Synod Essential Information 2025
Synod will take place this year from Friday 12 September to Saturday 13 September.
9 September Update:
Registrations to attend Synod have now closed - please contact us if you missed registering (phone 03 488 0821), you will need to bring your own lunch if you have not registered.
The Opening Eucharist is at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday 12 September at 7pm. Clergy do not need to robe for this.
Attached now is extra information about the Edgar Centre venue (Saturday).
We have added to the extra note from Bishop Anne on "Open Space" discussions is a video + Transcript that explains more.
The Synod Book online and attached versions of this have been updated after feedback from pre-synod meetings.
There is more information attached from TPC (Tikanga Pakeha Conference) about what is involved in being a representative - did you know that next year's TPC and GSTHW is in Tonga?!
Index of information below:
Synod 2025 - Dunedin
The Synod Book
Pre-Synod meetings
Registration
Attendance-Leave of Absence
A note from Bishop Anne about "Open Space" discussions at Synod.
General Synod/Te Hīnota Whānui and Tikanga Pakeha Conference Elections
Annual Return information
Final Reminders
Synod 2025: Dunedin 12-13 September
The Opening Eucharist is at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday 12 September at 7pm. Clergy do not need to robe for this.
The main business day of Synod (Saturday 13 September) will be held at The Edgar Centre Naylor Love Lounge, 116 Portsmouth Drive, Dunedin.
See the attached document Edgar Centre Venue information for more detail:
When you approach the main entrance, keep going to your right to the seperate entrance to the Naylor Love Lounge. Wifi information is in the attached document Edgar Centre Venue information, we will have other notices at the venue. .
For those who registered on-line, there was a park and ride option for you, as well as information around catering. Park and ride people have been contacted to confirm arrangements.
The Synod Book (Synod paperwork).
The Synod book for 2025 has now been published and hard copies (if requested) were posted on Friday 22 August.
You can read the different parts of this by clicking on the following links (these documents are also attached below):
Tip: if you go to the Index of each part of the Synod book and Ctrl + click on the topic you want to go to, this will take you there without having to scroll through all the pages.
Webpage: Click here
Pre-Synod Meetings
These have now been completed.
Registration has now closed
If you haven't registered but are expecting to attend, please contact the Diocesan Office urgently: 03 488 0821
Attendance - Leave of Absence
All Synod reps are expected to attend Synod - you can indicate this by completing the Registration Form. If you are unexpectedly unable to attend, email the Bishop's office via the Executive Assistant, Nicola Wong with Request Synod Leave of Absence in the subject line, or phone 03 488 0826. If you need to arrange an alternate, this must be done before Friday 29 August.
If you have any questions please contact the Diocesan Office: registrar@calledsouth.org.nz or phone 03-488-0821
A note from Bishop Anne about "Open Space" discussions at Synod
You will see in the Synod proceedings we are making time for "Open Space" to discuss any questions or ideas that anyone would like to raise. On the Friday evening, large sheets of paper will be available for anyone to write a question or idea on which they want to discuss: these will be read out before lunch on Saturday. In the afternoon, they will be spread around the meeting space, with everyone invited to move from one to another as freely as they choose, joining as many discussions as they want for as long as they want. The person offering each question will keep notes (we will provide a format for this). Have a check around your faith community and ask if there are any issues that people would like to have discussed: it would be wonderful if you could note this on the sheets and be willing to keep notes.
See also a seperate article from Bishop Anne that has a transcript of the above video.
General Synod/Te Hīnota Whānui (GSTHW) and Tikanga Pakeha Conference (TPC) Elections
Want to know more about TPC in particular? We have some extra information attached to this article.
This year, Synod will elect:
2 Clergy Representatives (previous reps: Rev'd Canon Dr Michael Wallace, Rev'd Dr Andrea McDougall)
3 Lay Representatives (previous reps: Dr Penny Field, Mr Keith Gover, Mr Theodore Rose)
Eligibility:
Clergy: Any licensed ordained minister.
Laity: Any baptised person registered in a local ministry or worship community.
Lay nominees do not need to be Synod representatives, but please contact the Registrar if a non-synod representative nomination is proposed. GSTHW representatives are also part of the Tikanga Pakeha Conference (TPC).
Nomination forms will be available on the day and are attached to this article. Check the Order of Proceedings for nomination deadlines. Nominees must be available to attend General Synod in person (this has been pencilled in for the third week of August 2026 in Tonga).
Annual Returns
Follow this link to a separate article which includes all the paperwork that has been submitted.
Finally...
A reminder that the Guide to Synod is useful to have a look at, especially for newer Synod members. If you are new to this kind of role, you may also find our Overview of the Diocese of Dunedin information useful on our "About Us" webpage (this information is also included in Part 1 of the Synod book).
Also, check out the 2024 Yearbook which contains a record of the proceedings from Synod 2024.