1. Commend the compendium of Practices for a Restored Diaconate (2025) to the church as a working document.
2. Request that the dioceses of The Anglican Church of Canada engage actively with the compendium of Practices for a Restored Diaconate within their own contexts of ministry, studying and experimenting with the principles and practices recommended, and reporting back to the Faith, Worship, and Ministry Coordinating Committee by October of 2027.
3. Commend the compendium of Practices for a Restored Diaconate for the Diaconate to the theological colleges and ministerial training centres associated with The Anglican Church of Canada for study and feedback.
4. Commend the compendium of Practices for a Restored Diaconate to our ecumenical and full communion partners and official dialogues for study and feedback to the Faith, Worship, and Ministry Coordinating Committee by October of 2027.

Along with the creation of the Theological Statement on the Diaconate, Anglican Deacons Canada (ADC) commissioned the writing of a compendium of Best Practices. The Writing group studied the existing policies and practices of dioceses and worked out additional recommended practices drawing from the principles inherent in the theology of the diaconate, and based on experiences in ministry of Canadian deacons.

The resolution is aimed towards giving General Synod’s authority to a process of study and engagement with the document over the coming triennium. We are a church that has been living in to the renewed diaconate since the 1980s. Continuing to grow this order is important to the future ministry of the church in service of God’s mission in the world. The document at present is intended to be open, a working document painting a picture of what diaconal ministry can look like.

It is hoped that feedback from serious engagement by dioceses over the coming triennium may shape a next stage of work. The aim will be to provide guidance to help to order some common expectations  around the discernment, formation, education, deployment, licensing, and support for deacons across the church, expressed locally.

The staffing implication is that there is need for there to be staff dedicated to supporting this work in the coming triennium. Normally this is done through the management of regular Faith, Worship, and Ministry staff workloads, but requires that other things to fall to lesser priority attention or to inaction.

In the normal course, an ordinary motion must be passed by a majority of the members of General Synod present and voting together.

Six members of General Synod may, prior to the question being put, require a vote by Orders, with a majority of each Order being necessary to pass.

If a question passes on a Vote by Orders, any six members (two from each of three different dioceses) may immediately before the next item of business require a vote to be taken by dioceses. A motion passes if a majority (or a tie) of dioceses vote in favour.

Source: Sections 4 and 5 of the Declaration of Principles and sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Rules of Order and Procedure.