Bishop Andrew's Synod Charge 2014

DIOCESE OF BENDIGO

Synod Charge The Rt Rev’d Andrew W Curnow AM Bishop of Bendigo

Synod 2014 First Session of the Thirty-Ninth Synod

SYNOD 2014 BISHOP’S ADDRESS “We want you to know brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches.” (2 Corinthians 8:1) As we come to Synod I commence by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

Welcome to this the 39th Synod of this Diocese of Bendigo and particularly to those who are attending Synod for the first time. I hope you find it an interesting and fulfilling experience and that you gain an understanding of how our Church works.

Synods are the Parliament of the Church and are an opportunity for representatives from all parts of the Diocese to come together, to hear from the leaders of the Diocese what we have been doing over the past year, to receive Annual Reports, ask questions and to put in place policy that will govern the life of our Church.

Motions can be moved to express the mind of Synod on any matter a member of Synod wishes to raise. Synods are a sign of the democracy of our Church and should be never taken for granted or underestimated.

So again welcome to this 39th Synod and for the first time I would think we have this session of Synod spread over two locations: tonight we have already enjoyed the hospitality of the Parish of South East Bendigo and I thank Archdeacon Greg and the Parish for making us welcome. Tomorrow we move to the Parish of Kangaroo Flat and enjoy the facilities of the new St. Mary’s Parish Centre.

I have chosen as a text for my Synod address a line from 2 Corinthians where Paul is reminding us that, as a Church, we live and operate by the grace of God. Without God’s blessing we are nothing but a ‘clanging cymbal” making a lot of noise. Paul, in his address to the Corinthians, urges the Church in its faith, speech, knowledge, eagerness and actions to be generous. May we be likewise!

Last year my Synod Report took over and hour and a half to go through. You will be pleased to know that this year it will be barely half that length. My address this year will largely focus on significant matters that we face as the Anglican Church of Australia and as a Diocese and conclude with a reflection about town and country in this Diocese.

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The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse For over a year now there has been a lot media attention on the Royal Commission and overall the Church has not fared well. Sadly, there have been many instances where the clergy have not behaved appropriately and this has become an issue of national importance. So far only one diocese in the Anglican Church, the Diocese of Grafton, has been probed at depth by the Royal Commission, but it was not a pretty sight. Indeed the diocese was viewed as a disgrace in the way it had not acted in relation to the abuse of children.

Each year the Bishops of Australia gather for an Annual Meeting and this year I, along with the Bishop of Ballarat, was the joint host with the meeting being held in Ballarat. The principal speaker at the meeting was the Hon Justice Peter McClelland Chair of the Royal Commission who gave a substantive and moving address and from it I want to share some key points.

1. The Task: The number of people contacting the Royal Commission in regard to complaints has far exceeded expectations. So far it has received: 

11,902 calls



4,837 letters and emails

It has also undertaken 1,509 private sessions with complainants with another 100 sessions to be undertaken. There continues to be 40 complaints a week still being registered. So far from the private sessions and complaints over 200 institutions: schools, parishes and dioceses have been identified.

Justice McClelland reported that the Commissioners have found many of the sessions to be emotional and traumatic for all involved and that many victims after appearing before the Commission either privately or in the open sessions have been much stressed.

2. Public Hearings: Over the past 12 months in public hearings 22 institutions have been carefully examined, including the Diocese of Grafton in the Anglican Church of Australia.

Institutions have been sampled as it is impossible to look at every institution named. Institutions have been chosen from a range of geographical settings, denominations and organisations.

The commission has observed that on average it takes a man often up to and over 30 years to report a complaint and for a woman and average of 20+ years. In some cases the examination of an institution has been constrained where criminal proceedings are underway following a police investigation.

Already the Commission is subject to criticism and lot of frustration from victims as it will not be possible to examine every institution.

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3. Observations: Much of the abuse is historical and the outcome of a bygone era when many children were institutionalised. But many of the churches and institutions where abuse did take place still exist today. It has been found that the potential for abuse was higher in residential settings where people in charge at various levels had total authority over the children. The child being abused had nowhere to turn to, either a parent or the institution itself.

It was found that there was often, in the institutional setting, a systemic failure by those in charge as they were either the perpetrators or allowed abuse to continue and did nothing about it. Clergy were frequently moved from one parish to another as the means by which church leadership dealt with the issue.

Frequently when complaints were made church leaders denied there was an issue or swept it under the carpet.

Victims have been haunted for life and show a complex and diverse range of reactions to depression, anger, personality and relationship problems, alcoholism and drug use.

4. Issues: 

There need to be clear procedures and rules where children are involved in programmes offered in institutional settings. Eg: No child should be left totally alone with a worker or volunteer and any worker or volunteer must be within the sight line of another worker or volunteer. The Royal Commission found that many organisations had such rules in place, but they were ignored or not acted on due to a lack of resources. I fear at times this maybe the case in our own diocese where we do have procedures and rules, but are we able to deliver them. We have been running a series of Holy Safety Training days, but again these are voluntary and I am sure we need to be doing more. The Diocese of Gippsland has recently embarked upon a training programme entitled: Safe Churches, Protecting Vulnerable People, Safe Leaders and Safe Programs and have produced an excellent Training Manual called the Safe Church Manual. I am sure that this is the level of training we should be providing in this diocese and this matter will need to be addressed in the year ahead.

