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One of the first steps individuals can take towards reconciliation is getting to know the residential school that once stood nearest you and what communities were affected by it, members of General Synod heard July 11.

The 42nd meeting of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has been an historic one, so far, with the election of a new primate and several high-profile resolutions coming to the floor.

Linda Nicholls, bishop of the diocese of Huron, was elected fourteenth primate of the Anglican Church of Canada on July 13, becoming the first woman in the history of the church to hold the position.

In an historic vote, General Synod decided almost unanimously July 12 to approve changes to Canon XXII that enable a self-determining Indigenous church within the Anglican Church of Canada, and to bestow the title of Archbishop upon National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald, a position which now ranks among the metropolitans.

The Anglican Church of Canada will maintain its traditional definition of marriage after a vote to amend the marriage canon failed to pass at General Synod 2019.

The Rev. Karen Egan, who has served as director of pastoral studies at Montreal Diocesan Theological College since 2013, was elected prolocutor of General Synod Friday, July 12. Judith Moses, who has extensive experience in the Canadian public service as well as numerous bodies of the Anglican Church of Canada, was elected deputy prolocutor.

In an exercise intended to produce more compassionate discussions than those that sometimes prevailed during marriage canon discussion in 2016, members of the 2019 General Synod spent almost the entire afternoon of the gathering’s first official day of business hearing about and practicing ways of speaking and listening respectfully to one another.

In a speech that stirred emotional reactions and caused members of General Synod to rise to their feet, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada apologized on behalf of the national church for spiritual harm done to Indigenous peoples.

The signing of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) was a tumultuous experience for the Anglican Church of Canada—one that transformed the church’s relationship with Indigenous peoples and left a lasting legacy, the effects of which are still being felt to this day.

In a wide-ranging address to General Synod Thursday, July 11, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, outgoing primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, spoke of what he saw as some of the church’s most important recent accomplishments and priorities, as well as the challenges likely to face his successor, who will be elected Saturday, July 13.