By the Most Reverend R.H. Goodhew, Archbishop of Sydney Monday 11 October 1999.
Brothers and sisters, I welcome you to this first session of the 45th Synod of the Diocese of Sydney. I welcome especially those who are here for the first time. Let me briefly remind you who we are. We are the church of God at Sydney (at least in its Anglican expression). We gather in a representative capacity to determine on issues that affect both our corporate life and the life of our individual fellowships. It is important as we set about our business that we not forget who we are, what we are to each other, what we are meant to be like, what we are meant to do, and the end towards which we move. We are not just any old company of people. We are the people of God, called to be His, in this place and at this time.
The Rt Rev Josiah Idowu-Fearon
My next duty, and it is a great pleasure, is to welcome to the Diocese the Bishop of Kaduna in Nigeria, Josiah Idowu-Fearon.
Bishop Josiah's presence at this Synod indicates something of the deep impression that was made on the Sydney participants in the Lambeth Conference by the church in Nigeria. The accounts of their outreach, their struggles, and the movement of the Holy Spirit in that part of Africa, filled us with admiration and respect.
The Inter-Anglican Information Network reports that,
Nigeria, one of the fastest growing Provinces of the Anglican Communion, has a total Population of 120,000,000. Thirty-nine dioceses serve this growing church population. …Over 40% of the population of Nigeria is Christian, with 40% being Muslim.
A rebirth of Christianity began with the arrival of Christian freed slaves in Nigeria in the middle of the 19th century. The Church Missionary Society responded to this situation by establishing churches, schools and an evangelistic ministry throughout the country, particularly in the south. The Province of Nigeria was inaugurated in 1979 when the Province of West Africa was divided. In often-difficult circumstances, the Church has maintained a strong witness to Christ.
I hope we may forge stronger links with this part of the African continent.
Bishop Josiah is married with three children. He was ordained in 1971 and consecrated in 1990. He has taken degrees in the Universities of Durham, Birmingham, Ahmadu Bello, and at Hartford Seminary. From 1981-1990 he served as General Secretary - Nigeria for EFAC (the Evangelical Fellowship of the Anglican Communion), from 1981-1984 as Warden of St Francis Theological College, and from 1984-1990 as Provost of St Michael's Cathedral, Kaduna. In that year he was consecrated as the Bishop of Sokoto, and in 1997 became Bishop of Kaduna Diocese. His wife Comfort Amina accompanies him. He has already spoken at the Synod service. The bishop will lead our Bible studies during this Synod and will speak to us at our Missionary Hour. He will also be speaking in churches in the Diocese while he is with us and will return for the CMS Summer School next January.
It is my hope that as a Diocese we will continue to build strong fraternal links with Dioceses in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America. With this in mind, I have visited the Dioceses of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sabah. Archbishop Maurice Sinclair of Northern Argentina wishes to establish a link with us. I thank Bishop Reg Piper for his initiative in bringing Bishop Yong Ping Chung of Sabah to minister among us recently. Bishop Ntukamazina of Bujumbura and Bishop Bilindabagabo of Gahini have also spent time here. My hope is that such exchanges will promote mutual encouragement and spiritual enrichment as well as keeping our eyes on the world in which we are to mission. Awareness of what God is doing beyond our own shores enables us to join in that fellowship of prayer and mutual concern that is rightly the mark of the family of Christ. I hope that you will extend a warm and gracious welcome to our brother and his wife.
World Evangelisation
A Christian Synod assembles here because someone was prepared to leave home to make Christ known. The task of taking the gospel to every creature is not yet complete. On the verge of a new millennium the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has initiated for July 29 to August 6 next year Amsterdam 2000, a Conference of 10,000 preaching evangelists from all parts of the globe aimed at encouraging world evangelisation. CanonROBERT FORSYTH has been involved in the planning of the Conference. I thank him for his work knowing how greatly the Conference planners have valued his contribution. I invite your prayers for this mammoth undertaking.
World evangelisation is our concern because of God's declared purpose. It must be kept in the foreground of our thinking and praying. Earlier this year, my wife and I had the privilege of visiting both Ethiopia and India. In Ethiopia we shared in the opening of new buildings at the Fistula Clinic in Addis Ababa, marking 25 years of service to the women of Ethiopia through the work of Dr Catherine Hamlin and her late husband Reg. This work has blessed the lives of thousands of women and led many to a new life in Christ.
In India we participated in the Maramon Convention in the State of Kerala. The Mar Thoma Church maintains an active and sustained witness to Christ. We met many young people training to be evangelists and church workers. It was a wonderful experience to witness crowds of up to 100,000 gathering for Bible study and preaching. I enjoyed meeting clergy who had ministered to the Mar Thoma congregation in this Diocese.
Some will be familiar with the name of Patrick Johnstone from your use of Operation World. Johnstone has recently produced a further book entitled The Church is Bigger Than You Think: Structures and Strategies for the Church in the 21st Century. It provides a stimulating assessment of what has been accomplished over two millennia and highlights what is yet to be done.
We are certainly here to do the business of the Synod. However it is important not to limit our horizons to the challenges of our own Diocese. Johnstone proposes a model of inter-relatedness between bodies that he considers are critical in the effective pursuit of world evangelisation. I have chosen to use it, not only as a way of looking at our involvement in reaching the world, but as a way of considering our work in the Diocese. His model is "a tripartite inter-relatedness between three basic structures - churches, theological training institutions and apostolic sending agencies." For him, "each is a valid biblical structure and each has its individual strengths and giftings to contribute to the whole". No one of them alone "can keep central the accomplishment of the Great Commission without the other two". What is required is a "mutually accountable partnership of equals".
Our Churches
So first, the churches of the Diocese. They are the "seed-bed" of all mission and evangelism. From this source come the people, the prayer, the finance necessary for the task, and the spiritual fervour which makes the task a priority. As parish representatives, please buy Johnstone's book. Encourage your Parish Council to use it. You are 'gatekeepers' in the life of your churches. Evaluate your mission strategy and your involvement with the other partners in the triad. The book provides valuable checklists with which to assess what you are doing. I challenge you to study it, and to pray through it, with a view to focusing your parish on the wider world as well as on its special areas of responsibility.
Our congregations are not only the "seed-bed" of mission and evangelism; each provides a basic environment for the nurture of spiritual life. The term "Church Growth" generally moves our minds in the direction of numbers. That is not wrong as the text of Acts demonstrates. Nevertheless "Church Growth" must include that element most prominent in the Epistles, namely, the growth to maturity and faithfulness of those who are Christ's people. We cannot avoid the responsibility of being Observably God's People. To be a mile wide but only an inch deep is not great success. Such growth comes from the Spirit through the Word of God and by prayer. The spiritual disciplines that produce strong and gracious believers need to be pressed upon God's people. Spiritual maturity does not need to be pursued at the expense of being Evangelistically Enterprising. It is simply to recognise that a healthy church, displaying the sort of life described in Scripture, will be the best source of enterprising evangelism.
The growth rate of the churches in this Diocese from 1991-96 was approximately 4%. However, the National Church Life Survey's publication Build My Church projected the combined Anglican and Protestant church attenders in Australia to the year 2011. One graph plotted the "As Is" scenario. It predicted a fall from some 695,000 in 1996 to 660,000 in 2011. Graphing all Anglicans separately revealed a decline from about 160,000 to approximately 117,000 over the same period. A second set of graphs expressed what was possible if the churches achieved a relatively small percentage increase in the level of newcomers and a similar reduction in those who drift out. Instead of the pattern of decline, one scenario produced an increase for the same period of some 45,000, and the second an increase of 85,000 or more. This issues a call to everyone for thoughtful and prayerful missioning and for effective pastoral care. Also significant for the future is the projection that by 2025, 49% of people living in this Diocese will be non-Anglo-Celts. Of that 49%, 21% will be East Asian. The cultural and ethnic diversity of parts of the Diocese, especially the George's River Region, makes them and it veritable "mission fields" at home. There exists a good case officially to declare an area a "Missionary Region" and to support it commensurately. It will certainly require special consideration in future ministry planning.
Along with its alternative futures Build My Church presented ten recommendations to help churches turn possibilities into actualities. Their insights were gathered from 20 Denominations, 6,900 congregations and 324,000 attenders. Natural Church Development, first published in 1996, is subtitled "A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches". It describes those elements in the life of a church that give rise to numerical growth. That research, which originated in Germany, was spread over 32 countries and involved some 1000 churches. Now NCLS and CCLS, together with material from the Australian Community Survey, have publishedTaking Stock. These three resources should be thoroughly explored by every parish. Being Pastorally Effectiveis a handy description for the personal interaction, support, community building, and nurture, which these surveys stress as important for the quality of congregational life. The nurture of leaders who nurture other new leaders, who in turn enhance the life of individuals in small groups, lies at the heart of modern pastoral ministry. God's people need individual attention. The teaching and internalising of God's Word lies at the heart of pastoral ministry. The church is the men and women who follow Christ. The quality of their lives measures the quality of a church. So, keep under review the effectiveness of your church's pastoral ministry.
The need for 'an outward focus' was highlighted by the NCLS. The German research saw such a focus developing naturally (or supernaturally!) in a healthy church. However viewed, we must aim to be Evangelistically Enterprising. While stressing the necessity of making Christ known we need to leave the question of appropriate methodology as an open one for each church. Each individual must be free to interpret God's will for himself or herself in the light of the God-given gifts of each and the opportunities that come to them.
Each of these pieces of research underlines the importance of genuine and practical love. The spirit that pervades the instructions of St Paul is that of a community created by grace learning to live graciously: loving as they themselves are loved by God. To be Genuinely Caring is not just an option available to us, it is a requirement that has been laid upon us. History teaches again and again that the church grows when the gospel is seen as well as heard. So, keep a check on the "Caring" component of your church's life. Keep all these elements active and under regular review within your congregation.
A Dynamic Anglicanism has the capacity to introduce people to "inspiring worship" that is biblically founded, theologically tested, and focused on our great God. It will allow for the evangelisation of the lost as well as for the spiritual needs and obligations of the saints. It can be 'contemporary' without jettisoning substance. "Inspiredness" is the product of the work of the Spirit. Our dependence upon him needs to be expressed in our frequently calling upon him for that which he alone can do. As a Diocese we now reflect a considerable diversity in service patterns. From those among you who might judge yourselves to be "high" or "middle" to those who rejoice in being "low"; and from those who use officially authorised services to those who take significant liberties in service construction, I invite you to hear what the German research indicates. It is that in public worship, neither beauty, nor order, neither contemporaneousness nor local options will, of themselves, ensure spiritual satisfaction and growth. There is a necessary element beyond all and any of these. That element is God himself.
Training Institutions
The second component of Johnstone's tripartite model is those institutions that train men and women for ministry. Maintaining our own theological college creates a strong bond between Moore College and the Diocese. It is developing a respected reputation in other parts of the Evangelical world. As Principal, Canon Dr. Peter Jensen ably leads its life. The College plays a vital role in the formation of those who minister in our churches. The creation of a Department of Mission at Moore expresses a commitment to inspire and equip students for mission. The College has changed. Once, the student body was almost wholly prospective ordinands for the Diocese. Today, with some 200 students, about a third are training for ordination in the Diocese, another third are training to take up non-ordained ministry positions in the Diocese, while the remainder come from other denominations, or are people who will either return to secular life, or serve elsewhere, or are the wives of students. Johnstone thinks, "It is more than tragic that the whole discipline of missiology has been relegated to a minor and supplementary role in most schools." I do not believe that such can be said of our College. However, the 'Mission of God' in the world must impact every aspect of biblical and theological study and leaven all that a student learns.
The enterprise of theological education is not without its problems. In the first instance there are the costs of funding four years of full time residential training. 'Full time' and 'residential' are concepts that we hold to be important for those who are to be ordained here. These components make possible valuable peer support both while training and for the years of future ministry. They also allow for closer observation of those offering for ordination. However, they come at a price both to the Diocese and the students. Necessity has already dictated compromise on the element of being fully 'residential'. The costs for the Diocese you will see reflected in the Appropriations Ordinance (now known as the Synod Estimates Ordinance). What is not so immediately obvious, are the considerable costs borne by those who come to study. Because the Synod underwrites the expenses of the College, the College Council has an obligation to manage its resources in the most efficient manner. On the other hand, the Synod has an obligation to recognise the importance of good training for those who serve in the Diocese. It is important that we have long-term plans for providing reasonable accommodation for students of whom the greater number are married, as well as for large capital items such as library extensions. Our College actively seeks the support of parishes and individuals by way of prayer and gifts. A fruitful partnership between churches and training institutions properly requires mutuality. Our churches need to support our College. Equally, parishioners need to be heard. They receive the products of our training system. More to the point, the character, capacity and spirit of those sent out to serve will significantly shape them and their children. If we follow Johnstone's model our mission agencies must also be an active partner in an ongoing consultation with the Diocese and its churches and our training institutions.
A further concern is what should be taught during the years of initial training. It is clearly neither possible nor appropriate to try to teach in that basic training period everything that will need to be known for a lifetime of practical ministry. There are at least four avenues open to people to pursue what in other contexts would be called 'professional development'. There is our Continuing Education for Ministry Unit (CEFM) which focuses principally, though not exclusively, on assisting those who are newly ordained. It conducts programs for those about to take up first appointments and for those preparing for the last decade of their ministry. There is a plethora of training opportunities both Christian and secular for those wishing to develop additional and specialised skills but these can be costly. Moore College offers post-graduate opportunities for further theological studies. More recently we have developed our Ministry Assessment Centre (MAC). The Centre provides an opportunity for clergy to gain greater insights into their own gifts and abilities and to identify areas that would benefit from some closer attention. I want to encourage the lay representatives here to consult with your ministers about their participation in one of the Centre's programs. Those who have attended have found the experience affirming and constructive. All this said, it is true nevertheless, that we spend the lion's share of our training dollar in the initial phase of preparation and a relatively small proportion thereafter. In other fields it is not unusual today for people to have substantial retraining every decade. It would be wise for us to consider ways by which we can ensure the ongoing capacities of our clergy.
The opinion has been expressed that our selection criteria and training processes tend to exclude people who might be most committed to, and best suited for, ministry in those sections of our society less well represented in our churches. The lack of opportunity for part-time study and an almost exclusive concentration on one learning model are considered by some to deprive us of people whose skills and intelligence run in other channels. The Western and George's River Regions are giving particular attention to these issues. I hope we will soon be able to assess the results of their work.
For some time now successive Archbishops have faced a problem in finding local clergy for some of our parishes. The parishes in question are those that may not consider themselves to be 'mainstream' Sydney (if I may be permitted that form of description without giving offence) or who are looking for a 'traditional' expression of Anglican worship. The difficulty takes three forms. The first is finding rectors for such parishes from the ranks of people trained within the Diocese. We have certainly benefited from the contribution of those who come from elsewhere. Honesty demands that we acknowledge the talent and genuine goodwill that many such appointments have brought us. However, it appears to me that, in past years, we were better placed to fill most of these parishes with clergy who had trained in our own college. The second is finding assistant ministers for such parishes from among our own ordinands. The third is unwillingness on the part of the incumbents of such parishes to encourage their potential candidates to train here. They say their students find our training environment uncongenial. One way to address this concern would be to provide, for the limited number of candidates concerned, an individually negotiated path to ordination. Different as this might be, it would allow the Archbishop an opportunity to collaborate in, and to monitor the candidate's formation. Presently the Archbishop has no input into the preparation of those who come to serve here from other dioceses in the circumstances I have described. One further category of churches is finding difficulty in attracting ministers. There is a reluctance to take up appointments in areas removed from Sydney or in situations that might be thought to be difficult and uncongenial. This concerns me greatly. I do not underestimate the challenge that some situations present. I do hope however that some of our own most capable people will consider whether God would have them take up such ministries. I am not anxious to look elsewhere for staff for such parishes.
Mission Agencies and Societies
Introducing the third element of his tripartite structure for world mission Johnstone quotes from missiologist David Bosch.
There can be no doubt that as early as the late first century; a shift in the understanding of the Church had set in. In fact, some of the New Testament texts already reflect a situation where the mobile ministry of apostles, prophet, and evangelists was beginning to give way to the settled ministry of bishops (elders) and deacons. The creative tension between these two dynamics of the Church's ministry collapsed in favour of the second.
He quotes Ralph Winter's 1971 article Churches need missions because modalities need sodalities. That is, sodalities, by which he means societies, fellowships, and mission agencies, assist modalities, that is the structured churches, to fulfil the apostolic and missionary tasks that the Spirit would pursue.
We have a number of mission agencies that have links with our Diocese. I urge them to play an active role in seeking to influence both training and church life. Such Societies depend upon our parishes and church members for recruits, prayer support, and finance. I urge you again to have a positive and well-designed 'into all the world' strategy in your church. Make use of the new CMS publication "God's Mission and Ours". The financial needs of these bodies are often a matter of great concern. I encourage you to be generous. I press you to pursue the Societies for their participation in the life of your church. Don't leave it to them to seek you out. Take seriously Johnstone's call for "mutual accountability".
Further, the role of 'sodalities' is not limited to societies that focus our attention on the world beyond our Diocese. Check our Diocesan Year Book. Currently there are 80 or more. They cover a wide range of activities. All of them aim to advance the cause of Christ in the Diocese and beyond. Let me highlight just a few for you.
Vision 2001
When this Synod concludes, the Diocese will have experienced some 15 years of the operation of first, Vision for Growth, and then Vision 2001. In the 7 years of Vision for Growth a sum of $7,159,666 was raised. By the end of 1998 an additional $7,086,102 had been raised through Vision 2001: a total of more than $14 million. With those resources 11 new sites have been purchased, 14 churches, 12 ministers' residences, and 4 other buildings for ministry purposes. Assistance for ministry has been provided in 25 different locations, and resources of various kinds supplied in another 14 situations. I wish to thank the current chairman Bishop Watson, and Mrs Burcher and her staff, for all they do to produce such outcomes. I particularly express gratitude to all who have contributed so generously to this initiative originally undertaken by Archbishop Robinson. It will be necessary for the Diocese to give thought to long term planning for capital expenditure on new church facilities. Expensive re-developments and land requirements in new areas like Rouse Hill still lie ahead of us. They are crucial for expanded ministry.
Low Fee Schools
When addressing the Synod of 1994 I spoke of a new two pronged strategy in education. First, we should continue actively supporting the State system with the provision of a high standard of Special Religious Education. Second, that we have some complementary models to that system, and in addition to our existing schools, offer some low-fee Anglican Schools that are linked through the local parishes with a strategy of church growth and gospel outreach.
Since then we have actively pursued both strategies. I thank Dr Grant Maple and all those associated with the education aspects of the Anglican Youth and Education Division for their work in maintaining our position of influence in the State Schools of New South Wales. This is vital, and those who interact with government, prepare and publish material, and encourage and prepare teachers, serve the cause of Christ in the Diocese with great distinction. They make possible our work in this vast mission field carried out so faithfully by people drawn from the parishes of the Diocese.
In pursuit of the second element the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation by the end of first term next year will have commenced 6 new schools. I congratulate and thank the Rev Ian Mears, the members of the Corporation, Mr John Lambert, and Mr Guy Yeomans. There are at least another five areas where new schools could be opened with great effect. Our chief difficulty is the cost of land for new schools. I entreat the Synod to see the creation of these schools as a highly significant strategy for the future for which provision must be made to acquire suitable sites.
I ask you also to consider the long-term benefits of sympathetically encouraging our older and well-established schools. They represent a wonderful opportunity for influencing generations of young men and women. I am truly grateful to the heads and members of staff who seek to pursue their service to God in this crucial area.
Youth and Children's Ministry
In May, I formally launched Anglican Youthworks (previously Anglican Youth and Education Division), a new entity created to provide a new approach to children, young people and families. There is now a fresh opportunity to see the ministry landscape for young people change. The key work focuses on integration, that is, each local church being assisted to have an integrated ministry pattern that reaches from the cradle to young adulthood. Youthworks is seeking to recapture a vision and strategy for touching the lives of 'lost children'. Scripture in Schools is probably the largest Bible-based teaching ministry in the world.
Youthworks has developed a Youth Ministry Health Analysis for use in a local church. Youthwork's advisers have identified six main characteristics of a healthy youth group. They have developed an assessment tool that reveals the relative strengths and key areas on which the church and leaders can focus their training and resources. I strongly recommend that you make contact with Youthworks to help you in your parish.
An issue of deep concern to me personally, and I hope it is to you, is the number of churches that cannot find a children's or youth minister. To address this need The Anglican Youthworks Children and Youth Ministry Training College has been created as an initiative dedicated to equipping people both theologically and practically for serving in these increasingly complex and challenging fields. The College will train a new generation of people with a passion for children's and youth ministry.
A series of dynamic, Bible learning resources for church-based children's and youth groups are in preparation. Called Under Construction, these new resources will be available next year. A further dimension of their work is the development of LifeWorks. This is an explanation of the Christian faith, developed by Canon ROBERT FORSYTH at St Barnabas Broadway. It is an approach to evangelism that assumes nothing and allows a person to move toward Christ at his or her own pace. Over 8-9 weeks, it presents the Christian faith in a personal way. It promises that people will discover what Christians believe and why, and that they can have fun in the process.
This Diocese has, in the past, led the way in innovative youth and education ministries. Youthworks offers the prospects of a new era in this important area of our work. I want to express gratitude to Dr Lindsay Stoddart for his energetic pursuit of this vision. Use Youthworks and support them in every way possible.
Media
In July 1993 Standing Committee amalgamated the three media agencies that then served the Diocese to become our present Anglican Media Sydney (AMC). The strategy was to focus our media relations and communications work into the one effective unit. Standing Committee reviewed the operation of the AMC last year at the end of its first five years. Their report says: "The merging of the three previous diocesan organisations into the AMC has been a success." Deaconess Margaret Rodgers is to be commended for her leadership. While the printed word will always be with us, as will sharing the gospel face to face, we must be engaged in the wide-open opportunities that exist for evangelism using the communication mediums of this age. The Southern Cross Newspaper is now an important communication vehicle for the Diocese. We have revitalised radio and television work, with a fast developing documentary production unit. Anglican Media is becoming an increasingly valuable resource production unit for diocesan and other Christian agencies. According to network sources one AMC TV program, shown early Sunday mornings on the Nine Network for 40 weeks in the year, averages 55,000 viewers. This roughly equals the number of people in church in the Diocese on any one Sunday. The Anglican Media web site averages 3,200 visitors (about 70,000 hits) each month, and some sixty per cent of the visitors are from some 39 different countries. The second and newer site is specifically evangelistic in intention, and is of particular interest to younger people. Visits and hits are fast approaching the same numbers as the other Anglican Media site.
