The First Session of the Thirty-third Synod

of the Anglican Diocese of Ballarat

Presidential Address

Friday 25 & Saturday 26 October 2019

Diocesan Centre, 49 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat
A Step Along the Way

“It helps now and then to step back and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction

of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said;
no prayer fully expresses our faith;
no confession brings perfection,
no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No programme accomplishes the Church’s mission,
no set goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay the foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.
This enables us to do something and do it well.
It may be incomplete, but is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are the workers, not the master builders,

Ministers, not messiahs.|
We are the prophets of a future not our own.”

Archbishop Oscar Romero

Dear Friends,

Welcome to this first session of the thirty-third Synod of the Diocese of Ballarat.

A particular word of welcome to those of you who are here at Synod for the first time.
Anglicans love to complain about Synod and yet it is one of the real treasures of the
Anglican way of being a Christian. Led by the Bishop, the Diocese is governed by the Synod,
where laity and clergy share responsibility for decision-making, praying always for the
guidance of God’s Holy Spirit.

Our Agenda is not full of references from the General Synod, although there are three
important pieces of local legislation to consider. Consideration of the financial reports is an
important part of what we will do and, those of you who have already read the papers, can
see that the provision for Redress has dominated much of our financial planning.

We will receive reports from the various organisations within the Diocese and I am
delighted that we will welcome The Rev’d Dr Bob Derrenbacker, Dean of Theology School at
Trinity College, who will preach at tomorrow’s Mass.

Many of you will be aware of significant tensions in our Anglican Church of Australia. Rather
than trying to address the issues raised by recent legislation passed by the Diocese of
Wangaratta, provocative and somewhat hurtful comments made by the Archbishop of
Sydney or the ambiguous participation by some Australian Bishops in the establishment of
an “alternative” Anglican Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand. I want to focus on our own
understanding of our identity as Anglicans who are part of the Catholic stream of
Anglicanism. So, in the first part of this address I shall raise some local issues, but in the
second half, I want to remind you all of the heritage of this Diocese and the importance of
remembering, maintaining and strengthening our heritage as Catholic Anglicans.

People
There are two individuals who I wish to acknowledge who have long served this Synod, but
who are not with us this year. After many years of faithful service at Diocesan, deanery and
parish level, Miss Dawn Shoebridge is no longer able to travel and has taken up residence in
the Coleraine Nursing Home. Fr Peter Treloar has spent over two months in Intensive Care
in the Royal Melbourne hospital over the last few weeks and I was overjoyed to receive a
text message from him last week announcing that he was looking forward to returning to
Ballarat. He asked me to offer thanks to all the people of the Diocese who have been
praying so earnestly for him and his family during this very difficult time.

Just after Christmas 2018, Fr Graham Snell retired as Rector of Colac and he and his wife
have moved to Gisborne. I am pleased that he is already providing some locum ministry in
the Diocese, and his quiet ministry of Spiritual direction continues.

Parishioners from Hamilton, Colac and St Peter’s travelled to Griffith in NSW earlier this year
for the consecration and installation of FR Donald Kirk as Bishop of Riverina. Although he
had only been back in the Diocese for a couple of years, his warmth and many old
friendships in the Diocese meant that we were a good crowd to celebrate this new phase in
his life and ministry. He presided at his first Synod last weekend and reported that it went
well.
Mrs Janine Stewart has edited The Chronicle for all my time in the Diocese, but as health
matters take more of her and Bishop John’s time, she has indicated that she will retire as
editor of The Chronicle from the last edition in 2019. I want to place on record the thanks of
the whole Diocese for her persistent and excellent work .

Mary Greene, who has been the face of the Registry and the voice on the phone for over 12
years, retired two weeks ago – just in time to avoid the Synod Catering rush. Mary has
relocated to Ocean Grove where she is closer to family and where she anticipates long walks
on the beach and G&T’s as the sun goes down each evening.

The Dean
Most of you will have heard by now that our dean, Fr Chris Chataway has been appointed as
the next dean of Perth. He will leave us on the Feast of the Epiphany almost exactly 6 years
since his arrival in Ballarat. Chris and I have been friends for over thirty years and we were
both slightly anxious about our friendship when he came to work here in Ballarat. But, this
has proven to be a very fruitful and happy ministry. Much has been achieved at the
Cathedral during that time. Chris’ ministry as Archdeacon of Ballarat and on the Grammar
School Board have been outstanding contributions and while, like me, I am sure you are sad
to see Chris and Heather leave Ballarat, we remain very thankful for their ministry amongst
us and we pray that they will have every blessing in this new appointment.

