Synod 2013 Changes
Pay close attention to the new Synod schedule – it’s very different from past Synod meetings. This was done in an effort to make Synod week run more efficiently.
This year, there will be no Pre-Synod. Registration for General Synod will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and from 9-10 a.m. on Tuesday in The Lodge conference room. Those attending Synod for the first time will meet for orientation at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Jean White Room, Founder’s Hall.
All Presbyteries will meet at their respective locations at 10 a.m.Tuesday.
Prior to the 209th Annual Meeting of General Synod, there will be an opening worship service, led by Dr. Derek Thomas, and Communion, Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Youth Activities Building (YAB). This worship service has been moved to earlier in the day, instead of the opening worship service on Tuesday evening after supper, as in past years.
Synod will then convene, with delegates and guests hearing from Retiring Moderator Steve Suits and Incoming Moderator Jeff Kingswood.
The Moderator’s Committees will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. in their assigned areas. This has changed from the committees meeting just after lunch on Wednesday.
Central Services Executive Director Paul Bell believes the schedule changes will help. “And we anticipate there will be a quorum present to the end of meeting this year,” he said.
“The lack of a quorum at the final roll call last year showed that more than half of the ministers and elders attending Synod left Bonclarken after actually staying for only one full day of business,” said Principal Clerk Ron Beard – in a 2012 ARP Magazine article.
The Synod program states: Delegates are expected to be present for all proceedings of the Court. Should a member find it necessary to miss a portion of the Synod meeting, he must sign out at the Synod office in The Lodge conference room.
Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims
Please make your congregations aware of this important need!
If your church, or individuals and groups within your church, would like to contribute funds to assist victims of the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma, you may send gifts to “General Synod – Good Samaritan Offering” through June 30, 2013. This offering from the denomination will be sent to Samaritan’s Purse in Boone, NC, to be used to bring material relief and the message of the Gospel to victims of the violent storms.
Please mail to: General Synod Good Samaritan Offering, One Cleveland St, Greenville, SC 29601
The Good Samaritan Offering was established by General Synod in June 2012 to assist those in our nation and throughout the world whose lives have been devastated by natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornados, etc. Christ teaches: “…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers on mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV).
In late 2012, the ARP Good Samaritan Offering provided $11,709 to Super Storm Sandy relief through Samaritan’s Purse. Let’s do it again for Oklahoma!
New Church Plant Members Needed
A new Outreach North America church plant, Durham Chapel needs new members. Church Planter Tom Irby asks anyone who has family or friends in the Raleigh/Durham area, or knows anyone who’s moving there to contact him at 919-306-8717.