Bishop's Synod Charge 2016 by Anglican Diocese of Bendigo

Synod 2016

Synod Charge The Right Reverend Andrew Curnow AM Bishop of Bendigo

Third Session of the Thirty Ninth Synod

Bishop’s Charge

Synod 2016

“We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do”. (Eph.4:15) These wonderful words from the writer to the Ephesians are as applicable now as they were then. Timeless words for every generation of Christians remind us that everything we do, say and live must be about Christ who calls us to be his body, the Church. As the words of a fine hymn express it: Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. We, the people of the Diocese of Bendigo, are part of that body and are called to live out our faith that must be in all ways a reflection of Christ. Some years ago I was given this prayer which I think reflects the calling of Christ to follow his example: All through this day dear Lord, let me touch as many lives as possible for you, and every life I touch please bless by your Holy Spirit, whether through the words I speak, the prayer I breathe or the life I live; so shall your Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Amen Let this theme of In Christ, Through Christ and By Christ pervade Synod this year.

Anglicanism, it is said, has been built upon three foundations of faith: 1. Holy Scripture: The Old and New Testaments contain the essence of all Christian doctrine. 2. Church Tradition: Tradition helps us to interpret Scripture; enabling us to share the experiences of early Christians and strengthen our faith. 3. Reason: The Anglican Church does not control interpretation and practice; members are encouraged to use reason to explore and comprehend the presence of God, make moral decisions and to apply the meaning of faith in contemporary society. I have added a fourth: 4. Experience: Anglicans are encouraged to draw on the experience of others in our own time in living a Christian life. It is these four foundations that make Anglicanism distinctive amongst the various branches of Christianity, but again Anglicans have the freedom as to how they work with them. At times this makes some Anglicans draw principally upon one foundation more than the other three, but again there are no hard and fast ground rules. I like the balance of all four and will use the analogy of a house to explain. To me they mean that the Church must be built upon the foundation of Scripture, but intricate to the whole purpose and function of the building is the framework, walls and roof; the Tradition, Reason and Experience. In practical terms, what this means for us as a church today is that we often struggle with the balance, and the pendulum tends to swing back and forth searching for balance. Often there is tension between the church embodying the future and yet building on the tradition from which it has grown. Let me give a concrete example: At the end of April the Literary world and many communities, even some churches around the world celebrated the 400th Anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers and poets of all time. When I went to school it was a requirement to study Hamlet and the Merchant of Venice and I could not see the point of Shakespeare at all and was glad to be done with it. Now fifty years later and with more maturity I can value Shakespeare and appreciate the enormous contribution he has made to literature. Yes, the language at times is difficult and it can be sexist and set in a completely different social age and time, but when I now see a play it is not just the words that count, but the actions, the drama and the scene that give meaning. Similarly, as a Church for the past four hundred years we have basically used

the same Prayer book, the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Over time it has been progressively abandoned by most congregations as being sexist, antiquated and not speaking to our contemporary society. However, I am not sure that I agree entirely with this trend. Indeed, the former Bishop of Tasmania in a recent Lecture given at Ridley College in April, entitled ‘Being a Church in Mission’ stated: “I believe that the Book of Common Prayer 1662 (BCP) sets out to form and nurture a Church that is:    

Christ centred Bible soaked A church in society, and of course A Church at Prayer – the BCP is after all, a prayer book

In supporting this view I should declare a conflict of interest as I happen to be a Patron of the Prayer Book Society of Australia. However, I think for the future of our Anglican Church to experience the Book of Common Prayer and have some understanding of it is essential. I am sure not all will agree and this is where the pendulum continues to swing! The tension between tradition and contemporary experience finds expression in many different ways in our church and it will not go away easily. It was a constant struggle in the Scriptures in countless episodes and it will continue to be part of the contemporary experience of the church today and into the future. I recently read an excellent article in the English Church Times which again underlined this tension in the context of theological education. It is written by Dr Jane Williams, Assistant Dean of St Mellitus Theological College in London and I quote some of the article to you: “THE two things I find most challenging and rewarding to teach are the doctrine of the Trinity, and ecclesiology - the doctrine of the nature and purpose of the Church. Concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, it's not so much that it is complicated - it isn't: it's the only way in which what Christians say about God makes any sense at all. It's more that the past couple of decades of writing about the Trinity has so concentrated on the "three- ness" of God that it is harder for students imaginatively to grasp the "one-ness". That has significant knock-on consequences on, for example, the understanding of the cross. Many students are influenced by Moltmaim's

powerful rhetoric of the way in which Father and Son "experience" the crucifixion differently. It also becomes harder for students to make the profound connections between the sacraments and the work of the Holy Spirit, because it is easy to assume that the Holy Spirit is the free-range, exciting third person, rather than the one who is known in the Son-centred lives of those who call "Abba, Father." Concerning ecclesiology, what is often apparent is that students come thank God -with a deep, personal relationship with God, but with less sense of what the Church might be for. We have had generations of Christianity as a life-style choice, combined with an indifference to, or even mistrust of, institutions, so that the sense of the Church as the heart of God's project is counter-intuitive. On the whole, students (like the rest of us?) need help in making connections between their own faith and the vocation of the people of God in relation to the whole of creation. QUITE a lot of students are comparatively new to Christian faith, and that can make exposure to the rigorous academic discipline of theology a bit of a shock to the system. Learning about the history, and critical study, of the Bible, or the political motivation deeply bound up with the development of doctrine, or that all language about God, may be both metaphorical and true: all of this can seem a far cry from the life-changing encounter with God that drove students to study in the first place. How do we get from "Jesus is Lord" to "of one substance with the Father" and does it matter? Again, my sense is that students are more willing to grapple with these questions now than they might have been in the past. Few people can now live their lives in a safe Christian bubble where assumptions are unquestioned, so it makes sense to start the questioning yourself, and to learn to be at ease with the places where we just have to say, "I don't know." That is not always an admission of defeat. To live with an un-examined certainty is to be in constant danger of having to abandon the whole enterprise the first time you meet a question you can't answer. What's more, at St Mellitus College, where I have been teaching for the past ten years, students come from the whole range of Christian traditions. The ordinands, however, are all Anglican, and for many of them this is a first exposure to the capacious breadth of the Anglican tradition, and also

