Report from Synod, March 2011

       My second venture into the world of Synod was a little further away this time – a trip to Kent, the garden of England.  It was too far for a day trip so John, Doreen and I decided to travel to Canterbury and stop over.  Naturally we stopped off on the way and had some tea.  You have never seen such a big mug.  We eventually got there and checked into the hotel, which had free tea and coffee facilities so we immediately liked it.  There was just enough time to wander into Canterbury, where we caught a glimpse of the Cathedral and drank some tea.

       The following morning we set off for Synod, stopping off at picturesque Chilham on the way.  It had beautiful Tudor buildings, a castle and church. 
       We tore ourselves away and arrived in Willesborough in good time.  Unfortunately, it took longer than expected to find the church but we still got there in time for a cup of tea followed by a big lunch, which was just what we needed after our huge breakfast.  After a well-timed trip to the one lavatory, we trooped into the church for the meeting to begin.
       The meeting opened at 1:10pm with devotions lead by Gerald Kirsch and there were 8 clergy and 23 lay members in attendance.  After the minutes, matters arising included the Clergy Benevolent Fund, which some churches hadn’t been paying into and so would be asked to do so.  The Anniversary celebrations were looking to be expensive (in the region of £12,000), but we could have an affordable key ring made to our design.  The Jerusalem Declaration was pretty much sidelined and would be reviewed in more detail at Convocation.  There were 4 or 5 people in training to become lay readers, but the search would continue.
       There then followed the Bishop’s report, stating the Year Book was ready and the next draft would follow soon.  The conference following last Synod had provided a real feast of spiritual food.  He had been sad to hear that Rev Geoff Collins had received his home call but had been unable to attend his funeral in Skye due to insufficient notice.  Barry Jones had also received his home call.  The Day of Prayer had been a good day, with 37 people attending at St Jude’s.  Paul thanked me for my poster.  He also reported the Denomination had been accepted as full members of Churches Together in England.  Again, John proposed a vote of thanks for all of Paul’s work in the Diocese and local churches.
       We then came to the treasurer’s report, but first Ron asked for more giving to the Home Mission Fund.  Colin then managed to get a word in and after giving a very healthy account, he proposed increasing the amount in the quota for the fund to £70.  Following much discussion, Colin again managed to get a word in and said he proposed holding a ‘Jubilee’ year, as described in Leviticus.  Other than the payment to the Home Mission Fund, there would be no quota for 2011.  Remarkably, there were two people against this motion but 17 for so it was carried.
       Following the Stipend Fund report (all going well), we came to the election of officers where everyone who held office last year were re-elected. A full list of officers is now available on the Diocesan website!  (www.fcofesd.org.uk)
       For the first time we had a brief report from each of the churches.  This was a well received section of the meeting, where even the less well off churches found positive things to report.  It gave an indication that the Diocese was in a very buoyant mood, despite any difficulties being faced.  The Diocese had much to be thankful for.
       Any other business was upon us, which included signing yet more Charity Commission forms as the Diocese also had to register as a charity.  It seems a never ending process.  I also gave a brief report on the website progress and I am pleased to say the website is now live.  Yay!  Paul also showed off his new FCE flag, which looked very smart.
The next Synod would be held at Sunbury Court on Monday 17 October 2011, followed by the Southern Diocese conference, Monday to Thursday.  We then closed the meeting at 3:10pm.
       Following another well timed trip to the solo lavatory, it was time for the Memorial Service being held for Rev Geoff Collins, which was well attended and we were pleased that Geoff’s son was able to attend.  This was a moving service and it was incredible to hear about all that Geoff had done in his lifetime.
       After another cup of tea and some supper it was time to return home.  Sadly, we delayed by an accident on the M1.  Other than finally collapsing on the sofa at around 11pm, it had been a very good day and I enjoyed the entire trip.

Report from Synod October 2010

Report from Synod, October 2010

Having been a delegate for St Jude’s Church for the last 10 years, I decided it was about time I showed my face at a Synod.  Yes, in ten years I had seen many Convocations but not one Synod.  This needed to be remedied.  So, early one Monday morning, armed with a list of directions and a map I’d printed from Google, I set off for Sunbury Court and my first Synod.  It also happened to be the first time I’d driven on the M25 and in London.  I hoped my map didn’t fly out the window.

   Less than an hour and a half later, through luck, a good sense of direction, Divine Guidance or possibly all three, I arrived at Sunbury Court with plenty of time to spare.  In fact time for two cups of Earl Grey tea before lunch was ready.  I thought this a very good beginning.