Practical Love and Concern
Two of the largest organisations associated with the Diocese are the Home Mission Society - 'Anglicare' and the Anglican Retirement Villages.
Anglicare provides an impressive array of services that proclaim Christ, enhance the ministry of our churches and touch the lives of many people. Hospitals, Jails, Aged Care facilities, Cross Cultural work, Welfare, Emergency Services, Disability Services, Charlton Youth Services, Kingsdene, Child and Family Services, Adoption Services, and Opportunity Shops represent something of the breadth of this work. I express my appreciation to Howard Dillon, his staff and the members of the Council for all that is done, and in addition, initiatives like Prom Praise. This arm of our life and ministry ought to attract our enthusiastic support and prayers. I doubt that there is anything quite its equal in the Anglican Communion.
Our Retirement Villages have developed from small beginnings to some 24 villages and related services. The Board, of which Bishop Watson is Chairman and the CEO Mr Jim Longley, are to be congratulated for the development and management of these facilities. This year they celebrate 40 years of progress in fulfilling Dorothy Mowll's vision of care for aging servants of Christ.
Evangelism
Our Department of Evangelism serves the parishes of the Diocese with the gifts of able evangelists. "Fresh Start 2000" is an outreach venture to mark the new Millennium. It is being organised for April/May next year by the Department with the assistance of Youthworks and Anglican Media. The mission focus is a 'fresh start' for non-believers of all ages, but it is also 'fresh' in a number of other respects. The mission is planned to be local church based, allowing for a flexibility of approach, and will involve the ministry of local evangelists. A significant component will be the availability of multi-media resources - for example, books, cassettes, and an Internet site. Training sessions and an ongoing program of prayer are integral components of this mission. Already a number of parishes have indicated their willingness to be involved. I commend this very innovative mission to all parishes in our Diocese as a way of marking the significance of the year 2000.
Olympic Games Task Force and The Olympics
Six years ago Sydney was awarded the 2000 Olympic Games. Seizing the moment, the Synod of October 1993 passed five motions suggesting that we examine ways by which we might serve and evangelise our community during the Olympics. As a consequence I formed an Olympic Task Force under the Chairmanship of Bishop Brian King with an experienced parish clergyman and sportsman Rev David Tyndall as Director. Since then three groups have been targeted: parishioners, athletes and their family members, and visitors to Sydney. A number of ministry projects have been initiated: Scripture distribution, sports ministry, athletes family host program, evangelistic events connected to the opening and closing ceremonies, and creative arts to mention a few among many. Parishioners have been alerted to the opportunities open to them, including programs for the Paralympics, through a brochure distributed in the August edition of Southern Cross. Ronald Conway the author of "The Lucky Country" said, "The nation has long cherished one perennial excitement, one lifted to the status of a cult - Sport. Over 60 % of children 5-14 years of age play organised sport, while only 3% attend Sunday School.
Australia has 6.4 million registered sports people. 70% of Australia watch some part of a football match on television every week. The United Kingdom and the USA are much more active in effective sports ministry than we have been to date. David Tyndall is helping us narrow that gap.
God willing, when I address you next year the Olympics Games will have concluded. The Olympics and Paralympics, offer Christians a marvellous opportunity to share the love of God with people. I am greatly encouraged that some 150 parochial units in the Diocese have indicated to the Task Force a willingness to be involved. Please, make the most of this occasion. Pray for the Director as he offers our churches enthusiastic leadership through the open door of opportunity provided by sport.
Mother's Union
The Mother's Union has served in this Diocese for over 100 years. For 8 years they have employed a part-time worker among single parent families. This work has been carried on in three different parishes. In each the MU Workers have been instrumental in bringing families into the life of the church and many women have made personal commitments to Jesus. For nearly 60 years members have been visiting new mothers in maternity hospitals. Many lives have been changed. One couple has entered Moore College. Currently there is in operation a Millennium Project to distribute 10,000 copies of St Luke's Gospel in the Maternity-visiting program in Sydney, as well as to families in parish playgroups. 20 other dioceses around Australia have been encouraged to join in this project. Some 54,000 gospels have been ordered so far. A roster of members is being organised to visit a mother in Emu Plains Prison who has two small boys with her. Members are praying that they will be able to extend this ministry to other mothers in prison and that it will be possible to set up something of a playgroup atmosphere for them. For a decade MU have held regular training courses for members in Christianity Explained. Those trained have then returned to their parishes to use this evangelistic material. St. John's Camden is using the MU Evangelism Committee to train their MU members this year to enable them to set up courses throughout the parish. During the last 40 years members have been serving morning tea to people waiting for their cases to be heard at 8 of the Children's and Family Courts in the Diocese. The Christian love and sympathy shown to them at this traumatic time have encouraged many people.
Supporting the "Sodalities"
I have taken this opportunity to remind the Synod of just some of the "sodalities" which enhance and supplement the work of our churches. I do so because I detect at times, in some quarters, a less than positive attitude towards some of our diocesan organisations. We must never forget, or perhaps act as if we forget, that these organisations are an integral part of our whole work: part of a dynamic triad. Engaged in our own parishes it is possible to overlook the larger network that carries forward our mission to the world in our own Diocese. As Ralph Winter observed, 'modalities' need 'sodalities'. Johnstone's formula is churches, training institutions and apostolic ministries. We have all three. So I ask you enthusiastically to embrace afresh in both prayer and interest these elements of our corporate life that serve the cause of the kingdom among us.
