so often, given there are not many degrees of separation I will know people who have personally served in or been helped by the ministry of that parish!
Up here in Darwin I'm missing Syd Synod.
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/news/stories/being_human_in_glittering_sydney/
39 is an important theological number
39 is number of books in OT
3 x 9 = 27is number of books in NT
I think there is a term for when multiple of primes
39 is product of 3 and 13
3 the number of the trinity
13 the number at the Last Supper (and much reformation disputation was about the nature of the Lord's Supper)
Perhaps someone could write a few more verses for "A Deck of Cards' (1948 pop song or even David Frost's satire "A cricket Bag"
And I have no Synod withdrawal symptons (but do pray for you)
I hope you are all being kind to my alternate: I promised her that Synod was a wonderful experience. I did forgot to tell her about getting out of the car park, but she knows about it now!