Welcome

The 14th General Synod, Canberra, 20-26 October 2007

The General Synod brings representatives of Anglican Christians, to share concerns that we share about our Christian faith, practice and to discern God’s will for us as a Christian community. Consequently, we come together for worship, fellowship and to discern how we may be faithful together. Representatives come together on the basis of the Constitution of our Church with our shared commitments, beliefs and priorities.  We also come together as Australians with the opportunity to consider how we relate to each other as a fellow Christians in one national community. We have the chance to chart how we might be faithful in this society, in terms of its spiritual, moral and social welfare, for the time ahead.  The purpose of the meeting is therefore to achieve three ends: being Christian with each other in an appropriate fashion; being faithful and active in this society; and relating positively to other Christian bodies. The Primate, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, said he was very happy with the sense of unity that the Synod witnessed this week. The Synod focussed strongly on a range of critical issues associated with the church's mission, in particular: mission and attendance - the formation of Fresh Expressions Australia encourage the development of health and vitality of the church nationally; climate change - dioceses have been asked to reduce their environmental footprint and to consider the impact of climate change in Australia and on the poor around the world; indigenous Australians - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rerepresentatives will have a seat in the national Standing Committee. The Synod expressed a strong sense of solidarity with our indigenous peoples and called for a long term approach to close the gap of disadvantage; drought - a task force to explore the effects of drought on regional churches and communities will be established along with an national appeal to provide much needed assistance where required; global poverty - the Synod strongly embraced the Millennium Development Goals can called on all dioceses and the Australian government to reach the financial assistance targets of 0.7% of annual income; women bishops - the clarity brought to the matter of women's eleigiblity for admission to the order of bishops by the Appellate Tribunal was widely welcomed; listening process - the Synod paused to listen to the stories of four gay people. The exercise sought to go beyond the politics and to listen with sensitivity and compassion; a national register - the means of ensuring that people with unresolved allegations of abuse against children and parishioners will no longer be able to move from parish to parish without their record being known was adopted. Dr Aspinall said, "I want to commend every member of General Synod for the ways in which they have conducted themselves and entered into the spirit of our mission. I believe that despite our differences we have entered a new stage that can only see the Anglican Church of Australia grow stronger." "Our experience this week has been far from schism and fracture that is often publically associated with the Anglican Communion. General Synod members here in Canberra have displayed a maturity that permits differing opinions to be heard, discussed and reflected upon," said the Primate.

DOWNLOAD FILES

Presidential Address The Primate, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall Sat 20 October 2007 Synod Sermon Guest Preacher, Archdeacon Bob Jackson Sun 21 October 2007 Closing Eucharist The Primate, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall Fri 26 October 2007