Although waning membership is not a new problem for church leaders, the Anglican report, presented in October to a closed-door meeting of the Church's House of Bishops, was a "wake-up call" to Anglican leaders, few of whom understood the depth or seriousness of the problem, said Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, the Anglican Primate of Canada.

Writing in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, in an article that appeared alongside the newly released instruction on homosexuality and the priesthood, Msgr. Anatrella wrote that the new Vatican Instruction barring homosexuals from Catholic seminaries was necessary because "homosexuality has become an increasingly worrisome problem," adding that the acceptance of homosexuality could have a "destabilizing" effect on the lives of individuals and on society at large.

Archbishop Yong, who will retire in February 2006 when he reaches his 65th birthday, requests the whole Province to remember Bishop John Chew, his family and his Diocese, in prayers.

The Extra-Ordinary meeting of the Synod is provided for by the Constitution of the Province for the specific purpose of choosing the new Archbishop.

Among them are the members of the All Saints congregation in Irondequoit.

All Saints was kicked out of the diocese because it refused to make its annual payment to the Diocese after the national Episcopal Church supported the ordaining of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire in 2003