When an institution has knowledge of an allegation of inappropriate behaviour does that institution make sure the information is shared with other organisations? One of the criticisms of the Anglican Church of Australia is that clergy who were perpetrators moved from one diocese to another without information being shared or alarms bells being raised. (I will say more later in this address about what is currently being done in relation to this matter).

There must be effective discipline of people found guilty of wrong doing. If it is a criminal case this is a matter for the courts. If it is not a criminal matter the churches and other organisations must have clear and transparent sanctions 3

that can be put in place. There is a public perception that the church has not been good at this with many clergy being allowed to continue to work. In the Anglican Church I can assure you that this has not been the case with many clergy now being even defrocked, dismissed and delicensed. 

Justice for Victims/Compensation/Settlements: There needs to be clearer policies in place about the process by which churches offer compensation and the amounts should not be predetermined or capped. Victims must have recourse to Common Law and this means the churches must have a legal entity that can be sued.

A great deal of anger has emerged in the Royal Commission about a matter called the ‘Ellis Defence’. This refers to a case in New South Wales where a Roman Catholic layman, Mr Ellis, lost a case against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sydney for compensation in relation to child abuse. The NSW Appeal Court found that the assets and funds of the diocese were held in Trust and could not be used to compensate Mr Ellis. This defence has since been used on a number of occasions where victims have sued the Roman Catholic Church.

This was a matter that came up in the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Abuse and it recommended that churches that did not have an incorporated entity establish one so that victims could sue churches through the civil courts. (I will again comment further on this later in my address).



Justice McClelland felt that the legal structure of the Anglican Church of Australia hampered our Church and its response to the issues before the Royal Commission. With twenty three individual dioceses there was a lack in consistency and coherence across our Church at a national level. Wasn’t it time for the Anglican Church in this country to have one national scheme for handling complaints and addressing compensation?

I personally agree with the comments of Justice McClelland, but given the legal structure of our church where we are twenty three dioceses and not an organic national church it seems sadly a long way off. My own priority has and will be to try having a uniform system in Victoria.

The Royal Commission is to hand down its interim report in September this year and will be seeking extra funding to continue its work given the size of the task. In this address I have sought to give you a taste of the matters and issues before it and to help us realise that as a church we all must take responsibility for this weighty and challenging area.

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The Impact for this Diocese The outcomes from the Royal Commission will be significant for many Australian institutions and especially the churches. For over a decade now the Anglican Church of Australia has been proactive in asking dioceses to make sure they have adequate processes and procedures in place to handle matters of complaint in regard to the inappropriate behaviour of clergy. In this diocese since 2003 we have had in place a protocol for handling such matters and a number of complaints have been handled under it. All complaints are dealt with through the office of the Director of Professional Standards which is based in Melbourne and accessed through a 1800 telephone number.

Recently the diocesan protocol and the cases we have handled as a diocese have been reviewed and audited by a Melbourne barrister to examine whether we were compliant with the expectations of the Royal Commission and meet the necessary requirements of General Synod. The report makes a number of major recommendations that will impact on the life of the Diocese. In summary, they are: 1. Put in place a revised protocol on professional standards underguided by Synod legislation 2. That diocesan files should be consolidated and in relation to clergy these should be: “One diocesan file so that all relevant information including licensing dates and expiration, current Police and Working with Children Checks together with licensing status and location can be identified and accessed readily” 3. That the Safe Ministry Check, issued by General Synod for clergy, be implemented ASAP in the diocese.

4. A review of all clergy with PTO status should be undertaken to see that they have current Police and Working with Children Check.

5. That the Safe Ministry Check, Police Checks and Working with Children Check be extended to all persons in the Diocese holding an Authorisation for Ministry Certificate.

6. That the Diocese of Gippsland programme “Safe Church Manual”, a training programme for clergy and lay leaders be established in the Diocese.

7. That the Diocese take initiatives to encourage a Provincial (state) wide protocol which will make a common system across Victoria for handling complaints.

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The Present Protocol: The diocese has in place the following procedures: 1. With respect to clergy all are expected to have: 

A National Police Check

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A Working with Children Check

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A Safe Ministry Check

If coming to this diocese from another diocese they must also have: 

A clearance from the National Clergy Register and a Certificate of Good Standing from the Bishop of the diocese from which they have come.

The National Clergy Register was established some years ago to be a means by which clergy moving from one diocese to another could be referenced.

All clergy, in their letter of offer to serve in this diocese, are asked to agree to act in accordance with the Code of Practice, Faithfulness in Service.

All clergy are expected to attend a Holy Safety Training Day. 2. With respect to laity: All laity wishing to undertake a ministry in the name of the diocese must be authorised and a procedure for this is required to be renewed every three years. A Certificate of Authorisation is issued. All laity involved with children must have a Working with Children Check. Many dioceses are now requesting all laity wanting to be involved in ministries of service in the diocese to undergo a National Police Check. This has not been done in this diocese due to a lack of Registry resources to administer the process. All laity with an Authorisation for Ministry in the diocese is expected to attend a Holy Safety Training Day. However, as I intimated above we will need to look at following the example of the Diocese of Gippsland and significantly ramp up our training. I am also expecting that despite my point above about the lack of resources, the requirement for all lay people involved in ministry to have Police and Working with Children Checks is not far off being made compulsory.

