From Canon Val- Gathering As a Diocesan Family
This past Sunday and Monday, in the Diocese of Huron, we gathered as a diocesan family at our annual Synod. While not quite the same format as a pre Covid Synod (we remain hopeful that 2023 will see us again back to our usual format), coming together from across our entire diocese is both an important and a necessary event. Of course, there is the business that must be seen to, the motions and the appointments but for me Synod is a wonderful reminder of our larger connectedness beyond the parish, to all those in our diocesan family. At Synod we are reminded (and reinspired) of and by our ongoing story together, as we hear of the living out of the Gospel in other parishes and through the work of different groups within the Diocese. This feels so important in these days of change and adaptation in the church, as we are living through a period where we know that challenges exist, but without question there are also opportunities, and many shared joys as we see played out before us much creativity in the discernment of God’s leading all around us.
At our Sunday evening opening service, we were reminded of the different faith journeys onto which God invites us all. As we travel these roads, our collective experiences along the way are as important as our final destination. As the preciseness of those destinations may not always be immediately obvious, it is on the journey, step by step, that we grow and change. It is on the journey that we love and support one another, and it is on the journey of serving and loving one another, that we are shaped and formed into who we are becoming in Christ.
As a diocesan family, our time together reminds us that while we hold our faith each in our own individual hearts and minds, we practice it together. So much to share with and learn from each other.
How blessed are we!