I had been looking forward to this Synod. Admittedly it meant a very early start on a Saturday morning (which is just not done in my world), but we were going to stop over and go to Church on Sunday morning too. We were able to get there in plenty of time and even managed to drag ourselves away from the pub in time to greet everyone in the hall before lunch. As always, it was really nice to see people again that we hadn’t seen for a few months. After stuffing ourselves with baked potatoes and salad, it was time to move into the church for Synod.
After the usual hymn, prayer and reading (by Dad), we finally got underway with lots of apologies. The declaration of attendance was given as 8 clergy and 23 lay members; 6 visitors were also listening in.
Following the minutes, the matters arising included an update on the clergy benevolent fund, which is in a bit of a pickle in the state it’s in with not enough money being paid in, and the charity registration for the Southern Diocese. I, being the well organised person that I am, actually had a bunch of forms ready to hand out to gather Trustee information. The registration process is now well in hand!
We moved on to the Bishop’s report, which as always was quite lengthy due to the amount of work our Bishop gets done! Some of the information had been in Paul’s report at our AOCM, including Paul’s 60th birthday. He also said that a service had been prepared for the 150th Anniversary of the FCE Constitution, which would hopefully be held in all churches on the closest Sunday to the anniversary – 23 June.
Other points covered included the Southern Diocese Conference, where we had welcomed Bishops Roald Flemstad and Gerhard Meyer as visitors. The new venue for next year’s conference is to be High Leigh, where we will be holding a family conference for the first time. Paul also mentioned his trip to Lambeth Palace for Evensong. Also of note is the recognition of the FCE orders by the CofE, something that has taken many years to bring into effect, and couldn’t have been better timed. Paul was looking forward to his trip to Canterbury Cathedral for the Enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury. He also mentioned our forthcoming trip to the English Camp in Germany. I’m looking forward to that!
After that and a vote of thanks, we moved onto the Treasurer’s report, which was pretty straightforward until we hit quotas. They need to go up, and after Paul said he would reduce his honorarium by half, the numbers needed to be re-jigged to work out what we all need to pay.
John then gave us a brief report on the Clergy Conference, which had been very good and had included some open and frank discussions. All of the people there had enjoyed the fellowship, which had made the whole thing worthwhile. Ministers were encouraged to attend in future for this reason.
Moving on, we again touched on the recognition of the FCE orders, and it was also mentioned that we are having conversations with several Denominations around the world, most notably in Brazil and Norway. Bishop Primus had prepared a fact sheet covering these conversations, and this is available for perusal if required. These are exciting developments!
This then lead to the election of Officers, where only two changes were made. John has been elected Home Mission Fund Secretary, and I somehow landed the job of News Sheet Editor. Any items to be included will be gratefully received!
It was then time for the roundup of news from the churches; the most notable news being that Bishop Ken is retiring from leading the Emmanuel as of Easter Sunday. After 64 years of service, I am sure he has earned his rest! Daniel will be filling in during the interregnum. Our other churches are ticking over nicely, with Russell Fenn settling in at Exmouth, and Gerald Kirsch continuing his work in Shoreham.
We had finally made it to Any Other Business, and application forms for High Leigh and Germany were handed out. I’m thinking of putting Bishop Paul and Bishop Gerhard as referees on my form for Germany. The next Synod meeting will be at High Leigh, on Monday October 28th.
We then had a short break for tea and cake, but I was busy chasing after Charity Commission forms so didn’t get either! However, we went straight into a short memorial service for Revd Arthur Fryer, who had been a valued servant for the FCE and will be sadly missed.
After chasing more forms and finally getting my cup of tea, it was time to leave and we went to the pub to watch the rugby. We had run on so long that I had missed the first half. As it happens, that wasn’t actually a bad thing and we need say no more about the rugby!
We wended our way to our accommodation for the night, which was a pleasantly furnished 3-bed room, attached to a 500 year old inn. We were well impressed, and my steak and ale pie was one of the best I have ever eaten. It was just a shame Mom’s sherry was so syrupy, but me and Dad enjoyed our Scotch.
We were up bright and early the next morning to go to church at Exmouth, which happened to include Paul doing the sermon and leading ‘breaking bread’, which he did have to break. It was a somewhat different service to what we are used to, especially being two hours long, but we adapted, and it certainly seemed popular. It was nice to see Paul change into his posh frock for the Holy Communion part.
