The General Secretary of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Rev Canon Michael Hughes wrote to General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui members today to inform them the General Synod Standing Committee (GSSC) has postponed the March 13 Zoom meeting.
The Standing Committee met yesterday and cited several factors for their decision to postpone, including the uncertainty created by changing and unpredictable Covid Alert Levels in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the difficulty of hosting a large Zoom meeting when Level 3 lockdown restrictions affect the General Synod Office operations in Auckland.
Since the March 13 meeting was scheduled earlier this year, the Anglican Church has been summoned to a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care hearing commencing March 15, that will remove key church leaders and legal advisers from both preparatory meetings and attendance at the proposed March Hīnota Whānui.
The next meeting of General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui is planned to be held by Zoom on Saturday 17 July 2021, but was intended as a special climate change focused meeting and so may not be able to accommodate the work unable to be completed this March.
One key motion due to be considered this month was the Motion 11 Working Group Report and Motion 4 on Mission Aligned Investment. This motion requests church trustees to research how to shift resources into investments that will nurture service and mission goals as well as make financial returns.
In total, four motions were to be considered by General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui on March 13, along with Bills 4-5, 7-8 and 10-13 covering areas related to liturgical matters, Te Kotahitanga and the General Church Trust Board.
The General Synod Office will advise the province on a new meeting date for these matters to be considered by General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui later this year.
