Welcome
Welcome by the Moderator of the
South Western Synod
Copyright Exeter City Council
Welcome!
The South Western Synod is pleased to provide the
venue for this year's meeting of General Assembly. You will have travelled
through a large part of the Synod to get to Exeter, but there is a lot more
of it between Exeter and Falmouth. From here down, the Peninsula shapes not
only the geography but the way of life. The pace of life is slower, people
like to savour life rather than rush head long through it. It is not just
the Cornish who think of England as a foreign country. There is an idyllic
charm to much of Devon, but the crisis in rural communities is real. There
are serious questions to be asked as to how we manage the environment.
Farming is about more than producing cheap food. Without a viable farming
industry, much of village life will disappear. The South West is a holiday
destination for many visitors. Large parts of the region depend upon
tourism, a low wage industry. House prices are out of the reach of the
children of local people, as high earners from other parts of the country
purchase second homes.
St. Boniface is thought to have been born at Crediton
and his first monastic experience was here in Exeter. From here he went on
to have great success as a missionary in Germany. Perhaps the spirit of St
Boniface lingers on and will enable each of you to return to your own
congregations with a renewed enthusiasm for the work that God is calling us
to. There are many places worth a visit, if you have the time, from coastal
resort to isolated moor, from small village to bustling port. The South West
for many people is a place to step aside from the stress of life, a place of
renewal. I hope that amidst the packed agenda of Assembly you can make the
time to step aside from the stress of modern life and be renewed for the
task ahead. If you do nothing else, at least get off the M5 and sample a
real Devon Cream Tea before you go home.
We hope that your time at Assembly gives you a sense
of the bigger picture and that your horizons are stretched beyond the
Assembly Hall.
David Grosch-Miller,
Moderator, South Western Synod
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