Those of you who are Anglican will immediately understand the meaning of this week’s Blogpost title, but for those of you of other denominations I offer you, first, the Oxford dictionary definition…..
Synod…….
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod.
The word synod comes from the Greek σύνοδος meaning “assembly” or “meeting”, and it is synonymous with the Latin word concilium — “council”. Originally synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
You might well ask how I intend to link Synod with Day Camps, well, actually I was wondering the same thing myself, but it has, unexpectedly turned out to be fairly simple!!
This past Friday and yesterday, I was caught up in the annual whirlwind of out Diocesan Synod. One of the other hats I wear, besides the obvious one of Day Camp Director, is that of Lay Secretary for the Anglican Diocese of Montreal. This sounds like a rather dry occupation compared with all the glitter glue and Lamb frolicking of the Day Camp world but I see it as a privilege to serve the wider church in this area by taking on this task.
So ,as I said, I spent the last two days at Synod.
…. a fair amount of the minute taking was fairly tedious but all in all it was a good Synod, with a strong emphasis on Worship, both formal ( Eucharist in the Cathedral) and informal with a number of times for short reflections ,hymns and prayers, at regular intervals throughout the proceedings.
 |
| Lamb and Klaire in Saskatchewan |
Yesterday we had a presentation about the Youth Ambassadors program which is a new initiative designed to prepare a group of Youth from our Diocese to visit our Partner Dioceses both in Canada and potentially in Tanzania. The group members each had a few moments to introduce themselves to the Members of Synod and, to my surprise I found that two of them were former Travelling Team Members for Day Camps . Both young ladies included references to their experience on Day Camps teams as having been an important milestone in their lives and having provided them with a grounding in Mission outreach that has given them them the confidence to step forward and participate in this new venture.
Another highlight of the day was a presentation on “Fresh Expressions” given by the Rev. Nick Brotherwood, who is Vice-President of CTM . Nick spoke of this movement within the Anglican Communion and of his role as Team Leader for the Canadian branch.
Fresh Expressions looks at new ways in which we can work to build a “Mission- Shaped ” church which seeks to “go out” into the wider community as well as to invite the community to “come in” to our spaces. Nick showed a video about “Skater Church ” in Perth Ontario, a church which has responded to the needs of its community by providing a safe place ( in their church hall) for young people to come and skateboard together, and to connect with “church’ on their own level.
I feel that, in our own small way, Day Camps is moving in the same direction. Our program offers churches a vehicle by which they can welcome children and families and connect with them in a more informal and “user-friendly” setting.
Our Follow-up Brochure also offers many resource ideas for ongoing innovative Children’s Ministry opportunities . Our Teams “go- out” across Canada to share the Good news and they do not just do it for an hour or so on Sundays but they link with these communities for the whole week, both in the church or hall where day camp takes place and in the homes,parks and streets of each neighbourhood they visit.
Yes, Synod was refreshing, it offered hope for our Church and it encouraged me, on a personal level desire to embrace my own passion for Day Camp ministry by seeking “Fresh Expressions” which will meet the needs of children and families into the 21st century.
Did I have time to cook this week , you ask?? Of course did!!
On Wednesday I enjoyed a dinner with one of our former committee members and Team leaders and for Dessert we had my ………………….
Nana’s Apple Pudding
- 6-8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup chilled butter or margarine, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Arrange apples in a ceramic or glass baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. Bake for 15mins. or until apples are partially cooked. Meanwhile mix the dry ingredients and work in the butter to make a shortbread type pastry.
Remove apples from oven and spread pastry over them, patting down carefully to form a top crust.
Baked for another 30 mins. or until browned and bubbling.
Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with either strong cheddar cheese, or vanilla ice cream.
Serve 4