After a tasty lunch, which included some interesting sausages and a chat with Paul’s German visitor, we all trooped off into the meeting room.  I hadn’t been to Sunbury for a number of years but the meeting room was just as I remembered it.  Red.

The meeting got underway fairly promptly at 1:05pm, visitors welcomed (including Bishop Primus) and apologies for absence received.  There was one matter arising from the minutes, which was the Clergy Benevolent Fund was still under review.

Bishop Paul then gave his report for the previous year, a copy of which was handed out but I appear to have lost.  Thankfully I took copious notes and can give a full description, over the next three pages.  Kidding.  There was a lot happening over the year - the Southern Diocese conference at St Jude’s, Ballam, The Rock was performed several times around the country and Gerald Kirsch was welcomed into the FCE.  There was also sad news in that Mrs Bishop had been called home, and Revd Geoff Collins, who had retired to the Isle of Skye, was suffering from cancer.  In spite of this, he was still active in his work for the Lord and was writing two sermons when Paul had called.

Paul’s trip to India for three weeks had been an experience he would never forget, greetings had been brought from the FCE at every opportunity.  Work had continued at St John’s, Tottington throughout the summer, the Diocese had been able to maintain its witness and the Office had been generously supported by the diocese, for which Paul thanked John for his work.  John then thanked Paul for all his work.

It was decided that the Day of Prayer 2011 would be held on 19 February, at Walsall, Exmouth and Harlesden.  Alas, at this point I was not paying as strict attention as I should have been, and when Paul said ‘Natalie can do that, can’t you?’ I thought I was being asked to go to Robert Wilson’s church.  I was a tad relieved to find out I had been volunteered to prepare the programme for the day, even though I had no idea what this entailed.

Thoughts then turned to the 150^th anniversary of the 1863 FCE Constitution and how to celebrate this momentous occasion.  This would need some serious thought and St Jude’s volunteered to have a think and coordinate with the north.

We considered the Jerusalem Declaration, which had filled quite some time at Convocation, and decided they didn’t know what to do with it.  After a series of speakers, mostly against, Synod decided they also didn’t know what to do with it and asked for a speaker to be at the next Synod to explain what had been intended in order to get a balanced view.

Turning to the future of the Denomination, there was much discussion on filling the gap left when a ministry came to an end.  We needed to find hidden treasures and people to encourage and train to bloom into a useful tool for the church.  The difficulty of finding sufficient time to study and complete the required papers to become a lay reader was also discussed.

Reports were received from the Treasurer, Diocesan Stipend Fund, Home Mission Fund and the Prayer Chain Link.  Everything was running smoothly, except the Home Mission Fund needed more money, as always.

The end of the meeting was then in sight, having reached any other business.  John had suggested having a Bishop’s fund for emergency use, however money would be available from the denominational Treasurer is required.  We then discussed the need for a website, as the Diocese didn’t have one.  I was paying attention this time and on cue volunteered to create the website.

The next meeting was set for Saturday 12 March 2011 at Christ Church, Willesborough and then that was the end of the meeting.  A round trip of 3 hours was too long for just a 2 hour meeting, so I hung around for a bit longer to drink more tea and chat to people I hadn’t seen for months.  All in all, I thought it was a good start to Synod expeditions.

Report from Convocation 2011

Once again we knew lunch would be a struggle.  So we came up with a cunning plan and I found a potential picnic location that was on the way to Convocation.  As often happens with best laid plans, we actually ended up having a very rushed lunch in a layby on the A38.  I sprinted to the four door ‘restaurant’ in the pouring rain and ate lunch whilst watching cars whiz past.

            After a rushed glass of wine and a cheese and onion cob, we got to Swanwick with minutes to spare, time enough to sign in, say hello to old friends and take our seats. 

Convocation got underway at 2pm and the new members were welcomed.  After the usual hymn, reading and prayer came the roll call and this year there were 33 lay members, 16 ministers and 5 visitors in attendance.  We then elected the General Secretary, who is once again Paul, with thanks from Primus.  In a fair imitation of cars on the A38, we whizzed through the rules of order, letters of apology, memorials (which sadly this year included Barry Jones of Emmanuel) and letters of greeting.  We just had time to receive all the reports before breaking for afternoon tea.