Ministry
There have been two very happy ordinations since our last meeting. Nay Htoo Khin, Martin
Nadarajan, Christine Angus and Cheryl Haines have been ordained as Priests and Judy
MacPherson and Ryan Austin-Eames have been made deacons. There was a very valuable
teaching moment on the afternoon of Deacon Ryan’s ordination. While all his family and
friends were present in town, I baptised his son, Henry. It was an opportunity for us all to
remember that the most important day of our Christian lives is when we are welcomed into
god’s family by baptism.

I am pleased that there is a steady stream of people in our Come and See program overseen
by the Vocations Team led by Fr Constantine. This evening, after consideration of the
Budget, we will formally launch a new document outlining pathways to ordained ministry in
this Diocese.

There are currently too many clerical vacancies in the Diocese. I am constantly on the look
out for suitable clergy and I remain committed to the idea that it is better to have a long
vacancy than to appoint the wrong person. A continuous supply of our own clergy is the
most satisfactory way of staffing the parishes of the Diocese. I remain very grateful to the
team of retired, semi-retired and other clergy who help sustain sacramental ministry during
clerical vacancies.
Finance
As the Bishop-in-Council and the Diocesan Corporation have settled into working together
harmoniously, an enormous amount of time this year has been spent on financial matters.
While increasing debt in a few parishes has been an ongoing concern, the Finance
Committee, under the capable leadership of Mike Robins, has worked hard to minimise
financial burdens. It is important to remember that nearly all the money parishes pay to the
Registry is used to pay the Parish priest and the other parish costs like insurance.

The receptionist position at the Registry will not be replaced and my chaplaincy provision
has been reduced from three days per week to one day. These cost-saving measures come
at the expense of extra time and effort for those working in the Registry. The need for
sacrificial giving is always before us and I would encourage you, as leaders from your
parishes, to reconsider your giving to your parish.

The financial burden of the National Redress Scheme will be outlined for you in the
Registrar’s presentation later this evening. We cannot know how many cases of abuse
seeking Redress, either through the Commonwealth Government or through civil litigation
are going to emerge in the next few years. Some of you know that we were the first
Diocese to commit to the National Redress Scheme, in spite of many expressed
reservations, because we are deeply committed at every level of the Diocese, to seeking the
best possible response to those who have been damaged in our care. It is likely that the
financial stress imposed by failures from the past will continue for some years to come. But,
I urge you not to feel despondent or depressed. We are able to help make some differences
to people whose lives have been shattered by past abuse. We should be grateful to God
that we can participate in this scheme, no matter the cost, because it is a litmus test of our
true discipleship.

Anglicare
Earlier this year, Bridget Clarke resigned as coordinatior of Anglicare’s work in the Diocese.
She made a significant contribution in bringing our work into line with legislative and other
health and safety requirements. Her position, which is funded by Anglicare Victoria, is
under discussion at present and I anticipate that over the next few years, we will receive
less financial support from Anglicare Victoria, except in those areas where we can
successfully bid for particular funding.

Fortunately, the Bishop’s Anglicare Appeal has begun to raise significant mounts of money
to support our work in the Diocese through Parish partnerships. As well, funding from the
Kennedy Bequest, set aside for the assistance for homeless people in Ballarat, has enabled
the employment of Andrea, a Social Worker, as part of the Cathedral Breakfast Program.
This has enabled that program not only to meet immediate needs, but also to address long-
term issues associated with homelessness.

The Anglicare Steering Committee is ably chaired by Chris Wells from Ararat and I am
grateful for his clarity and commitment.

Some of you may know that the small program run by David Law from Great Western has
successfully grown to be a fully supported Anglicare Victoria program operating not just in
our region, but also now incorporating a state-wide program for young Indigenous
Australians.
The Grammar School
Adam Heath will be with us tomorrow morning to talk about the School, which continues to
provide a strong liberal education in the Anglican tradition. I very much enjoy being part of
the School community and the School is well-served by active Anglican Board members. Dr
Shantini Deutsher, who spoke to us last year having just begun as Chair of the Board,
continues to make a valuable gift of thoughtful, encouraging leadership as part of an
excellent team of good people who govern the School.

Dr Tim Gaden has settled in well as the Senior Chaplain and, in the absence of Fr Peter
Treloar during the second part of the year, Fr Tim has been supported by several of our
diocesan clergy. I am also grateful that the School has employed Deacon Austin-Eames in a
part-time role so that he could commence ministry a little earlier than we had originally
planned.

