WORSHIP AT GENERAL SYNOD 2007
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It is a pleasure to share with you the plans for worship together as we prepare to gather together in Winnipeg, from across this vast and wonderful country. I ask you also to refer to the Worship Statement in the Orientation Book that was sent to you with your registration. It sets out the understanding of worship which has guided our planning.
Daily Worship
Corporate worship as the whole gathering of General Synod will open and close our days. Morning prayers will begin in Home Groups, and be completed when all gather in the plenary hall.
Members and partners of General Synod will be assigned to home groups that will gather on most mornings of the Synod. They will provide opportunities for study and prayer, to reflect on the events of Synod together. At an initial meeting, members will have a chance to meet one another; at subsequent meetings, members will participate in Bible study designed to prepare us for the work of the day that lies ahead and to reflect on what has gone on before.
We will take time in the middle of each day for midday reflections and a brief time of prayer. We will end each day with evening prayers, in forms ranging from Choral Evensong to Taizé, Jazz Vespers and Night Prayer. There will be opportunities to pray from the Book of Common Prayer, the Book of Alternative Services and the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
On those days when we do not have a special full-gathering Eucharistic celebration planned, there will be early morning celebrations of the Eucharist in our chapel space within the Synod venue.
Music is an important part of our gathering, and our General Synod musician, Rick Morgan will help us to lift our voices in songs of praise. Early in our time together we will form a volunteer choir of General Synod members. Any member of General Synod who wishes to will be welcome to be part of this group.
Special Services
Tuesday, June 19
General Synod takes place in a context of worship, opening with a Eucharistic celebration at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 19, at The Cathedral of St. John, located in the North end of Winnipeg which is a 15 minute bus ride from the General Synod hotels.
The Primate will preside at the Eucharist and will deliver the Opening Address of General Synod as part of the liturgy. There is a long and significant relationship between St. John’s Cathedral and General Synod, since so many of our former Primates lived and worked in Winnipeg and had special connections to the Cathedral.
As part of this historic gathering, you will witness the inclusion of Aboriginal elements in worship. The four sacred medicines of tobacco, sage, sweet grass and cedar are often used in times of prayer. You may witness a smudging ceremony that prepares people for worship. This is an act of prayer, where the spiritual leader, often an elder, burns a sacred medicine. The smoke from the elements carry prayers to the Creator and act as a preparation for worship. The spiritual leader may offer smudging to the congregation and the elder may smudge the altar and sanctuary as well.
Thursday, June 21
Thursday is the National Aboriginal Day of Prayer. Members and visitors will be encouraged to attend a sunrise celebration hosted by local Aboriginal communities, and the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples will host Night Prayer that evening. In between, we will share the day with the delegates to the National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada – a day to celebrate our Full Communion relationship and learn together.
Friday, June 22
On Friday, General Synod members will elect the next Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. We will open the day with Eucharist at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and the remainder of the day’s proceedings will be held in an atmosphere of retreat.
Sunday, June 24
Sunday’s celebration of the Eucharist will take place in our Plenary Hall, high atop the Marlborough Hotel in the centre of downtown Winnipeg.
Monday, June 25
We will close Synod with another great celebration of the Eucharist as we install the next Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Our new Primate will preside at the eucharist and The Most Reverend John Sentamu, Archbishop of York and Primate of England, will be the preacher.
The Very Rev. Peter Wall
Chair, General Synod Planning Committee