Month: July 2010

The National Church Life Survey conducted in 2006 (by Ruth Powell, Michael Brady, Michael Pippett, Sam Sterland along with the NCLS Research team) amongst rural churches in Australia has produced some interesting results:

42% of the churches were in rural settings

survey forms were completed by 114,340 rural church attenders

more than half of all rural churches were Anglican or Uniting

most of the rural churches were in small or medium sized towns

decline of churches in rural communities was named as a key issue

over 60% of rural churches have regular congregations of less than 51 people

rural church attenders have an older age profile than urban church attenders

half of rural churches are led by a single ordained leader, 45% are led by a leadership team

65% of rural leaders have responsibility for multiple congregations

rural churches make up a considerable proportion of churches across the nation

My recent Prayer Pilgrimage throughout Tasmania bears testimony to these results for our rural parishes. 

See ‘Churches in Rural Settings’ for more survey results and articles. With thanks to James Collins.

Anglicare Australia issued the following media statement (21 July 2010) Major Church groups seek action on community mental health, reporting that major church groups; Anglicare Australia Catholic Social Services Australia, The Salvation Army and UnitingCare Australia, who provide social services in Australia have;

called on major parties to commit to an immediate and substantial increase in investment in community mental health.

We are looking to Australia’s political parties to commit to immediate action on mental health…by funding community mental health services that support participation, inclusion and recovery – and to work with consumers, services and health professionals in putting that plan into place – Ian Carter, Anglicare Australia acting Chair

National Director of UnitingCare Australia, Susan Helyar commented that, early intervention and prevention can make a real difference for young people experiencing their first episodes of mental illness as well as for people living with the effects of longer mental health problems.

Read the full media statement here.

Excellent overview of our State and Federal Governments’ addiction to pokies plus new research showing “increased gaming (on pokies) leads to increased crime”.

As numerous studies have already proven, including Anglicare Tasmania’s soul-searching report on gambling addiction “Nothing Left to Lose” early this year,  there is no disputing the social distress and financial damage caused by poker-machine addiction.

But what about the link between pokies and crime? A new Victorian study has found:

“strong and robust evidence” of a significant link between gaming expenditure and crime, in particular “income-generating” crimes such as theft, robbery, fraud and handling stolen goods.

only drug use or drug addiction had a stronger link to causing crime than poker machines.

“the causal relationship runs from increased gaming to increased crime, rather than the other way round.”

It followed earlier studies that have proved:

Adults spend more money on the pokies in poorer and less educated suburbs and towns.

Communities with a high rate of volunteering – and presumably a better community feel  have less money lost on poker machines.

More poker-machine venues and the more pokies per suburb results in more money spent per adult.

The response of Tasmanian, Victorian and Federal Governments is appalling.

Just last month, Treasurer Michael Aird claimed in parliamentary estimates hearings that it was impossible for the state to alone impose the $1 bet limit on poker machines recommended by the Productivity Commission to reduce losses by gamblers.

Yet the Federal Government has said it thinks the issue is one for the states to address.

 In this year’s State Budget Tasmania will receive $92million from gambling taxes from a total state taxation revenue base of $875million.

The federal Labor Party is complicit in the failure to tackle pokies spending and the corollary harm. It directly owns and runs four major club venues filled with pokies in Canberra, including the vast Canberra Labor Club with its 60,000 members.
The money they plough into poker machines is directly paying for some of the Labor Party’s lavish advertising during the current federal election.
Small wonder that so little is being done about the problem.

But if crime is directly related to poker machines vanquishing the oft-heard arguments by industry players that it is just another entertainment choice surely the State Government cannot twiddle its thumbs much longer? 

Are the police costs of tackling and  investigating crimes irrefutably caused by poker-machine addiction now outweighing the tax benefits returned by gambling to the state’s coffers?

Add in too the cost of caring for offenders who end up in jails because of their poker-machine addictions. Or children who end up in state care because of family breakdown caused  by uncontrolled gambling.
But even that simplistic financial cost-benefit  approach  ignores the endless pain and suffering to law-abiding citizens who have their homes broken into, their bags snatched or their faces bashed in a snap robbery because of  the lure of poker machines.
And it fails to even start to calculate the impact on society of broken marriages, lost jobs, child neglect, mental anguish and suicide.

See Buck the pokie habit by Sue Neales  and  Explosive report links pokies to jump in crime.

At the conclusion my Ordination Service as Bishop of Tasmania on 25 July 2000, I prayed the following blessing at the Cathedral’s entrance. The congregation at today’s Cathedral thanksgiving celebration joined with me in praying it.

The blessing grew from my prayer for God’s work in Tasmania in the months prior to my ordination. I chose three aspects of God’s person on which to base the blessing: God is life, light, and love. I then wrote a stanza of the blessing around each of these aspects of God’s person.

A Blessing for Tasmania

In the Name of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

I continue to pray this blessing for Tasmania and have done so throughout my Prayer Pilgrimage.