General Issues
The Sudan
Earlier this year I was visited by a group of men from the Sudan. They came to draw my attention to the desperate and horrible circumstances of people living in the Sudan: especially in the southern part of the country. They represented to me the pitiable conditions of fellow Christians who suffer acutely at the hands of their implacable persecutors. I have written to the Prime Minister who has responded through the Deputy Prime Minister outlining actions taken by Australia to bring the problems of the Sudan before the UN Commission on Human Rights and of the $6.9 million of aid provided in 1998/99. The disheartening comment was the observation that it was difficult to be "confident of any early improvements". I have also written to the Chairman of the National Council of Churches in Australia. He has referred my letter to the General Secretary, the Rev David Gill. Attempts to address the evils in this country come to frustrating roadblocks. I bid you pray for our brothers and sisters in the Sudan. We are to remember them as if we too were suffering with them. A World Vision Report says,
Famine, floods, fighting, drought, displacement, and insecurity combine to create the worst year in more than a decade in Sudan and the worst humanitarian disaster anywhere in the world in 1998.
East Timor
I call on the people of our Diocese to continue to pray, and to keep themselves informed about events relating to East Timor, to the vast numbers of refugees from that region, and also the entire nation of Indonesia. Pray too for the Moderator, Arlindo Marcal, and the members of the Gereja Kristen di Timur Timor, the Protestant Church of East Timor, apparently they have suffered devastating loss of life. Pray for Bishop Belo and the members of the Roman Catholic Church, and for all the people of the Christian Churches in Indonesia. Pray for the leadership of the Indonesian Communion of Churches and for the Australian troops in the peace keeping forces in East Timor.
As a nation we are giving safe haven to refugees who have been brought here and we must continue to support our government as more of them arrive.
I am pleased that once again the ANGLICARE Emergency Services, with the assistance of volunteers from our parishes, are assisting in the care of the refugees who are now living in the East Hills Army Barracks. I have been told of the splendid work of ANGLICARE in the Northern Territory and the Anglican volunteers from the parishes in the Darwin area.
Further, we must not forget the other parts of Indonesia where there are signs of trouble ahead. I mention here Irian Jaya, Aceh and, especially at this time, Ambon. Indeed, in that latter place I am told that the Christian people are fearful that in the immediate weeks ahead, they may face attack from fundamentalist Muslims who have been streaming into that area. Already it is said that 3,000 people have died there. Many Christian leaders there have been seized and it is believed some have been tortured.
These events are heartrending tragedies that make as forcefully aware of the power of evil to harm, to crush and to traumatize. But we are also aware that there is a God of justice and mercy on whom we can call. He is the sovereign Lord of all. Continue to pray, and to offer support to our political leaders as they attempt to play their part through diplomatic negotiations to urge the Indonesian leadership to see that all militia still in East and West Timor are disarmed, and to work to bring stability, peace, justice and security for all the peoples of their nation.
Parishes Without Boundaries
On at least two occasions when addressing sessions of the previous Synod I made reference to the creation of new centres of fellowship and mission within an existing parish from sources outside its boundaries. I repeat the general sense of my previous comments. We must reach as many people as we can for Christ. We must also respect our own fellowship in which areas of ministry are allocated to parish clergy as their responsibility. We must note the apostolic unwillingness to build on someone else's foundation. I believe that with goodwill and a proper respect for one another, both goals can be achieved. Our Regional and Area Deanery structures provide opportunities for consultation and appropriate legitimation. I repeat what I said before, "… we are a family. We are a fellowship embarked on a common endeavour. We are not competitors." Let us act like a good and caring family.
A Quiet Revolution?
At the moment there is debate about the possibility of claiming legitimation for lay and diaconal celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Diocese, by way the General Synod - Canon concerning Services 1992 Adopting Ordinance No 54, 1998. There is a motion on the Business Paper seeking to act in this way. In my judgement, the Canon and Ordinance cannot fairly be read in the way that is being suggested. If such practices were to be introduced into the Diocese, I would hope that it would not be by means such as this. What would undoubtedly be seen as an exploitation of an unintended loophole (if such really exists), would simply create justifiable ill will. Let the matter be taken by the appointed channels if it is to be taken. I ask you also to think seriously before launching into unilateral action on a matter that will be of concern to other churches in the Communion. If we wish to be heard when we address others about breaches of order, theology and morals, we will need to act appropriately ourselves. Living here on the extremity of the globe it is possible to function on the basis of "out of sight, out of mind". If however, we wish to be taken seriously beyond our own shores we will need to be seen to be speaking and acting with integrity. Unilateral action on a matter of concern to the Communion will not commend us.
Women as Priests but not as Rectors or Curates-in-Charge
There is on the business paper an item that will again invite the Synod to consider the question of ordaining women to the priesthood albeit with certain restrictions as to their spheres of service. This provision seeks to give recognition to the principle of "headship" taught in the Scriptures as one element of the loving complementarity required of Christian husbands and wives. The issues involved are all well rehearsed. I have nothing to add to my remarks made last year following our daylong Consultation on the subject. Those remarks can be consulted in the current Diocesan Year Book if they are of interest to any. The question is of deep concern to all. Synod members must again prayerfully consider what they believe the will of God is as taught in Scripture concerning the ministry of women in our Church and how obedience is to be given to him at this point in time in our life together as the people of God.
Celebrating 2000 Years of the Christian Era
Churches in the United Kingdom are planning combined services and the ringing of church bells throughout the nation for 1 January 2000 to mark the 2000th year of our Lord. Here, the Roman Catholic Church has a developed program. Awakening 2000 has imaginative plans in which parishes may share to mark this milestone. "Fresh Start 2000" is one effort to give recognition to the coming of Jesus into the world.
If you have planned nothing particular in your church or area give some thought as to how your community can be made aware of the reason that Saturday, 1 January is marked as 2000. It might take people's minds off the impact of the millennium bug! Currently, the possibility is being explored of a major interdenominational gathering in Sydney on the evening of Sunday, 24 December 2000.
