March 27, 2007 Five lay people honoured with Award of Merit

The Anglican Award of Merit, the Anglican Church of Canada’s highest award for lay people, has been conferred on five individuals; the honour is given to those who have contributed to the life and work of the church at the national and international level.

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March 13, 2007 Blessings vote to be decided by resolution

Mississauga, Ont. Sexuality issues, including whether dioceses may decide for themselves whether to allow the blessing of same-sex unions, will be decided by General Synod through resolutions requiring the approval of a 60 per cent majority of the members of the order of bishops, laity and clergy or 60 per cent of dioceses if a vote by diocese is requested, the Council of General Synod (CoGS) has decided.

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March 9, 2007 Residential schools agreement approved

All nine provincial and territorial courts approved on March 8 the revised Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), a move that could mean that the agreement may be implemented by fall.

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February 1, 2007 Group eyes church priorities

A group analyzing how General Synod operates in a time of financial constraints discussed changes to a national financial-development program, potential fundraising scenarios and such efficiencies as cutting down on the number of face-to-face committee meetings.

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December 1, 2006 Primate suggests all bishops may be invited to Lambeth

Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, says that he is inclined to believe that the Archbishop of Canterbury will invite all bishops to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, regardless of their stances on the contentious issue of sexuality.

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December 1, 2006 Council settles wording on doctrine question

Delegates to General Synod 2007 will face this resolution in six months: “That General Synod accept the conclusions of the Primate’s Theological Commis-sion that the blessing of same-sex unions is doctrine but is not core doctrine in the sense of being creedal.”

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December 1, 2006 Away from it all

Margaret Jenniex and Catherine Torraville, both of the diocese of Central Newfoundland, and Meghan Nicholls (diocese of Huron) share a light moment at the fall meeting of the Council of General Synod.

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December 1, 2006 CoGS highlights

In other news, Council of General Synod (CoGS) also: approved a motion asking officers of General Synod, “in consultation with staff, to ascertain present and future needs for office space for the national church and to make...

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December 1, 2006 Synod 2007 will have compressed schedule

It will be a tight and very busy General Synod in Winnipeg in 2007, since the meeting is scheduled to be a day shorter than previous gatherings, Dean Peter Wall, chair of the General Synod planning committee told Council of General Synod (CoGS) at its fall meeting.

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December 1, 2006 Church to sell its option to move

General Synod, the church’s national office, will not exercise an option to move the Anglican Book Centre back into a new building on the site of its old offices on Toronto’s Jarvis Street. The decision will result in a cash windfall for national church coffers.

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