Percy from the Pews
There was a particularly pertinent response to Anglican Bishop John Harrower’s announcement last week of what he has mapped out as a new way forward for his church in Tasmania. He said there would be an “overhaul”, through the appointment of two bishops to assist him, that there would be a “reaching out” to the community with “fresh energy”, via new services. This will come with a provisional $250,000 price tag.
Dr Christian Garland, head of the Holy Trinity Support Group fighting to rescue this now closed landmark church, was critical, contending the Bishop’s approach was at the expense of pushing out those Anglican faithful who prefer the more traditional form of worship. Herein lies a fundamental issue – do you simply blithely kiss goodbye to the old, and with this the loss of lovely icon, heritage-recognised churches important to our history, to be replaced by the new in the form of something that may – or may not – keep the Anglican faith afloat?
Whatever the relevant merits of this approach, what intrigues me is a lack of media questioning of the Bishop’s plan. It’s all very well to have a headline declaring “New direction for energised Anglicans” – it’s a different matter when it comes to telling the public what this actually means. No questioning to amplify what’s involved in a ministry with the “horse-riding community of the Huon”. No questioning of what’s involved in a “new families congregation at Somerset” in the North-West. What’s given rise to both? Answers I found not in the Mercury’s report on the new “energised” approach.
And there were the Bishop’s words that the new leadership “model” would also allow him to spend more time in “frontline mission”. What does that mean? As a lady called Pauline would have asked: “Please explain?”
It seems the media is content to accept a statement without any desire to make a closer examination of it – an acceptance of it being gospel, as it were. A bit too much like hard work for reporters? Probably.
Those scribes are probably not aware the move for the Bishop to have two assistants was decided at a meeting of the Tasmanian Anglican Synod in Launceston early last month, and that some opposition was voiced there to the proposal. A secret ballot saw the vote in favour.
With this new approach, there is also substantial spending envisaged, on several fronts, yet magnificent Holy Trinity continues to deteriorate because of an absence of money outlayed on maintaining it in recent years.
Anybody walking past Hobart’s St David’s Cathedral could not fail to see the bold signs that have appeared outside, including a “barometer” for a fund-raising restoration of the cathedral. The hands are out seeking $4 million-plus for this. There is also the matter of other big spending for a proposed new 300-seat auditorium at BayWest, Sandy Bay, a project expected to cost $1.5m-plus. Again this is something that seems not to have caught the media’s attention, nor the objectives of this parish’s leadership.
It sees a mission beyond our shores – in Cambodia. The intention is to send a “short-term mission team” there next year. It will help train underprivileged youth in English and hospitality skills so they can find work in the growing tourism sector. There will also be visits to outlying villages to provide medical care, as well as “exploring mission work” on Phnom Penh’s university campus. This information was given in a glossy publication that BayWest’s minister, David Rietveld, released some months back.
The Cambodian situation requires a closer look. The country’s traditional religion is Thervada Buddhism. Hinduism and Catholicism have long been there as well. Today, with Cambodians looking to new directions, other Christian missions have been able to enter the country.
Another expense for Tasmanian Anglicans has been the Jesus All About Life advertising campaign. It has been extensive. I have seen no figures on its cost, but this will have been hefty – such exposure on television is dear.