to its depths. At its best, Anglican theology is fearless: strongly committed to robust academic discussion; to the notion that a Catholic faith is not a culturally monochrome one; to public accountability, and political responsibility; to the prayer of the desert, the quiet time, the monastic offices; to speaking in tongues, high mass, healing services, and choral evensong…the list is endless, and all are Anglican.” Dr Williams highlights her experience of the tension in the context of theological education where she finds the majority of students are comparatively new to Christian faith and want to bypass history and theology and move straight to the application of faith. She argues compellingly for all four foundations to undergird theological training. In the same edition of the paper there is another good article by the Rev’d Dr Michael Lloyd, Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford entitled: The Reason for Getting Stuck In: Theology and Mission are inseparable! In the article he puts forward five points: 1. God is not a god who keeps himself to himself. He is not a god who remains remote from human experience and human pain. He is a God who pitched his tent among us. 2. It means that God is a god who is not behind the suffering of the world, but against it. Jesus does not seek to explain, let alone justify suffering. He does not tolerate it for the good that will come from it – he assaults it! So, when churches set up a food bank, or clergy pay hospital visits, or when we stand up for asylum seekers we are not engaging in random acts of social justice - we are joining in the mission of Jesus. We are fighting the poverty, sickness and injustice that defy his lordship. 3. The Christ likeness of God means that God is not a god whose holiness thwarts longing for relationship with the morally messed up. He is not a god who waits for us to clean ourselves up before he will let us return. He is a god who runs to meet us. The church is called to holiness – but to a holiness that shows itself not in separation, but in approach and acceptance. 4. God is the God of life. Death in all its expressions is the enemy. It is to fight and delay it by prayer, by medical care and medical research, by feeding the hungry, by working to reconcile those who are divided, by

campaigning for safe working conditions. It is to comfort those who grieve. It is to put historical and theological ground under the feet of those who find, even in the secular age, they cannot quite bring themselves to let go of hope in the face of death. 5. God is love. People need to know that. They need to know that their instinctive knowledge, that love is the most important thing in the world, is not just a bit of clichéd folklore-it is a clue to the meaning of the universe. The article concludes with these words: “People need to know that the most important thing about them is that they are infinitely and eternally loved. People need to know that, though human history is blood-stained, and though cosmic history is violent, yet there is an older history, a truer truth, a deeper magic, a more fundamental fact – that they, and all people and all things were made by Love, and were made for Love. We only have that information in the doctrine of the Trinity. Without theology, we would not know that. Without theology, we would have nothing to say about God. Without theology, we would not know what our world is for, or what we are for. Without theology we would have nothing to offer the world.” And I would add theology is the embodiment of those four foundations, Scripture, Reason, Tradition and Experience. I suppose I have given some time and attention to the matters written by Williams and Lloyd, because they reflect so much of my own theology and approach to faith. It is now time to address a number of areas of national, state and diocesan life, but please understand they are informed by what I have been saying to you.

The Nation – The State – The Country For the last thirteen Synod addresses that I have given in this diocese I have always dealt with Church matters first and then made comment on matters of importance to our communities. This year for a change I thought I would deal with these matters first. I will sweep through a number of areas of national, state and local importance. I do not expect you to necessarily agree with me, but I hope they will encourage comment and discussion. They come from my perspective as a Christian leader.

Gaming The proliferation of gaming in our country seems to know no bounds. All sporting events on television are now saturated with ads for online gaming and you need a pair of binoculars to be able to read at the end of each ad where you can find help if you have a gaming problem. Not only that but, it barely flashes on the screen for five seconds before it disappears. The same can be said for poker machines. Despite government assurances at a national and state level that there is to be common standards in relation to poker machines across Australia, very little seems to happen. Indeed Victoria I understand is now dependent on gaming for 20% of its revenue and I am sure the other states are in a similar situation. This compromises the states significantly to address the issue. I am not asking for a ban, but I am calling for more intentional regulation of the gaming industry. The defence of the gaming industry is that people should have a choice. If they want to gamble they have to take the responsibility for their own behaviour. However, we know from experience that while this cry sounds wonderful the reality is different. Governments have taken smoking and its impact seriously, so why not gaming and also the proliferation of alcohol outlets? I want to commend the efforts of the Rev’d Dale Barclay, particularly in relation to gaming. Dale has asked the Archbishop of Melbourne for the Anglican Church to re-energise its involvement in the Anti-Gambling Taskforce in Victoria. Dale is also a passionate Port Adelaide supporter and attended the annual meeting of Port Power deliberately to be able to question the Chairman of the club, David Koch about the clubs reliance upon poker machines. He has also written to Westpac Bank, who owns the Bank of South Australia and one of Port Power’s major sponsors, to appeal to the bank to use its influence to

ask the club to step away from its reliance upon gaming income. Power on, Dale! Governments in Australia, because of their rapid turnover in recent years at both a state and federal level, are paranoid about increasing tax. The result is they have to turn to other avenues for indirect taxes and gaming has become a major one. Sadly it may help governments to fund some of its activities, but on the other hand its leads to much individual misery, destroys families and weakens communities. I believe a majority of people in Victoria want tighter regulation of the gaming industry, particularly in relation to online gaming and poker machines. Local communities want a greater say in the numbers of poker machines in individual communities, even a local vote on whether they even want them! I intend to write to the Premier in relation to these matters.

Asylum Seekers On both Manus Island and Nauru and in Australia there are thousands of people living in a state of awful unresolvedness. They could be here today and gone tomorrow! We may well argue that they should never have come here in the first place, but it’s too late for that. A Federal Labor government introduced off shore processing and the subsequent Liberal government adopted a strong “stop the boats” policy which has achieved the outcome many people wanted. I don’t like either policies and consider them inhuman and contradictory to being an Australian. However, my main concern is for those in off shore detention centres and for those in Australia whose future in this land is uncertain. I believe it is time for us to be generous and hospitable. I was very upset to see both the former Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison and the present Minister Peter Dutton both practically shout at reporters on television, that people in detention on Nauru and Manus Island “will never be allowed into Australia.” This outburst came after the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea declared the Detention Centre on Manus Island as illegal and contrary to the PNG Constitution. This leaves the Australian Government with a big headache, but both major parties have to be held accountable for this problem and not continually say it is PNG’s problem. What makes the situation worse is that many still held in Manus have been granted refugee status and are entitled under United Nations conventions to be resettled in this country.

A number of resolutions at previous sessions of Synod have asked me to write to the Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration raising our concerns, but they have fallen on deaf ears. As we approach the coming federal election I believe there is an opportunity to ask the parties to clarify their policy in relation to this matter. There is no doubt that the continuing threat of terrorist attacks by IS sympathisers around the world has fuelled community concern and anxiety in relation to immigration, but we should not judge any people by the extreme behaviour of a few. There are bad Australians in Australia, but that does mean all Australians are bad!

