Not much time on this Father's Day to pen a few words re our Synod which finished late last night. Highlights for me re decisions were these moves of the Diocese of Christchurch:
Frankly, we are cheesed about General Synod going to the Land of No Free Speech, so we recommend our General Synod Standing Committee seeks assurances in writing from Commodore Frank that there will be free speech at GS 2012. Might be whistling in the wind, but worth a go.
Clarity is what we seek from General Synod re the services agreed to by our General Synod according to a variety of canonical rules: so much seems unclear we think it is time for review with a view to a new clarity about what is compulsory, what is not, and what is forbidden. Bosco Peters at Liturgy has the details.
Eminently suitable persons are going to be found to form a commission to helicopter over our church with a view to forming recommendations for GS (likely 2014) re same sex ordinations and the status quo status quoing or not: we noted this, will pray for the Commission, and will engage with the Commission's work. (Again, see Liturgy for a report of a related motion from the Auckland Synod - read further down from the report on our Synod).
What we did not do is discuss the Covenant (we will do that in March, 2012). Again the Auckland Synod has come to a view (a little confusing?) and Liturgy has the report.
Finally, Bishop Victoria has announced the names of her Strategic Working Group to work on the 'big picture' of post-quake diocesan development. I am going to be a non-voting member of the group. The small price to pay re that role is that I will need to be fairly silent on this blog about questions and issues arising in Chch re the quake and restoration of our ministry and mission in damaged areas.
12 comments:
You article "Common Worship?" in the latest Anglican Taonga (Spring 2011), Peter, parallels a lot of the "clearly" part of your post. I appreciated what you wrote there. I wonder if you might put up an online version of it, either here or on your worship blog. I don't see a PDF of it at the Taonga site. I might get to write a blog post in dialogue with it, and it would be good to have your article to put a link to. Thanks, already, for the thoughts.
Blessings
Bosco
I had better see what the editor made of it before I put up a PDF of my original submitted to him.
Of course my muse has been ...!
Do tell me, Peter, where you think the accompanying photo is from (not NZ?)... ;-)
Bosco
Still haven't seen the latest issue of Taonga ... so I can only imagine ... the best :)
Hi Bosco
Having now seen the article and the brilliant illustrations accompanying it, I am convinced that the presiding priest is Bishop George C. Wouldn't you agree that it is him?
As for which NZ church it is taken in, I am sure it is a church in a town which neither you nor I have ever visited :)
"I am convinced that the presiding priest is Bishop George C"
Clearly you have uncovered something which now explains a lot! This is a Eucharist in the Anglican Use parish of St Mary the Virgin, Arlington, Texas. And you are quite correct. I have never been there!
Bosco
Is this online? I cannot find it anywhere.
Hi David
(First, are you ok?)
The words of the article are here, http://www.scribd.com/doc/63946875/Common-Worship-for-Our-Church-Updated , as posted by myself.
The article-with-illustrations is not posted on the internet (it may be, but I have no say in that).
Regards
Peter
I am doing very well thank you. I had one completely blocked cardiac artery opened and four stents installed. That, plus the initial period of exploration used all of the time that I could be exposed to the dye and radiation, so I return on 15 SEP for opening and installing stents in two partially blocked arteries.
I am regenerating in Mexico and in the first phase of the South Beach Diet. Now that I have been through it once, I am no longer anxious about what is to happen on the 15th. My blood pressure was 121/71 today.
Just for a moment there PC & BP I thought you might have been referring to the picture on the LH page ... GC when younger, or something?
As for the text: when our western cultures are epitomised by what Peter Berger calls the Heretical Imperative, so pluralistic are we, then "common worship" ala the old format of a set liturgy wld seem all but lost.
In which situation, what therefore might bind us together in worship? I myself sense it is not so much the actual text of what you and I wld call liturgy, but rather an overall structure - what we now know as the Opening prayers, the Ministry of the Word, the Prayers of the Church, the sacrament, the Conclusion including the sending out. Just my tuppence worth
Welcome back, David, we still need your objectivity on this site.
You will by now have gathered that 2 of our Diocesan Synods have voted in favour of the recognition of the LGBT community in the Church. Also, these Synods have questioned the exclusionary motivation of Section 4:2 of the Covenant Document. This will not have pleased either Peter or Bryden!
Look for further developments.
David, I share Fr. Ron's delight at your return, not so much for your "objectivity" (which is in the eye of the beholder) as for the articulate manner in which you express your strongly-held points of view.
I am especially happy that your procedure went so well, and I pray that the next one will go well also.
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