Additional Memorial – Diocese of Fredericton and Diocese of Huron
Memorials to General Synod

ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCES

Province of Canada

1. Concerning an amendment to the Declaration of Principles

“That the Synod of the Province of Canada gives its consent to the Resolution to add clause ‘r’ to section 6 of the Declaration of Principles, as published in Appendix L of the Handbook of General Synod, page 156.”

2. Concerning an amendment to the Declaration of Principles:

“That the Synod of the Province of Canada gives its consent to the Resolution to add clause ‘s’ to section 6 of the Declaration of Principles, as published in Appendix L of the Handbook of General Synod, page 156.”

3. Concerning the Doctrine of Discovery

“That the Province of Canada ask the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada to repudiate and renounce the Doctrine of Discovery as fundamentally opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our understanding of the inherent rights that individuals and peoples have received from God;

“that this declaration be made known among our churches, shared with all the nations and peoples located within the Anglican Church of Canada’s boundaries, and  be made known to the United Nations;

“that the General Secretary write to Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, requesting that her Majesty disavow, and repudiate publicly, the claimed validity of the Christian Doctrine of Discovery;

“and  that the General Synod through KAIROS advocate for the Canadian government’s endorsement of the “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” which Canada has refused to endorse. (only the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have failed to sign on).

Province of British Columbia

1. The Synod of the Province of British Columbia and Yukon gives it consent to the Resolution to add a new clause “r” to Section 6 of the Declaration of Principles, as published in Appendix L of the Handbook of General Synod, page 156.

2. The Synod of the Province of British Columbia and Yukon gives its consent to the Resolution to add a new clause vii) as published in Appendix L of the Handbook of General Synod, page 156.

3. The Synod of the Province of British Columbia and Yukon gives it consent to the Resolution to add a new clause “s” to Section 6 of the Declaration of Principles, as published in Appendix L of the Handbook of General Synod, page 156.

Province of Ontario

In regard to the Installation of the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario

Without commenting on the substance or advisability of approving the motion coming to the General Synod on the revision of the Canon on the Primacy (Canon III), the Provincial Council of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario endorses a principle of hospitality where the Primate will be invited to participate in, and if willing, preside

DIOCESES

Diocese of British Columbia

That this Synod memorialize General Synod indicating its concurrence with General Synod 2007 resolutions A023, A024, A025, A021 and 022.

Diocese of Central Newfoundland

a ) This Synod reaffirms the Diocese of Central Newfoundland commitment to the Godly care and pastoral support of people of all sexual orientations. This Diocese along with the whole Church is challenged (as the Archbishop of Canterbury stated on March 28, 2007) to ensure that our Churches are “truly (a) safe (s) for people to be honest and where they may be confident that they will have their human dignity respected, whatever serious disagreements about ethics may remain.” In keeping with Lambeth 1998 – Resolution 1.10 we commit ourselves to ongoing listening to the experience of homosexual persons and assure them that “they are loved by God and that all baptized, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ.” we encourage the Bishop and listening process requested in preparation for the next Lambeth Conference.

b) In accordance with the teaching of Lambeth Conference 1998 Resolution 1.10, this Synod reaffirms the position.

1. Marriage ( as understood by the Church) is the lifelong union of one man and woman to the exclusion of all others; and

2. That no clergy person may bless any union or marriage of the same sex

c) This diocese is determined to remain an integral part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, thus we reaffirm the decision of Synod 2005 and make clear to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada that, should it decide not to follow the doctrine and discipline of the Communion this will cause a tear in the fabric of our relationship with the General Synod.

d) In light of the above, the Synod of the Diocese of Central Newfoundland does not intend to return to this matter unless it is needed or unless the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada takes action concerning the contentious issues around human sexuality. We have made a definitive statement and it is our intention to move ahead with other important matters in the areas of mission and ministry in the body of Christ.

e) The Secretary of this Synod is directed to send a copy of this entire motion to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada 2010.

Diocese of Fredericton

That this Synod send a memorial to General Synod requesting that the national church investigate the adoption of the 10-10-10 giving and sharing model as the standard for the Anglican Church of Canada.

A word of background might be of some assistance.

“10-10-10″ refers to a stewardship principle introduced on the floor of our Diocesan Synod in 2007, originating in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina during the time of Bishop Edward Salmon, which specifies an ideal of support of church mission and ministry at the various levels of administration. The first “10″ describes the tithe of church members; the second describes that a tithe (10%) be the amount parishes share with the diocese; the third being the percentage shared with the General Synod in the form of apportionment or “fair share contribution.”

It should be noted that “10-10-10″ is a principle and not a programme and during the study following the Synod of 2007, including a visit and conference lead by Bishop Salmon, it has become apparent that the “principle” is a potential planned end result of renewal and congregational development focussed first on thorough stewardship education at every level of membership.