3. The outcome of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry, the Royal Commission and the forthcoming General Synod in Adelaide in July, when combined, I believe will have a far reaching and long lasting effect on the way in which we operate as a Church. There will be further compliance and government/public scrutiny of the churches and we face a huge challenge to turn public perceptions around. The media tend to cast us in a very negative light with much to hide and although most attention has been on the Roman Catholic Church and more recently the Salvation Army, the public’s perception of all churches is affected.

I believe there will be more rules and regulations to do with the licensing of clergy and the authorisation of lay people for ministry. Ongoing training will be required

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and all dioceses will face having to budget more money for the administration of professional standards. As referred to above, a major outcome that we will be dealing with at this Synod is for the diocese to establish an incorporated entity. By being incorporated under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) the diocese will not only have much a clearer legal entity, but it will also bring with it clear rules and expectations in relation to governance, financial reporting and accountability. I commend this initiative and believe it is the only way the church can begin to reclaim its moral integrity. But, it will come at a cost financially in terms of staff, legal and financial requirements.

4. In this diocese in the time that I have been bishop we have dealt with a number of cases and I am sure there will be more in future. The cases have been dealt with by the Director of Professional Standards and all have related to the past.

However, it is a past that haunts the present and the future. One of the most harrowing experiences I have had as a bishop is to listen to the experience of people who have been abused by clergy, their hurt, anger, deep sense of betrayal and total disillusionment with the Church.

As you are aware on Friday, 4 April I called for a day of prayer, fasting and repentance across the diocese as a sign and act of our repentance as a Church for what now heard has been the deep hurt and betrayal experienced by victims.

As you also read in the April edition of The Spirit I visited the Parish of Woodend to speak to the congregation about the way a former Rector (now deceased) sadly lived two lives. In one he was known and respected as Rector of the parish and in the other as a chaplain to a young people’s institution where without doubt he was a predator. I found what I had to do that night very uncomfortable, but the parish which had never heard the details before needed to know the truth.

Whether we like it or not the Church has been deeply affected by sexual abuse and it is not going to dissipate quickly. As indicated above, the recommendations coming from the Report into our current protocol require significant changes and with this in mind I plan to call another meeting of Synod later this year that will largely focus on Professional Standards.

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The Viability and Structure of Dioceses For the past three years I have been Convenor of a Task Force established by General Synod to look at the viability and structures of dioceses in the Anglican Church of Australia. The Terms of Reference were: (a) Theoretical: 

What is a diocese?

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How should we restructure our groups of dioceses?

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What is the existing structure for provinces?

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What is the impact of changing demographics?

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Do we need to adjust our rural/urban structures?

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Problems with our small rural dioceses or large metropolitan dioceses.

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What models need to be adopted to encourage and enable people in remote locations to minister to themselves?

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What are the marks of a viable diocese, pastorally, missionally, risk management and human capacity?

(b) Practical: 

How do we enable the dioceses and provinces to deal with problems?

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How do we reorganise a diocese in trouble?

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Do we have sufficient ability to deal with such a problem promptly? If not, how do we get that ability?

Besides myself there were four other members of the Task Force and for two years we met three or four times a year to do interviews, invite submissions, and look at the issues we needed to work on. As Convenor I drew the straw to actually write the Report and it has been a major task for the past fifteen months. Initially I decided I needed more material and sent a questionnaire out to all dioceses. I also engaged the Christian Research Association to help me with a great amount of demographic material including statistics from the 2011 Australian Census. Gradually I began to build a great deal of material to enable me to begin drafting.

I began to scope out the Report in early December, and began writing in earnest after Christmas. Now nearly 30,000 words later the Report is complete and will be printed in time for General Synod. Even if I say so it has been a huge undertaking, but I hope it will become a landmark report for the future of our church. The key criteria established for viability were: 1. Capacity for Mission 2. Demographic factors 3. Geography

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4. Diocesan Resources 5. Distribution, Number and Age of Clergy 6. Governance 7. Leadership 8. Goals and Strategy of a diocese 9. Capacity to resolve persistent problems 10. New Models of Being Church Alongside these are to be placed and used some new material developed by Canon Robert Warren who for many years has been a strong and articulate leader at both the local and national level in the Church of England. He has come up with ten marks for healthy dioceses. His understanding of a healthy church/diocese is based on the biblical concept of salvation, namely wholeness, balance, and harmony with God and creation.

“Christ frequently said to people whom he had healed, ‘your faith has saved you’.

This is variously translated ‘made you well’, ‘made you whole’. So a healthy church is one that has been touched and energised by the presence of God so that it reflects something of the good news of the wholeness made possible through the knowledge of God as revealed in Christ, by the Holy Spirit”. (Robert Warren, Developing Healthy Churches, Church House Publishing, London 2012, Page v) Warren’s ten marks can be used alongside and in conjunction with the viability criteria and have to be applied to a diocese having a Mission Action Plan (MAP) or Strategic Plan. They are set out here with the consent of Canon Warren: 1. Rooted in Prayerful Reflection: Good plans are the outcome of discerning what God wants to do with us.

2. Wide Consultative Process: A diocese’s vision and vocation arise out of the faith community rather than things to be imposed upon it. People today are much more likely to put their energies into plans they have been involved in shaping than plans imposed on them. At the same time there does need to be leadership to get things going.

