wfn.org | General Synod of Anglican Church Convenes 36th Meeting

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General Synod of Anglican Church Convenes 36th Meeting;
Balancing Challenges with New Opportunities

Waterloo, Ontario, 5 July 2001 - General Synod, the national body of the
Anglican Church of Canada (ACC), commenced its formal week-long proceedings
today with a message of hope from a prominent U.S. theologian, who said the
2.2 million-member Protestant denomination, "far from teetering on the
brink of ruin, is standing on the threshold of glory."

Bishop Steven Charleston, Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School of
Cambridge (Boston), Mass., opened the 36th triennial meeting of ACC General
Synod with a blunt reference to the challenges facing Canada's
third-largest religious denomination as it continues to defend itself
against nearly 1,200 lawsuits brought against the ACC national office
resulting from the administration of a 26 Residential Schools operated over
several decades on behalf of Canada's Federal Government for Canadians of
aboriginal origin. During the past three years, these lawsuits - alleging
physical and cultural abuse against schoolchildren by various officials,
including Church employees - have proliferated to such an extent that they
now threaten to bankrupt both the ACC national office and more than
one-quarter of the church's 30 regional diocesan governments.

While forced to address the potentially disruptive impact of the
"residential schools" problem, Canada's Anglicans are also using the 36th
General Synod to make positive progress on a number of other developments
of importance to the future of the church. Chief among these is the
anticipated approval of an ecumenical partnership, full communion, with
another smaller Protestant denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Canada (ELCIC). Voting on the Anglican-Lutheran "union" is expected to be
passed by both denominational conventions, meeting at adjacent university
campuses in Waterloo, on Friday July 6.

"Anglicans in Canada serve as a shining model for churches throughout the
world," Bishop Charleston told the nearly Anglican 500 delegates and
visitors attending the official opening of General Synod, equivalent to the
church's national parliament and policy-making body. "Canadian Anglicans
are not turning away from their own past, but are courageous enough to face
up to the unpleasant realities of past colonial wrongs. This church is
behaving with both honestly and with dignity," the American Bishop said.

The message of Anglican solidarity was reinforced in the keynote opening
address by Archbishop Michael Peers, Primate of Canada and titular head of
the Anglican Church.

"Never before have we contemplated a possibility such as the one we are now
facing," Archbishop Peers told Synod delegates. "We have come to the moment
in history in which we may be facing the winding up of General Synod."

"What is under threat nationally is the General Synod of the Anglican
Church, not the Anglican Church of Canada," Archbishop Peers emphasized.
"It is the structures that are at risk, not the essence of our life. We are
a community held together not by structures, but by relationship.
Relationship endures and it will prosper," the Primate said. "We can dare
to face the future with hope, with heart and confidence."

General Synod - comprising equal representation by elected diocesan
officials from clergy and lay members - convenes every three years to
review issues affecting all aspects of church life, including ethical and
theological concerns, practical regulations governing policies and
operational practices and operating and logistical details affecting
financial and administrative procedures.

For further information and additional details on General Synod
proceedings, please refer to the Anglican Church of Canada website at
www.anglican.ca.
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Leanne Larmondin
Web Manager
Anglican Church of Canada
600 Jarvis St.
Toronto ON  L5E 2G1
(416) 924 9199 ext. 307
ll@anglican.ca
http://www.anglican.ca
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