My roles
I have recently concluded my time as Warden of the Community of the Holy Name at
Cheltenham in Melbourne. This has been a monthly commitment for the last seven years
and I will miss my regular visits with this extraordinary group of Christian women. I won’t
miss the traffic on the West gate Bridge!

I continue to Chair the Anglican Board of Mission. My term as Chair will conclude about this
time next year. I continue as Chair of the Liturgy Commission of General Synod and to serve
on the Standing Committee of General Synod and the Executive of the Standing Committee.
During these troubled times in our national church, these are onerous responsibilities.

I also serve as the Bishop Chair of the Advisory Council on Anglican Religious Life in
Australia, the body that oversees the ministry of monks, nuns and emerging forms of
religious life in our church.

I am delighted by the refreshment opportunities offered by the Abbey of St Mark at

Camperdown. Recently, Sr Raphael has completed the work of establishing a new building -
Subiaco, with wonderful views over the Lake. I long for the time when more people from
the Diocese visit regularly and, of course, I pray regularly that there might be vocations
emerging to continue the Benedictine tradition at the Abbey.

My most onerous role in the National Church is to serve on the Appellate Tribunal, the “High
Court” or place of final appeal in terms of the Constitution and the Tribunals of our Church.
I will say a little more about his later.

The Ministry Development Committee

This group, led by The Rev’d Robyn Shackell, provides most of the educational and
formational opportunities around the Diocese. The Bible Reading Challenge, various
seasonal studies, quiet days, training workshops for lay leaders, Intercession training
sessions, are all organised under the auspices of this important committee.
Each year we choose a theme for our work and there are fridge magnets and prayer cards
available from today highlighting the theme for next year. Much of our planning for 2020
will be around the Fourth Mark of Mission.
2020
A year to challenge violence , injustice and oppression and work for peace and
reconciliation. I hope you will take the “goodies” home and try to engage with as many
programs as you can in 2020. Don’t forget that your local parish might also find ways to
explore this theme.

Thank you
I want to offer the thanks of the whole Diocese to the Registry staff, Peter, John and Cheryl
for their outstanding commitment and can-do attitude. Peter is a model Registrar, careful,
thoughtful, usually helpful and very careful when I come up with new ways to spend!

Fr Glen has done a great job, with a couple of spectacular glitches, of implementing the Safe
Church Training. He has trained over four hundred people across the Diocese and just
recently prepared a group of trainers who can conduct local workshops whenever needed.
Thanks Glen for a job well done.

A number of people serve as convenors or chairs of groups and I am always grateful for their
commitment. I am especially thankful for the Chancellor who offers me fearless advice and
sometimes manages to correct me so gently I scarcely notice.

And of course I am grateful to Lisa, my PA who protects me when necessary, admonishes

when she thinks it is necessary and is a loyal and hard-working assistant. I would have
trouble keeping up with my commitments without her considerable organisational capacity.
Is there a place in Australia for Catholic minded Anglicans?

Recently public criticism of the Synod of the Diocese of Wangaratta in proposing a liturgy to
bless civil marriages and expressions of support for the establishment of a break away
diocese in Aotearoa New Zealand for “Confessing Anglicans” under the auspices of GAFCON
and with the participation of some Anglican bishops from Australia,
have stirred a flurry of activity on social media, announcing the ascendancy of conservative
Evangelicalism and the loss of the hitherto balanced and generally liberal voice in the
Diocese of Melbourne. Some commentators have trumpeted the demise of the Anglo-
Catholic voice in Australia. Is this, then, the beginning of a new Exile for Catholic minded
Anglicans?

As a cradle Anglican, brought up with Bible picture books and the great characters of the
Old Testament inhabiting my imaginative life, I was always most intrigued by the story of
Jacob and by the story of Moses, leading God’s people into an uncertain future. In a sense,
these are both stories of exile and restoration. They are both stories of God’s faithfulness in
the face of prevaricating human faith, and they are both stories with resonances in the New
Testament Scriptures and in our liturgies. It took me a long time to understand that the Old
Testament does not really revolve around the Patriarchs or the Exodus or indeed, the
Creation or the various covenantal passages. The informing meta narrative of the Old
Testament is actually the Babylonian Exile – all that led to that tragedy and all that followed
in terms of restoration and reframing Israel’s relationship with God and its place in the
economy of salvation.