3. Good grasp of the present diocese/church state: A diocese needs to have a clear understanding of where it currently is and the viability criteria help to build such a profile.

4. Rooted in spirituality/theology/vocation: Many dioceses overwhelm themselves with actions, meetings, strategies and projects that are not necessarily directed by careful theological reflection, and may in fact be a squandering of their energies and resources rather than a faithful commitment to engage incarnationally with God in the world.

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5. Clear sense of direction for the next five years: This is a good time framework for dioceses to work with and the caution is do not over estimate what can be achieved.

6. Sharp priorities widely communicated: Mission or strategic plans should not be a way for a diocese to overburden itself, but a means for focusing action, and enabling it to work smarter rather harder. All parts of the diocese should be committed to the plan.

7. Healthy diocesan balance between doing and being: The danger of activism.

Dioceses need to corporately:  

Look up: Focus on the call of God to the Church Look in: How can the way the diocese operates and handles internal relationships demonstrate the Good News of God in the life of the diocese?  Look out: How is the diocese called to serve to serve its communities and the wider world?

8. Specific achievable actions: Plans must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant/Realistic and Time related.

9. Workable plans for implementation: They need to be well costed about: who will do what, with whom, with what resources and accountable to whom? Does the diocese have the people resources?

10. Identifiable plans for monitoring progress: Plans can be dreamt, written and printed, but they must be implemented. Goals may need to be revised in the light of experience. No plan today can be poured into concrete; they need to be flexible and monitored. And do not forget to celebrate what has been achieved.

At the same time be honest and do not exaggerate the outcomes.

I will be happy to distribute copies of the Report following General Synod. Suffice to say much of the material I have been dealing with has given me a great deal of insight into my own leadership of the diocese and the matters that we need to address. We do have a Strategic Plan and it is now timely to comment on that.

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Diocesan Strategic Plan Just in case you do not have a copy, copies are available from the Registration desk.

The Diocesan Strategic Plan 2013-2017 was adopted by the Council of the Diocese in February 2013. Since then the implementation has been overseen by Archdeacon Greg Harris and the Senior Leadership Team of the Diocese. So far the following areas of work have been undertaken: 1. Roles and Structures To develop an organisational structure which accountability and supports the Strategic Plan:

underpins

performance,

 A review of the current legal structure of the diocese has been undertaken and the major outcome of that is the main business at this Synod, namely the Incorporation of the Diocese as a company limited by guarantee. This will allow for a much clearer legal entity by which the diocese can trade and undertake business. It will also mean that we meet the requirements of the State Government Inquiry into Child Abuse to have a current legal entity and will enable the diocese to negotiate joining Work Cover to provide coverage of the clergy.  The development of a plan to ensure that every ordained person in the diocese has support and supervision is a major item under the attention of the Senior Leadership Group (SLT).  Training programmes for secretaries, treasurers and wardens are currently under development and it is anticipated they will held in August.

2. Finances To set and continually review achievable and realistic financial performance objectives to support the direction and growth of the Diocese.  A review of the structure and viability of the DDF has been undertaken by the Diocesan Finance and Investment Committee using, where necessary, external consultants. This review is close to completion with the Committee expecting to able to report to the Council of the Diocese in the latter half of this year.  A strategy to build up the Bishopric Endowment has been established with the 10% from property sales across the diocese going into the Endowment Fund.

So far the Fund stands at $724,169, but will soon receive the first part of funds raised from the sale of the Old Cathedral site and this is expected to take the Fund to near $2 million. There is still the major part of the Old Cathedral site to be sold and this will also go to the Fund. The aim of the Finance and Investment Committee is to build a Fund of $3.5M by the end of 2015.

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 A management strategy within the Registry has been established to address parishes that are experiencing financial duress. The Aging Summary of what parishes owe the diocese is live and current.  The investigation of a diocesan wide stewardship programme has not been undertaken at this time. Recently at a Parish Conference at Maryborough I enunciated to points critical to the future of stewardship: -

Increasing the number of parishioners direct debiting

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The 10/10 principle. All congregations across the diocese must aim at a minimum of 10 parishioners and a parish contribution of $10,000.

3. Parish and Ministries To establish a sustainable and productive Ministry Team which practices contemporary and relevant leadership skills across the diocese.  The Ordained Local Ministry (OLM) Scheme has been further developed and there are currently three groups passing through the programme: A first year and second year pre ordination group and a post ordination group. The groups are led by Bishop Ron Stone assisted by The Rev’d Sharon Phillips and meet on a monthly basis. The diocesan budget this year contains funding for the appointment of a half time Ministry Development Officer who in the long term will have the responsibility to develop the OLM programme further.  The recruitment of clergy remains the number one area of priority on the SLT’s agenda. Archdeacon Greg Harris has recently examined changes in the clergy age and gender profile since 2003 and I am pleased to report that the average age of clergy has reduced considerably and the number of female clergy has gone from 16% of the clergy in 2003 to 40% today (see graphs at the end of this address). These are significant gains and indicate that the policy of intentional recruitment is having an impact.  A review of chaplaincy has been undertaken and covered health and welfare chaplaincies. The diocese has at present three health chaplaincies operating in Bendigo, two within the Bendigo Health Care Group, with one in Aged Care Chaplaincy (The Rev’d Linda Osmond) and one in Acute Care Chaplaincy (The Rev’d Christine Kimpton). There is also a Chaplain to St. John of God (The Rev’d Glenda Templer). All three are part time. There are also two chaplains operating in Prison Chaplaincy, one covering Loddon Prison at Castlemaine and Mt Tarrengower at Maldon (The Rev’d Fiona Goy) and another chaplain covering Dhurringile Prison near Tatura (Mr Rod Steer). All five chaplaincies are grossly underfunded. The Health chaplaincies to hospitals receive nothing from the institutions and the Prison chaplaincies are paid on an hourly rate for a limited number of hours.

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The Chaplaincy Review strongly affirmed the ministry of chaplaincy as a “core business” of the diocese, but made no recommendations as to how it might be funded.

With the building of the new public hospital in Bendigo, which will be the biggest hospital outside of Melbourne, the significant extension of St. John of God and the continuing growth in Aged Care in Bendigo, the diocese faces a huge challenge in providing chaplaincy services.

In addition all three prisons are being expanded to accommodate more inmates. I don’t think any of us would question the need and the priority to provide ministry to these institutions, but the funding is a major hurdle. Both the Bendigo Health Group and St. John of God Hospital report that the largest denominational group for in bed patients is Anglican and this further exacerbates the situation we are facing. With the size of the next Bendigo Hospital we will need at least one full time Chaplain.

4. Personnel To implement reflective leadership, performance and management practices linked to clearly defined goals and role accountabilities.  A review of the Board of Ministry has been undertaken and at this Synod the term and membership of the present Board will expire. This will enable the establishment of a new Board and this will be done by resolution at the Council of the Diocese. The current Board, which finishes with this Synod, has served the Diocese well and has been instrumental in developing the selection process for ordination candidates and the Ministry Formation Programme for the training of OLM candidates.

The new Board is expected to be smaller with more focused Terms of Reference and will also see the development of a group of Selectors to serve on Selection Panels.  The Strategic Plan recommends the appointment of a person to support OLM and OPM (Ordained Pioneer Ministers) Clergy and this is being considered at present.  A template “Ministry Description” for clergy has been developed and is in draft form and will be distributed to clergy for comments. It is anticipated that it will be the basis of a discussion at the clergy conference which takes place as part of the Annual Clergy Retreat in October.  The external review of the Registry was undertaken in 2013 and most of the recommendations have been implemented specifically around the strengthening of the financial operations and management in the Registry.

The appointment of an Executive Assistant to the Bishop in 2013 has been a huge boost to the Bishop’s Office and Registry generally.

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5. Property and Buildings To provide viable, sustainable and contemporary places of worship meeting the changing needs and expectations of the community  There has been a continuing appraisal over the past year of property assets that are surplus to the needs of parishes or the diocese and these have been sold. This process will continue.  Mr Greg McKerlie’s appointment as Diocesan Property Manager will come to an end later this year, because that is when the money runs out. Greg’s employment over the past three to four years has been the catalyst for clearing up and addressing a swag of property matters across the Diocese.

Greg, with the assistance and encouragement of the Registrar, has been able to address many property matters long neglected and overlooked for years across the diocese. The Strategic Review recommends the continuing employment of a Property Manager, but at this point it is hard to see where the funding will come from.

It is good that Synod will get an opportunity to see St. Mary’s Kangaroo Flat as it now sets a bench mark for the type of facility that churches will have to be to achieve the goal as set down in this pillar of the Strategic Plan. For many of our churches it will mean adapting existing facilities and where we meet for this first night of Synod at Holy Trinity, South East Bendigo is in the process of developing such a redevelopment. Similarly with the Cathedral Restoration the Architect’s agenda is to restore the magnificence of the building in sympathy with its heritage rating, but at the same time provide a building that can be used for a variety of contemporary uses.

6. Communication To build effective internal and external communication processes.  A review of the diocesan magazine The Spirit has been carried out by an independent media consultant. A report with a series of recommendations has been received by The Spirit Committee and all of the recommendations are being worked upon at present. The May edition was the 100 th of The Spirit and in the near future a new format will be implemented with some changes to content as well. It will remain an avenue of communication primarily about diocesan life and the committee are working hard to make a good publication even better.  The diocesan website has been maintained, but needs a refresh and there have been many suggestions about establishing a diocesan Facebook page.

All we lack are time and resources!  The diocese has established good media relations across the diocese and particularly with WIN Television News and ABC Radio News. They are always

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open to receiving stories from us. In addition to this the diocese has built up a very good network of relationships with the editors of many country newspapers across the diocese. They are very co-operative in allowing us to use photographs in The Spirit of various local events involving our parishes and are always happy to do a story on local church events.  The Diocesan Update produced by Bishop Ron on a regular basis has become the main internal communication channel and is distributed online to all clergy and many others who have asked for it.

The Strategic Plan has another three years to run, but as you will see from this comprehensive run down of what has been accomplished over the past year I believe that nearly two thirds of the strategies have either been implemented or are in the process of being brought to implementation. I want to thank Archdeacon Greg for his assistance with this as he regularly reports to the SLT Meeting on the Strategic Plan.

