Regional ministry in the Bathurst Diocese – Mark Calder, James Boardman and Sally Phelps

From Moore College:

“Vice Principal Simon Gillham chats with Bishop of the Bathurst Diocese, Mark Calder and regional workers James Boardman and Sally Phelps. They share the joys and challenges of doing ministry in a regional area and share about the exciting growth and opportunities available in the area.

Would you continue to pray for the gospel growth in the Bathurst Diocese and that many would head out into regional ministry.”

– Watch here, and do pray.

Latest North West Network (August 2024) now available


The latest North West Network (dated August 2024) – from the Diocese of North West Australia – is now available to be downloaded as a PDF file.

Use it to inform your prayers for the men and women, boys and girls, of the North West, and for the churches seeking to share the saving news of Jesus with them.

Plenty of encouragement.

– Download here. (1MB PDF file.)

The 2024 Synod Briefing Podcast now online

See also The Synod Survival Guide by Dr Robert Tong.

This very helpful introduction to Sydney Synod is presented by the Anglican Church League as a service to the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney.

– Download your copy here. (PDF file.)

Confronting the big attendance drop — with Toby Neal, Dave Jensen and Geoff Bates

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“What should the church pastor / staff team / church council or bishop do about the big drop in attendance?

A new report shows Adult Attendance in churches in Sydney is down 7% or 14% against population (over a decade).

Adult attendance declined at approximately two-thirds of Sydney Anglican comparable church centers, and only one-third of church centers recorded an increase in attendance.

The big problem is newcomers.  We just are not reaching them.  Newcomers are down to 5.4%.

And with fewer new people joining churches, the churches that are growing are primarily growing at the expense of churches that are declining.

A noticeable decline in attendance was recorded in 2018-2019, especially in the most rapidly secularising areas of our region.

The issues are not just external. We have internal issues. There are denominational and congregational factors at play. There are key church health characteristics that show internal health factors are lower in those regions – factors relating to congregational character and leadership. …”

– Watch or listen here as Toby Neal, Dave Jensen and Geoff Bates discuss with Dominic Steele.

A fresh encounter with John’s Gospel

“An epic Bible reading at St Jude’s Carlton invites attendees to encounter Jesus in a powerful and immersive way.

John’s Gospel will be read aloud in full, allowing people to experience the entire book and notice the threads running throughout.

The event is part of a series of free public readings Simon Camilleri will deliver across Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney churches in September 2024.

Mr Camilleri said he was excited to present the entire gospel story for people who may never have heard it before. …”

– Story on page 28 of The Melbourne Anglican for September 2024.

Simon is reading John’s Gospel at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney on Saturday 7th September.

Tribute to Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith by Ross Cobb

During the 10:30am service on Sunday (25th August 2024), Ross Cobb, Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, gave this tribute to Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith.

The service also featured hymns written by Bishop Dudley-Smith. (See it from the start here.)

Earlier posts.

Minister for Gulgong announced

From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:

“Bishop Mark Calder announced today the appointment of the Rev’d Josh Taylor as assistant priest in Cudgegong Valley, with responsibility for Gulgong. Josh and Jordon will arrive in Gulgong early in 2025. Praise God!”

– Read more here.

Also from the Diocese of Bathurst, here’s the latest list of parishes – for your prayers:

Epic Reading of the Gospel of John coming to St. Andrew’s Cathedral

From the Cathedral:

“On Saturday 7th September, at 3:30pm, St Andrew’s Cathedral will host an ‘Epic Reading’ of the entire Gospel of John, in our atmospheric Chapter House, off Bathurst Street, Sydney.

The expert reader will be Melbourne actor and author, Simon Camilleri, well known already for illuminating various books of the Bible by his public readings.

Thirty years ago, reading the Gospel of John was part of what changed Simon’s life.

In the same way that you can’t really understand the Lord of the Rings by watching a few short YouTube clips of the movie, Simon says some things can only be appreciated by seeing and hearing the whole. …”

– Read it all here – and see a video of Simon Camilleri with a sample.

And the Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant, invites you to be there:

Review – Darkness: The Conversion of Anglican Armidale

Presbyterian Minister Graham Barnes reviews Darkness: The Conversion of Anglican Armidale, 1960-2019, by Thomas Fudge.

“Darkness is Professor Fudge’s ‘accidental (p.1)’ book on the history of the Anglican Diocese of Armidale from 1960 to 2019, and the battles between theological liberalism and evangelicalism. The book is thirteen chapters long, 800+ pages, and for the most part theology and history are interwoven.

