Is it poor form to not answer your question but suggest: brother baba budan at 359 little bourke st in the city for really good coffee? Take the address- it’s a nondescript looking place, but the coffee is good! Enjoy Synod.

But our aim is unashamedly seeking to preserve as much of the denomination as possible, built up by our forefathers, as a place where Bible-based ministry can still be done.

This is something that’s been bugging me for a while.  Maybe I just haven’t been paying enough attention, but I can’t really see all that much point in trying to preserve a fellowship around the Bible when it seems that some elements within that fellowship are quite happy to reject (or, at least, not accept) it.  I recall reading your seventh General Synod blog entry last year and thinking to myself, “Why are we striving so hard to partner with these people on gospel grounds, when it seems like these are the very grounds they don’t want to partner on?”

It could be that a “looser partnership” (or even a full break) would jeopardise our ability to teach and spread the gospel faithfully, in our diocese and abroad.  If so, this would provide a compelling, if somewhat ends-justified reason for preserving fellowship.  However, if this is not a real risk, then is all the anxiety resulting from deeply conflicting doctrines worth it?

@John, I can’t tweet because I don’t have a mobile phone (ducks for prehistoric cover)!

@Alex, good question. It’s undoubtedly the case the the partnership is already looser - the North Americans in particular have ensured the horse has bolted, and there is a certain parallelism already running.

However, one rule of thumb I have heard is that while the basic formularies remain Bible-based, as our 39 Articles and Book of Common Prayer do, then it’s worth staying, and not leaving our denominational capital for others to run down or ruin, as much as possible.

Hi John, and thanks for your encouragement. I did not feel criticised - I sort of take a perverse pride in being a luddite about mobile phones. However I must admit I am very close to capitulating.

The reason goes back to some excellent lay elders when I first became a rector in my previous parish of Kurrajong. I said I guess you want me to get a mobile phone to be on call. They said don’t be silly, if parishioners can’t get you for urgent pastoral care they can get one of us, as they all have our phone numbers. It was a good rebuke of mono-ministry-mania. And the same thing has applied in Wollongong with an excellent team ministry.

The long read will continue, because it is very hard to summarise complex synod business in the normal blog length of 200-500 words. Sorry to those readers for whom it’s not that interesting, but I guess they’re not reading these comments down this far!

Hi Shane, thanks for your kind words.

I think it’s probably fair to say the General Synod staff and volunteers are absolutely flat out just keeping the wheels turning.

People here at Synod are mostly incredibly gracious although there are some profound differences.

But I still haven’t got to ride a tram this time or go to those great second hand bookshops in town.