Report of the 134th Synod (2004) of
The Church in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands
in the Province of The West Indies

Table of Contents

Lord Bishop's Charge

Budget

Jamaica Church Missionary Society

Update on Previous Resolutions

Resolutions

Evening Sessions

Cross Roads / Rectories Committee

New Appointments

Closing Remarks

The Bishop's Charge

Lord Bishop's Charge (Part 1)

The full text of the first part of the Bishop's charge, which was the sermon he delivered at the Tuesday evening service, is available at the church office. In his sermon the Bishop focused on Isaiah 45: 18 & 20-22 and spoke of the need for the church to have a shared vision. He expressed that the Lord did not make men as zombies to simply follow His orders but as individuals with minds who were free to choose to follow Him and the destiny He had in store for them. He called on persons to take responsibility for their own lives and not to take on the terrible mantra of "Nuttin nah gwaan fi mi". The Bishop said that the Church whose members used to sing songs like "I know where I am going… forward ever, backward never…" seems to have lost its way. He encouraged the Church not to wait on one person to take the lead but to seek from the same Holy Spirit Joel followed, the shared vision of the Church. This Vision is crucial for the renewal of the church. The members of Synod were then encouraged to keep their focus on the Lord Jesus Christ as they discussed the various matters of the Church over the next few days.

Lord Bishop's Charge (Part 2)

The Lord Bishop in the second part of his charge dealt with news from the Province and wider Anglican Communion, highlighting:

• The state of impaired communion which now exists with the United States and Canadian Dioceses arising from the appointment of a homosexual Bishop, Jean Robinson, in the Diocese of New Hampshire in the USA and approval of same sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada
  

  • The Archbishop of Canterbury has established a commission headed by Archbishop Ames of Ireland to decide whether or how we can continue to be one communion
    

  • The Diocese of Jamaica & the Cayman Islands will not recognise Jean Robinson's appointment nor will any Clergy from New Hampshire or New Westminster be allowed to function in the Diocese
    

• Appointment of Rev. Jim Parkes as Treasurer and Rev. Canon Judith Daniel as Vice President, Middlesex, to the Jamaica Council of Churches

• The Lord Bishop also addressed Diocesan matters, highlighting:

• Among others, the ordination of Rev. Robert McLean and Rev. Ralph 'Jim' Parkes
  

• Appointment of Rev. Garth Minott as Chaplain UWI and Warden of Anglican Students, UTCWI
  

• Appointments of Rev Georgia Jervis, Rector Christ Church, Rev Richard Tucker, Rector St Matthews, Santa Cruz, Rev. Robert McLean, Assistant Curate, St. Andrew Parish Church
  

• Rev Jervis was recognised for her service as Executive Director of the Education and Youth Department and Sasha Lumsden's appointment Divisional Director of Youth was acknowledged
  

• St. Andrew Parish Church Youth Choir recognised for work done during youth week
  

• 2 students, Rev. Jim Parkes and Rev. Jean Fairweather Wilson, were congratulated on receiving first class honours
  

• Celebration of 10th year of ordination of women and planned launch of scholarship in memory of Rev. Sybil Morris
  

• 340th Anniversary of St. Andrew Parish Church and 260th Anniversary of St. Jago High School.

Condolences were expressed to members of the church family who lost loved ones during the year. Those mentioned included, mother of Rev. Georgia Jervis, father of Rev. Alton Tulloch, sister of Bishop Herman Spence and uncle of Mrs. June Spence. A moment of silence was held.

Diocesan Budget Year 2004

Mr. Michael Fennell, Chairman of the Diocesan Financial Board presented the 2004 Diocesan Budget indicating:

Recurrent Budget:

Details	Budget 2004	Actual 2003	Change (%)	Budget 2003	Variance 2003 (%)
Recurrent Expenditure	$ 87,961,004	$ 73,331,303	+ 20%	$ 77,963,991	- 5.9%
Income earned by the Diocese	$ 20,821,338	$ 17,149,745	+ 21.4%	$ 16,743,771	+ 2.4%
Assessments	$ 58,068,642	$ 58,068,642	0%	$ 58,068,642	0%

Representing:

• Variances in 2003 primarily due to:
  

  • Significant savings in salaries resulting from vacancies / partial vacancies
    

  • Certain planned programmes which did not materialise
    

  • Significant budget surpluses brought forward from previous years
    

• 20% increase in recurrent expenditure due primarily to filling of vacancies for clerical and lay workers
  

• No change in assessments
  

• 12% increase in stipends and salaries of clergy, full-time Church workers and in salaries of administrative and ancillary staff
  

• Employment of seven (7) new Rectors and four (4) new Deacons
  

• No provision for the Suffragan See of Kingston

Capital Budget

Capital expenditure of $ 10.2 million is proposed for the year 2004, representing:

• Correction of major deficiencies at the residences of the Bishops of Jamaica and Mandeville and installation of security system at latter
  

• Landscaping of Church House grounds
  

• Loans to Churches and Missions to support computerization and communication
  

• Other programmes mandated by the Synod in previous years

Jamaica Church Missionary Society ("JCMS")

The Chairman of the JCMS, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Harold Daniel presented the report on the Society. Congregations contributed $ 3.2 million, an increase of 22% from $ 2.6 million the previous year. Special mention was made of Holy Trinity Church, Westgate, Montego Bay whose contribution exceeded $ 300,000. St. Andrew Parish Church, among others was mentioned for contributing over $ 100,000. As in previous years allocations exceeded Contributions. Grants were disbursed to a number of projects including Greater Portmore Mission ($ 250,000), Diocesan Retreat Centre ($ 300,000), St. Martin's Mission, Bull Bay ($ 200,000). A loan of $ 436,748 was made to St. Paul's Church, Chapelton for emergency repair to its Rectory.

