Discussing the present shape and future direction of our church
By Bishop Todd Townshend
At the end of this month, delegates from across the Diocese of Huron will gather in London for our annual meeting of Synod—a meeting of the primary governance body for mission in our diocese.
It is where members from every parish have a say and a responsibility, “a voice and a vote”, in the life and work of our church.
The theme of Synod 2023 will be “Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land.” We will welcome Bishop Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy from the “other London” (Bishop of Willesden, UK) as our speaker and preacher at the opening liturgy. It will begin on the Day of Pentecost and it will be wonderful to see and hear the movement of the Holy Spirit on those two days.
We will be discussing the present shape and future direction of our church. We will begin to design new methods of resource development for ministry in healthy communities.
There will be work done on revising and expanding our policies and practices for Safe and Healthy Churches, there will be some direction given for a diocesan property strategy, there will be financial updates, canonical (church law) changes, and there will be serious consideration of what we mean by “becoming a more diverse church”—linguistically and culturally.
Above all, we will gather around tables for worship, nourishment, and encouragement.
Bishop Lusa’s visit will be a real gift to us. He was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he studied theology at the Faculté Universitaire de Théologie Protestante, Brussels, and worked as a researcher for the African Development Information Service before training for ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham.
Bishop Lusa is married to Mirjam, who served as Discipleship Officer of Leicester Cathedral, while +Lusa served as Black and Minority Ethnic Mission and Ministry Enabler in the Diocese of Leicester, and they have three young children.
With his help, we are praying that we can emerge from this time with fresh understandings of God and of our faith, new ways of being and doing church, and a reinvigorated commitment to the wonder of mission.
See you at Synod! Watch for news and opportunities to participate on the website diohruon.org and in Huron Church News.
+ Todd