The Dairy Industry Over the past month there has been a lot of attention on the dairy industry in Australia particularly following the announcement by Australia’s biggest dairy processor, Murray Goulburn:  Of a profit downgrade following the emergence of a $220M black hole  A slashing of the milk price for the 2016-2017 dairy season of $5.00/kg for milk solids (35c/litre for milk)  The resignation of the CEO, Gary Helou and the CFO, Brad Hingle The news was received with a mixture of dismay, astonishment, disappointment, and anger and it is estimated it will cost the average dairy farmer $127,500 over the next three years. A week after this sent shock waves across Victoria’s dairy districts, another processor, multinational Fonterra announced its price for dairy solids would be similar. Murray Goulburn’s woes are the result it appears of poor management, but the international demands for dairy products also has to bear some of the blame. There is an oversupply world wide of dairy products and the impact of the world downturn in demand and over supply is being felt in all dairy producing countries. Coupled with a rising Australian dollar and lower sales than expected of Australian dairy products into China means that that the dairy industry is in for a tough time and particularly in Northern Victoria where dairying is very dependent on irrigation.

Dairy consultant John Mulvany writing in the Weekly Times of 18 May 2016 states; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dairy farmers are used to both seasonal and price volatility; these have always been an accepted part of the business environment in which they choose to operate. Instead it is about the business decisions made and, more importantly, the information provided, by those they trusted to look after their interests further up the chain within their milk companies, particularly Murray Goulburn, a farmer co-operative.â&#x20AC;? As I speak there has been some rain, but as we all know the season is on a knife edge and unless really good rains come in the months ahead, water is going to be in short supply for next summer. The two largest reservoirs to supply Northern Victoria, Eppalock and Cairn Curran, are at 22% and 11% respectively of capacity. Grampians reservoirs that supply the Wimmera Mallee are in a better situation. Wheat farmers are also looking regularly at the sky with hope and anticipation that this cropping season will be much better after a couple of variable years of production. Farming is a challenging way of life and anyone who farms in the hinterland of this nation is at the mercy of the climate, let alone the unpredictability of commodity prices, government policies and agricultural politics. We continue to keep all rural communities in our prayers. This diocese has a very interactive relationship with agriculture. Many of our communities are dependent upon agriculture for their life and existence, and we know with the current crisis in the dairy industry many of our parishes will be directly impacted. Our dry farmers likewise, are dependent on rain for their survival. The trend for people to move nearer to the coast is also continuing unabated around Australia with over 90% of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population living within 150kms of the coast. We can see the impact of this trend in many of the small rural parishes of which I will say more about later in this address. Some cities like Bendigo defy the trend and are genuinely growing, but many other municipalities in the diocese are declining. For example, Echuca as a city is growing, but overall the population of the Shire of Campaspe is declining as farms get bigger. Governments over the decades have talked and talked about decentralisation, but the reality is people are deserting rural Australia in droves. Given that our nation is rapidly moving towards a population of 25 million, I would like to see more will on the part of all governments to genuinely decentralise many

activities which are currently aggregated in Melbourne and Sydney. If the Bendigo Bank can operate a head office in Bendigo why not many other firms, organisations and government departments?

The Economy As we approach the Federal Election both major parties, through their leaders, go out of their way to convince the voters who is the better manager of the economy. History shows a very mixed record for both major parties. The press, and particularly the News Limited (Herald Sun in Victoria), go out of their way to focus on the debt that governments run. The reality is that just about every country in the world runs on debt and Australia is regarded overall as not having unmanageable debt. The problem all governments face in Australia at the federal, state and local level is the inability to raise income, which comes broadly from only two sources: direct and indirect taxes, be they income tax, stamp duty GST, gaming or rates. We live in a political climate where raising taxes is seen as political suicide, so despite numerous reports and debate about tax reform all governments are reluctant to undertake major reform and tinker with it at the edges. The end result is that we have a very complicated and cumbersome system that is failing to return the revenue governments need to effectively deliver what the community needs. Areas under enormous economic pressure are health, education, human services, capital works, public transport and justice services. The concern I have with both major parties and their alliances as we approach a federal election is that I am not sure either side is offering a long term vision for the wellbeing of this country. I also believe that the wellbeing of Australia for all its residents in the years ahead will involve us all paying more tax. There is hardly a week goes by when the media are not reporting that as a nation we are falling further and further behind in education standards, particularly in the state systems, in health delivery and access for all members of this country and especially in the availability of mental health services. Add to this the unbelievable growth of Melbourne and Sydney, the lack of infrastructure to support the growth and the inability of public transport to serve vast new areas, governments at every level have major headaches. The tax system must be reformed and the responsibility of both major political parties is to make a commitment to this in the interest of Australia as a nation, being the most just and equitable country in the world. We have a long way to go!

The Diocese I am delighted to welcome to her first Synod our new Registrar/General Manager, Naomi Fountain, who commenced officially in her new position at the beginning of this month. Naomi started on her first day in the position with a visit by the Diocesan Executive to St. Margaret’s Mildura. Naomi comes to us from a positon with the City of Greater Bendigo where she was Senior Property Analyst, and is professionally a Property Valuer. She also has a wide range of experience embracing, human resource management, finance, IT and is a parishioner in the 6.30pm congregation at South East Bendigo. She will be formally commissioned and licensed at our Synod service tomorrow morning at St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat. At the end of 2015 the diocese said farewell to the former Registrar/General Manager, Anne Baker. Anne had served the diocese with distinction and during her time a great deal was achieved, particularly with the building of the new Eddington Cottage at Point Lonsdale and the sale of the former All Saints Old Cathedral site which is in process.

Synod At Synod this year the most significant item of business is the Professional Standards Uniform Act 2016, which I will comment on later in my address. Other important matters are a new Diocesan Council Act and changes to the Parish Administration Act. With the Council Act there are a number of major changes being proposed and I support both of them. The first is to amend the Act so that is conforms to the Victorian Church Constitution Act of 1854. An old Act you might say, but it lays down the basis of the Anglican Church in this state and particularly that the role and power of the Bishop has to be understood as a Bishop-in– Synod. This means that any significant matter about the life and good order of the Church cannot be hierarchically resolved or decided upon solely by the Bishop. The Bishop must take these matters to synod. Between synods the Bishop is required to seek the advice of a Bishop-in-Council on a range of matters to do with governance and particularly the good order of the diocese’s temporal affairs. In 1988 the Diocese of Bendigo Synod changed this level of governance from a Bishop-in-Council to a Council of the Diocese. This meant the Council was no longer a body to offer counsel and advice to the Bishop on

a range of matters the Bishop may ask the Council for advice, but could make decisions in its own right and set the agenda. The diocese has had legal advice for some time that our Council Act was not compliant with the constitution and the amendment coming to this Synod will make that correction. With the advent of the Bendigo Anglican Diocese Corporation (BADC) which came into effect on 1 January this year, it seemed the right time at this Synod to clarify the situation. As you will observe over the coming years, BADC will play much a more prominent a role in the governance and management of the Diocese. The members of what I anticipate will become Bishop-in-Council will also be the Directors of the Diocesan Corporation. Being a director of a public company brings with it very specific responsibilities and the Chancellor, Advocate and myself are of the opinion that the size of the current Diocesan Council, 24 members, is too big to exercise the responsibilities of the corporation. Most public corporations have boards of between seven and nine. Thus the proposal is to make the size of our Bishopin-Council 16 members. It would be made up as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Bishop Chancellor Advocate Vicar General One Archdeacon/Dean Clergy Clergy Clergy Clergy Clergy Clergy Lay Lay Lay Lay Lay Lay

