The Anglican Diocese of Ballarat-Bishop's Blog

General Synod | 30/10/2007

I am beginning to write this from the back row of General Synod (day 6), though will have to finish it when I return to Ballarat. We are, at the moment, debating a canon calling the Church to undertake some specific steps in addressing the environmental issues facing our planet. It is a strange sensation and really does speak volumes about who we are as a Church. There is nothing in the proposed bill that is objectionable. It is all good stuff but the whole idea of setting in place some specific mechanism for reducing our carbon footprint as a Church is crazy. Laws will not change us. The proposals put into the canons cannot force any church community to change. Nothing wrong with the content but in reality it is little more than just a 'feel good' bill. And, as we near the end of synod, I suspect that this is what is of primary importance to our Church: being correct, or at least, appearing correct and looking good in the eyes of the world around us.

Foster Care, Women in the Episcopate and the Rural Urban Divide | 04/10/2007

At the moment Bennita and I have in our care, a beautiful four week old baby boy. He came to us as his foster parents last week and will be with us for the next three weeks while family services work on his future. He follows on from two beautiful twin girls (six months old) who graced our family for a few weeks while their foster parents went away for a break. Someone asked the other day how we manage to take in these babies and do all of the other things that we do. I do not know really but we are aware of just how blessed we are to be able to share in the lives of these little ones of God. They come to us troubled and we have no other responsibility but to love them to bits. They come to us, grace our lives and allow us to love them. They then go off with our prayers and hopefully to take a little of the love that we could share with them into the next stage of their lives. We do not notice the work side of it, just rejoice in what we receive from these little one. We thank God each day for these joyful lights that he shares with us to brighten up our lives.

The Drought, Women in the Episcopate & General Synod | 30/09/2007

I was in the Wimmera on the weekend and talking to farmers and community members there, it is clear that the drought is far from over. It continues to grind away at the lives of most families and we are still to feel its full impact. It must be really nice to live in Melbourne and know that there is water to spare on gardens and lawns - even though there are clearly going to be problems over the summer. City people are insulated from the drought and its impact, except when they feel the bite on the cost of food. But in the rural communities, it hits families and individuals at all kinds of levels.

George Pell, The Drought & a Preoccupation with Beauty. | 13/06/2007

I must say that I have been reading with delight some of the reactions in the press to Cardinal George Pell and his pronouncements on stem cell research. The Cardinal may have responded to a 2007 problem in 1950?s language, but with some of the parliamentarians with whom he has to deal, he must be more than a little frustrated. All this talk about ethics and really what they mean is economics. I think the Premier of NSW says it all when he comments: This is no time to stand in the way of science and thus stand in the way of hope. I wonder if he actually believes that? Science gives us hope? He must have a tragically dark life if he is going to depend on scientists to give him hope. We can do without the threats but I would encourage him to keep on challenging our decision makers.

The drought, the Parochial Government Act and Christopher Hitchens new book | 23/05/2007 | Number of Comments (1)

The Weekend Australian ran the first part of a book by Christopher Hitchens (Father Son and wholly bogus ...) and a bigger load of drivel would be harder to find. Cashing in on the current anti-god writings, Hitchens has produced a book that is full of bar room ramblings that is little more than schoolboy bullying as he seeks to belittle those men and women who are courageous enough to believe. An example, in case you think I am exaggerating: The four gospel?s authors ? none of whom published anything ultimately decades after the crucifixion ? cannot agree on anything of importance. Makes you wonder whether or not he has even read the Gospels, let alone understood them. The problem with the Gospels is that they are faith writings and Hitchens cannot get beyond what he would see as historical difficulties with some of the facts. For example, he worries that there are four accounts of the crucifixion and all four are a little bit different. Why wouldn?t they be? Each writer is trying to make a theological point and is using an historical event as the starting point. They never set out to write history as Hitches speaks of it but to give us the meaning of history which is to be understood in terms of Jesus Christ.

Anglicans and 'anglicans' & 'D.A.G.s' | 14/12/2006

I was in Warracknabeal during the week meeting with a group of Anglicans made up the deanery drought group. Each deanery has a group of men and women who come together to seek ways of assisting the wider Church reach out in love and support to those whose lives are impacted by the drought The people in the Warracknabeal group are themselves struggling to find a way forward through the drought, yet here they are sitting down trying to work out how to help others.

Drought and the Church & The Church and the Church... | 28/11/2006

I was in Horsham today for a couple of meetings and was made aware of the difficult situation we face as a diocese. One of our parishes normally receives an income of around $8,000 from the sale of grain. That $8,000 did not come in last year and it is not coming in this year due to the drought?s impact on the harvest. Imagine what it does to a parish taking that kind of money out of a budget. Yet the people are keen to battle on and are determined to ensure that ministry continues, despite the hurdles they face. That is the kind of commitment that inspires and it is an invitation to all believers to match the levels of faith that support it.

