DIOCESE OF QU'APPELLE
The 73rd Synod of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle
Reports
REPORT ON PROVINCIAL SYNOD 2006
Founded in 1875 Rupert's Land is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. The territory, almost 6.5 million square kilometres, is the largest ecclesiastical province by area in Canada and there are presently ten dioceses in the province:
Arctic (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunavik (northern Quebec)) This is an area equivalent to 19 United Kingdoms. An area that covers three time zones, half above the tree line and half tundra and bush. An area of 55 communities, many of which can only be reached by plane, where the people across this expanse speak 11 languages.
Athabasca, Calgary and Edmonton (Province of Alberta)
Qu'Appelle, Saskatoon and Saskatchewan (Province of Saskatchewan)
Brandon and Rupert's Land (Province of Manitoba)
Keewatin (Province of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, north of the 49th parallel).
The current Metropolitan of Rupert's Land is the Most Rev. John R. Clarke of the Diocese of Athabasca.
May 25-28, 2006 saw the gathering of provincial synod delegates from the 10 dioceses that form the province of Rupert's Land for the 45th Session of Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province. The theme of the synod was 'That they may be one' and throughout the synod we witnessed collegiality, an openness to share, togetherness in worship and a real sense that we are one in Christ. This was epitomized, in the local organization by Canon Marilyn Dean and her team, the worship coordinated by Dean James Merrett and the great warmth of hospitality given to us by the host parish of All Saints and members of other churches in Regina (Qu'Appelle). What a great job of hosting. Thank you one and all.
Synod began with a Eucharist on Ascension Day and received the Archbishop's charge 'That they may be one.' Reflecting on Jesus' prayer in John 17, in relation to all we are facing as a Church today, Archbishop John said it is something we need to hear and pay attention to.
'We are challenged in spite of our differences between opinions, denominations, theological expression etc to take the risk of loyalty to God and to draw near to one
another'. Archbishop John challenged us to commit ourselves to 'become a Church of Mission in thought, word and deed.' 'To rid ourselves of paternalism' He also added a note of caution to Diocesan Synods and subsequent Diocesan Executive meetings,
'not to look for the quick fix and to not fall into the trap of administering a diocese or a parish totally with finance in mind but to be supportive of one another and encouraging of one another in the name of Jesus
Christ'. He ended his charge by exhorting us 'to pray and to dream about what can be possible in this marvelous Province that we call home'.
We saw signs of what is possible, in the various diocesan presentations to Synod, exemplified in this sung report from the Diocese of Saskatchewan by Rev. David Smith
In the north part of this province, there's a land of farms and trees;
With English, French, Ukrainians, and Plains and Woodland Crees.
There are logging trucks and combines,
And the deer on the highways roam,
And in this land of contrasts are the churches we call home.
Now when we meet at Synod, we generally find
It warms the heart to see how much we are all of one mind.
If our fathers worked the traplines,
or they ploughed the fruitful earth,
United in one Saviour, who gave us second birth.
The raising of our children to a life with Christ our Lord,
It calls for all we have to give, and all we can afford.
With a youth coordinator
and Bible school programs,
We try to meet the needs of these, our Lord's most precious lambs.
Our native population, it keeps sprouting leaves and shoots,
And many a Cree family has Anglican church roots.
They are bursting the old wineskins,
that were made in simpler days.
And how to gather back again to a life of prayer and praise?
Rural depopulation is a matter of concern.
And now that the mill is closing, Prince Albert takes its turn.
We've talked and we've decided
to charge a transfer fee
for all the young folk that we send to the church in Calgary!
Now there are lots of problems but we serve a mighty Lord.
To get too down when you've been redeemed, it seems a bit absurd!
"When things get tough, the tough get going,"
We've heard and we know it's true.
But when things get tough, the Christian prays;
Pray for us - we pray for you.
The work of the Synod covered the following topics;
The spiritual needs and development of Anglican Youth:
Stewardship & Planned giving 101:
Living alongside Islam:
The St Michael's Report:
Decisions made by General Synod and the impact they have on dioceses and provinces: Legal issues facing the parish:
Change in governance at Emmanuel/St Chad:
Living the Covenant:
Parish Nursing and,
The difficulties and opportunities facing Council of the North dioceses.
Bishop Rodney (Saskatoon) featured well and was most prominent wearing the John Deer Mitre, a gift from Archbishop John in gratitude for his epic tractor ride across the diocese of Saskatoon raising approximately $40,000 for the PWRDF Aids appeal.
From the floor, there was a request for an update on the status of a National Indigenous Bishop; to be informed of pending dates and that there be a pastoral emphasis on this ministry and not a political agenda. There was a request that parishes adopt as a matter of practice, budgeting 1-2% of their annual income to aid our theological colleges in training future priests. And a request that the new Executive Council of Provincial Synod that met on the 3rd and 4th of November 2006 in Edmonton would review assessments of dioceses. This has been begun and all changes to Provincial Canons have been made and copies should have been received by the respective dioceses by now. Archdeacon Hardwick was elected as Qu'Appelle's representative on the executive council.
Invited guests included Bishop Cindy Halmerson (ELCIC) and Walter Deller from Emmanual/St Chad. Our primate Archbishop Andrew Hutchison was in attendance and contributed, with the guests, to the whole experience.
Synod ended with a Eucharist at St Paul's Cathedral in Regina where bishop Greg preached emphasizing the
revelation given to us in Jesus Christ. A revelation that leads us into unity; a revelation to be sanctified in the
truth so that, we can become one, created in the image of God for the purpose of
mission.
On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience of Provincial Synod. Many friendships and prayer partnerships were formed and I thank God for the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the wider church to the North, East and West. It was a practical, bonding, encouraging and informative few days that leads me to testify that yes, I believe 'that we may be one!'
Report respectfully submitted by, Ven. Rob Hardwick, Swift Current Archdeaconry
