STHE NEWSouthern MAGAZINE FOR SYDNEY ANGLICANS CrossNOVEMBER 2020 Kingdom building NEW CHURCHES AT STANHOPE GARDENS AND LEPPINGTON God’s love at Greenacre • Get the most out of church Lessons from the bush • The war you don’t know about PRINT POST APPROVED 100021441 ISSN 2207-0648 PRINT POST APPROVED Advanced Diploma of Bible, Mission and Ministry study an Overview of the Old Testament moore.edu.au/advanced A place of hope opens in Sydney’s west “There are 50,000 people in our parish who need Jesus”: The Rev Steve Reimer with Archbishop Davies. Russell Powell “To the Glory of God and the growth of His Kingdom”, reads the plaque unveiled at the official opening of Sydney’s latest Anglican church. The 21st-century design of Stanhope Anglican was projected onto the screen in the auditorium as Archbishop Glenn Davies joined Stanhope’s pastor, the Rev Steve Reimer, members of the church and invited guests in opening the building. “Stanhope Anglican is the first jewel of many in the crown of New Churches for New Communities,” the Archbishop said. “With thanks to so many people who have supported this initiative, thanks to the people of StanHOPE – a place of hope for the community – and thanks to our great God. “It’s a wonderful reminder to us all as we bring hope to the people of this suburb. What a great vision and what a great mission we have in bringing the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ to the people who live in this area.” It took two years after turning the first sod at the site for the building to be ready for occupation. Publisher: Anglican Media Sydney SouthernCross PO Box W185 Parramatta Westfield 2150 NSW November 2020 P: 02 8860 8860 F: 02 8860 8899 volume 26 number 10 E: [email protected] Managing Editor: Russell Powell Editor: Judy Adamson Missed October Southern Cross ? Art director: Stephen Mason Download it here: magazine.sydneyanglicans.net Advertising Manager: Kylie Schleicher P: 02 8860 8850 E: [email protected] Acceptance of advertising does not imply endorsement. COVER: Stanhope Anglican Church’s new building. Inclusion of advertising material is at the discretion of the publisher. SouthernCross 3 NOVEMBER 2020 Community celebration: (from left) Stanhope churchwardens Jeff Atack and Rohan Smith, with the Rev Steve Reimer and Blacktown City councillor Moninder Singh, in front of the church entrance. The sweeping modern structure and surroundings are set to become a landmark in the new suburb. Said Mr Reimer: “After 14 years meeting in the Blacktown Leisure Centre, we are loving our own space on top of the hill in the heart of the community at Stanhope. Stan means ‘place of’ in Persian and Urdu, and that is what we want to be – a place of hope; that hope being Christ Jesus. “We long to see people find real hope in Jesus. We long to see young people, especially, coming to faith and being established in faith, that they may stick with Jesus all their life. “We know we have not ‘arrived’ now we have a building, but it is already proving to be one useful tool in gathering as God’s people and connecting with our growing community. There are 50,000 people in our parish who need Jesus.” sc Anglicare Careers COVID-19 RESPONSE As a Christian organisation we provide accommodation, care and community services to people at all stages of life and have a long-standing service spanning 160 years. Working at Anglicare gives you the best opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives. With close to 4000 staff of over 100 different nationalities, working in a large variety of jobs, there are many ways to grow your career with us. If you genuinely care about people and share our vision, mission and values, we welcome your application to join us, as we work to see Jesus Christ honoured, lives enriched and communities strengthened. The centre for all information about our churches and their response Anglicare – Serving people in need, enriching lives, to the COVID-19 pandemic in faithfulness to God and love of all people. sharing the love of Jesus. • IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS • FAQS • ARCHBISHOP’S UPDATES • RESOURCES • PRAYER • STREAMED SERVICES To find out more about our current vacancies contact the Anglicare Recruitment Team on 02 9421 5344 or go to www.anglicare.org.au/careers sydneyanglicans.net/covid19 ANG5681 SouthernCross 4 NOVEMBER 2020 Church takes flight in new airport corridor Far-flung dirt: Archbishop Davies enthusiastically turns the first sod at the Hope Anglican Church site in Leppington. Russell Powell Another major Anglican Church construction is underway in Sydney’s west, just a short distance from the planned Badgerys Creek Airport. Archbishop Glenn Davies turned the first sod last month at the building