Of note:

• It was noted with delight that the newly designed church signs were now in place and identified a number of congregations throughout the Diocese. Churches and missions that did not have signs in place were being encouraged to rectify this. The question of erecting signs on all church properties including church schools is under consideration.
  

• A preaching seminar sponsored by the Society and led by John Stott and Chris Wright was held in May last year; a second seminar is planned for June this year.
  

• A committee headed by the Bishop of Montego Bay has been setup to develop strategies for establishing an Anglican mission presence in the numerous new residential areas that have developed in recent years
  

• The need to respond to the Haitian relief effort was addressed;:Rev Canon Ernle Gordon indicated that he had been appointed Chairman of the Office of Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management and as such the Haitian crisis fell under his portfolio.
  

• Mr. Godfrey Perkins was appointed to the General Committee of the Society and Dr. Veront Satchell was nominated and elected as the Deanery Representative for St. Andrew.

Update on Previous Resolutions / Canons

A number of Canons were amended at the Synod. The full details of which may be requested from the Church Office. Of note were the changes:

1. made in an effort to make the Canons gender sensitive i.e. references to "clergyman" or "clergymen" are to be changed to "clergy". In relation to the Church Army, references to "the Captain" to be replaced by "member and "he" by "the person so appointed".
   

2. affecting the format of services; and
   

3. to bring into effect the resolution No. 4 of 1999 to provide that the President of the National Council of the Anglican Youth Fellowship sit on the Diocesan Board of Education and Youth and that references to "Assistant Directors (Regional)" be changed to "Divisional Directors".

Education and Youth Department

Our own Ms. Sasha Lumsden who is currently the Youth Director of the Diocese reported on Youth Ministry. Rev'd Michael Allen, the Director of Education and Mr. Arthur Wint, the Director of Schools also made presentations.

Youth

In her thought-provoking presentation the Youth Director defined Youth Ministry as an "intentional, deliberate and structured way of meeting the needs of young people in every aspect of their lives, as we lead them to abundant life in Christ." There was therefore a need for a Youth Ministry network which would consist of the Youth Ministry Director, Deanery Youth Coordinators and Cure/Congregational Youth coordinators. Persons needed to be properly equipped for the task and a training programme is being put in place. There are training courses planned at the local level and in foreign institutions. Ms. Lumsden also encouraged the Synod to encourage and facilitate young persons to attend the upcoming Diocesan Summer Camp 2004. Junior Camp - July 9-16 (9-12 years), Intermediate Camp - July 16-23 (13-15 years) and Senior Camp - July 23-30 (16-20 years). Handouts of activities for young persons and application forms were distributed.

Education

Rev. Allen informed the Synod of the great need for education and the challenges being faced. He highlighted Anglicans lack of knowledge about the Bible and the Anglican Way of Worship as existing unfavorable conditions and then made suggestions of the way forward. The Synod was the informed of the activities the church would be involved in during education week, 2 May to 8 May 2004. The Synod was also informed of the Christian Teaching Conference to be held at the Golf View Hotel 15-17 October 2004, which will look at what it means to be an Anglican. It was pointed out that there was a need for Sunday School teachers, Bible Study Leaders, Anglican Teachers in our schools and stewards in general. Synod was encouraged to have a Church that gives Jamaica a sense of hope that is rooted in Christ Jesus.

Schools

The Synod was informed of the performance of the students attending Anglican Secondary Schools in external examinations. These were overall fair. The Synod was called upon to increase its involvement in these Schools e.g. participating in morning devotions, acting as teachers etc.

Resolutions

The Synod for the year 2004 carried on the trend of passing timely resolutions with potentially far-reaching impact.

Resolution Concerning Department of Communication

The Synod was informed that there were persons who worked in the field of communications on behalf of the Diocese. As these persons were otherwise fully employed they were not able to carry out the tasks necessary to have thriving communications facilities. The Synod passed a resolution requiring the establishment of a Department of Communication (with the understanding that this department could consist of at least one person working at least one half week) and that the Department be furnished with the necessary staff and equipment to enable a comprehensive and efficient programme of communication. During the discussion members of Synod spoke of how necessary media is in today's world. The production and use of videos, cassettes, DVDs, CDs, station time production etc would prove invaluable.

Resolution Concerning the Ordination of Women to the Episcopate

This timely resolution followed on the heels of the Diocese celebrating ten (10) years of the ordination of women to the Diaconate and Priesthood. The Synod approved a resolution requesting the Diocesan Bishop to move an appropriate resolution at the Provincial Synod that would initiate the process of gaining provincial approval of the ordination of women to the Episcopate.