Chair Ex-officio Ex-officio Ex-officio Appointed by Bishop Elected by Synod Elected by Synod Elected by Synod Elected by Synod Appointed by Bishop Appointed by Bishop Elected by Synod Elected by Synod Elected by Synod Elected by Synod Appointed by Bishop Appointed by Bishop

The other amendments being brought to Synod concern the Parish Administration Act 2010. The proposal here is to allow for the election of Parish Councils every three years. This is being brought to Synod for four reasons: (i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

Given what I have said above about the Bendigo Anglican Diocesan Corporation bringing a new level of governance and responsibility to the diocese, three year parish councils would do the same for parishes. It would allow for better continuity and oversight. Some might say that trying to get people to sign up for three years will be difficult but the continual cycle of electing each year is also a major challenge. The three year cycle would mean that a large part of the Annual Return that needs to be filled in every year would not be required and would bring a considerable saving in administration to the parish and the diocese. A large chunk of Registry time every years goes into trying to get the returns in. An Annual Financial Return would still be required. It would mean that the cycle of elections every three years would run right across Synod and the parishes and would be much easier to manage. The same arrangements for filling causal vacancies would apply. With the introduction of the Authorisations Policy across the diocese three year terms would make the administration of the policy much more achievable.

Professional Standards At this Synod we are to deal with one of the most important Acts that we have dealt with in the time I have been Bishop of this diocese. It is the Professional Standards Uniform Act 2016 and you have had it with your Synod papers for your perusal. It does not make for light bedtime reading, but nor should it. It is an Act that comes as the result of eighteen months of very thorough and careful work by the Victorian Provincial Professional Standards Working Group which I had the privilege to chair. The Group was established in 2014 and the current membership is:  Bishop Andrew Curnow, Chair  Mr Charles Gunst QC, Chancellor, Diocese of Ballarat  Mr John Henry, Advocate, Diocese of Bendigo

    

Mr Brian Norris, Registrar, Diocese of Gippsland Michael Shand QC, Chancellor, Diocese of Melbourne Mr Ken Spackman, Registrar, Diocese of Melbourne Ms Rachel Ellyard, Advocate, Diocese of Wangaratta Ms Angela Cannon, Professional Standards Consultant.

The Group was charged in 2014 to see if it could come up with an Act and model for the five Victorian Dioceses to address Professional Standards in a uniform way. Until now three Victorian dioceses, Wangaratta, Melbourne, and Ballarat have had a somewhat similar approach and Bendigo and Gippsland have largely had their own systems in place. In 2014 in an address to the Australian Anglican Bishop’s Meeting, the chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Abuse, Justice Robert McClelland, observed that the Anglican Professional Standards models were confusing too many survivors. Instead of there being one straight forward system across the whole of the Anglican Church of Australia, survivors were often confronted with a mishmash of approaches with each diocese doing its own thing. He called for a more uniform approach. In Victoria it was decided that we should at least attempt to have a uniform model in this state as a first stage in response to Justice McClelland’s challenge. At the time of writing, the figures the Royal Commission is quoting of the cases they have dealt with gives some incitation of the problem that is being dealt with:  30,192 Calls handled  16,949 Letters & emails received  4,950 Private sessions held  979 Referrals to authorities including police The task of the Commission has been overwhelmingly enormous and will change the way we operate as a Church forever. This has been the catalyst for the Working Group to begin the work of putting in place a Uniform Act for Victoria and in March 2015 the Victorian Provincial Council passed the following resolution: It voted unanimously to: A. Adopt the proposal to establish a Provincial model of professional standards for all Victorian dioceses and participating agencies and schools – a) to operate through a company limited by guarantee, with the dioceses and those agencies/schools as subscribing members and otherwise constituted as recommended by the working group in its report;

b) to embrace a process for Church workers and volunteers based on the Professional Standards legislation of the Diocese of Melbourne, Ballarat and Wangaratta but adapted and made flexible to suit the local needs of all dioceses and agencies / schools as recommended by the working group. B. requests the working group to bring to the next meeting of the Provincial Council for approval a more detailed proposal including the constituent documents of the model, with a view to Diocesan synods considering proposed legislation in 2016; C. commends this resolution to each of the diocesan councils and seeks their support for the further development of the proposed model; Since then the Working Group has worked assiduously to develop the model. I wanted a straight forward approach, but the Act that has been developed to achieve this is complicated, for it has to support a system that is legally robust and gives procedural fairness to all concerned parties. The application of the Act in terms of delivering professional standard services across Victoria is based upon the establishment of a separately incorporated company and a constitution for the company has been drafted. In addition to this a set of Protocols that are in preparation which will guide the day to day operation of professional standard services. Each Victorian Diocese has been asked to consider passing the Act this year to enable the company to be established and the service to commence operation. The new model is aimed at:  Delivering a uniform approach across Victoria to enable a one stop shop for all survivors and complainants.  Delivering a responsive model to complainants, respondents and the dioceses.  Demonstrating to the community and government the seriousness with which the Anglican Church in Victoria takes complaints against church workers and volunteers.  With a company structure, the model will be accountable to external reporting standards.  Will be independent of any particular diocesan control.  Recovering confidence in the community as to how the church is, in a responsible manner, dealing with complaints.  Being cost effective

Many of you may find the legislation dense and very legalistic, and I can assure for someone who has been dealing with it for nearly two years, so do I. But, this is a case of where one has to rely upon the experts and the advice of our own Chancellor and Advocate who have been involved with the drafts of the legislation from day one. It is my prayer and hope that we will pass this ground breaking legislation.

