Report of the 2024 Synod by Judith John

Synod 2024 was held at Churchie and was Archbishop Jeremy Greaves’ first to preside over as Archbishop.

His full opening address is available to read. Synod had 27 motions and 2 canons (laws) to consider across the 2 days we gathered. The Friday night was occupied with the consecration of Sarah Plowman as Bishop of the Northern region for the Diocese of Brisbane.

There are always motions to give thanks for the work of various individuals and organisations.

This year Sherril Butterworth was thanked for 10 years of service leading to her retirement as Executive Director of Anglican Schools.
It was also noted that this is the 175th year of operations for the Anglican Board of Missions and a reminder given to support the Archbishop’s November Appeal.
Likewise, the Bush Ministry Fund’s vital work to support ministry in rural western churches was noted.
Further we were informed of the planting of trees known as the Communion Forest following the 2022 Lambeth Conference and that Archbishop Jeremy gave trees at his consecration.
Thanks were given to the Brisbane City Council for establishing the first Memorial to Defence Chaplains at Anzac Park, Toowong.

A number of social justice matters were discussed.

The Archbishop, on behalf of the Diocese, signed the pledge of “Not Now Not Ever” as a part of the church’s involvement in the fight against Domestic Violence.
Motions were passed denouncing actions of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and any others that tear at the social cohesion of Australia. A group to work on how church can address these issues was called for.
Concerns were raised about the impact of media’s continuing negative representation of youth.
The realities of how little transitional support is given to people on release from prison was brought to our attention.
A tool to consider how well our churches welcome and accommodate the various diverse people in our communities was offered.

As expected, a number of motions dealt with governance and compliance matters:

Auditors were appointed.
Budgets were endorsed.
Calls for ethical investment approaches and reporting were asked for.
Annual Returns data was examined to see the health of our churches.
The Code of Conduct for lay workers and the Professional Standards for Clergy documents were strengthened, as was the Safe Ministry to People experiencing abuse in Parish settings.
Elections to various positions were held. Vaishi continues to assist in legal and committee matters. Judith has a role as a Diocesan Lay Nominator on Presentation Boards called to fill church vacancies. Michael acted as a scrutineer for the elections.
An amendment to a definition of a worshipper was passed over as we struggled with how best to acknowledge the growing presence of online participants.

Reports were received as requested from the 2023 Synod about Insurance coverage, how policies are made available through the Diocesan website, how the church is addressing homelessness, the progress of the Domestic Violence Working Group and the Peacemaking Working Group. New work is to begin to consider how best to manage the cemeteries (chiefly in rural areas) that belong to the church, as many of these churches close and local councils decline to take over the care of the cemeteries.

Many of these motions are directed at the Diocesan Council to action and the Diocese as a whole to embrace.

Some matters fall to parishes to include in their activities.

We are called to make use of the Sustainability Roadmap to steward our own parishes.
We are asked to support Seasons of Creation and Faiths 4 Climate Justice Week activities in September.
We are invited to participate in a National Church call to plan a single innovative outreach activity between Easter and Pentecost 2025 as part of HOPE25.
Clergy were encouraged to attend both the Provincial Clergy Conference in August and the Clergy Summer School in January.

Lastly a call was made for the Synod on behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Queensland to offer an apology to LGBTQIA+ people.

This came as the culmination of many years of discussion, listening and collaboration dating back to a motion of the Australian General Synod in 2018 calling for this action. Most of us are not privy to the many stories often told in confidence for the first time to those of this working group or shared as part of the pastoral care that clergy are called to offer. It was clear nevertheless that pain has been felt in many and various ways and we were reminded of those for whom suicide was their only relief.

The apology was crafted in words that the LGBTQIA+ community felt would be meaningful to them and which the church could in honesty offer.

Here are the words of the motion:

The Anglican Church Southern Queensland:

Recognises and rejoices in the image of God as reflected in every human being, as expressed in people of every race, social circumstance, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Acknowledges the pain felt by any sexuality-diverse and gender-diverse people who feel like second class citizens because they cannot marry in the Anglican Church of Australia.

Apologises to sexually-diverse and gender-diverse people for the times when:

1. We have not accepted that you are who you are;

2. We have denigrated you;

3. We have unjustly excluded you from baptism, holy communion, holy unction and the community of the Anglican Church;

4. We have supported the criminalisation of your sexuality;

5. We have advocated for and/or condoned the harmful practices forming part of what is known as ‘Conversion Therapy’;

6. We have isolated you and subjected you to mistreatment;

7. We have not spoken up to protect you from violence and exclusion.

Apologises to the family members and friends of sexually-diverse and gender-diverse people for the times when:

· Our treatment of your loved ones has hurt you;

· We have failed to grieve or celebrate with you over the challenges and achievements of the ones you love;

· We have silenced or mistreated you.

Undertakes to:

· Pray together in humility

· Affirm our common humanity as we walk together in following Jesus Christ in our Church;

· Recognise the diversity among us and the ministry of each person who volunteers and works in and for The Anglican Church Southern Queensland;

· Listen to you;

· Stand with you against injustice and marginalisation;

· Live into the expectations outlined in the Faithfulness in Service and the Being Together document, endorsed by this Diocese, about how we relate to one another as equal members of the Body of Christ.

More details about the 2024 SYNOD are available on their website - SYNOD