Diocese of Armidale Synod begins tomorrow

The Synod of the Diocese of Armidale meets this weekend (Friday 26 – Sunday 28 September).

“Bishop Mark Calder (Bathurst Diocese) will join us on Sunday to preach at our concluding service.”

– It’d be good to uphold the Anglican churches of that diocese in your prayers.

Presidential Address — Bathurst Synod 2025

Video of Bishop Mark Calder’s Presidential Address to the Bathurst Diocesan Synod today is now available.

– Watch here.

See also:

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s sermon at last night’s Synod service – and his Saturday morning Synod Bible Study.

Thanksgiving in Sydney Synod as Bathurst Diocese shares what God has been doing

On Tuesday of this week, three representatives of the Diocese of Bathurst were welcomed to the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney – Bishop Mark Calder, Dr Warwick Baines (Registrar) and Adrian Ahern (Chancellor).

As shared with the Diocese of Bathurst via their Facebook page –

“Bishop Mark reported on all that God has been doing among us for his glory as we prioritise Sharing Jesus for Life.

He also thanked the Diocese of Sydney for their generous financial and prayerful support, which makes such a significant difference to the ministry here.

Finally, he shared the great need for more gospel workers, noting this would wonderfully maximise Sydney’s financial investment.”

 

These slides were used by Bishop Calder in his presentation –

The summary and further images can be seen at the Bathurst Facebook page.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, travelled to Bathurst Cathedral to speak at their Synod service tonight.

It’s all a great reminder to pray for the eternal welfare of the men and women of this huge area of NSW, and for the churches of the diocese as they are committed to Sharing Jesus for Life.

Thanks to the Diocese of Bathurst for the images.

A Bounceback in Attendance – and a clear mission goal

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“Twelve months ago we heard the sobering news of a significant attendance drop in Sydney Anglican Churches. Over the decade from 2013 to 2023, weekly attendance fell by 7% – and when you factor in population growth, attendance was 14% behind.

At last year’s Sydney Anglican Synod, the mood was serious. A resolution was passed calling for confession and humble repentance – acknowledging that their hadn’t been sufficient priority, attention, reflection, or resources to seeing the lost saved by Jesus. Synod called for a five-year focus to reverse the decline – putting prayer, evangelism, church health, and leadership development at the very centre of priorities.

Ahead of this year’s Synod, there is a response. The Standing Committee appointed a subcommittee, led by the Archbishop, to bring forward concrete proposals. And what they have come back with is significant:

• A galvanising target – to pursue 5% annual growth through conversion for the next five years.
• A range of initiatives and actions designed to support churches, leaders, and congregations in this mission.

Our guests are Pete Stedman, senior minister at Norwest Anglican Church, and a member of the Archbishop’s subcommittee that has proposed the new goal, Jon Kwan, lead pastor at St. David’s Forestville and Jo Gibbs, senior consultant with Reach Australia.”

– Watch or listen here.

Top Centre issue 2 for 2025

Top Centre is the News Publication of the Diocese of the Northern Territory.

The latest issue was published online a few weeks ago, and it’s ideal reading to fuel your thanksgiving and intercession for the churches and people of the Northern Territory.

At the moment the Diocesan Synod is meeting in Darwin (prayer point!) – so it’s good to read Bishop Greg Anderson’s article on the Diocese’s Strategic Plan –

“This is the last in my series of articles on the Diocese’s strategic plan. I have written before about our vision statement “Growing communities in the love of Jesus Christ” and about our values: love, unity in diversity, hope, integrity, courage, safety and faithfulness to our foundations. Now, finally, I want to say something about our two strategic objectives: “Promote the gospel” and “Provide effective support structures around ministry.”

Those two objectives are about what we plan to do, under God, to achieve the growth in our churches and Christian engagement with our neighbours across the Northern Territory which we all hope for.

Promoting the gospel starts with having at the very centre of all our ministries the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord. How much unpacking we have to do to get all the meaning from those four words, not to mention why we think this is a good strategy! …”

As well, there’s an article reflecting on Greg’s decade as Bishop, another on more Andersons moving to the Northern Territory, and much more.

Download your copy of this issue – On this page, click on the button “Download latest issue”.

And you can download the Strategic Plan poster and booklet from the Diocesan website.

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