The Convention of General Synod, required by law to be held every three years, is the highest decision-making body of the LCANZ.

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This means it is the 'church meeting' where decisions will be made on any proposals regarding the ordination of women  and gender equity that a congregation or District puts forward.

 

It's worth noting that the word 'synod' actually has three distinct meanings.

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• FIrstly, it means 'to walk together': as a community of faith, we ‘synod’ together

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• Secondly, it's used as a more general name for groups of congregations who join together to form a single organisation or synod' (small 's').  For example, there are 12 or so independent Lutheran synods in Australia ( these are formal and legal organisations).

  • Each of these synods is made up of one or more congregations or parishes.

  • The largest Lutheran synod in Australia is the  LCANZ Synod, which in turn is made up of the District synods

  • Each District synod in turn is made up of individual congregations/parishes unique to that particular District: all of these together make up the Synod of the LCANZ (proper name, so a capital 'S')

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• Thirdly, ‘Synod’ is also used as an informal abbreviation for the triennial Convention of General Synod of the LCANZ.

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So putting all this together, the next triennial national Convention of General Synod to be held in Adelaide on 4-7 October 2024 is the time when the next opportunity to vote on decisions regarding the ordination of women will take place.   

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