Anglican Diocese of Perth

Northern Region

Keynote Speech - challenge and inspiration

Over 300 people from the Northern Region gathered to explore the future of the Anglican Church in the Region.



Keynote speaker, the right Reverend Gary Wetherill, Bishop of Willochra, challenged us to not take our identity as a church from the media reports, but to remember who we are in Christ, and inspired us bring the Good News to the people in our community.

Passion in Ministry - three models

The Region has been exploring different models of church for the new millennium. Three diverse but encouraging models were described:

1. Mt. Hawthorn (David Ingleson) - a cooperative effort between the Uniting Church and Anglican Church led to a plan to sell three old and inadequate buildings, and with the realised resources build a new worship centre. This centre will have an externally run Child Care centre that will bring in income to the parish to sustain ministry. Worship services will be an alternating pattern of UCA and Anglican services.



2. John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School and the Mirrabooka Parish Network (Matthew Hughes) - a cooperative model between the school and parish where the rector is also a chaplain of the school.

3. Brighton (David Lord) - in a new and rapidly expanding suburb a new congregation is established based on the Ministering Communities in Mission model where the gifts of all members are recognised and released for ministry.



Interview with Archbishop Carnley
Peter Holland interviewed our Archbishop and Primate. In this compelling interview the Archbishop described some current difficulties facing the Anglican Communion. e said the Doctrine Commission was exploring whether there was such a thing as the 'plain reading of scripture'. The outcome may have an impact on how texts of scripture are used to justify or deny such things as the blessing of long-term, monogamous homosexual relationships.



TEAM training
Presentations were made by Archdeacon Michael Wood, and TEAM graduates Dulcie Hart and Rodger Bull. The latter two passionately described how the training had transformed their lives and opened up paths of ministry that were very enriching and satisfying.

 

Address by Bishop Farran
Excerpts from Bishop Farran's visionary address follow.

Saint Paul developed an understanding of our corporate life that subverted the hierarchy of the ancient world...with its message and practice of radical equality....

"now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" ...the body is incapacitated, if any one member is not exercising their particular gift of ministry in the mission of this Anglican church.

We are developing in this Region a version of Total Ministry that we call Ministering Communities in mission. This practice seeks to change the self-understanding of congregations from being consumers of religious experience, just coming to church, to being ministers, that is being the church.

Over-emphasis upon the ordained ministry captivates the church to a tiny minority who increasingly cannot make the church work effectively by themselves.

Ministry is essentially about our desire for God - to be self-giving, to be generous, to be imitative of the Divine life as lived out in Jesus.

The models [of church] presently in place include:

• The family-sized church, with attendance of about 50-70.

• Churches that are not growing beyond 120-150

• A very large church of about 300

• Churches in schools as seamless faith communities

• Churches working on the model/principles of Ministering Communities in mission

• A church in an ecumenical venture

• Churches with part-time stipendiary priests

More than anything else, I believe that we must recover our effective presence in the community as an instalment of the Reign of God. We have got to stop being worship clubs or a version of a mutual friendly society. We have to develop an essential ingredient of Anglican Church life - presence.

I think that a key element of spirituality that imitates Jesus Christ is the practice of hospitality. ...one essential piece of hospitality: welcome.

I believe that a fundamental piece of welcome is helping people to come inside the congregation.

Full address