It was finally time for the annual game of “Where’s my room?”, made interesting this year as it was still pouring down with rain.  Fortunately, being familiar with the layout of The Hayes, we could head straight for the closest door, find our rooms and then move the cars to the closest door.  Fortunately, someone had some brains and remembered to get the door code before we left and locked ourselves out in the rain.  This tactic meant we didn’t get too wet, which made Eric the Lion very happy.  Simon the Bear was also made happy when we bumped into friends for him to smile and wave at.

We resumed business at 4:45pm and raced through the reports.  There was some discussion regarding the period the Bishop’s appointments should be given for, and then the news that Charity Commission registrations should now be done online.  Joy.  This meant adding each of the trustees’ details by hand.  There were a few groans at this, but also some people looking a little smug.  Then there was a round of applause in thanks for the people travelling to Exeter.  Once again, Dad was able to give his report on day one and gave the good news that the quota is staying the same as last year.

Leaving the election of officers for the next day, it was time for tea, which for me was a rather nice steak and ale pie.  We were impressed with the food this year.  After tea came Evening Prayer and the Convocation Charge, given by Bishop Primus John McLean.  His sermon was riveting and contained hard hitting home truths – the Denomination was at risk of dying out if we didn’t grow.  We were charged not to let this happen.

After the service there was only one thing left to do; go to the bar.  Once again we had a good evening of fellowship and catching up with people we see once a year.  Dad beat me 2-1 at pool.

After an interesting breakfast discussion which included Abbots Ale and Bishop’s Finger, we got back to business with the election of officers.  John McLean was voted back as Primus with a very gratifying 46 votes for and only 3 against.  Next was the General Treasurer and I declared in a loud voice “I’ll propose my Dad”.  He was elected unanimously.  The remaining elections ran smoothly, with the same people as last year being re-elected.  Norma and Marlene did say this would be their last year as Convocation Organisers.

The election of committees followed, and once again these were mostly the same as last year, with only a couple of changes.  We moved onto the motions.  The second year approval for some articles and cannons was passed with no problem, as was tidying up amendments for the admission of deacons.  After the break, the motion to remove the byelaw about the retirement age for ministers resulted in a lot more discussion, as this was a hastily written law for a sensitive subject.  It was however eventually removed.  Ministers may now carry on into their doddery.

After a lunch of jacket potato and chilli (I got a plate of cold meat with little fuss), we got back to serious business and watched a short video of Paul and Mark pretending to be super heroes at the St Andrew’s children’s club.  Bishop Primus wondered how we were meant to follow that, as he now felt very old.  To which, Bishop John pointed out it was too late, as the Byelaw had been removed.

Moving back to the Charity Commission, Convocation agreed to apply for charity status. This meant the whole of Convocation filling out another form, and that someone would have to enter these details online.  Joy, again.  She’s going to be busy.

The date of the next Convocation would be 21-23 May 2012, held again at The Hayes Conference Centre.  Another session came to a close.

As Convocation isn’t all about business, that evening we had a night off, and did something a little different.  We held a talent showcase.  We’re a surprisingly talented bunch of people, but the effort that stands out was Rev Robert Wilson standing on a chair, holding a coat hanger and reciting a poem about being a statue in London.  It was an enjoyable evening, ending in the inevitable singing competition and traipse off to the bar.  Alas, this visit was Scotch free (and not even Scott free).

The final day of business dawned.  We started off by hearing a report from Bishop Gerhard Meyer, and it was good to hear the success stories of the REC in Germany.  He also mentioned someone from Croatia wanted to join the REC, as well as someone from a Lutheran church.  This was followed by Norma and Marlene giving out their inimitable gifts of appreciation.

We were then given the cost of Convocation, which this year was a little over £12,000 and included a donation of £201 (one of the collections) to the ‘Church restoration group’.  After a lengthy and comprehensive vote of thanks, the minutes were approved and Convocation closed.  We weren’t quite done though, as we had to have the annual group photo, during which Paul tried to take a panoramic shot of the whole group.  I ran from one side of the group to the other, to try and be in the photo twice.  It’s a shame the photo didn’t work, but at least it wasn’t raining.

After another tasty lunch, the time for goodbyes had come around again, and surprisingly fast.  It was another good year for business, fairly sensible debate and enjoyable fellowship.

Report from Convocation 2010

Although we had the same shorter format for Convocation this year, for some reason it seemed to last a lot longer than previous years.  We crammed a lot into three days.

