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synod on the family was the best-run
Synod of Bishops since its institution by Pope Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council, there are still ways that the
synod process could be improved.
It is now available for use in congregations and
synods as a means of connecting the power of the biblical story to life's journey.
A recommendation from a previous Mid Council Commission to the 220th General Assembly (2012) that
synods be eliminated "as ecclesiastical bodies" was rejected and this second MCC was authorized to take another look at the role and function of
synods in the PC(USA).
I may be in the minority, but I truly enjoy General
Synod meetings.
(All
synods have regional staff, though Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario currently sit vacant).
The Saskatchewan
Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) took a historic step in electing Rev.
This development of contesting non-ordained pastoral workers was one of the reasons which led Pope John Paul II to call a national
Synod of Dutch bishops and Vatican cardinals in Rome in 1980, a
Synod which, as far as I know, has remained fruitless.
The year between the
synods, the statement said, "should take the path already done as a starting point and take this special opportunity to study issues and promote discussion at the level of episcopal conferences, finding the means and the tools necessary to further involve also the different ecclesial bodies in the synodal reflection on the family"
In an interview, Bishop Atagotaaluk said the decision by the
synods of the dioceses of Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara and Huron to ask their bishops to give clergy permission to bless homosexual marriages "kind of let us down from trusting that we had a process that everybody can work with." He added that since the 2007 General
Synod defeated the motion affirming the authority of dioceses to offer same-sex blessings, "there was no message saying that we could all go our own way."
In short, the goal is to raise the trust level among all the people and to experience not just good congregations but great congregations, not just good
synods but great
synods.
North America has eight bishops including Saskatchewan
Synods Cynthia G.
The following is based on a study and analysis of the "interventions" (or addresses) of Canadian delegates at the Roman
Synods (CCCB photostats) and other source materials as well as secondary sources.