See also Prayer: Ordination of a bishop  and  Thanking God and exhorting a bishop and Celebrating 10 years in Tasmania! 

Just home from a wonderful thanksgiving celebration of God’s faithfulness at the Cathedral. Today was very special in many ways as we gave thanks to God for his call and sustaining Spirit over these 10 years as Bishop of Tasmania.

A strong word from the Dean on thanking God. Expressions of our life and ministry in Tasmania via intriguing symbols: carrots, hay and evangelistic leaflet – donkey outreach ministry; red socks – Pentecost and Holy Spirit; cans and wire – recycling and financing of ministry; beautiful tapestry of life, light and love – A Blessing for Tasmania; and an iron bark carving with script – a healthy church … transforming life.  

I also shared some reflections on the prayer pilgrimage.

The words of the Exhortation were read to me by Bill Haas who was the Registrar when I commenced my ministry as Bishop of Tasmania. Bill has supported me wonderfully throughout my episcopate, both as Registrar and ‘Retired’!

Marking 10 Years Led by Bill Haas:  +John at your consecration you heard these words,

 The Exhortation,

 How humbling to hear Bill’s words of thanks and continuing commitment in prayer:

We give thanks for the way you have carried out your duties for the past 10 years and we commit ourselves to pray for your ongoing ministry.

The Exhortation concludes with the question: Are you willing to perform them?

        I responded at my ordination: I am willing: may God guide and help me.

I thank God for my wife’s unflagging love and support, colleagues such as Bill and all the saints who have walked with me.

God has guided and helped me through them on innumerable occasions. Thank you.

The Exhortation is from ‘The Ordination of Bishops’, A Prayer Book for Australia, Broughton Books 1995, page 802.

Ten years ago a most solemn prayer re-ordered my life: The Laying on of Hands at the ordination of a bishop

The bishop-elect kneels before the Primate, who says

Here the Primate and bishops present lay their hands on the head of the bishop-elect, the Primate saying

From the Service for The Ordination of Bishops, A Prayer Book for Australia, Broughton Books 1995, page 805.

May the Holy Spirit deepen our merciful God’s work within me.

See also A Blessing for Tasamania.

In an article from the National Post (Canada) of 26 April 2010,  The Week In Letters Readers give a big thumbs down to ‘death with dignity’, they write of the response to the recent private members bill to amend the Criminal Code to allow people to “die with dignity.” Of the 70 letters that came in to the Editor that week only a handful sided with the idea that the laws around assisted suicide should be liberalized

Two of the comments were:

Dying with dignity? … There is nothing dignified, or heroic, or courageous or laudable about doing yourself in. Rather, it is a sign of greatest weakness and humiliating cowardice.

Killing someone is killing someone… Euthanasia is the slippery slope, and doctors are not God. God has a plan for each of our lives — a time to be born and a time to die. It is not for doctors or the government to decide when someone should die.

recently voted down an Oregon-style “death with dignity” act. The vote was 242 to 133 (nearly 70 percent).

Contrary to promoting “choice” for older people, these acts are a prescription for abuse. These acts empower heirs and others to pressure and abuse older people to cut short their lives. This is especially an issue when the older person has money. There is no assisted-suicide bill that you can write to correct this huge problem…Do not be deceived.

Superior Court Judge Julia Aurigemma has dismissed the case brought by two doctors – with heavy assistance by Compassion & Choices (C&C) – which sought to decriminalize physician-assisted suicide through the courts.

Sunday 25 July, St James’ Day, is the 10th Anniversary of my ordination as Bishop of Tasmania. This date also marks 10 years of ministry in Tasmania with my beautiful bride Gayelene and 10 years that we have lived in this delightful part of the world.  A Service of Thanksgiving to God will be held at St David’s Cathedral for his calling and we will also celebrate the conclusion of my Prayer Pilgrimage around Tasmania.  

It seems Australia is in trouble: Dumbing down English teaching. This article is complementary to the need to include the literature of the Bible in the national schools curriculum. See Bible in National Curriculum?

Prayer fuel for my ‘people at prayer’ Prayer Pilgrimage.

Two of my mates have differing responses:

More forgiving is Robert Forsyth, senior bishop and second in command of Australia’s Anglican Church [Not quite accurate, but hey! Why not? Rob’s great :-)] . Having recently met the PM, and believing that she respects the beliefs of others, Mr Forsyth says: ”I think she’s a good model for religious freedom. Personally I’d like her to know God, but I have no concern that our prime minister is an atheist … I think that anyone who wants to lead has to believe in right and wrong. I believe that she does.”

However, Reverend Mark Durie, vicar of St Mary’s Anglican Church in Caulfield, says he’s not happy about ”the PM’s domestic arrangements (living in a de facto relationship) – I don’t think it’s a good model for others”.

He also wonders what kind of atheist Ms Gillard is. ”If you believe we are all just lumps of dirt, the result of a series of evolutionary accidents, of course this affects how you value the dying, the unborn, the disabled, the environment, human sexuality and marriage,” he says.

More responses in Will atheism spell trouble for Gillard?