Join Us At Synod 2022
An invitation from Bishop Charlie and Bishop Dan to Synod 2022
Dear ANiC clergy (active and retired), elected ANiC lay representatives, members and friends,
It is an absolute joy and delight for Bishop Dan and myself (Bishop Charlie) officially to invite you to register and join us in Ottawa for the 15th Diocesan Synod of the Anglican Network in Canada. It will be convened on November 2-4, 2022 "in person" after three long years of being unable to meet, and once again will be hosted by Canon Brent Stiller and the good people of St. Peter’s & St. Paul’s in our nation’s capital of Ottawa, very close to our Parliament Hill.
Of course every Synod is important but this one seems particularly important for a number of reasons the first being that, Lord willing, we are looking forward to actually being able to be in one place and not just gathering by Zoom as we had to for our last two Synods.
The second very important purpose of this Synod is for the transfer of spiritual authority from me as the present Diocesan to Bishop Dan Gifford who is to be installed during the opening Eucharist, Wednesday morning, November 2nd as our third Diocesan. We are honoured and very thankful that our Primate, the Most Reverend Foley Beach will be officiating, preaching and installing Bishop Dan as our Bishop.
Personally, I am so grateful for the Lord raising up Bishop Dan, this faithful and wise man of God, to be our Bishop. We are all looking forward to continuing to press on in our great task of building Biblically faithful, Gospel sharing, Anglican churches under his episcopal care and leadership.
Please continue to pray for Bishop Dan and Cathryn, and their sons Alex and Nicholas.
At this point I’m going to hand the pen over to Bishop Dan to introduce the theme for Synod and add his encouragement to you to please register and come to Ottawa for our Synod.
Bishop Dan, over to you….
Thank you, Bishop Charlie. I am, likewise, grateful to the Lord for Bishop Charlie, for his godly example of leadership, and his many years of faithful ministry and labour for the sake of the Gospel and Church of Christ Jesus. At Synod 2022 there will be more time to give thanks and celebrate Bishop Charlie's service as our diocesan bishop and the next chapter of his ministry, including a special dinner in his honour on Wednesday, November 3rd. More information about how to reserve tickets for that dinner will be coming soon.
Our theme this year for Synod 2022 is Philippians 1:27:
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel”
It is my hope that as we prayerfully consider these words together at synod, our Heavenly Father by the Holy Spirit will refresh and sustain us in a life worthy of the gospel of Christ, standing together firm in one spirit and with one mind. And that he will enable us by his grace to strive side by side even more heartily and fruitfully for the faith of his glorious gospel.
Our time together will involve times of worship and prayer throughout synod, wonderful teaching sessions, reports and testimonies, meals together, opportunities to meet new people from across the diocese and more.
We will be holding a day just for clergy on Tuesday, November 1st, the day before synod begins. We ask all our clergy to make every effort to be with us and hear from Canon David Short as he leads us on that day.
As Bishop Charlie has said, we are honoured to have Archbishop Foley Beach joining us to lead and preach at our Opening Eucharist. We are so grateful for his leadership and support.
Dear friends, I am confident that this time will be a great blessing for us, and I pray the Lord encourages us all in this important gathering for our ministry in the Gospel. If you are clergy or a lay delegate from your congregation or you simply want to come and join us as an observer I invite you to register right away. You can find out more details about Synod 2022 and register below.
We look forward to seeing all who are able to join us in Ottawa and, by God's grace, to stand firm together in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Bishop Dan Gifford, Co-Adjutor
Bishop Charlie Masters, Diocesan
