The 107th Diocesan Synod, May 30 and 31, dealt with many issues. Here are some of them, compiled by Paul Strudwick for the special Synod TOPIC:

Women in the Church

 

IRoberta Tilton, Women's Auxiliary founder
By a quirk of fate, or perhaps a divine nudge, the theme of scripture and worship for the two days of synod focused on the role of women.

On Friday, Diocesan Synod remembered Roberta Tilton, the founder of the Women’s Auxiliary in the Anglican Church of Canada; on Saturday, Hannah and Mary were the focus as we celebrated the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth and the radical faith that these two biblical women exhibit.

Judy Bushkins, of the ACW and , Maple Ridge, guided members of synod through a presentation of the role of women in the pioneering days of the church.

Stewardship

Do you know your generation? What do you know about other generations in the church? What has this to do with stewardship?

To communicate effectively on any subject, but especially on stewardship, it is important to know the characteristics of people of different generations, diocesan stewardship groups told delegates.

Several generations were named, and people who belonged to each generation were asked to stand: Veterans (1901-1929), the Silent Generation (1930-1946), Boomers, (1947-1966); Generation X (1967-1980), and the Millennials, (1981-2003).

Each generation has different attitudes towards spirituality, membership in the church, volunteering and stewardship.

Justice and Peace: Homelessness

Judy Graves, award-winning social activist and parishioner at St. , gave a brief but succinct reminder to look beyond stereotypes in confronting homelessness. She said homelessness is primarily the result of lack of housing, and solutions are only found when federal governments provide subsidized housing for the poor.

Members of synod were encouraged to send a postcard to the Prime Minister to ask for a national, Canadian housing plan for people with low income or special needs.

Greening the Diocese

The Environmental Unit reiterated what has become commonly known: that our climate is changing and warming and that this will have an increasingly obvious effect on human life. The motions presented by the EU caused some debate, indicating that the causes of global warming are necessarily wholly accepted. Nevertheless, synod passed two motions, one recommending parish and diocesan targets for carbon emission reduction, the other to establish a task force to assist with the development of carbon emission reduction targets.

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