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Last year at Synod it was agreed that we would have a RAP to be considered and adopted at Synod this year. The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, The Most Rev’d Philip Freier, has written about RAPS: “The arrival of European settlers in 1788 led directly to consequences which still exist. The loss of traditional lands, the decimation of the Aboriginal population through war and imported disease, the dispossession, the stolen generation and the disruption to culture mean that today there remains a significant gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and non-indigenous Australians. The gap exits in health, life expectancy, education, access to employment and more. Reconciliation for Christians is essential to our faith, being reconciled to God and seeking reconciliation with others. Social justice demands that we love one another and that we implement policies and practices which seek to effect the reconciled relationships.” A RAP contains three sections: 1. Innovate RAP: This spells out who relationships will be developed with. 2. Respect RAP: This outline how respect for our indigenous peoples will be encouraged. 3. Opportunities: Across the diocese how will the RAP drive social change? I want to thank the small group working on the RAP, the Rev’ds Robyn Davis, Andrew Eaton and Anne McKenna. They will bring to this session of Synod the first stage of this diocese developing its own RAP. After Synod we will need to consult with our indigenous communities and parishes, and then work with you (and the Council of the Diocese) to put a timeline in place to achieve the recommended goals. That means what is tabled at Synod is work in progress to achieve the RAP.

Sustaining Parishes In the years that I have been Bishop Bendigo, I have followed an intentional strategy to help parishes be as self-sustaining as possible. We currently have 36 parishes and one associated Congregation (SEEDS Bendigo). I have attached the current list:                  

Bendigo East Bendigo North Castlemaine Cathedral Central Mallee Charlton/Donald Cohuna Daylesford Eaglehawk Echuca Elmore Golden Square Heathcote Inglewood Kangaroo Flat Kerang Kyabram Kyneton

                 

Lockington Maiden Gully Maldon Maryborough with Avoca Mooroopna Northern Mallee Pyramid Hill/Boort Robinvale/Manangatang Rochester South East Bendigo St Arnaud Strathfieldsaye Sunraysia South Swan Hill Tatura Tongala Woodend-Trentham SEEDS Long Gully

To support this goal a number of strategies have been employed:  Sale of surplus property to build up the parish capital base  The establishment of clusters to help parishes share in the cost of ordained ministry, e.g. The North Central cluster which includes the parishes of Charlton/Donald and Inglewood.  A Parish Stewardship Kit  Mission Action Plans  Improved use of assets to enable a stronger income, e.g. Mildura.  Applications to Trusts, e.g. Collier, The Abbot Foundation

   

Stronger leadership Better management of Opportunity Shops. Improved diocesan monitoring of the aging balance. Regular visits to parishes including meeting with Parish Councils.

Overall these strategies have worked reasonably well, but there are challenges:  The variability of the climate and its impact on agriculture and rural communities.  The impact of government policies and poor commodity prices on farmers and their related communities.  Continuing population decline in rural areas.  The difficulty of attracting competent clergy to rural parishes.  The declining condition of much church property in rural areas.  The growing requirements of compliance and the impact on small parishes.  The challenge of having a pool of people with leadership skills in rural areas. In the time I have been bishop the number of churches has declined from 90 to 70 and that decline will continue. Churches that have closed include:         

Murrabit Speed Berriwillock Serpentine Kingower Ardmona Carisbrook Toolamba Wycheproof

       

Fenton’s Creek Taradale Elphinstone Hepburn Springs Meringur Mitiamo Emu Creek All Saints Old Cathedral

A Brief Case Study Forty years ago the Parish of Lockington was thriving. Lockington as a township was growing and being a dairying area had many young families and this was reflected in the local primary school with nearly 300 students. There were four centres in the parish: Lockington and Dingee (Dairying), Milloo and Mitiamo (Dry Farming). Now only the centre of Lockington is left mainly due to the aggregation of farms and the decline of population. The primary school now has only around 120 students.

At Lockington there is a congregational base of about 25 members. They are struggling financially and in terms of people to sustain a parish. For the past four years they have been clustered with Echuca and Rochester, but that has only temporarily staved off the impact of decline. The Parish of Lockington is not alone and several other parishes are beginning to feel that they are in a difficult situation to keep going. Over the next few months I believe: 1. The Parish of Lockington will be merged into the Parish of Rochester. The Rectory and one remaining unused church at Milloo will be sold. 2. The Parishes of Elmore and Heathcote will be clustered with four centres: Elmore, Heathcote, Goornong and Colbinabbin cared for by one full time priest. The centre of Raywood currently in Elmore Parish will be transferred to another parish or closed. 3. The centre of Carapooee in St. Arnaud Parish to be considered for sale. 4. The Parish of Tongala to be reviewed. 5. The Diocese consider establishing a Loddon- Mallee Rural Ministry Trust. The purpose of the Trust would be to assist with the provision of Ministry particularly across our rural areas. I also propose to take to the next meeting of Diocesan Council a policy stating that churches that have not been used regularly for at least two years be considered for sale. This may sound a tough policy, but the reality is that no parish can continue to keep a church mothballed. They may be of historic importance or much loved and cherished by certain families of descendants, but we are at a point in the church’s history where we simply cannot maintain shrines. For your interest, the cost of sustaining a full time parish without any provision for maintenance is $75,000 pa. Some may claim that my motivation to sell churches is to do with the diocese claiming 10% of the sale proceeds for the diocesan endowment, but nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed the main motivation is to help strengthen the ministry position of local parishes. By comparison in the Diocese of Melbourne it takes 50% of the proceeds and in the Diocese of Ballarat 40%. At the other end of the spectrum there are areas in the diocese experiencing considerable growth particularly in the City of Greater Bendigo.  Maiden Gully Common Ground is a church plant in the suburb of Maiden Gully. It commenced over 5 years ago under the leadership of the Rev’d Roger Rich 22

and that has now transferred to the Rev’d Brendan McDonald. It’s a tough slog to start a ministry and congregation from scratch without any permanent building or even a Rectory, let alone no budget except a small and totally insufficient grant from the diocese. The congregation has had its ups and downs as it has sought to establish a presence, grow leadership and offer ministry. The congregation initially began in a space provided by the primary school, but has since moved into the public hall, While it has an adequate space and a good kitchen, as a public hall it is a shared space and this means at 7am every Sunday Brendan has to be there to set up and often clean up the hall after use from Saturday night. Brendan recently shared with me that the congregation has had quite a turnover and part of it is related to not having good facilities e.g. clean toilets and an area that is comfortable where people can sit and have fellowship. People get sick of setting up and cleaning up! As a commitment to their calling to Maiden Gully, Brendan and his wife Virginia have purchased land in Maiden Gully and are building a new home on the site. The congregation have also provided a relocatable building that has been established as the Common Ground Office and Ministry Hub. All this testifies to Common Ground’s commitment and Brendan’s leadership. BUT the whole initiative is seriously under resourced and the Diocese must address this situation. Maiden Gully will continue to grow rapidly, but as a Church we are using a ‘horse and cart’ approach where we need a contemporary, well developed and resourced church planting strategy!  Bendigo North Some maybe unfamiliar with Bendigo’s northern entrance on the Midland Highway from Shepparton which begins at Huntly, 16 kilometres north of the Bendigo CBD, and then proceeds through Epsom and White Hills into the city. The area from the edge of White Hills through Epsom and out though Huntly years ago was agricultural land and originally a significant tomato growing area. But that has long gone and now the area is sprawling with new housing developments wherever you look. What was once two small agricultural villages are now part of urban Bendigo? The area is served by the Parish of Bendigo North with two churches, one in White Hills (St. Luke’s) and the other at Huntly (St. Clements’). St Luke’s is one of the oldest churches in suburban Bendigo and dates from 1863. St. Clements’ current building was erected in 1973 replacing a small wooden church. Both churches, in terms of their style of architecture and facilities, are limited in their ability to cater for a diversity of needs. Ideally the parish