After last year, we didn’t hold out much hope of finding somewhere to stop for lunch.  So we took a picnic and thought we’d find a nice spot in the country to stop.  Alas, this also was a difficult task.  We ended up in a layby by the roadside.  Still at least the weather was really nice and hot, we enjoyed our wine and Eric enjoyed his spot of sunbathing.

We arrived at The Hayes and proceeded to the stifling large conference room.  Bishop John McLean welcomed people attending for the first time, including our two new ministers from The States, and also Bishop Meyer who had yet to arrive.  We then re-elected Bishop Paul as General Secretary, got through the various letters and even received the reports before the first break.

After moving into our rooms and enjoying a nice cup of tea and piece of flapjack in the sun, business restarted.  We got through all the reports so quickly that we even had the report from the General Treasurer - the first time Dad had spoken on day one!  The good news was that the recession hadn’t affected our finances as much as feared and so the quota was kept at £600.

We then moved onto the election of officers, the first due to be the new Bishop Primus as Bishop Ken was retiring.  Although this election was postponed due to Ken’s absence, Bishop McLean proposed that Bishop Ken be given the title of Bishop Primus Emeritus, in recognition and thanks for his hard work over many years.  This was agreed unanimously.  Most of the remaining officers were elected back to office, with the exception of Rev John Leal being elected as the new Webmaster.  The session closed and I went to chat to our new Webmaster about redesigning our current website, resulting in Rev John deciding I was his new assistant.  Still, I was able to chat to both new American ministers and it was good to get to know the new faces.

After tea we went to Evening Prayer where the Convocation Charge was given by Bishop Ken.  This centred on the Epistle of James and building the church.  As usual, this was followed by a trip to the bar where I spent part of the evening talking about websites with Rev John Leal, and part of it discussing the hierarchy of the Church of England with Bishop John the Younger.  A most convivial evening!

The next day, business started with the election of the new Bishop Primus.  The ballot was between the two Bishop Johns and Bishop John McLean was duly elected.  He indicated he would only serve for a year.  We then elected all of the committee members, mostly the same as last year with one or two new additions.  We moved onto the motions, and after giving the second year approval to some amendments to the Articles and Cannons we moved onto deciding whether we should seek to join Churches Together in England.  A lot of people spoke, some passionately, on this point and all were in favour.  Joining this group would help our Sunday School children get into faith schools and also some teachers getting promotion.  The motion was carried unanimously.

After a tea break, we started wading through amendments to the Articles and Cannons.  This took a lot of discussion and a lunch break, but we finally passed the whole motion.  Another motion later, we broke for the evening meal.  This was a special occasion and after a quick trip to the bar for dinner wine and beer, we were surprised to discover wine had been provided on the table!  The meal was in celebration of Bishop Ken’s long service and retirement as Primus and it almost developed into a party.

As far as Bishop Ken was aware, we were then due to go back to the conference room for the evening’s business session.  Much to everyone’s delight, we were actually treated to a fantastic rendition of the musical ‘Rock’, which gives the story of Simon Peter, the fisherman who followed Jesus to become a fisher of men and was a rock for the early church.  I think everyone in the audience found this to be an emotional performance and was an event not to be missed.

Once again, following this event I found myself in the bar where I was able to catch up with old friends seen annually.  After showing Bishop Gerhard Meyer how to use Facebook, being one of the last in the bar I was about to leave to go to bed.  Unfortunately, my route took me past someone pouring out a few glasses of something from a familiar looking bottle.  Maybe I should have known better, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Still in a jubilant mood following the presentation of the Rock, I paused as I passed the table and asked if that was Laphroaig he was pouring.  It was indeed, and I was cordially invited to join in.  I somehow found myself drinking Scotch with half a dozen Cannons from the Church of England.  I did my best to improve the relationship between the two denominations and I don’t think I did too bad a job.  After finishing the Laphroaig and sampling two more malts, I finally got to my bed at ten to four in the morning.  Maybe that’s why Convocation seemed to last longer.

Alas, I missed the morning service.  After breakfast, which included strong painkillers, we got back to business and the last of the motions.  We eventually passed an alternative funeral service order.  That left us with the last few bits and bobs and business was finished!