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The Cathedral As we come to Synod I am delighted to report that work is underway to restore the interior. Frustratingly (!!!!) we went through all of 2013 with little work being done except the installation of new underground drainage around the Cathedral. The long delay was largely caused by the presence of dampness and water in the sanctuary area of the Cathedral and concern by the Builder, Architect and Engineer to start major works without this being resolved. Initially it was felt to be storm water from Bush’s Lane. But this proved to be inconclusive and then a geologist was called in who felt it had something to with old mine water coming up through rack fissures on the eastern edge of the building. The good news is that after a lot of testing and excavation the problem seems to be confined to the Sanctuary area and remedial action has now been undertaken to see that it cannot spread and that the problem is managed with air circulation.

This means that at last the floor in the upper half of the Cathedral can be replaced, the work to clean and paint the interior to start and refurbishment of the interior for worship and a myriad of other activities proceed. When will it reopen? As soon as possible!

There is still the bell tower and the front entrance to be addressed and funds for this work are not to hand. A financial summary of the project looks like this: St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral - Restoration Update - 30 April 2014 1. Funds-In-Hand for Restoration 

National Trust

$143,885



Funds raised

$316,412

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Open the Doors

$75,136 $535,433 (83,000)

Accounts to hand pending payment TOTAL 2. Cathedral Organ Fund

$452,433 $40,000

(Available for Organ Restoration Only) 3. Diocesan Trusts under Cy Pres Application

$146,698

4. Requests to: 

State Government

$750,000



City of Greater Bendigo

$250,000

**Please note: The figures are subject to audit

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The Parish Share I am giving the Parish Share a section all on its own in an attempt to help Members of Synod understand what it is. Although it comes up in Parish Council Meetings every month and it is reported on at the Annual Meeting, there seems to be a great deal of confusion and lack of clarity about what it is.

For the purposes of the good running of the diocese every parish makes two payments to the diocese each month. One is called the Ministry Fund and it is pretty self-evident what it is for. It pays for the ordained ministry in a parish or congregation and in some cases also for lay staff where they are employed. The Ministry Fund was introduced into the Diocese of Bendigo in 1987 and we were the first diocese in Australia to introduce the concept of clergy being paid centrally through the diocese.

Up until then, each parish paid its clergy separately and were responsible for taking out tax, superannuation etc. The system was failing and so the Ministry Fund system was born. Now a majority of dioceses around Australia have followed the Bendigo model. In the Diocese of Melbourne clergy and parishes have a choice. They can either pay the clergy themselves or pay through the diocesan payroll.

The other monthly payment (and they should be paid together) is the Parish Share.

In many dioceses it is known as the Diocesan Assessment and in some dioceses it is voluntary and in one or two consists of only the payment for insurance, and a small diocesan levy to cover chaplaincy or some other service. This occurs only in dioceses with substantial diocesan endowments such as Sydney where the diocese is the beneficiary of significant property and financial investments.

In the Dioceses of Brisbane and Melbourne the Assessment is voluntary and although the diocese sets an amount for each parish, the parish can appeal and in some cases parishes even refuse or cannot pay. In this diocese following the demise of Girton as a diocesan school and the financial consequences, the diocese lost its endowment and so had to put in place the need to charge an assessment. At I think the Synod of 1997 the assessment in this diocese it was determined could not be more than 14.9% of the parish income based on the income of the previous year.

Giving for mission was not to be included in income. When I became bishop in 2003 Synod asked that the Registry attempt over time to get the level of assessment down to 10% and to average the giving for the three previous years in setting a quota for each parish. The term Parish Share was introduced as the name for the Assessment to more accurately reflect that the parishes were sharing in the responsibility for the diocese, so that the diocese could serve them. It was to signify a partnership between parishes/congregations and the diocese.

For a number of years the Parish Share got to 12.9% and costs in the operation of the diocese were pegged to meet this amount. However, the Parish Share for this year has gone up to 13.1% and this simply reflects the increase in costs that could no longer be sustained. By way of comparison, the Assessment in the Diocese of Melbourne is currently 19%. I also tend to think that with the increased cost of professional standards coming our way the Parish Share will be under great 17

pressure. Let me assure you at the same time the diocese is only too well aware of the financial pressures upon many parishes and no decision to increase the Share is made lightly or without rigorous examination of other options.

This diocese operates on a shoestring and I am well aware of the financial challenges in sustaining ministry. When it comes to the crunch parishes and ministries in future will only survive if there is a renewal in stewardship or parishes are able to build significant endowment income. With regards to stewardship the bottom line is that every Anglican owning their own home must establish as their giving goal $25.00 a week. Is this being unreasonable? You can tell me off, but when I see collection plates coming up to be received with one and two dollar coins in them then I wonder what people think we can exist on? If they are offerings from children that is perfectly acceptable and even from adults experiencing hardship, but not from the majority of people who attend our churches. There are other ways to give and time and talents are all part of the stewardship equation as are bequests and donations.

Many of our congregations are very generous givers, but in others the goal of $25.00 is lagging a long way behind.

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St. Luke’s Anglicare Since August last year St. Luke’s has been in conversation with Anglicare Victoria about the possibility of the two agencies joining together and becoming one Victorian wide child and family welfare agency. The coming together of the two agencies was strongly encouraged by the Minister for Human Services, the Hon Mary Wooldridge and the Department of Human Services. For many years St. Luke’s has been the predominant welfare agency in the Loddon Mallee region, but the regions the state government has defined for many years for the delivery of services are in the process of being redefined. For welfare purposes, the diocese now largely lies in the Northern Region which runs from Fitzroy to Mildura. In 2015 all present contracts for the delivery of services are to be retendered on a state wide basis and this could severely prejudice St. Luke’s given that it largely operates in the Loddon Mallee Region.

The Council of the Diocese, which constitutionally has a significant role in such a proposal, considered the matter at length at its November 2013 meeting and approved in principle subject to conditions for negotiations between the two agencies to proceed. The joining of the two agencies is complicated by the different constitutions and legal arrangements for both agencies and involves a combined staff of just on a thousand and budget of $90M. It is proposed that Anglicare Victoria will continue to use the name St. Luke’s, place two St. Luke’s Board Members on its Board and run a large regional office based in Bendigo. However considerable progress has between made and I am pleased to announce that the two agencies will officially merge as form 1 July 2014 as outlined in the following statement:

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Around the Diocese 

One of the most significant achievements has been the completion, consecration and opening of the new St. Mary’s in Kangaroo Flat. Five years after the destruction of the original St. Mary’s by fire the new church and the complex of facilities has opened. I want to particularly honour, as has the parish, the work of Lay Canon Colin Clark, a long term parishioner and retired builder who oversaw the project and in doing so enabled savings to be made on the whole project.

The new complex cost $2.1M and opened with a debt of less than $250,000.

This is a remarkable effort by the parish and they are to be congratulated on their achievement.



As reported by the Registrar, the new Eddington Cottage at Point Lonsdale has been completed and this again is a magnificent achievement and the Registrar is to be congratulated in seeing this project delivered. The house was formally handed over to the diocese just over a week ago and should be ready for use in the very near future. Under the terms of the will the first call on the use of the property are the clergy and it they are not using it others can apply for a booking.



At last year’s Synod two initiatives that I committed to have not been delivered.

The first was the badging of Op Shops around the diocese under the banner of GIVING & LIVING. This has not happened for two reasons. First of all a mixed response from the shops and secondly a lack of funds to undertake the project.

Some of the shops were concerned that badging them would take away their local name and/or identity and confuse their customer base. Secondly, the designing of a logo and the wording for the shops was dependent upon finding a sponsor who would financially assist the project. I believe the first concern can be addressed by allowing the local name to be in the title, so for example it might read: GIVING & LIVING – Parish Op Shop (Name to be inserted). The second is more of a challenge, but I haven’t given up!



The other initiative was in relation to the programme “A Season of Invitation”.

This programme was suggested as a replacement to Back to Church Sunday and as far as I am aware only one parish, the Parish of Eaglehawk had a go at doing it. At the Clergy Retreat Clergy Conference there seemed to be more interest in a programme auspiced by the Diocese of Brisbane called Connect2Church and at the February Clergy conference this year The Rev’d Julie Woolner, the Convenor of the Programme in Brisbane, came and spoke about it and brought materials to share with the clergy. Time will tell of the interest, but I think the material is well worth looking at and using.

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Our State Earlier this month with a lot of razzmatazz our State Government tabled the Annual State Budget in Parliament containing $27 billion worth of major projects. It was a bold and grand budget with two huge transport projects for the heart of Melbourne as its centrepiece. There were also announcements about an upgrade of the ambulance helicopter fleet with one of the new helicopters to be based in Bendigo, 12 new government schools, a new hospital for Boort, an updated primary school for Kyneton, a new police station for Echuca and a new aquatic sports centre for Kangaroo Flat.

However a closer analysis of the Budget reveals that for all the amount of money being thrown at the state on 4% is actually in rural Victoria. I find this extraordinary and disappointing. Also buried within hundreds of budget documents are some disturbing signs: “Cuts to TAFE and aged care, mentally ill patients waiting too long for treatment, reductions in legal aid; more funding for prison beds than hospital beds; paltry amounts to tackle family violence. And that’s barely even scratching the surface. As Brotherhood of St. Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson put it: ‘Social policy must be woven with economic policy and understood as vital to the delivery of Victoria’s economic goals - and this budget falls well short of this aim.” (The Sunday Age May 11, 2014).

I am not here to be just negative about government policy, but I am disappointed with the commitment to rural Victoria and the lack of what seems to be a clear and comprehensive social policy for our state. The infrastructure projects maybe visionary but I am a little suspicious of all the spiel and the lack of detail and independent analysis. The recent announcement of the merger of Bendigo TAFE with the Kangan Institute and the millions of dollars the State Government has promised for it has been encouraging, but confusing as it wasn’t even mentioned in the State Budget.

The Commonwealth Budget also handed down this month has caused much concern with regard to its impact on many people in our society. I was very taken with a comment by Australian novelist Tom Keneally that education is not a commodity but a birth right and that just about everything we do in our society is now being reduced to an economic understanding. The politics of the recent budget have been well debated. The Federal member for Mallee, Andrew Broad in a recent press statement argued strongly that the state of our nation needed a major economic correction. Others argue that this correction is like a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

I’m sure you all have your points of view but in the end, as Christians, we are called to see that commonwealth is for the common good. I’m not convinced that this last Federal Budget achieves that purpose.

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Perhaps of even more concern is the tendency for all the major political parties to depend too much on advertising and telling us how good they are and how all that they are doing is for the betterment of our state and nation.

