‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’  Jesus to the apostles, Acts 1.8

Identifying the issues

The Council of General Synod (CoGS) met this past week to devote two full days to clearly understand the current issues facing the Anglican Church of Canada. This is what they came up with:

• a need for strong communications and stewardship education
• a need to better understand the Indigenous journey towards self-determination
• a desire for future church structures to be nimble and flexible

Opening passage, Acts 1 served to keep the end goal of action ever present in the minds of CoGS members. Another day in November will be spent charting action steps to address these issues.

Are we missing the point?

Are these really the issues we need to be focusing on? Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he wasn’t convinced that members were grasping the urgency of our situation.

“We need to address [the issue] of finances and structure,” said Hiltz. “Things must change if we’re going to go ahead in the spirit of the Marks of Mission.”

More on the CoGS:
Fresh ideas for church structure, finances, elude CoGS
Council of General Synod Highlights: May 24 and 25
COGS Highlights