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General Synod, the national meeting of the Anglican Church of Canada, is a big deal. It happens only once every three years. Over 300 delegates attend. Major decisions are made about the future of the church. General Synod 2010 is set to happen in Halifax, N.S. from June 3 to 11, 2010, and already Canadian Anglicans are kicking off the conversations online.
For Lent 2010, the Anglican Church of Canada is offering a simple online prayer space that will be updated throughout the season. The prayers are drawn from the Anglican Church of Canada’s own prayer books, as well as those from ecumenical and full communion partners. They are paired with striking landscapes from around the world.
A Toronto priest has compiled a book of prayers that’s appropriately portable for the mobile healing ministries, where priests drop by homes, friends pray in parishes, and caregivers visit hospitals. Prayers for Healing from the Anglican Tradition (ABC Publishing) is a collection of prayers for those suffering from illness, addiction, depression, and other kinds of pain.
Through prayers, giving, friendship and family, Canadian Anglicans are connected to Haiti, a country devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake Jan. 12. Already Canadian Anglicans have donated over $600,000 to the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), which is working with the ecumenical ACT Alliance to provide food, water, and shelter to Haiti’s most vulnerable.
With a flood of donations coming in to help Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake, it’s clear Canadian Anglicans are moved by compassion and are digging deep.“
These are the words of Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti two weeks after the earthquake which has become known simply as ‘La Catastrophe.’
“I smile every time I tell someone I’m going to Jerusalem,” said Kerri Brennan, a theological student from the Diocese of Ottawa. Ms. Brennan is one of three students preparing to serve with an overseas diocese as part of the 2010 Theological Student International Internship Program (TSIIP), coordinated by General Synod’s Partnerships department.
As a major aftershock rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and Léogâne, more news emerged Jan. 20 about the growing role of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti in the country’s short-term relief efforts and long-term recovery.
In the chaos of aid distribution, ACT Alliance members are managing to get food, temporary shelter, water purifying materials and expertise to the Haitian capital. One of the largest alliances working on relief in Haiti, ACT Alliance has four members working in-country and is being supplemented by relief from others.
For 15 years the Primate’s Theological Commission (PTC) has helped Canadian Anglicans think more clearly about their faith. The current team of 12 theologians will hold their last meeting from Jan. 20 to 23 in Niagara Falls, Ont. After that, the commission will be on hiatus as the Primate discerns how best to approach future theological work.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were buried alive when a major earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of impoverished Haiti on Tuesday. The magnitude 7.0 quake sent panic-stricken people into the streets. Offices, hotels, houses and shops collapsed, and people were screaming “Jesus, Jesus”, not knowing where to run. The presidential palace lay in ruins, and many churches have been destroyed. Members of ACT Alliance are already in place, assisting those affected by the earthquake. The ACT Secretariat in Geneva is coordinating the relief operations of its members, and more details will follow in the coming hours.
Haiti has been devastated by a terrible earthquake. Thousands are feared to have died and many more injured. The people in Haiti have suffered so much in the past 10 years. Hurricane Jeanne ripped through the island in 2004 and in 2008 tropical storms took a huge toll. Now a new disaster. Through the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, our church has made an initial donation of $15,000 for emergency relief through Action by Churches Together (ACT).
Canon Geoffrey Jackson, General Synod’s senior development officer, died suddenly due to heart failure on Jan. 5. Canon Jackson, aged 69, was returning home from Church House, where he had been employed since 2005.
Thousands of Christians—from Canadian Anglicans to Malaysian Pentecostals—will begin the new year by participating in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The 2010 week is slated for Jan. 18 to 25 and will focus on the theme “You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48).
The design group working on an Anglican Covenant to be presented for approval to the members of the Anglican Communion has released what it describes as the “final” text. The text follows: