In preparation for the 68th Synod of Edmonton diocese, October 21-22, 2022, Bishop Steve has prepared the document Finding Our Way based on input from throughout the diocese. Following is the heartbeat of this document, the Gospel at the Center:
The Gospel is all about good relations. God’s own being is a community of relationships, and God is Creator because God wills to extend this circle of relations to us and to all. We each yearn and are made for this connection, with our maker and one another. However, we often struggle to live it, and wound our relationships whenever we choose to be for ourselves alone. Yet, God never breaks relationship with us. The Good News is that God comes to us in Christ to put our relationships right, both with God and everything else. Jesus shows a Way to be healed from the guilt and shame that cause us to hide from the Creator, and a Way to be freed from all that disrupts our relationships within humanity and with creation.
As a church on this land and for this time, the Diocese of Edmonton stands at a critical crossroads. Yet the path of choice for Gospel People remains clear as ever: not the various dead-end routes that end up in self-sufficiency, isolation, and fear. Instead, we must choose the journey of our baptismal promises: placing the Gospel at the center through devotion to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship; being quick to repent and courageous in resisting evil in all forms; proclaiming Jesus’ message by word and example; serving, loving, and striving for justice and dignity for all neighbours; and renewing the life of creation within which we are all related. As pilgrim disciples this is our Way.