and the diocese should consider selling both sites and moving to a Greenfields site in the middle of Epsom at the heart of all the new development. However, the funds from selling the existing sites would barely pay for the land required for a new church development when space for parking is taken into account. The Revâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d Gordon Lingard and his parish leadership are well aware of these issues and are attempting to use their existing facilities to build connections with the new and emerging communities in their parish. ď&#x201A;ˇ Strathfieldsaye The Strathfieldsaye Community Church is a partnership between the Diocese, Bush Church Aid, The Uniting Church (UCA) and the congregation of the church which is made up of members of the Anglican and Uniting churches, but uses the UCA plant in Strathfieldsaye including the Manse. The ministry is led by the Revâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d Steve Weickhardt, an Anglican Priest, financially supported by Bush church Aid. Strathfieldsaye, an area east of Bendigo, is also growing rapidly, currently with the largest primary school in the Greater Bendigo area. Although Steve has reasonable facilities, he has had to initially work with bringing together two congregations under two different denominations and this has been an arduous and time consuming task in this day and age of compliance and protocol. But, it has happened and the congregation and church have strengthened and are poised for growth. The three situations that I have outlined to you illustrate very clearly that there are areas in the diocese with considerable population growth. These all present challenges in terms of resources and the toll they take on the leadership to get new initiatives established and in a place where they are a firm foundation for the future of the Church. As a diocese we will have to put considerably more intentional support into new initiatives if they are to succeed. There are also other places that are growing as well; Mildura, Echuca, Mooroopna, Castlemaine and Kyneton. At this Synod I have encouraged a resolution to come to Synod to commit the Diocese to work more intentionally with these three places of ministry and mission. Grace Davie in a wonderful book called Religion in Britain, A Persistent Paradox gives some insight into what churches are doing in the UK in similar circumstances. Obviously the context is different but there is something to be learnt from their experience.

“The success stories of religion in modern Britain are many and varied, noting that from the outset that growth and decline operate across denominations. It is also possible to have more than one outlook within a congregation, particularly in rural areas where there can be tension between a settled company of parishioners and a group of newly arrived members.” She also observes that there are new congregations within exiting churches and parishes and in these she observes three categories of innovation: “First the activities known as Fresh Expressions, then a range of churches that cater for new arrivals in this country, and third a rather smaller group of lifestyle churches. Fresh Expressions are a form of being church that take account of our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church. The implication is clear: the emphasis lies on ‘go to them’ rather than ‘come to us’, recognising that the latter – the underlying principle of the parish system - no longer resonates with the majority of people in this country. The most popular categories of are café church, cell and network churches, youth churches, new monastic communities and messy church. Lifestyle churches offer a different response to the following observation: that any church or congregation which relies on obligation or habit to bring people to worship is likely to struggle. Conversely those that make it worth the while for people to attend have a much greater chance of success. Examples abound. They include churches that cater for the arts and artists, for actors, for particular styles of music, for families, for singles, for the disabled, for the elderly, for specifies professions, for those with a passion for social justice, for fair trade, for the environment and so on.” (p150). Many of the lifestyle churches can be congregations within an existing church or parish, but have a lifestyle all of their own. Similarly, although Fresh Expressions focuses on taking the church to where people are, it does not mean literally that this cannot be within existing church facilities. It is about the church doing things in a different way from the inherited church model that most of our congregations are. Even in the inherited church model, where a congregation has existed for many years, there can be change and attempts to make worship more meaningful, but basically they work on the model of using an established liturgy and you coming to them!

If Davie is right we will see in the years ahead a much greater mix and diversity of churches, what the previous Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan William called a â&#x20AC;&#x2122;mixed economy.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; At the end of April I attended, along with Sharon Valentino, Sue Allen and Eddie Barkla, a Consultation on Pioneer Ministry at Ridley College convened by the Ministry Commission of General Synod. The day, rather than focusing on Pioneer Ministry as I understand it, largely had a series of presentations on Fresh Expressions in existing churches and parishes. Most it was very interesting and served to underline that where there is growth in many churches it is coming from a much better understanding of the context in which the church is ministering and offering a diversity of expressions of ministry and worship. So, what does this mean for us in the Diocese of Bendigo? 1. Fresh Expressions of churches both within existing parishes and churches, but also entirely new church plants like Common Ground and Seeds (in Long Gully) will be the way of the future. 2. There will be more churches that emerge from immigration into this country. After World War II, Australia witnessed a rapid growth in Roman Catholic churches with Italian congregations, and establishment of Greek Orthodox churches. Now we see a rapid growth in Chinese churches, Coptic and African churches. They will find the secularism and indifference to Christianity hard to comprehend. 3. There will be more life style churches emerge in the years ahead. Of course, inherited churches will continue and many will revitalise and reinvent themselves for future generations, but the decline of Christianity in this country will continue some time yet. Another challenge for Denominations in this changing context is the provision of leadership, especially ordained leadership. For generations we have trained clergy to lead in the inherited church mode, but now and in the years ahead, the emphasis in theological education and formation will have to rethink its task and be able to train clergy for the mixed economy. In this diocese, training of clergy in the three modes of ordination - stipendiary, ordained local ministry and pioneer ministry - I am more convinced than ever must continue. At the Ridley Consultation on Pioneer Ministry, reference was made to a book on church leadership (Next Generation Leader) that focuses on five concepts that are essential for the next generation of church leadership. They were:

1. Competence: Leaders must channel their energies toward those arenas of leadership in which they are most likely to excel. 2. Courage: The leader of a church is not always the smartest or most creative person on the team. The leader is the one who has the courage to initiate, to set things in motion, to move ahead. 3. Clarity: Uncertain times requires clear direction and an ability for a leader to interpret the times. 4. Coaching: You may be good, but you can be better. 5. Character: Character is about integrity, moral authority, a leader having clear values that align with the gospel. Well, I believe there is much here to reflect upon but I believe this is the way forward over the coming decade if our diocese is to be resilient and responsive to the call of Christ to go out to the world with a clear sense of its mission and ministry.

