On Day Two of General Synod on Sunday, we only had 90 minutes of business to enable members to attend the General Synod Service at St Saviour's Cathedral at Goulburn, along with the subsequent civic reception. Other members " myself included " chose to attend church elsewhere.
In that time, one excellent motion was moved by Deaconess Margaret Rodgers from Sydney. It urged us to pray persistently for the peace and security of the people of Burma, and especially for Burmese Christians. The motion also called on Australia's political leadership to work for the progress of freedom and democracy for the Burmese. This motion received broad support across the theological spectrum. Speakers from Perth, Melbourne and Canberra gave first hand testimony to the plight of the Burmese and as to how risky it is for Burmese Christians to speak publicly of their faith or go to church. When the motion was passed, the Synod together prayed for Burma.
A few other motions passed formally (ie without debate), including one from Graeme Marks commending Sydney's Bernard Suwa for his ministry among the Sudanese community and praying for God's blessing on him as he returns to Southern Sudan in a new strategic ministry role. Another from Jennifer Flower celebrated the successful translation of the Bible into Kriol. A third from a Brisbane rep rightly noted the problems caused by gambling and asked the next federal government to work with state governments to reduce dependency on revenues raised from gambling.
One less satisfactory aspect of Synod so far has been the inadequate answers to a number of questions asked. Asking questions offers members the chance to subject to scrutiny the Anglican denomination, its General Synod Standing Committee, Synod Office and other Committees. It is an important accountability measure to bring into the public arena information that might otherwise escape attention.
Observers of Sydney Synod will know that the Sydney Diocesan Secretariat works with our Archbishop to give comprehensive answers to the probing questions asked in our Synod. The Archbishop will often even answer questions, which strictly speaking are out of order. By contrast, at this General Synod, several questions have not been answered because "the information is not available in Canberra". Others have been answered in exceptionally brief and uninformative ways. Still others have been ruled out of order with little charity allowed.
On a happier note, not going to Goulburn permitted me the blessing of catching up with friends who previously attended a parish I served in Sydney. It was good to see their children, and to hear a bit about their life in Canberra. The Presbyterian observer invited to our Synod had been the guest preacher at their local church that morning. I caught up with another former Wollongong parishioner at the Crossroads Christian Church in the evening. By contrast to the pomp of a Synod Cathedral service, this congregation met in a lecture theatre at ANU just up the road from where Synod meets. The informality, the modern songs, the lack of any religious garb or jargon were also contrasts to liturgical opportunities at Synod. But the welcome was warm and the preaching of Galatians 5:13-26 challenged me to avoid conceit and instead to display the fruit of the Spirit, such as patience and gentleness as well as faithfulness. This is not always easy at General Synod!
Nevertheless, joined by faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and sharing a common confidence in the reliability of the Bible, at different points throughout today I was blessed to share a wonderful Christian unity not only with Anglicans, but also Presbyterians and independent evangelicals! Thank God for that.
