Three Big Things Coming Up
Three big things are happening in the next week and I’d love you to know about them and respond in prayer.
First, our new Magnification Director Luke Fotheringham starts on Monday! I am so thankful for this appointment and the opportunity to keep building on the great work that has been done in this area of church life by all those who have gone before him.
Now one of the questions I am often asked is, what on earth is a Magnification Director? Well, he’s not a scientist and he doesn’t carry a microscope. Luke’s role will be to help us magnify the Lord God in all we do (Psalm 34:3, Luke 1:46-55); that is, to help us enlarge our vision for who God is and what he has done so we might live in light of his glory and majesty. As he does this, Luke will help our affections to be stirred as we read the Word, he will orient our gatherings to be attentive to the vertical and he will help us make much of God in the everyday of life. It’s a big job!
Why do we call him a Director and not something else? Another great question! It’s actually a biblical word we use for many of our staff - 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” My expectation of our team is that they will direct our work, not do it all, nor delegate it all, but determine its course and be accountable to make sure it all happens for God’s glory.
So please pray for Luke & Emma and their children as they move to St Ives this week and start with us on Monday. You will get a chance to meet them on Sunday 16th.
Second, the Census is on Tuesday next week and I want you to tick Anglican! You might wonder why I am raising this. Another great question. The Archbishop has noted this week that there is a dedicated campaign to manipulate the census results by persuading people to not to tick one of the denomination / faith group labels on the census unless they are regular practicing members of that denomination or faith. This campaign misrepresents and distorts the intent of the religion question in the census. According to ABS, the religion question is measuring religious affiliation, not religious practice. Religious affiliation is the faith group you associate with, even if that differs from your active practice or participation.
The effect of not marking the denomination of the church you attend is to understate the 'Anglican' numbers in the census. This matters because the government uses census data to make decisions about policy and resourcing, including, for example, Chaplaincy funding. We rightly consider that ‘denomination’ is a secondary matter. But for the purposes of the census it is most helpful if people attending Anglican churches nominate Anglican, rather than inadvertently dilute this result by a non-specific indicator such as ‘Christian’. You can watch a video about this here (https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/filling-in-census-accurately). Please pray for wisdom for our government.
Third, I am away from this Sunday for a week at the Anglican General Synod in Melbourne. This is a national gathering of representatives of every Anglican diocese across Australia and Robert Tong (Late Mornings) and Craig Roberts (Nights) are also attending. It happens every 4 years or so and there are 35 clergy and 35 church members from Sydney attending (we make up about a third of delegates as representation is proportional to total clergy numbers in each diocese). The general synod considers church law and practice, motions on various topics and elects people to various committees. Given the theological differences across the national church it is a complex and sometimes sad time for those who hold to the truth of the Scriptures and Anglican formularies. Please pray for wisdom for the synod and that those who trust the Bible may retain influence in the national church.
Thanks for your prayers for these things and I look forward to seeing you next on Sunday the 16th.