Ministry This diocese is blessed with a truly wonderful team of people, both lay and ordained, who undertake day in day out ministry in the name of Christ across the diocese. As I write this address a recent report to Diocesan Council reveals that in relation to ordained clergy we currently have:    

26 stipendiary clergy 7 OLM Clergy 5 OPM Clergy Over half of our active clergy are under the age of 45 which gives the diocese one of the healthiest age profiles of any rural diocese in Australia.

We also through the Ministry Formation Programme have:    

Mentoring for 3 priests with less than 5 years experience Training for 7 newly ordained priests 3 2nd year Trinity Certificate of Ministry students 5 1st year Trinity Certificate in Ministry candidates

Some really good news is that we have for the first time a Ministry Formation Programme based in the Sunraysia under the leadership of Canon Heather Marten.

At the same time we have four vacancies: Eaglehawk, Kangaroo Flat, Elmore and Heathcote. Eaglehawk has been vacant now for over two years which is very frustrating for the congregation. There is not a shortage of clergy in the Anglican Church in Australia, but there is a shortage of good clergy who want to move to regional and rural Australia. This in a way has always been so, but more complicated now through spouses with careers and the education of children. Thus long vacancies are not unusual and the Diocese has been incredibly well served by clergy offering locum ministry, but that can only go on for so long. I also want to underline the ministry and gifts of many lay people in these situations as well. The number one priority for a bishop is sustaining the ministry of the Church, but it is a constant challenge. Please continue to pray for vacant parishes, to give strength to the congregations and for men and women to be called to the ordained ministry.

Mission Action Plans (MAPS) Last year at Synod I outlined in some detail the advantages of parishes adopting a Mission Action Plan. I am pleased to report a number of parishes have acted on this and quite a few are in process. I would encourage, urge and suggest to all parishes to have a go at this process. It does work. Mission Action Plans were first established in the Church of England and there is strong evidence to show that dioceses that have established a culture of parishes completing MAPS on a three year cycle are in a much stronger position than dioceses that have not adopted this strategy. MAPS were first initiated in the Diocese of London in 1992, so they have been around now for a long time. The current guru in the Church of England in relation to MAPS is Archdeacon Bob Jackson and in his recent book What Makes Churches Grow, he writes: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The accumulation of evidence suggests that the MAP process is associated with improving numerical growth trends. Adopting a MAP is no magic bullet and there may well be disappointments, but persuading churches into intentional planning for mission and growth does seem to pay off. MAPs are a genuine lever for change and growth and there is more potential to be unlocked.â&#x20AC;?(p84) Now, before I go any further let me clarify a point that keeps coming up again and again. Many point out to me that the Church is now just about mission. Its

first priority is to be faithful and to worship God. I don’t argue with that, but if mission does not flow out of worship the Church as represented by the local congregation will soon begin to shrivel. Let me summarise some key areas of the MAP process as identified by Jackson: 1. Make a corporate decision Rather than reluctantly acceding to a diocesan request, it is best if the PC positively decides it wants to make or revise its MAP. 2. Involve the Parish Many parishes makes the mistake of leaving it to the Rector or a small group, but it works best if the process involves the parish in a consultation process. Use open meetings, ask a range of questions, and explain the MAP process. A small group will need to write a draft, but this should be available for feedback. A good MAP will form the basis of a parish profile. 3. Pray Mission is God’s business. It is not the Church of God that has a mission to the world; it is the mission of God who has a Church in the world. Every church needs both to work at its understanding of God’s mission in general and also pray that God will show it how to join in its own specific situation. Without praying for the development of a MAP and its implementation a parish is wasting its time! 4. Do vision first, then strategy Vision is where you want to get to, who you want to be and what you want to be doing by the end of the period of the MAP (3 years). Once it is clear where you want to go then you can develop a strategy, a road map for getting there. 5. Have a broad understanding of mission Be guided by the Marks of Mission:    

To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom To teach, baptise and nurture new believers To respond to human need by loving service To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation

 To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth As you can see they deal with key areas of the Church’s life and mission: 1. Evangelism, mission, proclamation 2. Nurture, building the faith of the people 3. Generosity, compassion 4. Social justice: peace, end of violence 5. The environment 6. Have a few mission priorities Mission is a limitless project for every church and it is impossible to do everything. Just have a few aims and actions clearly set out. 7. Make sure the MAP is about mission and action A MAP should not be a statement of faith or a wish list of what you like to do. It needs to be a plan for action in the parish. 8. Do not just write the MAP, DO IT 9. Make if SMART A Good MAP is:  Specific  Measurable  Achievable  Realistic  Timed A Smart MAP might say:  We intend to start a Messy church in the Hall, inviting families from the local school and playgroup. (Specific)  We aim to attract 10 adults and 10 children who currently have little association with the church. (Measurable)  We will drop the Sunday School to free up some leadership to get the Messy Church established and running. (Achievable)  We will offer Messy Church once a month because that is all we can presently manage. (Realistic)  We aim to start on the first Sunday in February next year. (Timed)

10.

Allocate tasks and responsibilities The plan should name people and groups in the parish responsible for undertaking the actions to deliver the MAP.

11.

Subtract as well as add A MAP can be a marvellous opportunity for churches to add yet more things to do. So the MAP should review what is already happening and prune those areas of church like that do not bear fruit or have a need for reform. Healthy churches are focused on doing a few things and doing them well.

12.

Review your MAP Undertake annually a review of how you are going. Amendments can be made.

13.

Think long term – don’t revert Remember that a MAP is not a thing the bishop wants you to do, a momentary aberration, but a permanent change of culture.

If your parish doesn’t have a MAP take this home to your next Parish council Meeting.

The Cathedral We all rejoice with the news that in just over a week’s time on Sunday June 5th, the Cathedral will officially be blessed, renewed and formally reopened after being closed for just over seven years. The preacher for the occasion will be the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, the Most Rev’d Dr Philip Freier. It has been an incredibly long haul and I want to acknowledge Dean Peta Sherlock, upon whom the closure descended in the latter years of her active ministry and Dean John Roundhill who has had the task of coming to a closed Cathedral and keeping the vitality of the congregations, as well as working constantly around restoration work. There is still work to be done on the belltower and the Cathedral precinct which will cost over $500,000, but the actual Cathedral is ready for daily use. The only thing not ready for the opening are some new chairs ordered from England. They have been made, but are still on the ocean in transit to the Port of Melbourne. They should be here in late June or early July. When you see the Cathedral you will notice some big changes to the interior. I won’t describe them, because you need to experience them first hand. Over $2.5M has been spent to get the project to the stage where the Cathedral can be reopened and many people have helped; donors with their generosity.

tradesmen with their skill, the congregation with undertaking many tasks and Dean John for his patience and leadership. With the reopening of the Cathedral I want to recognise all the hard work done by everyone, but in particular I want to thank Greg McKerlie for his dedication and commitment to the task. For over six years Greg has been the Project Manager and although he stepped down at the beginning of this year he has continued to assist in many tasks to get the Cathedral ready for Sunday week.