Following the annual photo call, it was time for Holy Communion and the Convocation Sermon, given by Rev John Graver.  A combination of the previous sermons and the presentation of the Rock meant John was concerned that his sermon had pretty much already been given.  He need not have worried.  It continued the theme that had been running through Convocation and his main subject was the story of Simon Peter.  This was one of the most memorable sermons I have heard, not least because it started with two jokes.  Also, John said that had Jesus asked him to “Follow me” he wouldn’t have hesitated as he hates fishing.  It was inspirational and also heart warming to hear about the work being done in Exmouth.  Bishop McLean later took the opportunity to let Bishop Ken know he was now Bishop Primus Emeritus.

Following lunch, it was time for leave taking and the journey home.  This year, Convocation was something special with building our church the concurrent theme, apparently by coincidence.  Certainly not by human design.  I left feeling revitalised and inspired to carry on the good work.

Report from Convocation 2009

 

The big improvement for Convocation this year was that it started at 2:00pm.  Registration started at 1:30pm so this meant we didn’t need to leave until gone 12, but we left a bit earlier so we could find somewhere for lunch.  After food serving pub finding failure in previous years, this year we took sandwiches.  We bought the beer though.

So, the business got underway at just after 2pm.  The roll call followed registration and Convocation this was attended by 15 clergy, 38 lay members and 7 visitors.  After Paul was appointed Convocation and General Secretary, the Rules of Procedure were read, and listened to intently.  We then had letters to various people, memorials and acceptance of reports.  It’s the same routine every year, and it’s still very interesting stuff.

Next was the election of officers and Bishop Powell was once again elected Bishop Primus, but he did state that this would be his last year.  Following the election of the remaining officers, pretty much the same as the year before, we finished the session at around 3pm and all went off to settle into our rooms.  We were in a different part this year and I had a twin room.  Eric could have had a bed all to himself, but he didn’t want to.

After a refreshing cup of tea, we got back to business.  Oddly enough, the visitors decided not to join us this time.  Not sure why.  The last of the afternoon was spent trawling our way through the reports.  The sign-off sheet to establish each church’s congregation as a charity was probably at the bottom of someone’s in tray.  The good news was that two ministers from the US would be joining us as Presbyters-in-Charge, and there was a possibility of several churches leaving the Church of England in the next few years.  We wanted to head them our way.

Following a tea of pork steaks, we had Evening Prayer and the Convocation Charge from Bishop Powell. I then had a short session in the bar and the words green, pink and yellow will go down in history.  I was knackered so I went off to bed.  And got woken up at 3 in the morning by the fire alarm but we got back to bed about 20 minutes later.  To be woken up by the fire alarm again.  This time, everyone else on site decided they were missing out and wanted to join in.  It seemed like ages before we got back to bed this time, but at least we got to see some firemen!

The next day was met with a slide show of some pictures taken the night before.  Apart from all of us looking a bit sleepy, there was some interesting nightwear on show.  Bishop Powell mentioned he thought the fire alarms were similar to the air raid sirens during the war. 

Our visitors were then invited to speak and Revd Gerald Kirsch again sent greetings from the Countess of Huntington’s Connection and mentioned that Paul had visited their church wearing full robes which was quite unusual for them.  Bishop Meyer also sent greetings from Germany and said the fire alarm went off not for German reasons!

Following a brief discussion on what the Constitution and Cannons committee should be doing, the remaining reports were accepted.  We then broke up for a cup of tea and went back for Dad’s bit.  Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse…  After we voted to send the collection money to the Malabar Independent Syrian Church instead of Lalitpur and changing the REC Missionary Fund’s name to the Missionary Fund, we voted to keep the quota at £600.  All good stuff!  We then moved onto electing the Committees, which were also pretty much the same as last year.  It leads to a sense of déjà vu…

Then followed the motions.  I though this would take a while as we had a lot of changes to review and vote on.  Surprisingly, after a break for a baked potato lunch, these were concluded remarkably quickly with hardly any discussion.  They were all passed and thus concluded the day. 

After some funny chicken for tea I returned to the bar and had an interesting discussion with Gerald Kirsch.  The subject moved from the Bible to knees to pain sensitivity.  Go figure.  Instead of going to bed, cause it was quite late, I went and played pool with Jessica, Gerhard’s daughter.  She also was a quick study but I still beat her.  Twice.

All that was left to do the next morning was the minutes, Convocation costs and date of next meeting.  Costs were slightly up from last year, the next Convocation will be 24-26 May 2010 and the minutes were approved.  Oh, and there was a vote of thanks too.  After close of business, we had Holy Communion, the annual photo call, lunch, and then most of us went home, leaving Central Trust members behind.  Ah well!  Once again, a most convivial Convocation!