So, if we are witnessing a new period of Exile for Catholic Anglicans, perhaps we might see
some parallels explaining how this situation has come to pass and how we might begin to
learn from and respond to the current situation. We might also see this as a time not to
panic or wail, hanging our harps up and finding ourselves unable to sing, but as time for
review, renewal, regrouping, recovering and recommitting to a way of being Christian that
has sustained and nourished most of the baptised since the apostolic times.

The shame of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to the sexual abuse of
Children has rightly challenged our self-satisfied confidence. Some of the leading figures
criticised by the Royal Commission and still being prosecuted and dealt with by our own
disciplinary structures, have been people who have held positions of real honour and
significance in the Australian Anglo-Catholic world. Many of the senior clergy, the
Archdeacons, Deans and Bishops to whom I looked for inspiration as a young Anglo-Catholic
priest have been exposed as abusers or as people who looked away from difficult moral
matters. The early resignation and retirement of Bishops has undermined our confidence in
episcopal leadership and scandalous conduct in other parts of the Catholic Church, have
damaged the “Catholic” brand.
The heady successes of burgeoning Anglican Social welfare networks, of liturgical renewal
from 1975 onwards and the move to ordain women to all three orders of ministry, masked
some really dark dealings in our Church.

Big personalities who dominated Anglo-Catholicism for much of the second part of the
twentieth Century have now mainly exited the active life of the Church. (My predecessors
are a good example – Bishop Hazlewood was the “go to” Anglican voice on the ABC’s
Monday Conference and Bishop Silk was a strong influence on the liturgical renewal that led
to APBA.) Their successors, people like me, have been reluctant to speak publicly, to
organise with appropriate political skill or to engage theologically with an increasingly
strident Evangelical voice in the Church or to engage intellectually with secular pundits in
the public arena. Financial security, legislative compliance and the search for competent
clergy who can engage with a largely secular community, a rather wistful preoccupation
with liturgical activity, dominate much of today’s Anglo-Catholic culture. In rural and
regional Australia, these issues are magnified by distance, depopulation and lack of financial
resources.

Just as in Israel of old, dependence on God had been replaced with many interesting, but
unfruitful activities, so too, in our time, much Anglo-Catholicism has become theologically
flabby, liturgically dull, socially timid and internally focussed.

So where to from here for Catholic Anglicans, and particularly, for a Diocese like ours which
maintains a Catholic outlook?

Can I call us back to Oscar Romero’s comments:–

 It helps to step back and take the long view.

 No programme accomplishes the Church’s mission.
 We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.
 We are ministers, not Messiahs.
 We are the prophets of a future not our own.

These points could have been made by any of the great prophets of the Biblical Exile and
perhaps they give us some encouragement for the future of Anglo- Catholic life in our own
time and place. I want to look at four marks of Anglo-Catholicism that might encourage us
to be more confident, attractive and influential in the wider life of the Australian Church and
the Australian community. But first, a few thoughts about confidence and language.

Much of my frustration with the GAFCON movement has come from its appropriation of
language. Their claim to be the voice of “orthodox” Anglicanism and “Confessing Anglicans”
is based on the required adherence of GAFCON members to the Jerusalem Statement.
Orthodox Anglicanism has never been focussed on a statement of faith or a list of required
doctrines. The Elizabethan Settlement, with its requirement of conformity of practise, never
required a conformity of belief and, indeed, many would say that it was deliberately framed
to avoid the bloody ideological excesses of the first phase of the English Reformation. And
that ambiguous document, our Australian Anglican Church Constitution, follows a similar
pattern. Orthodox Anglicanism has never been “confessional”.
Similarly, the provocative use of the phrase “Canterbury Communion” is a linguistic way of
overstating the claims of GAFCON to represent the voice of “orthodox” Anglicanism and,
therefore, to be the true inheritors of the “Anglican Communion”, while at the same time
undermining the confidence of those who understand communion with the See of
Canterbury as essential to Anglican identity.

In a similar way, many of the GAFCON voices in Australia today are talking about the
“looming crisis” brought on by the recent marriage legislation of the Diocese of Wangaratta
and similar anticipated legislation from the Diocese of Newcastle. (Since I am a member of
the Appellate Tribunal to which some of these matters have already been referred by the
Primate, I offer no comment on the legitimacy or otherwise of such legislation.) It seems to
me that the use of language like “crisis”, “tipping point” or “precipice” is highly
inflammatory and presupposes a whole range of arguments and resolutions that have yet to
be made. In some ways, we are always “in crisis”, but to exacerbate anxiety and undermine
confidence in the minds of ordinary Anglicans and to capture headlines in the secular press,
by the use of hyper-ventilated language, is not really helpful.