We do have a wonderful country and a robust democracy and I encourage all members of our Church to participate in whatever way they can to see that fairness, justice and good will prevails.

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Appointments Over the past year there have been a significant number of appointments, ordinations and inductions across the diocese.

Ordinations 

The Rev’d Brendan McDonald was ordained a deacon on 30 November 2013 and is assisting at Common Ground Maiden Gully.



The Rev’d Stuart Winn was ordained a priest on 1 February 2014 and is a part of the Ministry Team in the Campaspe Cluster, incorporating the parishes of Echuca, Rochester and Lockington.



The Rev’d Angela Lorrigan was ordained a deacon OLM on 1 March 2014 and was appointed Assistant Curate OLM at the Parish of Bendigo North.



The Rev’d Geoff Chittenden was ordained a priest on 1 March 2014 and was appointed Assistant Curate OLM at the Parish of South East Bendigo.



The Rev’d Robyn Davis was ordained a priest on 3 May 2014 and was appointed Assistant Priest OLM and Director of Walkabout Ministries in the Parish of Swan Hill.



The Rev’d Denis Gell was ordained a priest on 3 May 2014 and was appointed Assistant Priest OLM in the Parish of Swan Hill.

Appointments

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

The Rev’d Bryn Jones was appointed to the Langley Canonry of St Paul’s Cathedral on 10 September 2013.



The Rev’d Ian Howarth was inducted as Rector of the Parish of Kyneton on 16 January 2014.



The Rev’d Gordon Lingard was inducted as the Rector of the Parish of Bendigo North on 19 January 2014.



The Goulburn River Cluster, consisting of the parishes of Kyabram, Tongala/Stanhope and Tatura was inaugurated on 7 February 2014 with the ministry team consisting of: -

The Rev’d David Willsher as Team Leader

-

The Rev’d Sharon Phillips as Minister in Charge of the Parish of Tongala/Stanhope

-

The Rev’d Jude Benton as Priest in Charge of the Parish of Tatura



The Rev’d Andrew Eaton was inducted as the Priest in Charge of the Parish of Maryborough on 9 February 2014.



The Rev’d Jan Harper was inducted as Priest in Charge of the Parish of Swan Hill on 25 February 2014.



The Rev’d Jeff O’Hare was inducted as the Rector of the Parish of Daylesford on 27 March 2014.

Deconsecrations: 

St Matthew’s Hepburn Springs was deconsecrated on 21 September 2013.



St John’s Toolamba was deconsecrated on 15 December 2013.



Holy Trinity Ardmona was deconsecrated on 6 April 2014.

Consecrations: 

The new St Mary’s Kangaroo Flat was consecrated on 14 February 2014.

Thanks 

The Diocese could not function without the Registry: Anne, General Manager and Registrar and the staff: Jackie, Marg, Sarah, Bernadette, Greg, Charles and our volunteers Graham and Val.



To The Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Dean and Vicar General John, Archdeacon Greg and Registrar Anne.



To Bishop Ron for the Ministry Formation Programme and all the ways he contributes



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 Dr Charles Sherlock for editing The Spirit and the Editorial Committee chaired by The Rev’d Bryn Jones 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.

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Reflection In coming to the end of my address I will close with a personal reflection. I have been bishop for eleven years, and have recently applied to the Tenure Review Committee established under our new Bishopric Act for an extension. The process of Review is underway at present and the Committee will bring a recommendation to the July meeting of the Council of the Diocese. I recently had an interview with the Committee and it helped me to reflect on the past, but at the same time to look towards the future. As I reported earlier I have written a major report for the forthcoming General Synod in Adelaide and if the General Synod adopts the recommendation within the next six months, the Council of the Diocese will have to read it and look at what it means for the future of our diocese. I believe our diocese has a very strong future, but it also will continue to face significant challenges which include:       

The putting in place of a new professional standards protocol and policy The strengthening of the Ministry Formation Programme The establishment of new ministry in areas of population growth The sustaining of ministry in rural areas where population is declining The revitalisation of stewardship across the diocese The completion of the Cathedral restoration and its reopening The strengthening of the diocesan financial base

In addition to these there is always the constant demand of filling vacant parishes and ministries which currently include:        

Central Mallee Charlton/Donald Inglewood Heathcote Castlemaine Maldon Woodend Eaglehawk

So, there is much to be done and I urge you to pray daily for the diocese to be faithful to the call of God and the mission of the Church.

The Lord be with You And Also With You

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Diocesan Prayer Generous God, thank you for the Diocese of Bendigo, for the beautiful mountains, hills, plains and native forests that makes up our environment.

Bless the cities, towns and rural areas, parishes and congregations in which we live and serve.

Give us vision, energy and hope to be a Missionary Church.

By the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live the Gospel of Christ and make us eager to do your will that we may share the joys of the whole of creation; Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Reconciliation Prayer Lord God, bring us together as one, reconciled with you and reconciled with each other.

You made us in your likeness, you gave us your Son, Jesus Christ.

He has given us forgiveness from sin.

Lord God, bring us together as one, different in culture, but given new life in Jesus Christ, together as your body, your Church, your people.

Lord God, bring us together as one, reconciled, healed, forgiven, sharing you with others as you have called us to do.

In Jesus Christ, let us be together as one. Amen.

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Clergy Age and Gender Profile - Diocese of Bendigo

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