Australia's Anglican General Synod displays 'pleasing' degree of unity

The President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church in Australia, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, has said he is very happy with the sense of unity that the Australian Synod has witnessed this week on a range of critical issues.

|PIC1|The Australian Anglican Church is concluding its General Synod, the Parliament of the Church which sits every three years, in Canberra.

The Primate reported that mission and attendance was a core focus of the Synod, and a task force of General Synod "Fresh Expressions Australia" has been commissioned with preparing a proposal for a full time National Mission Facilitator and developing appropriate criteria for the selection, training and deployment of ordained and lay pioneer ministers in an Australian context.

The Synod has also addressed environment concerns including global warming. In response each Diocese throughout Australia has been asked to commit to reducing its environmental footprint and to report to subsequent sessions of General Synod as to how it is achieving this.

The gathering also discussed the impact of climate change on the poor.

On the issue of Indigenous Australians, the General Synod committed to giving a seat on the Church's national Standing Committee to one Aboriginal person and one Torres Strait Islander person on the Church's national Standing Committee, as the Church continues to attempt to bring an authentic representation of itself.

Another hot topic was that of women bishops. A motion on the controversial matter was moved by Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier and seconded by Sydney Bishop Glenn Davies. The motion was passed welcoming the clarity that the Appellate Tribunal decision gave to the question of eligibility of women for admission to the order of bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia.

Addressing global poverty, the General Synod urged the federal government to adopt the Millennium Development Goals as the fundamental framework for its development cooperation program and accept the specific goals as targets including increasing the financial contribution to 0.7% of Gross National Income.

In addition the General Synod called on member dioceses to affirm their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and noted Lambeth Resolution 1.15 which encourages each diocese to fund international development programs at a level at least 0.7% of their annual diocesan income.

Dr Aspinall added that another historic element of the General Synod was the listening process. He said, "In one of the most poignant moments Synod members paused to listen to the stories of four gay people in the church. We all know there is much debate about this internationally but this event had no agenda, no-one was taking sides, we simply listened with sensitivity and compassion.

"The listening process was a creative exercise placed deliberately at the end of the day. We could hear and pray then adjourn, reflect and digest."

The General Synod also passed a Church law to establish a national register to protect children and parishioners from abuse. Dr Aspinall said, "This is about safety, first and foremost. It means that abusers and those facing unresolved allegations of abuse will no longer be able to move from parish to parish without their record being known."

"I want to commend every member of General Synod for the way in which they have conducted themselves and entered into the spirit of our mission. I believe that despite our differences we have entered a new stage that can only see the Anglican Church of Australia grow stronger," said Archbishop Aspinall.

The Primate said the Church's most important gathering in three years exhibited a good spirit of cooperation.

"Our experience this week has been far from the schism and fracture that is often publicly associated with the Anglican Communion. General Synod members here in Canberra have displayed a maturity that permits differing opinion to be heard, discussed and reflected upon.

"There are numerous highlights of this General Synod. Some of the motions and bills passed will serve to strengthen the bonds of affection across Australia's Anglican community and boost the Church's outreach to the wider community."