The opening aria in Handel’s Messiah is based on Isaiah 40: 1

“Comfort, O Comfort my people, says your God.”

This is an archaic use of the word “comfort”, as in the Comfortable Words of the BCP
Eucharist. No hint of chaise lounges or Swedish TV chairs, this is a cry to be strong and to be
confident. God is strengthening his punished people so that they can live out their true
vocation to be a sign to all nations of God’s holiness and God’s forgiveness. I want to look
briefly now at four ways in which God offers Comfort to Catholic-minded Anglicans in our
present situation.

The Word of God

Catholic Anglicans have never believed that the Word of God is coterminous with the Holy
Scriptures and we must recover our capacity to argue for a Scriptural hermeneutic that
honours the diversity, sophistication and authority of the Holy Scriptures without resorting
to a fundamentalist bibliolatry. Further, it is important that our laity have confidence to do
the same thing: acquiescent silence is no longer an option. Fundamentalist or other hard
line use of the Scriptures needs to be challenged every time it emerges in discussions. I
think that for many of us, this is so obvious that it has become boring. But, unless we are
prepared to argue our position clearly, generously and consistently, a much less nuanced
experience of the Holy Bible will always prevail. It seems that we are almost hardwired to
prefer easy or formulaic answers in the face of difficult, sophisticated or complex questions.
One of John Henry Newman’s great gifts to the Church was a clearly articulated
understanding that God’s revelation of self, given in the written and Living Word, continues
through the people of God, and that we should be constantly striving to understand how
God intends us to act and live and respond to the challenges of each generation.

The Episcopal Church published a series of posters several years ago to help people
understand the way Episcopalians think. One of the posters was of a large C19th crucifix
with the phrase, “Jesus died to take away your sins, not your minds”. Educating ourselves
and our people to attain better Biblical literacy skills will become more and more important
as we respond to and critique alternative simplistic ways of understanding the Bible. Our
preaching from Biblical texts needs to be tight and clear. Bible study opportunities, which
many of us have relegated to Lent, ought to be offered throughout the year. We may need
to exercise discipline in not following rabbit holes of personal Biblical interest which do not
strengthen and build up church people’s capacity to engage with the Scriptures with the
same serious intent that they bring to other important aspects of their lives.

The Church
How often have you heard the phrase that “the Diocese is the basic unit of the Church”?
We Catholics love this idea, especially if we are Bishops! While this may be true as an idea,
most people’s experience is much more congregational. We are baptised, nurtured,
confirmed, married and die as members of congregations. The Diocese and its officers and
offices exist only because the parishes exist and can best be serviced from a common
centre. If there were no parishes or local church structures, the Diocese would have very
little meaning.

Anglo-Catholics have sometimes been very slow to accept the reality of congregationalism,
but it is patently true that a Diocese is only as strong as its parishes. This is not to deny the
importance of the Diocese as part of a much wider view of the Church or to dismiss the role
of the local Bishop as the symbol and guarantor of a wider Catholicity. Our energy and
enthusiasm and long- term sacrificial ministry should be at the parish level because that is
where people’s lives are changed by an encounter with living faith and where they can be
nurtured into full life. I have long believed that we Anglo-Catholics should show the way in
terms of long-term committed ministries. Sadly, the desire for preferment or a more
prestigious placement comes at the cost of significant pastoral bonds forged through long
years of mutual accountability and service within dioceses and at the parish level. The
increasing professionalisation of the stipended clergy is something that we should resist as
we rejoice in vocation, discernment and call, and ministries lived for and in the service of
love.