The Strategic Plan In 2013 the Diocese embarked on a five year strategic plan based on six pillars: 1. Roles and Structures 2. Finances 3. Parishes and Ministries 4. Personnel 5. Property and Buildings 6. Communications. Archdeacon Greg Harris has had the responsibility for monitoring the Plan and in a report to the February meeting of diocesan council stated. The Council of the Diocese of Bendigo, in late 2010 put in place a process to develop a strategic approach to the immediate future of the Diocese with the result being that a Diocesan Strategic Plan 2013-2017 was launched in January 2013. At the time of writing this report the status of the 38 strategies are:  27 have been completed or are ongoing. ‘Ongoing’ refers to a strategy that has been addressed but has either no specific target, achievement or end date that can be measured.  11 yet to be addressed  2 are currently being addressed  1 may have been resolved indirectly  2 may possibly not considered as important now The remainder of the Executive Summary outlines the 11 strategies that are yet to be completed or addressed. That said, I would advise the Council of the Diocese, in conjunction with the Bishop, Senior Leadership Team and Senior Staff, to deliberate on the

practicality of preparing a strategic plan that will be inherited by a new bishop. Ordinarily strategic plans have a 5 year life span and any new plan developed and adopted may be bequeathed to the next bishop with considerable years of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; remaining. For that reason it may be prudent to consider a shorter term plan to address urgent and achievable strategies that would cover the settling in period of the next bishop. I would suggest a 2 year plan that is to begin in 2017. Following discussion at the meeting a small committee was established to develop a three year plan 2017-2019, with the committee being Archdeacon Greg, Lay Canon Derek Shepherd and the new Registrar Naomi Fountain. All have considerable experience in strategic planning and will convene a consultation with Diocesan Council on Saturday 25 June following an ordination in the Cathedral that morning. At the recent meeting of Diocesan Council and as a small contribution to the planning process I listed what I saw as five strengths and weaknesses of the diocese and thought I would share them with Synod as well: Strengths: 1. The age profile of the clergy shows half the active clergy are under the age of 45 and this is a dramatic improvement from when I came to the diocese in 2003, when there was only one clergy with school age children or younger. Currently we have over twenty five children in clergy households. 2. The improved financial situation of the diocese. The diocese is not trading in a deficit situation nor has any major borrowings. 3. The Parish Aging Summary (funds owed to the diocese by parishes) is in a healthy situation. Only one parish has a significant debt and that is being addressed, and there are a number of parishes at risk and a close watch is being maintained on the situation. 4. The Ministry Formation Programme has now over the years produced a steady supply of OLM clergy for the diocese. There is currently a group in preparation in The Mallee Deanery with the programme being run by Canon Heather in Mildura. 5. Diocesan Governance: A combination of Synod, Diocesan Council, Diocesan Executive, the Finance & Investment Committee, Senior Staff, the Senior Leadership Team and a good Registry Team.

Weaknesses: 1. The challenge to fill vacant parishes and the time it takes. There is a shortage of good clergy available for rural appointments. 2. The lack of resources to be able to do more. The diocese although in a sound position lacks the discretionary income to boost resources for mission and chaplaincy. 3. The declining and aging rural population in many parts of the diocese and the strain it puts on everyone: Small congregations, clergy, and the diocese. 4. The amount of time and administration required to maintain a safe church. While this is absolutely vital for our credibility it does absorb an increasing amount of resources. 5. The physical condition of many of our church buildings and their inability to serve ministry today.

Ordinations  The Rev’d Melissa Clark was ordained a deacon on 29 November 2015 at St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat  The Rev’d Neil Fitzgerald was ordained a deacon (OLM) 29 November 2015 at St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat  The Rev’ds Alipate and Erin Tuineau were ordained priests on 29 November 2015 at St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat.

Appointments  The Rev’d Brendan McDonald was appointed Priest in Charge of Common Ground Maiden Gully on 23 August 2015  The Rev’d Steve Weickhardt was appointed Priest in Charge of Strathfieldsaye Community Church on 13 September 2015  The Rev’d Jan Harper was appointed Rector of the Parish of Swan Hill on 15 November 2015  The Rev’d Melissa Clark was appointed Assistant Curate in the Central Highlands Cluster of the Parishes of Kyneton and Woodend on 29 November 2015.  The Rev’d Neil Fitzgerald was appointed Assistant Curate (OLM) in the Central Highlands Cluster of the Parishes of Kyneton and Woodend on 29 November 2015.  The Rev’d George Hemmings was appointed Rector of the Parish of Echuca on 14 January 2016  The Rev’d Anne McKenna was appointed Rector of the Parish of Castlemaine on 1 March 2016  The Rev’d Don Bellamy was appointed Rector of the Parish of Maldon on 7 April 2016

Deconsecrations    

All Saints Old Cathedral was deconsecrated on 5 July 2015 Christ Church Fenton’s Creek was deconsecrated on 4 October 2015 St Mary’s Elphinstone was deconsecrated on 11 October 2015 St Paul’s Carisbrook was deconsecrated on 31 October 2015

Thanks  The Diocese could not function without the Registry: Anne, Naomi, Jackie, Sarah, Rhonda, Andrew, Deb and Heather.  To the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Dean and Vicar General John, Archdeacon Greg and Registrar Naomi  To Canon Heather Marten for the Ministry Formation Programme  To the clergy and laity of the diocese who faithfully day in day out are serving the Church.  To Mr Ian Dallas as Chancellor for his dedication and wisdom.  To Mr John Henry as Advocate for all his expertise and assistance  To the Diocesan Trustees  To the Senior Staff Group: The Dean, Archdeacons, and Rural Deans.  The Diocesan Council and Diocesan Executive Committee for their leadership and service.  To the Churchwardens, Parish Secretaries, Treasurers and all who serve on Parish Councils.  To the Rev’d Andrew Eaton and the Editorial Committee of ‘The Spirit’, and to Barrie Hanson for assisting with production and distribution.  To Bishop Jeremy Ashton for his co-ordination of the Supply Team and for all those clergy who serve across the diocese as part of the Team.  To all those who serve in a variety of capacities across the diocese, in congregations, communities, parishes, organisations, op shops and a host of other capacities.