From June 3 to 11, 2010, over 300 delegates will gather in Halifax, N.S. for the Anglican Church of Canada’s national meeting, General Synod, held once every three years. This web forum is a place to discuss the major topics that will arise at General Synod—from governance to sexuality. You are invited to join the conversation.
Governance is like weeding a garden. It needs to be done, done regularly, and done well.
The task of the Governance Working Group (GWG) has been to review the governance of General Synod with a view to enhancing its work and mission. The GWG members have come from all four ecclesiastical provinces, and we have consulted widely (including attending all four provincial synods).
This triennium, we have concentrated our efforts on four files that were assigned to us at General Synod 2007. For the first file we are proposing changes to avoid duplication between two governance documents: the Declaration of Principles and the Constitution. For our second file, we started a national discussion about how the overall church structure could be improved, specifically which jobs were done best by dioceses, provinces, and the national church. This work is ongoing.
We have also worked on two other important files.
The structure of the National Indigenous Ministry
For more than 40 years, our Indigenous communities have articulated a strong desire for self-determination within our Canadian church—not apart from it—and General Synod has committed to making this happen. A number of instruments have developed, including the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP); the Sacred Circle, which meets approximately every three years; and the National Anglican Indigenous Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, who was appointed in January 2007. With the active support of diocesan bishops, Bishop MacDonald has built a remarkable pastoral relationship with Indigenous communities across the country.
We are proposing a new canon that will describe, recognize, and give constitutional place to these developing structures.
The size and composition of General Synod and the Council of General Synod (COGS)
We have also been looking at the size and composition of General Synod itself. Currently, as a minimum, each diocese is entitled to send its bishop(s), one clergy, one lay, and one youth delegate to General Synod—a total of 120 members.
In addition, larger dioceses are entitled to send additional clergy and lay members. Currently, the “unit” that generates the (equal) number of clergy and lay delegates that a diocese can send to General Synod is determined by the number of licensed clergy in the diocese. However, licensing practices vary considerably across the country, and there is no longer a recognizable relationship between the number of licensed clergy and the number of active parishioners in a diocese.
The GWG is proposing to change the “unit” to the average weekly attendance (excluding weddings, funerals, and services held in medical or long-term care facilities). Each diocese’s entitlement to clergy and lay members in General Synod would be determined by that diocese’s percentage of the national average weekly attendance (with a guarantee of at least one clerical and one lay member, as well as their bishop and youth member).
Although we are not proposing to reduce the size of General Synod (302 in 2007), the proposed formula could be amended at General Synod to accomplish this.
We have also considered the size and composition of COGS, the executive body while General Synod is not in session. Currently, COGS consists of 42 members—five officers and 32 members elected by the provincial caucuses at General Synod (so that there is one person from each diocese), one youth member elected by each of the four provincial caucuses, and one member from the Military Ordinariate.
We are proposing to reduce the size of COGS from 42 to 28 members.
The reduction would be achieved by changing the existing formula that determines how many members are elected from each province. One result of this change is that there will not be a person from every diocese on COGS. This would be similar to the situation at the diocesan level, where diocesan executive councils do not generally include members from every parish.
This is a preview of the material that GWG will present to General Synod. (Read the full GWG report online [PDF].) Governance is, of course, an ongoing process (just like weeding) so we will recommend that the GWG continue this work next triennium.
What do you think? How might these proposed changes help our church?
