Brisbane Synod Eucharist

Synod for the Diocese of Brisbane began this evening in St John’s Cathedral with soup, socialising, and the Synod Eucharist.

In a lovely meeting point between theological formation and the wider life of the Diocese, the service began with the installation of the Rev’d Dr Ruth Mathieson, Principal of St Francis College, as a residentiary canon of the Cathedral.

The preacher for the occasion was scholar-in-residence, the Rev’d Dr Elizabeth Smith, who proposed the questions: what are we expecting from these days together, what are we expecting of God, and are we ready for our prayers to be answered?

With her usual lyrical mastery, Smith described the strange land the Church now occupies, and the task of letting go of that past that it might grow into a body that she suggests "lives lighter.. laughs at itself.. does not dig bunkers, but hoists sails.. and sings the Lord’s song in a strange land, not as a dirge" for what has been lost, but as an act of trust in what God may yet bring to birth.

Watch the Synod eucharist below or read the sermon here.
You can follow The Rev'd Dr Smith's work at: Other Suitable Words.
Follw the synod papers on the diocesan website.