For Fudge, the watershed moment was the 1964 Election Synod where the evangelical Clive Kerle was elected Bishop of the Diocese. …

Not being an Anglican, and not knowing the individuals nor the events that Fudge seeks to describe, I will try limit this review more to Fudge’s theology, focusing on the earlier and later parts of his book. In truth, many of his comments, in particular about individuals, were poor to say the least.”

– Read the full review at AP.

Related:

Responses to a new book about the recent history of the Diocese of Armidale – 09 April 2024.

“John Chapman led a diocese to go evangelical, and outrage lingers still” – 17 June 2023.

Chappo’s contribution to the Anglican Diocese of Armidale – Tim Stevens, 2014.

John Chapman touched on his time in Armidale several times in this 2012 interview with Richard Chin (on Vimeo). If you only have time for one segment, you may want to jump to 1:13:27. (He recalls events around the 1959 Billy Graham Crusade.)

Bold plan to build one new church every year

“Sydney Anglican Property’s fundraising arm, New Churches for New Communities (NCNC), has set itself an ambitious goal – but one that, according to executive director Ed Hercus, is needed to meet the challenge of modern Sydney.

‘Our goal is to be building a church a year over the next 30 years on the land that Sydney Anglican Property “banks” in the greenfield and urban infill areas’ …”

– Russell Powell has this encouraging piece at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Armidale Diocese “The Link” for July-August 2024

Earlier we missed mentioning that the current issue of The Link – the magazine of the Diocese of Armidale – for July and August 2024 is now up on their website.

For your encouragement and prayers. (PDF file.)

Dr Rhys Bezzant to be next Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne

“The Reverend Canon Dr Rhys Bezzant has been announced as the new principal of Ridley College.

Canon Bezzant is currently dean of Missional Leadership at Ridley College, and a canon of St Paul’s Cathedral.

In its announcement, the Ridley College Board said ‘Rhys has demonstrated experience of and love for mentoring [and] equipping the next generation of men and women for God’s mission.’…”

– News from The Melbourne Anglican.

More at the Ridley College website, including a video message.

Homelessness Week

“Homelessness is an awful situation to be in. The 2021 national census found that over 122,000 Australians were homeless – this category includes rough sleepers, those in homeless shelters or boarding houses, ‘couch surfers’, and those in severely crowded dwellings. Another 93,000 people were found to be living in marginal housing, such as caravan parks. …

At the Cathedral we’ve taken some small steps in trying to care for our homeless and housing-insecure neighbours.

Our Monday and Tuesday ‘Street T’ breakfasts are, at heart, an expression of Christian hospitality. Meeting on the street – just outside the Cathedral building – we serve a simple meal and, most importantly, lend a listening ear. …”

– At the St. Andrew’s Cathedral website, Community Chaplain Rob Elder asks for your prayers for this important ministry.

On use of the Lectionary

“Way back when I was 10 (55 years ago), I used to grab dad’s lectionary before we went to Evening Prayer on a Sunday so that I could bookmark the readings in my Bible and have them ready to find during the service.

I recall even then that there were many Sundays where the readings used were different from those in the lectionary. ‘Why don’t they use the set readings dad?‘ ’Because Mr Goodhew (our rector), likes to work through a whole book at a time.’…”

– In an “From the Bishop’s Desk” article (PDF file), Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder explains why some churches use the Lectionary, and some don’t. Which might be most helpful?

It might not be a question you are asking – but, then again, it might be! And it is an encouragement to all of us to treasure God’s word and to seek to grow to maturity in Christ.

Cross Cultural Sydney

“In many ways in Sydney, mission has come to us. Nations all around the world have come to our doorstep providing us with an abundance of opportunities to share our faith with them. There is a joy in knowing that we are all one people in Christ Jesus. But ministries focussed on a specific culture or people group can also be highly beneficial and effective. I myself became a Christian through going to an ethnicity-based church. When you are reminded every day that you stand out from the crowd, being with others who stand out with you can be a strong drawcard in building a community.

At Moore, we benefit from the wisdom and experience of people who continue on this work of evangelising a specific people group. Their insight, knowledge and research are generously shared with us to grow the next generation of gospel workers reaching the nations. I look forward to gathering before the throne of the Lamb with every nation, tribe, people and language (Rev 7:9) and singing his praises with these, and many other, people groups. …”

– The Rev Susan An, Dean of Women at Moore College, helps us to get to know some of the people groups of Sydney.

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