Members of the Council of the General Synod (CoGS) gathered at the Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre in Mississauga, Ont. at 9:30 a.m. EST.
National Youth Council
Council passed a motion advancing the proposed National Youth Council.
Resolution
That this Council of General Synod appoint Paige Keller as the Chair of the Task Force to establish Terms of Reference for a National Youth Council, and to bring these Terms of Reference to the June 2026 meeting of the Council of General Synod for approval.
Evaluation
CoGS members split into five table groups to evaluate their experiences of the present meeting. Each group discussed five topics in turn: logistics and hospitality, pace and flow of the meeting, presentations and engagements, orientation and preparation materials, and worship and community-building activities.
Closing Eucharist
Archbishop Shane Parker, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, presided at the closing Eucharist, which fell on the first Sunday of Advent. The day’s gospel reading was Matthew 24:36-44, in which Jesus speaks about the need for Christians to be ready for his Second Coming, which like a thief in the night can arrive at an unexpected time.
“Advent calls us to change our lives, to change those things where we have the agency so that we can see and share and feel God’s love … Advent calls us to live each day as though it were our last,” Parker said. Beyond heeding this call as individuals, he said, “We also hear it as the Council of General Synod that seeks to guide our church at this time.”
Referring to the pathways for change in the church that CoGS had spent much of its meeting considering, Parker said, “As we consider the pathways and the pillars, the primacy, as we consider our culture and structure and operations and property, we might ask … What have we been relying on? And what do we change so that our church from coast to coast to coast … can more fully see, share, feel and be Christ’s love in the world?”
The words of Jesus CoGS heard in that morning’s gospel reading, the Primate said, “remind us that the time to act is now … It matters what we do, and it matters now. It matters what you do, and it matters now.”
Members departed the Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre at 1 p.m.