commencement ceremony for Hope Anglican Church in Leppington. The Rev Glenn Gardner, executive director of New Churches for New Communities (NCNC) – which is helping co-ordinate the project – said: “The growth of the southwest and northwest corridors of Sydney is certainly staggering. “To keep pace with growth and to have only 2 per cent of residents in Anglican churches would require a new church of 700 people every 12 months in western Sydney over the next 15 years!” That’s why the new building, a 375-seat auditorium together with kids’ and youth ministry spaces, is such a significant project. The senior minister at Hope Anglican, the Rev Luther Symons, is aware of the need. “Our parish will grow to over 100,000 people as part of the extra 350,000 moving into the southwest in the next 15 years,” he says. “We need churches that will then plant other churches. Under God that is certainly our plan at Hope. We have grown from 20 to over 400 members in the past four years and hope to plant SouthernCross 5 NOVEMBER 2020 ourselves in the next three-four years, 15 minutes down the road towards Badgerys Creek Airport.” This year the church has taken on a mission pastor, who is also apprenticing in church planting. “We hope to start gathering a church planting team in the next couple of years to plant again,” Mr Symons says. “Our plans are bold and so, prayerfully, we are entrusting them to God, praying that he might be pleased to use us to draw many more to himself.” Church members are already excited about the building now under construction. Sally Hutchinson, a member of one of Hope’s four congregations, says, “After four years we have reached the ‘no-room-in-the-inn scenario’ – or no more room in the converted garage – and yet there are so many more to reach with the good news of Jesus in the southwest.” Another parishioner, Ryan Smith, echoes the need for more space. “God’s grace and provision have been so evident to us at Hope. We are bursting at the seams! “We desperately need space to welcome all those coming to hear the hope of Jesus – we can’t have our church reaching capacity each week. We are eagerly looking forward to how our Lord will use these new facilities to grow his church here in Leppington.” Mr Symons emphasises the Diocese-wide support the project has been given. “I am just blown away by the generosity of those throughout the Diocese in making our building at Leppington possible,” he says. “Every parish is a part of this and some have contributed staggering amounts to see our church go forward. It’s truly humbling and heartening to see such single-minded commitment to the growth in this part of Sydney.” As for NCNC, the work doesn’t stop. “All our stakeholders are very encouraged that the new Stanhope Gardens church building is now officially opened and construction at Leppington is underway,” Mr Gardner says. “Our focus is now on raising funds for outreach at Marsden Park.” sc SouthernCross 6 NOVEMBER 2020 Mask and number restrictions eased in churches “The churches have been fantastic”: NSW Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard. PHOTO:ABC Churchescan now host up to 300 people indoors, subject to the 4m2 rule, and masks are no longer needed in services, following talks with the State Government on COVID safety. After the NSW Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, met with Archbishop Davies on the issue last month, Mr Hazzard said: “The churches have been fantastic, the congregations across the state have been fantastic, but they have expressed concern and frustration that more people would like to come to services, so the 300 [cap] now will make a big difference – but, can I stress... it is subject to the 4m² rule.” Dr Davies also raised the issue of singing in church, and said the advice given by the Health Department “continues to be cautious”. “Congregational singing is still prohibited, though we are allowed up to five singers from the front, appropriately spaced, to sing God’s praise on our behalf while we make melody to the Lord in our hearts,” he said. “However, I posed the question as to why we could not sing softly with masks. The Minister recognised the possibility of this, and has referred this question to Dr Kerry Chant, the Chief Medical Officer. Humming, with lips closed, of course, is permissible.” SouthernCross 7 NOVEMBER 2020 MASKS NOT NEEDED Dr Davies added that masks are no longer recommended since social distancing is in place and congregational singing is not currently occurring. In an email to ministry staff in the Diocese he said, “I argued that our churches practise social distancing, hand sanitation, contact record keeping, cleansing of pews between services and even temperature checks in some churches.