“Christians have never located their hope in social cohesion, economic prosperity or political stability. We locate it in the faithfulness of God.”

With those words as part of his address, the Primate and Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, Dr Mark Short, opened the Nineteenth Session of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia.

The General Synod meets only once every three to four years, so the Melbourne gathering in August was expected to be packed with legislation, procedural matters and motions. Yet Synod also highlighted ministry initiatives that are strengthening churches across the nation.

One of the first major presentations reviewed Hope 25, the nationwide evangelistic initiative undertaken by Anglican churches.

“We found that Hope 25 not only gave hope to people outside the church, but it actually gave a lot of hope to churches… it gave purpose and a focus to parish ministry,” said Bishop Richard Condie, who chairs the Mission and Ministry Commission of the General Synod.

“This was most notable to us in the more remote areas of the Anglican Church. When you are at the end of a line, in the middle of Willochra, or a remote town in outback Queensland, or on a little island in the middle of Bass Strait, this program injected new life into those small communities.”

From Sydney, Barker College’s senior chaplain the Rev Peter Tong told how the school used the theme Hope 25 as the focal point of mission and ministry through the year.

“We wrote a special Christian Studies lesson exploring the difference between hope as wishful thinking – I might win the lottery – and hope as a grounded reality based on trusting Jesus,” he said. Mr Tong also told of parent prayer meetings, special school services and students sharing their faith.

Encouraging testimonies from Hope 25 aside, Synod's deliberations took place against the backdrop of financial and episcopal challenges in two dioceses. The session passed legislation to encourage dioceses in trouble to seek the oversight of neighbouring bishops as a temporary measure.

Synod approved funding for a First Nations bishop, as assistant to the Primate. Central funding for the Families and Culture Commission was not extended, but Synod urged local parishes to maintain active ministries countering domestic and family violence.

Gambling

As the Federal Government considered action on gambling, the Synod passed the Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant’s motion calling for “comprehensive online gambling harm minimisation reforms” and the full implementation of the Murphy report (see page XX).

Dean Grant also successfully moved a motion on anti-semitism which welcomed the establishment of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and “pledging that our churches, schools, and agencies will play our part in combating antisemitism and all forms of racism”.

The Dean said to General Synod members: “It matters deeply to our Jewish friends and neighbours that we show our love for them by standing against antisemitism and to us all in recommitting to work for social cohesion in our nation.”

Indigenous child incarceration

The Synod received information from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council, NATSIAC, about the incarceration of Indigenous children.

“Our children are being treated not as children but as criminals,” NATSIAC said. “We share a deep grief and righteous anger with our community elders and people of faith who witness the torture of our children in prisons.”

Synod requested the Primate lend the Church’s voice to the national Raise The Age campaign, advocating to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years.

Commercial surrogacy

A lengthy motion against commercial surrogacy was aimed at the Australian Law Reform Commission's review of surrogacy laws. The ALRC, the motion said, promoted proposals that “would move Australian law away from a purely altruistic model of surrogacy”.

The Synod, in passing the motion, deplored “the commodification of children and the exploitation of vulnerable women, whether in Australia or overseas” and called on the Federal Parliament to oppose the legalisation of commercial surrogacy.

”In Scripture and this church's own tradition, a mother is a blessed vocation that God has entrusted uniquely to women, and vulnerable women are to be protected and cared for,” the Rev Dr Danielle Treweek told the Synod.

“Commercial surrogacy asks us to reclassify the woman's body, and so too her person, as a service to be contracted. In doing so, it opens her up to the possibility of terrible exploitation. Women and children are not goods to be procured or services to be transacted.”

Synod asked for the resolution to be conveyed to the Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Opposition Leader.

Jesus alone

The Rev Canon Dr Mark Thompson, principal of Moore Theological College and the Rev Natalie Rosner of St Jude’s, Carlton, combined to bring to Synod a resolution affirming that salvation is found exclusively in Jesus.

“Jesus says to us, ‘Come’,” Dr Thompson said. “These are clear, unambiguous words, aren't they? The living God can be known. He has provided the way, and Jesus, Jesus alone, is the way.

“Why is it good for us to affirm these words in a motion like this? Because in our world – increasingly secular, increasingly hostile [to] Christian faith, and discipleship – we need to encourage each other to stand firm and reclaim as boldly and winsomely as we are able that he is the only Saviour.”

The motion called on every member of the Anglican Church of Australia to “bear faithful witness to Jesus Christ in word and deed, sharing with humility and love the good news of salvation in him alone, and inviting all people to come to him in faith and so discover real hope and new life.”

Said Mrs Rosner: “At St Jude’s in Melbourne, where I serve, at a guess we have at least 25 different cultures around our members. Where else is that kind of unity found in our divided world? This unity in diversity is what salvation in the one name of Jesus offers.

“This is a world in which people are looking for hope. We saw that really beautifully reflected in our Hope 25 mission, and in that context, God gives us one message to share with all peoples: Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.”

As the event neared its close, Melbourne Archbishop Ric Thorpe, in his first General Synod in Australia, introduced a motion urging support for the Vision 36 evangelistic campaign.

“The Hope 25 program has been such an encouragement that it's impacting others all around the world as they hear about it,” the Archbishop said. “ Vision 36 offers a natural next step [to Hope 25]. Not a single campaign, but sustained mission over the coming decade.”