Sometimes Anglo Catholic expressions of the three-fold ministry gifted to us from the
Apostolic Age are overlaid with too heavy an understanding of control. This is also a
particular problem in those non-conformist or Evangelical churches where “Lead Pastor
knows best” is not discernably different from “Father or Mother” knows best. The Alban
Institute’s Celia Hahn produced a little monograph over twenty years ago titled,
“Relinquishing Control: Growing in Authority”. It ought to be required reading for every
new Bishop and every assistant curate. Our view of the Church and the ordained ministry
must be constantly reviewed to check that we are guided by the provisionality of the Gospel
and not by the certainty of our own capacity. We might well be gifted with particular
responsibilities at ordination, but our authority will depend on people recognising our
leadership as reflecting the humility of the servant Jesus. In the contemporary Church, this
is a profoundly counter cultural way of understanding ministry and yet, is at the heart of
Catholic ministry.
Sacramental Life
The liturgical and Parish life movements of the mid 20th century were very successful in
restoring frequent reception of Holy Communion to the Anglican Church. When I came to
Ballarat, I was not surprised that almost every event was begun with or ended with a Mass.
Several of the Parishes have frequent, even daily Mass, eand Benediction is held at the
Cathedral and a couple of other parishes. What did surprise me was the speed of some of
those daily masses, the infrequency of auricular Confession, the mixed preparation for the
sacraments of Initiation and Confirmation and a general lack of devotion to the sacramental
life of the Diocese. I think it was simply a matter of familiarity and contempt. It is easy to
forget that a sacramental approach to life is an extension of the Incarnation. The ordinary
things of this world are transformed by the presence of the Holy Spirit to become for us
effectual means of grace.

This is not a view of Sacraments that is held by all Anglicans and it is a precious and life
affirming way of living in the world that we dare not take for granted. The celebration of
the 2 great dominical sacraments and the other 5 sacraments ought to be real opportunities
for celebration and affirmation of the precious gift of life. One example is sufficient. Three
years ago, the Diocese of Sydney produced a small Common Prayer Book. In the Baptismal
liturgy, there is absolutely no reference to the regeneration that accompanies the
sacramental sign of baptism with water. The language of being born again, based on Jesus’
teaching to Nicodemus recorded in John’s Gospel has been omitted because of a theological
desire to underplay the effectual significance of the sacrament. This Sacrament light view is
not part of our tradition.

Anglo Catholics claim to have a “high” view of the sacraments. We need to recover not only
that high view, but a devotional approach to the sacraments and the proper preparation
and thanksgiving that recognises our dependence on God’s affirming generosity in inviting
us to share in his life through the things of this world.

This requires us to teach and encourage a sacramental approach to life amongst our people
and to make sure that we do not take the sacraments for granted. There is something for
us to learn from the old Presbyterians who were so aware of the significance of receiving
the Lord’s Supper that they only came quarterly and after consultation with the minister
that they were in a fit state to receive these gifts.

Holiness of Life
Every Christian is called to be an ambassador for Christ. Our conversation, our choices in
relationships and careers, our values and our use of money and other property, our hearts,
minds and bodies are all gifts to us and which we return to God in thanksgiving by living holy
lives. It is everyday piety that helps people grow in little everyday practices to be faithful
followers of Jesus in the big things of life.

If Catholic-minded Anglicans are to find a new way forward, it is essential for us to cultivate
holiness of life in individuals and by mutual accountability, in our Church. In the structures
of the Church, this will inevitably have a political edge. Sometimes we have been reluctant
to organise, to plan, to prepare properly for our Synodical structures, to race home for an
early tea rather than stay for the last tedious debates at Synod. Sometimes we are reluctant
to take a stance because we believe that we must be open to the promptings of the Spirit.
Sometimes we take a holier than thou view that we don’t want to be soiled by politics. It is
a false sense of the holy to think that we can avoid the rough and tumble of church politics.
What matters is the way we engage with fellow travellers and with those with whom we
disagree. In the councils of the Church, we should be prepared to risk our pride and the
accusations of others if we want to promote a particular point of view. Sometimes we need
to put our own personal views to one side for the greater good of the Catholic cause. This is
really about self-sacrifice and it should not be unfamiliar to us. It also means that we need
to be better organised and to recognise and raise up able leadership for the Anglican
Catholic part of or Church.

I have long championed the idea of “sufficiency for ministry” i.e. that in every gathering of
God’s people, there is sufficient gifting for that gathering to be an authentic expression of
the Church. If we truly believe that the Catholic cause in Anglicanism is a powerful force for
good, both for the Church and the world, we dare not shy away from the responsibilities
this lays on us all to act with integrity and authenticity and with an openness to the future.

Conclusion
One of the real privileges of episcopal ministry is the opportunity to pray over those who
come for Confirmation, “Strengthen Lord, your servant, Jane, with your Holy Spirit.
Empower and sustain her for your service. Amen”

May we who have grown up nurtured by the Catholic faith in the Anglican Church be
strengthened with the Holy Spirit to continue with confident lives that rejoice in the Church,
celebrate the sacraments, engage with the Living Word and strive for holiness of life in the
midst of ambiguity. Just as God did not leave his people of old without comfort, so too we
must embrace the reality of our own time and place and expect to find God there before us
already.

Garry Weatherill
25th October 2019