Resolution Concerning the Establishment of an Endowment fund

This resolution was passed as a follow-up to resolution no. 12 in 2003 which called for steps to be taken to identify and preserve the historical architectural and artistic resources of the Diocese. The resolution mandated the Diocesan Financial Board to initiate the establishment of a fund to enable the implementation of the project.

Resolution Concerning Youth Representation on Church Committee

After much discussion on this matter the Synod passed a resolution that Synod acknowledges the importance and the desirability of having at least one person between the ages of 18 and 25 years on church committees and that congregations be sensitized and strongly encouraged to ensure that outcome.

Resolution Concerning Term Limits for Church Committee and Lay Representatives To Synod

In an effort to have new and younger persons being given the opportunity to actively participate in the running of the Church and decision making process at the Diocesan level, the Synod, after a spirited discussion, passed a resolution that the Church encourage local congregations to observe a maximum term of three (3) consecutive years for membership on church committees and set a maximum term limit of three (3) consecutive years for lay representatives to Synod.

Resolution Concerning the Appointment of a Diocesan AIDS Committee

AIDS was on the agenda of the Synod and very enlightening presentations made on the topic by Rev'd Patrick Cunningham and others. The Synod, being moved by the experience of one young lady who shared, during the presentation, "passed around a hat". In excess of $65,000 was collected to be used to assist her and her children. The Synod was informed that there was an upcoming concert that would be held at St. Luke's, Cross Roads, for which there would be no charge to enter. A collection would however be taken to assist the same young lady and others living with AIDS.

The point was well made that the Church had to be sensitized on how to relate to persons living with the deadly disease and on the role the Church can play in the fight against the spread of AIDS.

The Synod then passed a resolution that a committee be formerly appointed consisting of a chairman and a representative from each of the Diocesan organizations, to carry forward the work of the present committee and that persons with special interest in the area be co-opted to enhance its effectiveness.

Other Resolutions

There were a few resolutions that were not passed as they had not been properly tabled and required that the Synod have some time to seriously consider them. One such resolution called for clergy and church workers to be assigned to specific cures for no more than ten years. Another concerned the selling of the Negril Youth Camp and the establishing of a new one on an eight-acre property in Moneague owned by the Diocese.

Evening Sessions

Restructuring Of The Diocese

Resolution No. 4 of Synod 2001 resolved that the Diocesan Council and the Diocesan Financial Board conduct a study to determine actions necessary to revitalize the Church and examine the present regional structure and the possibility of establishing a fourth Diocese.

The Synod was advised that the Canons provided a notice period of six (6) months be given to the members of Synod of a proposal that would affect the structure of the Diocese. As insufficient notice had been given the Synod was not prorogued but adjourned to allow its members to consider and return to debate the revolutionary and important matter of restructuring the Diocese.

The matter was, however, thoroughly reviewed. The Bishop addressed the Synod on the proposal to restructure the Diocese as follows:

* - Albert Town would return as a cure in Trelawny and not Manchester and be a part of the Montego Bay Region again.

The Synod was divided into six (6) groups to discuss the matter. A report was made to the Synod as a synopsis of the results of the group discussions and a committee was formed to consider the proposals and issues raised and report same to the Synod when it reconvenes later this year.

Cross Roads / Rectories Committee

Rectories Development Programme

A proposal to develop Rectories in Cures where no Rectory exists or where the Rectory was in need of significant upgrading was presented; 19 Rectories were identified. The proposal envisages the construction of six (6) Rectories in the first phase at an estimated cost of $ 65 million. The locations chosen are Frankfield Cure, Fellowship & Moore Town Cure, Kew Park Cure, Mavis Bank Cure, Old Harbour Cure and the Trinityville Cure. Rev. Louis Hurst has prepared a prototype design of the Rectories, which will be adapted to suit the particular location.

Development of Cross Roads Lands

There are plans to develop the Church lands in Cross Roads. The plan envisages the development and expansion of Deaconess House to be better able to carry on its programme of care and the expansion of St. Peter's Court to make it self-sustaining. The land has been surveyed and preliminary drawings done by Mr. Denny Repole. A bond issue is being explored with Jamaica National Building Society to assist in funding the project.

Appointments Of Members Of The Church

Please note that the following members of our church serve at a Diocesan Level and will welcome your input.

Closing Remarks

Each day started with Matins at 6:30 am and the Eucharist at 7:00 am and then closed at with Evensong at about 5:00-5:30pm (evening sessions started at 8:00pm). This helped to set the tone for the Synod and this time spent with the Lord was essential and invaluable.

Friday afternoon the Bishop thanked those who had made the Synod possible. He ultimately thanked God for calling members all to this service and asked that He make us worthy. What had proven to be a very involved meeting of the Synod ended at approximately 12:54pm with the singing of the Doxology.

Copies of documentation are available at the Church office.

Go forth in peace choosing always to follow the Lord.

Lay Representatives to Synod 2004

Frank James
Yolande Whitely
9 May 2004