Bishop of Bathurst’s newsletter – Lent edition 2023

Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder has published his Lent newsletter – a great way to be informed and to remember to pray for the people and churches of that diocese.

Download here as a PDF file – or on the Bathurst Facebook page.

Ordinations in Armidale — February 2023

From The Diocese of Armidale:

“Some good news for your encouragement.

On Saturday 18th February, ordinations were held at St Peter’s Cathedral, Armidale. Matthew Hearne, Angus Martin and Jeremy Lin were made Deacons; Matthew Stones, David Thompson and Philip van’t Spyker were made Presbyters.

This is the largest group ordained for some years and is a wonderful blessing for our Diocese. It was also great to see so many clergy and lay people from around our Diocese come to support and encourage the six men.

Give thanks to God for those he has called to be shepherds of His church and that the clergy team in our Diocese is growing. Pray also for the ministry of each of the men who were ordained.”

(Click the image for a larger version.)

New start at Cobar — Commissioning Saturday morning 11:00am

James Daymond will be commissioned to minister in Cobar on Saturday 18th February 2023 at 11:00am.

It’s been more than 20 years since there was a resident Anglican minister in Cobar. (According to the diocesan Facebook page, James’ great uncle was once the minister there.)

Please pray for James and Brittany Daymond and for the church in Cobar, that this will be for the eternal good of many people, and for the glory of Christ.

Here James and Brittany are pictured with Dr Warwick Baines, business manager and registrar of the Diocese of Bathurst.

You can watch the livestream here.

Darrell Parker to be installed as Bishop of North West Australia — Wednesday 9.00pm AEDT

Darrell Parker will be installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of North West Australia at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Geraldton tonight, Wednesday 15th February, at 6:00pm AWST (9:00pm AEDT).

We understand the service will be live-streamed – available via the Geraldton Cathedral website or on the Cathedral Youtube channel.

Photo: Darrell and Elizabeth Parker.

New start in West Wyalong

From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page – news from Saturday 11th February –

“A joy to see Steven and Caitlin Klouth warmly welcomed in West Wyalong as the Rev’d Steven Klouth was commissioned this morning as Priest-in-Charge.

This full time appointment would not be possible without the generous partnership of the Bush Church Aid Society.

NSW director of BCA, Paul Sampson joined us, as did CFO Greg Bridge and Chair of council, Fred Chilton and his wife Jill.”

– Food for your prayers.

Michael Calder appointed as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Wishart

From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page comes the news that the Rev. Michael Calder, who has been serving as Assistant at St Bart’s Toowoomba, has been appointed as as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Wishart in Brisbane.

Do pray for Michael and his wife Rachel and the St. John’s congregation, as well as for Peter Judge-Mears and his family and members of the church who formed Southern Cross Anglican Church, Southside late last year.

At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on the consecration – for the Diocese of North West Australia – of Bishop Darrell Parker:

“They came from all parts of Australia to see Bishop Darrell Parker consecrated as a bishop to serve the Diocese of North West Australia. But it was his former boss, the Bishop of Armidale Rod Chiswell, who summed up his task.

After a sermon from Titus chapter one, where the Apostle Paul exhorts Titus to appoint elders to the churches on Crete, Bishop Chiswell estimated there might be a similar number of churches in the Diocese of the North West.

He reminded the new Bishop of the sign over the doorway of the Armidale Diocese office which reads ‘Jesus is Lord’. ‘For people to have the certain hope of eternal life, we must keep speaking this truth in love,’ Bishop Chiswell (below) said. …”

– Read it all here.

Image of Mrs Elizabeth and Bishop Darrell Parker from the St. Andrew’s Cathedral lifestream.

‘LGBTQIA+ Anglicans [in Melbourne] standing proud amid same-sex marriage debate’

“LGBTQIA+ Anglicans in Melbourne are celebrating during the city’s annual Midsumma Festival amid news Church of England bishops have continued to prohibit same-sex marriages within the church.

The Midsumma Festival, which runs in January and February each year, is a month-long event showcasing LGBTQIA+ arts and culture. The festival was first held in 1988.

Churches and religious organisations have been involved with the festival for years. …”

– Story from The Melbourne Anglican.

(Photo: St. Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne as the backdrop for an evangelist’s sign on Princes Bridge.)

How do I pray for central west NSW?

Here’s a brief video from The Bush Church Aid Society’s National Director, the Rev Greg Harris.

Commissioning in Cowra

From the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page:

“A great afternoon commissioning Ben (with Alissa) Connelly for ministry in Cowra with great thanks to BCA for their partnership. In the photos you’ll see the Rev’d Greg Harris, national director of BCA and various Bathurst clergy and spouses of who gathered for today.”

– A cause for thanksgiving and prayer. See also the BCA website.

Darrell Parker be installed as Bishop of North West Australia on 15th February

The Diocese of North West Australia advises that Darrell Parker will be installed as the Bishop of North West Australia at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Geraldton on Wednesday 15th February at 6:00pm AWST (9:00pm AEDT).

“We would be delighted if you could join us for this special occasion, either in person or through the livestream.

But above all, please join us in praying for Darrell and Elizabeth as they work out how to serve God faithfully and well in this new role, and that under Darrell’s watch the gospel will be boldly proclaimed in all the towns in North West Australia.”

Darrell will be consecrated at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney at 7:00pm AEDT (4:00pm AWST) on Friday 3rd February 2023.

Both services will be live-streamed on the Geraldton Cathedral website.

Photo: Darrell and Elizabeth Parker.

Commissionings and encouragement in Bathurst Diocese

Many will be encouraged by recent news from Bathurst.

The Bishop’s Newsletter – Summer Edition 2023 is available for download (PDF file).

Bishop Mark Calder writes, “This is the second of a semi-regular newsletter from me as a way of trying to increase communication around the diocese.”

Highlights include:

COMMISSIONING SERVICES

Grenfell – Tim Smith 11am Sat Jan 21
Oberon – Jonny Lush 1.30pm Sun Jan 22
Cowra – Ben Connelly 1.30pm Sat Jan 28
West Wyalong – Steven Klouth 11am Sat Feb 11
Cobar – James Daymond 11am Sat Feb 18

Ordination—04 Mar, at the Cathedral, 10am – James Boardman to be made deacon.

There’s also a parish profile for the Parish of Kelso which is vacant (and in a strategic location).

There’s plenty to pray about for Bathurst (and other country dioceses). In particular, pray for Bishop Mark Calder and his wife Susan with oversight and responsibilities for such a large area of NSW. Pray for those beginning ministries from Oberon to Cobar, and for the churches in which they minister. Pray that the men and women of these country areas might thirst to hear the gospel and to know Christ.

Photos – Commissioning services held over the weekend for Tim (and Jess) Smith at Grenfell and Jonny (and Liz) Lush at Oberon. Via the diocesan Facebook page.

Bathurst Diocesan Prayer Diary 2023

Please be encouraged to pray for the churches and people of the Diocese of Bathurst using their 2023 Prayer Diary.

Downloadable here as a PDF file.

One of the prayer requests for Day 15 –

“Please pray for the financial sustainability task force, that you would give them wisdom as they seek to lead our diocese to a better financial position. …”

Bishop of Tasmania’s Training Event 2022

From the Diocese of Tasmania:

“On 17 and 24 September, over 500 Anglicans from across Tasmania gathered in Hobart and Launceston to attend the annual Bishop’s Training Event.

In its 6th year, it was our biggest year yet, and we enjoyed encouragements from Bishop Richard and Wei-Han Kuan (the State Director of CMS Victoria). We are making the videos of the keynotes available and you can watch them below.”

– Most encouraging.