On our way home, we stopped off to visit A la Ronde, which Mom had always wanted to see. It was a very unusual hexadecagon house with some lovely views and interesting dress-up options. We then finally made our tired way home, having thoroughly enjoyed our time in Exmouth.
After the usual hymn, prayer and reading (by Dad), we finally got underway with lots of apologies. The declaration of attendance was given as 8 clergy and 23 lay members; 6 visitors were also listening in.
Following the minutes, the matters arising included an update on the clergy benevolent fund, which is in a bit of a pickle in the state it’s in with not enough money being paid in, and the charity registration for the Southern Diocese. I, being the well organised person that I am, actually had a bunch of forms ready to hand out to gather Trustee information. The registration process is now well in hand!
We moved on to the Bishop’s report, which as always was quite lengthy due to the amount of work our Bishop gets done! Some of the information had been in Paul’s report at our AOCM, including Paul’s 60th birthday. He also said that a service had been prepared for the 150th Anniversary of the FCE Constitution, which would hopefully be held in all churches on the closest Sunday to the anniversary – 23 June.
Other points covered included the Southern Diocese Conference, where we had welcomed Bishops Roald Flemstad and Gerhard Meyer as visitors. The new venue for next year’s conference is to be High Leigh, where we will be holding a family conference for the first time. Paul also mentioned his trip to Lambeth Palace for Evensong. Also of note is the recognition of the FCE orders by the CofE, something that has taken many years to bring into effect, and couldn’t have been better timed. Paul was looking forward to his trip to Canterbury Cathedral for the Enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury. He also mentioned our forthcoming trip to the English Camp in Germany. I’m looking forward to that!
After that and a vote of thanks, we moved onto the Treasurer’s report, which was pretty straightforward until we hit quotas. They need to go up, and after Paul said he would reduce his honorarium by half, the numbers needed to be re-jigged to work out what we all need to pay.
John then gave us a brief report on the Clergy Conference, which had been very good and had included some open and frank discussions. All of the people there had enjoyed the fellowship, which had made the whole thing worthwhile. Ministers were encouraged to attend in future for this reason.
Moving on, we again touched on the recognition of the FCE orders, and it was also mentioned that we are having conversations with several Denominations around the world, most notably in Brazil and Norway. Bishop Primus had prepared a fact sheet covering these conversations, and this is available for perusal if required. These are exciting developments!
This then lead to the election of Officers, where only two changes were made. John has been elected Home Mission Fund Secretary, and I somehow landed the job of News Sheet Editor. Any items to be included will be gratefully received!
It was then time for the roundup of news from the churches; the most notable news being that Bishop Ken is retiring from leading the Emmanuel as of Easter Sunday. After 64 years of service, I am sure he has earned his rest! Daniel will be filling in during the interregnum. Our other churches are ticking over nicely, with Russell Fenn settling in at Exmouth, and Gerald Kirsch continuing his work in Shoreham.
We had finally made it to Any Other Business, and application forms for High Leigh and Germany were handed out. I’m thinking of putting Bishop Paul and Bishop Gerhard as referees on my form for Germany. The next Synod meeting will be at High Leigh, on Monday October 28th.
We then had a short break for tea and cake, but I was busy chasing after Charity Commission forms so didn’t get either! However, we went straight into a short memorial service for Revd Arthur Fryer, who had been a valued servant for the FCE and will be sadly missed.
After chasing more forms and finally getting my cup of tea, it was time to leave and we went to the pub to watch the rugby. We had run on so long that I had missed the first half. As it happens, that wasn’t actually a bad thing and we need say no more about the rugby!
We wended our way to our accommodation for the night, which was a pleasantly furnished 3-bed room, attached to a 500 year old inn. We were well impressed, and my steak and ale pie was one of the best I have ever eaten. It was just a shame Mom’s sherry was so syrupy, but me and Dad enjoyed our Scotch.
We were up bright and early the next morning to go to church at Exmouth, which happened to include Paul doing the sermon and leading ‘breaking bread’, which he did have to break. It was a somewhat different service to what we are used to, especially being two hours long, but we adapted, and it certainly seemed popular. It was nice to see Paul change into his posh frock for the Holy Communion part.
On our way home, we stopped off to visit A la Ronde, which Mom had always wanted to see. It was a very unusual hexadecagon house with some lovely views and interesting dress-up options. We then finally made our tired way home, having thoroughly enjoyed our time in Exmouth.
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