Posted Saturday 09 June 2007
The 2007 General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church was constituted during a Choral Eucharist Service in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh. During the service Mrs Sheila Redwood was commissioned as the new Mothers' Union President for Scotland.
In his Charge to General Synod, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Rev Dr Idris Jones, challenged Synod members to commit themselves to be the Scottish Episcopal Church at its best and encouraged them to make their churches more inclusive.
He said: "A few years ago we received a group of young Christians from around the world thorough the Christian Ministry Society. They spent some time in Glasgow and Galloway and attended a Diocesan Synod where they joined the Eucharist in the Cathedral with drums and singing and an Indian dance in praise of light. One of them was an icon painter from Russia who presented one of his icons at synod. Afterwards he said to me, 'Bishop I cannot believe that this was a true Synod of the Church'. Getting my theological thoughts in order to rebut this assertion I asked him why. 'Well,' he said, 'nobody hit anybody else, which is what happens in our Synods'.
"The General Synod is constituted in this Eucharist and although we have recently explored whether we might have the service at some other point the advice, based on the understanding of what a Synod is, has been very firm. We must begin at the Altar of God. Even more so when the day on which we convene is the feast of Corpus Christi.
"But if I might direct you to one of the end papers in your Agendas (but please don't look them up this instant) you will see an explanation of the place of prayer in our life. The Synod doesn't just begin here with our Eucharist, it is held in prayer at the beginning and at the end of every day, and prayer is as such an action of Synod as any debates or decisions that we may enact in the next couple of days.
"Sometimes people bemoan that the Synod lacks passion - well we'll see; but why should we not have passion in prayer as much as in anything else we seek to do. If we really are seeking to centre our lives and the life of our church on Jesus Christ then it is vital that we seek to keep the vision of Christ before us at every opportunity and certainly through prayer.
"That vision of Christ is about what was - in the life of Jesus as witnessed by the Gospels and the life of the early church; it is about what we do now; and it is about looking to how things might be. That is what I take from the words of St Paul to the Christians in Rome - we hope for something that we do not yet see and look forward to it eagerly and with patience. Christ's kingdom is 'present yet still to come' and so there is an urging in us that moves us forward to get ever nearer to the point where God's will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven - a prayer we make at the heart of our Eucharist and using the words of Jesus Himself.
"In the Gospel, Jesus teaches the Apostles that the Holy Spirit will teach everything and remind you of all that I have told you. The Christian faith is founded on that remembering of Jesus - something that is the heart of the Eucharist because we do this in remembrance of him; but also founded on the belief that our faith is not static but developing.
"The bench mark is the life and teaching of Jesus, but my reading of St. Paul is of someone who began a journey on the road to Damascus but whose journey in faith went on throughout his life - his theology worked out on the hoof so to speak, and we can see evidence of that in his letters. We join in that journey and honesty forbids that we say of our own lives that we feel we have completed the journey and certainly not that we feel that our church does not have some way to go in obedience to that faithful remembering of the call of Christ. God is working his purpose out, and we strain to get nearer to seeing it all the time knowing that there remains much work to be done - on earth as in heaven.
"As we work through our Agenda over the next few days there are clear signs of that desire to work more in conformity with a vision of that fuller understanding of God’s will for the world, for the church and our daily living.
"Perhaps we need a new MYCMI programme - one that encourages us to Make Your Church more Inclusive.
"A priority that is laid upon us is to capitalise the undoubted possibility for the Communion as a whole to work for the health of the world. Instead of being pre-occupied with internal squabbles to turn our energy to the inclusion of all in what we consider to be basic human rights. To eradicate extreme hunger; to achieve universal primary education; to empower women; to combat the epidemic diseases that wipe out a high proportion of the world’s population before they reach adulthood. The Church must speak with a united voice to urge the world leaders to co-operate in partnership for development of the whole world so that every man, woman and child would be included in what it means to be fully human.
"Then there is the need for inclusion not just in our relationship with other denominations but with all those who hold faith in God. To work, in other words to change those situations where people oppose each other on the grounds of religious belief to one in which all those who profess a belief in God put their energy into righting the wrongs of the world. The Jubilee Campaign has already shown what can be achieved but there is more to be done.
"Inclusion then is to see how we can make accessible to all people the knowledge of salvation and the love of God. To do this, we have to be aware of how our normal church practices can change to include those who are excluded by them. Most of our buildings are now accessible; but is our normal diet of worship?
"As Giles Fraser said in Church Times last week, 'mission is not about sticking up a sign that says, in essence, "Welcome to our way of doing things." No, mission requires a revolution in church structures'.
"As we reflect on the possible Covenant for Anglicanism we must again raise the question of how inclusive a process it is to be, and how we can ensure that the end product, if there should be an end product, is something that invites into relationship rather than repels from it.
"As we consider changing the organisation of our church the question will rise again as to how the changes will help us to live out our claim to be an inclusive church. Increasing participation is certainly one way of achieving this and if we use the word collaborative to describe this attempt then we shall have the opportunity to move towards a greater openness through a shared life in Christ.
"There is a cost to be paid for any such development - it is that we consider the needs of the wider church as more important than our own individual needs. So the individual encounters the needs of the whole congregation; the congregation encounters the needs of the diocese, the diocese encounters the needs of the province and the province of the Communion.
"I began by quoting a comment from a young Orthodox Russian. Perhaps a typical Anglican compromise would be to pray then start hitting one another!
"We have work to do and a serious agenda to consider. Let us commit ourselves to be the Scottish Episcopal Church at its best so that all may be done to the glory of God and for the enlargement of his kingdom throughout the world. Amen."
Category: Bishops, General, General Synod 2008