Prayer Book Revision
My Liturgical Panel has completed their work on a set of new and revised services that might be authorised for trial use in the Diocese. I am grateful to the Dean who is the Chairman, and to all the members who I know have worked hard and diligently. I have passed the material to the Doctrine Commission for their comment. Subject to the advice that I receive from them I will consider how best to make the work of the Liturgical Panel available to those who may wish to use it. I remind the Synod just how much time and energy goes into this kind of work. We owe a great deal to those who give so freely of their time and talents.
Anglican Counselling Centre
A 7.30 Report program shown during August drew attention to the work of the Anglican Counselling Service and to a Standing Committee Inquiry into that organisation. In your pre-Synod mailing you received a copy of a report from the Standing Committee giving details of the Enquiry. That material appears on page 33 ff of the Standing Committee's printed Report for 1999. The Standing Committee's Enquiry was superimposed over a process I had initiated for myself, retaining for that purpose the services of a well recognised psychologist to work with the Agency to review and improve its operations. Your Supplementary Annual Report has additional material indicating that I encouraged the Standing Committee to appoint a committee "to negotiate with the Executive Director of HMS and the manager of the Centre about the most effective means of implementing the resolutions of the Standing Committee by investigating possible full integration of the Centre with the Society". There are therefore at the present moment two options for the future of the Centre. At this point the guiding principle must be that we retain a capacity to offer counselling that is both Christian and competent, that does the maximum good and no harm. Many people have benefited greatly from the services offered by the Centre. We must seek to ensure that this facility is available and well equipped to continue to offer help to all who came for assistance. My fear is that our surgery will be successful but the patient may not survive.
Lambeth Resolutions and the Anglican Communion
The issues debated at the Lambeth Conference last year have an ongoing life in the Communion. This is especially true of the resolutions on human sexuality. The question of same sex marriages and of the ordination of practising homosexuals and lesbians is a particularly divisive one in the USA and in parts of the UK. We must continue to be grateful and prayerful for the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Theological and moral conservatives in the USA have sought the help of sections of the Communion outside North America. I have some part in these ongoing negotiations. I have just returned from a joint visit with other concerned Archbishops to ECUSA.
During this year John Stott delivered an address at Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry in Pittsburgh. Entitled "A Challenge to Episcopalians" Stott explored the three options that he saw lying before Episcopalians who love God and honour his Word. Because of the relevance of his remarks I have included the text as an addendum to this address.
The Retirement of the Primate
Archbishop Keith Rayner will retire as Archbishop of Melbourne and as Primate of Australia on 22 November. The Archbishop has served the church in Australia with distinction. Ordained as a deacon in 1953, he served in the Diocese of Brisbane until his consecration as the Bishop of Wangaratta in 1969. In 1975 he was elected Archbishop of Adelaide and translated to Melbourne in 1990. As Metropolitan of Victoria, as Acting Primate, and since 1992 as Primate, Keith Rayner has applied his considerable abilities not only to the life of his own diocese and province, but also to the life of the Anglican Church in Australia. He has made a significant contribution to ecumenical concerns in this country and has built a fine reputation in international Anglican circles. His chairmanship of the Design Committee for the last Lambeth Conference was both recognition of the respect that he has commanded around the Communion, and a demonstration of his tenacity and skills. Those of us who have worked with Keith will remember his energy and application. My wife and I have enjoyed our associations with Keith and Audrey. We have often been the beneficiaries of their kindness. I believe he is planning to update and publish his PhD thesis A History of the Church of England in Queensland as a retirement project. May he have good success. We thank both Keith and Audrey for their devoted service and wish them the blessing of God on the next phase of their Christian pilgrimage.
The election for a new Primate will be held on 3 and 4 February. At that time the dioceses of Melbourne, Tasmania, Bunbury and Armidale will be without incumbent bishops. The dates set aside for an election to Melbourne are 24-28 February.
The Cathedral
By the end of the year the restoration work on St Andrew's will be completed. There will be a special service early next year to celebrate the renewal of the Cathedral's ministry in a wonderfully renovated and restored building. Do plan to attend. I believe you will be thrilled at what you see. Pray for the Dean and the Cathedral congregation. I ask you also to give generously to enable the work to be fully undertaken.
Thoughts About The Future
At this point I would like to offer some comments about the future of the Diocese. My first remarks have to do with the context in which we exist. The world we inhabit is that of late twentieth century western culture. Of its American expression Robert H. Bork(5), an academic lawyer who served as Solicitor General, as Acting Attorney General of the United States, and as a United States Court of Appeal Judge, wrote, "The enemy within is modern liberalism, a corrosive agent carrying a very different mood and agenda than that of classical or traditional liberalism." He argues that modernity, the child of the enlightenment, failed when it became apparent that the good society could not be achieved by unaided reason. He concludes that liberalism responded by abandoning reason rather than turning to religion which it thought it had made irrelevant. The outcome is an affluence that breeds boredom and a consequent demand for increasing sensual stimulation to keep boredom at bay. There is an "impatience with anything that interferes with personal convenience". Personal liberty presses towards "moral anarchy" and equality towards "despotic egalitarianism". It is the culture that had prominent atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, lamenting to her diary, "Somebody, somewhere, love me." Here in Australia we have accepted the realism of the social analysis that describes 'Baby Boomers', their parents, and their children, as cohorts of our population operating with significantly different value systems. The degree to which the defining 'values' of each of these age groups operates in and upon the life of the church requires thoughtful consideration. We need to ask, "What is a genuinely "Christian mind" in our present context?"
