If you are a Cathedral member, I can think of at least 4 reasons why you should be there next Sunday (29th, 1.30 pm at CNS):
- This is a unique once-a-year meeting, required by the laws of our land and that of our Diocese. The AGM body helps the church to adhere to established legal principles and expectations of what constitutes good governance.
- The process of PCC election brings the different service congregations together as we pray and reflect on how individuals can be "offered up" to work with the Vicar, clergy, deaconesses and staff in serving and leading the Church.
- The space needs for worship and ministries in the Cathedral continue to be a pressing matter. We use AGMs to keep the body abreast on our developments and plans. For example, more details about our South Transept Lift, Pavilion project and future phases will be shared.
- Lastly, our participation signals our love for the church. Continual engagement with AGMs and serving in the various committees and ministries will better position us to serve the Church well.
Lunch will be served from 12.30pm onwards. PCC nominees will also be present to mingle and give an opportunity for members to be acquainted with them. I want also to encourage all participants to stay for the whole AGM if possible and not leave right after the votes are cast.
It is indeed a wonderful privilege to be a member of an amazing church with so much life and potential. To spend just one afternoon of about an hour and a half to express this responsibility will be a fair expectation.
On a personal note, I should add that your participation is an expression of support and encouragement for me and my colleagues in our ministry. I have been here now for more than 2 and a half years and your feedback, whether direct or tacit, can help us to sense if we are leading the Church in the right direction.
The power and authority invested in the office of the Vicar is clear but we often seek to work it out in the context and nature of the Church such as our sense of community, call to servant leadership and our witness for the Lord. The membership body will also need to embrace this understanding. This means that while we can ask questions, we have to trust that this is done in the context where initiatives have been thought and prayed through. This trust is important so that we do not adopt an adversarial stance in the way we pose questions or harbour resentments when our views are not implemented.
The ministry, theological and community issues are complex but we continue to pray and look to the Lord to grant us wisdom. Beyond that, we also trust in the wind of the Spirit which blows, often in ways which we cannot foresee or expect. This submission to His leading and Lordship is central to the way we see each other and the way we rest in Him “who neither slumbers nor sleeps.”
This deep faith enables us to serve with joy and faith in a work which has no end point (unless He comes back) when it comes to perfection or completion. One soul at a time - to be saved for His Kingdom, to encounter His blessings, to be discipled. One soul at a time till we see Him face to face one day.
Let's continue to be faithful in this pilgrimage.
