General Synod 2016: Location, location, location

As part of his general secretary’s report, Michael Thompson updated the Council of General Synod (CoGs)-meeting in Mississauga, Ont., from May 3 to 5-on plans for the Anglican Church of Canada’s next General Synod, which will be held from July 7 to 12, 2016 in the diocese of Toronto.

The meeting will take place at the Sheraton Parkway North in Richmond Hill, Ont. Thompson explained the reason for choosing to gather in a hotel. “We tried very hard to land a university location, but Ryerson University would not guarantee the availability of space at Ryerson until April of 2016. We thought that was leaving things just a little bit late,” he said wryly.

The only other residential university with the capacity for this meeting within the diocese of Toronto is Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., he said. But, in consulting with the host diocese of Toronto, they decided that the distances would make it very difficult for volunteers to support that meeting and that the distance from airports would be prohibitive generally.

Thompson acknowledged that the expense of a hotel, especially meal plans, may be prohibitive for some dioceses, but gave assurances that a plan is in place to provide support for those dioceses from the General Synod budget. “One of the things that is making it possible for us to do that is that we are able to push forward some money out of the reported surplus from 2013 into the General Synod reserves, so there will be a larger reserve available for General Synod.”

Dean Peter Wall, who was chair of the 2013 General Synod planning committee, has been appointed as chair for the 2016 planning committee, Thompson announced.