Report of the Budget Support Task Force to the 2009 Synod of the Synod of the Diocese of Fredericton

Diocese of Huron

Whereas the church is being challenged to find ways in which to invite and welcome people into its fellowship; new expressions of community are being developed, a new generation of people is presenting itself to the church seeking access to community

And

Because there is a varied response to this with regard to Eucharistic Hospitality;

there is a need for the church to clearly articulate its understanding of and what flexibility can be permitted with regard to Eucharistic hospitality.

BE IT RESOLVED that this Synod memorialize the General Synod of the Church of Canada requesting a review of the current policy on Eucharisitic hospitality.

Carried, Diocese of Huron Synod May 17, 2010

Diocese of Kootenay

1. THAT General Synod be asked to affirm the right of the Diocese of Kootenay to provide for the blessing of same-sex couples following their duly solemnized and registered civil marriage, where at least one party has been baptized.

Diocese of Ottawa

1. It is moved that Synod memorialize the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada to consider repudiating the doctrine of discovery.

2. It is moved that Synod memorialize General Synod to work toward the endorsement by the Government of Canada of the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Diocese of Rupert’s Land

That this Synod of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land commends the process of the development of an Anglican Covenant, and memorializes the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada to declare itself to be a partaker in that process, subject to the Anglican Church of Canada’s  remaining a full participant in the Anglican Consultative Council.

Diocese of Saskatchewan

1. The Council of General Synod considered the work that has been done in fulfillment of the resolutions of General Synod 2007 regarding sexuality and reached consensus that this is not the time to ask General Synod to amend the marriage canon to allow for the marriage of same-sex couples.”

We ask that General Synod not make any change to the marriage canon especially in view of the considerable pastoral difficulties and crises of conscience that such a move might cause for the Diocese of Saskatchewan and many other jurisdictions in the Anglican Church of Canada.

2. Be It Resolved that the Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan commends the Bishops of the Province of Rupert’s Land for upholding the moratoria on:

• the blessing of same-sex unions
• the consecration of bishops in same-sex partnerships
• the exercising of jurisdiction by bishops across diocesan boundaries.

We call on General Synod to follow the lead of our bishops and uphold these same moratoria as the way forward for our Canadian church.  Gracious restraint is needed on all sides.

3. Be It Resolved that the Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan memorialize General Synod that we enthusiastically affirm the Covenant Process in the World Wide Anglican Communion, as a way forward together for the Anglican Communion.   We affirm the Anglican Covenant as it stands (the third Ridley-Cambridge Draft) and commit ourselves to fully engage further drafts of the Covenant.

PARISHES

The Vestry of Trinity Anglican Church, Sarnia, Ontario, Diocese of Huron

We are a healthy congregation focused on the developing of mature disciples for Jesus Christ.  We have a strong presence in and connection to our local community at least in part based on our substantial outreach to children, young people and their families. We consider ourselves to be a faithful Anglican Church of Canada congregation.  We pay apportionment, give our rector the freedom to act as a Territorial Archdeacon for the Diocese of Huron, and otherwise support the life and ministry of the Anglican Church of Canada.

We consider ourselves and indeed the Anglican Church to be a biblically based church that proclaims the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Given that our Lord suffered and died for All people we believe that it is incumbent upon us to treat every human being with dignity and respect and we strive to live this value as a Church family and as individuals at all times and in all situations. In this context we have struggled with the issue of same-sex blessings and cannot conclude that the blessing of same sex partners is the faithful way forward for the church.  We believe that those who advocate this path have not given a convincing, biblically based rationale for this direction but have rather developed a “local” theology in an attempt to advocate for the goal of social justice for gays and lesbians.  We are dismayed that the church is moving forward in this direction and are especially disturbed that some bishops and dioceses seem unconcerned for church discipline, given the fact that General Synod 2007 did not authorize such action and the moratorium on such action requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury. They seem similarly unconcerned for the unity of the communion and for the hurt and pain this is causing in many quarters.

While the church has made every attempt to provide a supportive pastoral response to gays and lesbians we do not feel this supportive pastoral response is being extended to conservative Christians such as ourselves. Few attempts have been made by leadership to reach out to those who feel betrayed and alienated by the actions of the church. In many parts of the country, including our own diocese, we see apportionment money being spent to litigate against congregations who believe that they cannot with integrity remain a part of the Anglican Church of Canada and we see those congregations being driven from their beloved church buildings.  We are very uncomfortable being party to the persecution of those faithful people – for whatever reasons or justifications that might be presented.

All around we see Anglican congregations in steep decline and suspect that among other reasons people are exiting our church because they no longer see it as faithful to scripture and do not perceive it as giving spiritual direction and health.  Our own congregation is still growing, but is not able to reach its potential because of the developments in the Canadian Church. We have lost a number of parishioners because of this issue and find that it saps the joy and enthusiasm for the future.

We believe the church has lost its way and should carefully consider its future path, returning to its roots.  We urge the church to back away from the blessing of same sex partnerships.