Address from the President Rt Rev Dr Peter Stuart 14Th Bishop of Newcastle Introduction

FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-THIRD SYNOD 2021 SATURDAY 6 MARCH 2021 Address from the President Rt Rev Dr Peter Stuart 14th Bishop of Newcastle Introduction In the world of people who like the Doctor Who series I would not rate a mention. I enjoy some episodes more than others. But I don’t wait with eager anticipation for each new series. I have never dressed up as one of the characters. I know I walk on dangerous ground making these statements as I think Anglicans are well-numbered among Doctor Who fans! The concept behind Doctor Who is that the one doctor goes through many manifestations across a very long life. In trying to describe my sense of ministry as a bishop among you, I feel something of a ‘Doctor Who’ like experience. I see myself as beginning a sixth expression of being Bishop amongst you. Our shared world is quite different from what I experienced with you as a newly minted bishop in February 2009. I am reflecting on and adapting to the needs of the work to which I am called in this, the fourth year of my ministry as Diocesan Bishop. This also is different to the first year as Diocesan Bishop when we were still coming to terms with the sharp criticisms of the Diocese by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. I am reflecting on the best way of using my gifts and talents in serving the Lord and you all, as well as on where I need to acquire some different skills and apply a different focus. It is a gift to be able to do this because of the depth of wisdom and experience now available in the senior leadership team, executive directors, and school principals, on the Board of the Newcastle Anglican Corporation, and in the Diocesan Council. As a diocese our governance and executive leadership has changed remarkably. One of the catalysts for reflection has been the impact of COVID19. It is humbling to see the way that our classroom teachers, our care workers, our volunteers all adapted quickly as the risk of the pandemic emerged around 12 months ago. We changed quickly and kept adapting. Yet COVID19 has left aspects of our economy and our social structure weaker. Some existing cracks have widened. The struggles we were facing as an historic and an institutional expression of the Christian Church have been accelerated. The gathering of Synod Synods have been gathering in the Diocese of Newcastle for over 150 years. They too have changed their complexion and faced many challenges in resolving issues affecting the common life of Anglican disciples in this part of Christ’s kingdom. There have been droughts, financial collapses, depressions, wars, and pandemics. 2 I am regularly told that our Anglican governance is complicated and there is a chance that will be evident in our discussions today. The Synod has features of a corporate annual meeting, but it is much more. We meet in prayer and contemplate many things. We permit and restrain change in the Anglican Church in our region. We commentate on matters affecting our community, our nation, and our world. Most of our time we will make simple decisions and move through business quickly. However nearly every session of Synod has discussions which require us to pause and listen carefully. We are not summoned to align in parties or affiliations or even parishes. There is a House of Laity called to bear witness to the common concerns of faithful lay people. There is a House of Clergy which speaks to the shared perspective of those licensed to undertake the primary tasks of proclaiming the Gospel, administering the sacraments, and caring for people. The Synod meets with the Diocesan Bishop. The Houses, the Synod and the Diocesan Bishop express their mind to each other – often in agreement but sometimes in disagreement. All of this is undertaken within the constraints of our agreement about how we will be Anglican. We have a consensual compact – an agreement which shapes our life found in our constitutions, canons, and ordinances. These bind us most especially when we are applying our mind to the administration of land, buildings, money, furniture, and the like, including how they are used in worship and for ministry. Our agreement is shaped by our formularies in the Scriptures, the Prayer Books, and the Articles of Religion. We are not simply free to do whatever we like. The Synod is the place where some important things are worked out and in our Australian Anglican Church each Diocesan Synod has extraordinary responsibility of working with and under the Diocesan Bishop to determine the good order and government in their region. The experience on the ground is that every parish wishes to look at things through the lens of their own parish and its centres. Yet historically and legally, the organising unit in the Anglican Church of Australia is the Diocese and all church trust property is held for the purposes of the Diocese1. When we meet as the Synod, we are obliged to look at the Diocese as a whole. That responsibility flows to your Diocesan Council in between sessions of Synod and is shared by the Diocesan Council with your Newcastle Anglican Corporation Board. Your bishops, diocesan council, diocesan chief executive, NAC board and executive directors have many and increasing legal responsibilities. 1 This position has been tested in a variety of ways, including in court action, where the judgement was clear that church trust property is held for the purposes of the diocese of which the parishes and corporations are a part. 3 Living the kingdom life As I was preparing this address, I thought about Jesus’ engagement with the rich man described in Mark chapter 10. You know the story – The man runs to Jesus and asks him about eternal life Jesus outlines the key commands of holy living Jesus engages the man with compassion and love outlining to him how he will find heaven’s treasure The man walks away in grief and dismay because the challenge is significant We don’t know if the man acted as Jesus suggested. That is not part of the story. What we know is that the man was confronted by Jesus’ explanation of the demands of the kingdom. There are two parts to this story that I wish to focus on – The man is inspired to engage with Jesus, and The path of eternal life requires letting go of the things that we grip on to. Let’s recall that the eternal life which is at the heart of this exchange is not simply about heaven and what occurs after death. It is also about a way of being in the present. The call and challenge of the kingdom is immediate for believers. As the people of God our collective character is to be the messengers, servants, and community of Christ’s reign. We point to Jesus and we are bearers and ambassadors of the Way of Jesus. Our vocation is meant to be fashioned by the desire to attract people to the Way of Jesus so that they may learn how to inherit eternal life and the treasures of heaven. We do not exist as a club for ourselves but as a movement which points to Jesus – the Lord of life. Our witness to the Gospel life is meant to be so exciting and engaging that people will run towards us as the rich man ran to Jesus nearly 2000 years ago. The encouraging news is that there are people doing this. There are people interested in the Way of Jesus and are starting for the first time or are returning after a long time to the study of scripture, the experience of the sacraments and the opportunity for worship and prayer. In the last year or so I have had the privilege of some close one-to-one conversations with people who are part of our Anglican life and who have a deep sense of God wishing to use them for his work. Some of these people have been well outside of the box of ordinary Newcastle Anglican life but are wrestling with identity and spirituality and purpose. If these people are moved by the Holy Spirit, and I believe they are, then God is giving to us some very interesting characters for the work to which he is calling us. Some of these women and men challenge the anticipated stereotypes of Anglicans. Yet, they come for conversation knowing this but also seeing something in our way of being Christian that help them find the deepest treasures of life. 4 That is the good news but there is also sad news. In too many parishes we still have some way to go in building a healthy culture in which people are safe. An extraordinary amount of episcopal time is spent addressing power disputes in our Anglican communities which have been hurtful to lay people and to clergy. Most are never black and white. Some have been simmering for years. I witness clergy debilitated from courageous leadership and lay people who unlikely to offer themselves for service. It is heart breaking. This all came into sharp relief for me when we were meeting to discuss people who were exploring a call to ordained ministry. Before us was a person in whom we could see God moving. A person we had confidence could make a profound difference in ordained ministry. Yet our sense was that they would ‘not survive’ in our parish system.

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