The exclusion of traditional Anglicans

Christian Garland www.savetrinitychurch.com

Every organisation has the right to take reasonable initiatives to expand its purposes and mission. We respect Bishop John Harrower’s initiatives to appoint staff to grow the work of the Anglican church in Tasmania and wish him every success. What we don’t respect is that he is achieving this by squeezing out many existing members of congregations who prefer a traditional style of worship in an older church. The Bishop and some other senior leaders do no seem to care about these people, many of whom have been devoted for decades.

Over the past 12 months we have received hundreds of comments from Anglicans around Tasmania they are being disenfranchised. They feel that because their worship preferences and moderate attitudes are different to the Bishop’s, they are not worthwhile and are being axed. Since becoming Bishop of Tasmania in 2000, John Harrower has closed more than a dozen churches, and several clergy have taken early retirement or moved out of Tasmania.

In the case of Holy Trinity, the parish owns $3.5-4M of property in North Hobart and The Glebe. Certainly some of this could be sold to help pay for Bishop’s Harrower’s worthy program. But some could also be used to help to restore the church, however the Bishop refuses to pursue this option. Holy Trinity did not need to be closed, the congregations were reasonable in number, and with government assistance, the church could be restored over 15-20 years.

We strongly suspect that the church was closed so that the proceeds of future property sales could be used to fund the Bishop’s new directions, including the building of a new auditorium at BayWest in Sandy Bay expected to cost more that $1.5M.

The Anglican Church should be a broad family which tolerates different preferences and attitudes. But Bishop Harrower’s plans exclude traditional Anglicans and are uncaring of them. His actions are divisive and potentially dangerous to the future of the Anglican family. He must find a way to achieve his important initiatives without losing so many of his existing, traditional flock.

Dr Christian Garland (chair, Holy Trinity Support Group, Hobart)