Anglican Liturgy & The Wimmera Challenge | 21/11/2006

I was at a meeting yesterday working on what we might call a 2020 vision for the diocese ? where do we think we need to be and what do we think we might need to look like if we are to be effectively proclaiming the Gospel in 2020. One of the challenges we faced was what we can call the Wimmera region, that vast farming areas to far the west and north west of the diocese. It is an area that has undergone enormous social and economic changes over the last twenty years and with the drought and changes to markets and economies those changes are going to continue to have a major impact on communities in the coming decade. As a Church, how do we face those realities?

Thomas and Renewal | 16/11/2006

I will be at the Wimmera deanery chapter meeting today (a chapter meeting is a meeting of the clergy in an area) and we will be taking up a couple of important issues. The first will be the impact of the drought on our churches and what we can do (the rest of the diocese) to offer support and pastoral care for those who are struggling with its consequences. The second will be to look at the diocesan pastoral plan that came out of synod. It is the great struggling point at the moment. We have a plan but we hesitate to take it and use it. I do not think that it is because of any real antagonism. It is more that the changes that it implies are far greater than we are perhaps inclined to risk taking. We are not used to calling people to discipleship. We are ore used to running our parishes and we set about that with great diligence and pride. Our parishes are places of great action and incredible amounts of dedication and commitment. But we have a long way to go before we can call them communities of disciples.

The World and God & Sickness and Human Fraitly | 02/11/2006

I have had time to contemplate our human limitations recently as I prepare to go into hospital tomorrow for minor surgery. All my life I have been fit and healthy and over the years have managed to have a very active life in Papua New Guinea. I was invincible until the wear and tear of good living started to catch up. I am not invincible. What was a lot of fun in PNG and all of the crazy things of youth start to catch up and I am paying the price. But no complaints. I have loved all that I have done and all the wonderful things with which God has blessed me. In sickness and in health, I still believes God loves me. That love comes about because he created me and his Son died for me. My faith in him and my love for him, does not depend on a freedom from pain or illness. While I hope and pray that the surgery is a complete success, complications do not mean that there are problems with God.

Priests for the Country, Global Warming and the Gospel & Stawell Induction | 01/11/2006

How hard it is to encourage priests and their families to come and live and minister in some of our rural areas. With the stories of drought and bush fires, rural decline and hardship, it is getting even harder and harder to encourage priests to leave the comforts of the city and minister in the country. I am sure if they could see themselves as missionaries and come for three or five years, they would have the experience of their lives. Any young priest would gain so much from a stint in a country parish and his future ministry would be blessed and enhanced. Country communities are great. We get to know each other, feel a part of what is going on and have a strong sense of mutual care and support. Country life is great. Let us all pray that we can encourage priests and their families to come to the diocese, at least for a short time. I know that they would have a ball and it is an opportunity to make a very valuable contribution to the life of our Church.

The Drought & The Church and Politics | 19/10/2006

I was told yesterday that the Church should keep out of politics! I love that kind of statement. Just what does it mean? The Church? Do they mean that Bishop should keep quiet or do such people appreciate that the Church is in fact each and every baptized son and daughter of God. Long gone are the days when Church meant an alternative arm of the government. The Church is the People of God, they are citizens of the Kingdom as well as citizens of this world and as members of the latter group have a responsibility to vote and to have a say on what goes on.

Bishop-in-Council to talk about the drought | 18/10/2006

Our Bishop in Council meets today and we have a number of important issues to discuss. The first one is the drought. I doubt whether we have faced a challenge more shaping of the diocese than the drought. It has been going on for a decade now and many of our faith communities are nearing the limits of their ability to manage. The real challenge for us is to accept that the drought is the concern of all of us. It may be a remote community in the north west that is battling with drought but they are all a part of our single diocesan family. That truly is the meaning of Church. If we do not feel pain when they hurt then we have failed in our call to live out the gospel and we cannot claim to be disciples.

Ballarat City Churches and the Drought | 17/10/2006

The real challenge to the Ballarat Churches is for them to initiate and support renewal and mission in the city, even if they are not all that keen in it happening in their own churches. There is no reason why their parishes should carry on unchanged (though that would be sad and it is not what should be happening) while at the same time they resource new initiatives in their city. That would be a great step forward and a wonderful witness to mission. That is my prayer at the moment.

Celebration in a time of Drought | 16/10/2006

More than 400 people gathered today at the edge of Lake Wendouree here in Ballarat to pray together in this time of drought. It was such a powerful witness to the Kingdom of God and having that many people coming together for prayer and worship can only be good for the Church here in the city. They came from most of our churches and the prayers were said by their representatives, with the Ballarat City Mission providing some fantastic rock music...

The drought | 13/10/2006

On Sunday we are going to have an ecumenical and public gathering on the lake to pray together in this time of drought. I wonder what people think we are praying for? This is an important question for me as it says a great deal about how I understand God and my relationship to him and his relationship to the world.