Secondly, there is the Anglican Communion of which our own Province of the Anglican Church of Australia is a part. It faces a range of challenging issues. Its parts tend to reflect the influences that most powerfully play upon them. It is not hard to see in the departure from the Scriptures, the Creeds and the moral norms of Catholic tradition in parts of the Western Church, the influence of classic liberalism running to seed, as Bork argues. Again it is not difficult to see in areas like Africa and parts of Asia the influence of the Scriptures being honoured as the word of God, of evangelical preaching, and of the use of the Book of Common Prayer. It would certainly not be difficult for this Diocese to cut itself loose from its ties with the Province and Communion and go its own way. However, I repeat what I have said before; I hope we do not take that path. I commend to you again the position advocated by Stott.
The other environment is our own Diocese. We have had a heritage of firm commitment to the authority of the Bible and to the theology and worship of our Prayer Book and formularies, to evangelism, to caring ministries, and to overseas mission. For us, truth matters. But there are other features to us that are remarked upon by observers both friendly and not so friendly. We are often seen as sharing the culture of our own city, that is brash and, to use a colloquialism, somewhat "in your face". We are described as legalistic and combative: like an earlier State politician who commented that to learn the art of politics eschew Macquarie Street and go to the Diocese of Sydney! Our determination to remain true to our theological moorings is seen by some to be accompanied by an attitude which conveys the impression that we have little to learn from anyone else, and that we are insensitive to the good in positions adopted by others. We appear to find it difficult to cope with difference. Friends remark on our capacity to factionalise and to fight internally. They wonder what we would do to each other if there were no external foes to face. One such situation developed prior to the last episcopal election Synod. That episode damaged long-standing friendships, destroyed trust, and left a legacy of suspicion. Friends who observed from the outside pressed us to repair our relationships. I pray that nothing similar will occur next time around. We are thought to act at times as if our only concern is with ourselves and that we think little of the circumstances of fellow Evangelicals in other situations. All that having been said of us, many are extremely glad that there exists a diocese, which for all its "Corinthian" like shortcomings, seeks to maintain the Catholic Faith in its Reformed, Evangelical, and Anglican expression.
To this Diocese, which I love and have sought to serve as best I can, I want to say, let us endeavour to pursue both truth and love; and to pursue both with humility. God always resists the proud. The desire for power and influence, even in a good cause, is beguiling. It easily transgresses the boundaries of legitimacy. Amongst God's people humility and gentleness do not mean weakness or compromise. We can be firm; and we can be kind and generous. There are a range of issues that deal with the quality of human existence and with the eternal wellbeing of men and women about which we have every right to be clear, passionate, and resolute. With some others we can cut a little slack. Difference never negates the command to love. That command obliges us to walk over hot coals for one another: and to stand now with those with whom, hereafter, we will share eternal joy. The fruit of the Spirit is for individuals, for local churches, for dioceses and for Communions. Since we live by the Spirit let us walk by that same Spirit in all things. Let us primarily give expression to that Spirit rather than to any spirit of a particular time or place.
Growth Goals
To conclude I repeat the six specific growth goals that I set before the Synod in 1997 for the 3 years up to the end of year 2000 AD. They are:
1. Raise the number of Anglicans worshipping in our churches by at least 15%. (This means a net gain of 5 new people each of the 3 years involved for each 100 attending each of our churches).
2. Equip our new Youth and Education Unit to the point where they will have facilitated a growth in children and youth connected with our churches by that same percentage.
3. Assist the Cathedral to fulfil its aspiration to raise $10,000,000 to establish a revitalised ministry to Sydney for a fresh century.
4. Advance the cause of theologically sound, pastorally relevant, and eminently singable contemporary music for public worship.
5. Ensure a flow of suitable women and men for ordained and full-time service in the Diocese.
6. Assist CMS to increase its supported missionary force by at least 15 people over that same period.
May the Lord be pleased to guide and bless our conferring together and the work that we undertake in his Name.
In the Diocese
It is time now for us to move to the business of Synod, of which there is more than enough that will demand our best effort and attention over these few days. Before we do so, I wish to pay tribute to and record my appreciation of those who have retired since we last met, and those who have died since then. I am aware, as you are, that such a brief record represents a quantity and quality of unknown and perhaps unknowable value except in the mind of God, of ministries that will be celebrated in eternity. The retirees were: the Rev Canon Lawrie F Bartlett, Rector of Vaucluse and Rose Bay; the Rev Dr W (Bill) J Lawton, Rector of East Sydney; the Rev Cyril D Turner, Rector of Guildford with Villawood; the Rev Frank W Mostyn, Curate-in-Charge of Lord Howe Island; the Rev Hugh R J Scott, Rector of Glebe; the Rev John W McElveney, Rector of Cremorne Point; the Rev Brian G Higginbotham, Rector of Drummoyne.
Archdeacons Alan Donohoo and Reg Platt will retire at the end of this year. I have asked the Rev Ernie Carnaby to be Archdeacon of North Sydney and the Rev Ken Allen to be Archdeacon of Western Sydney - both to commence from 1 January 2000.
Archdeacon Paul Perini has accepted an appointment to the parish of St Hilary's, Kew in Melbourne. He will continue to have oversight of the Ministry Assessment Centre Programme for the next two years. For the present his responsibilities for Ordination and Ministry Development are being shared by Archdeacons Edwards, Huard and Platt.
In the new year Archdeacon Trevor Edwards will be responsible for Selection and Development of Ordination Candidates.
I record with sadness the death of the Rev Clement A F Lane, the Rev Bruce A Woolcott, the Rev Bernard G Judd, the Rev Ron V Ash, the Rev John R Walters, the Rev David J Armstrong, Rector of Cremorne; Deaconess M (Peggy) Jeffery, the Rev Norman L Fagg and the Rev Brian Kelly, Rector of Engadine.
We thank God for their faithful lives and dedicated ministries.
R.H. Goodhew
Archbishop