{"id":4851,"date":"2010-07-25T21:11:30","date_gmt":"2010-07-25T10:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/?p=4851"},"modified":"2010-07-26T02:05:07","modified_gmt":"2010-07-25T15:05:07","slug":"thanking-god-and-exhorting-a-bishop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/2010\/07\/25\/thanking-god-and-exhorting-a-bishop\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanking God and exhorting a bishop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just home from a wonderful thanksgiving celebration of God’s faithfulness at the Cathedral<\/a>. Today was very special in many ways as we gave thanks to God for his call and sustaining Spirit over these 10 years\u00a0as Bishop of Tasmania.<\/p>\n

A strong word from the Dean on thanking God.\u00a0Expressions of our life and ministry in Tasmania via intriguing symbols: carrots, hay and evangelistic leaflet – donkey outreach ministry; red socks – Pentecost and Holy Spirit;\u00a0cans and wire – recycling and financing of ministry; beautiful tapestry of life, light and love\u00a0– A Blessing for Tasmania<\/a>; and an iron bark carving with script – a healthy church … transforming life<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

I also shared some reflections on the prayer pilgrimage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The words of the\u00a0Exhortation were read to me\u00a0by Bill Haas who was the Registrar when I\u00a0commenced my ministry as Bishop of Tasmania. Bill has supported me wonderfully throughout my episcopate, both as Registrar and ‘Retired’!<\/p>\n

Marking 10 Years<\/strong> Led by Bill Haas:<\/em>\u00a0 +John at your consecration you heard these words<\/em>,<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Exhortation<\/strong>,<\/p>\n

A bishop is called to maintain the Church\u2019s witness <\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to the resurrection of Christ,<\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to protect the purity of the gospel, <\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. <\/em><\/address>\n
As a chief minister and pastor in Christ\u2019s Church,<\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you are to guard its faith, unity and discipline,<\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and promote its mission in the world.<\/em><\/address>\n
You are to ensure that God\u2019s word is faithfully proclaimed, <\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christ\u2019s sacraments duly administered, <\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and Christ\u2019s discipline applied justly, with mercy.<\/em><\/address>\n
You are to lead and guide the priests and deacons under your care, <\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and be faithful in the choosing and ordaining of ministers.<\/em><\/address>\n
You are to watch over, protect and serve the people of God, <\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to teach and govern them, and to be hospitable. <\/em><\/address>\n
You must, therefore, know and be known by them,<\/em><\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and be a good example to all.<\/em><\/address>\n
These are the duties of a bishop, and they are weighty.<\/em><\/address>\n

\u00a0How humbling to hear Bill’s\u00a0words of thanks and continuing commitment in prayer:<\/p>\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Exhortation concludes with the question: Are you willing to perform them?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I responded at my ordination: I am willing: may God guide and help me. <\/em><\/p>\n

I thank God for my wife’s unflagging love and support, colleagues such as Bill and all the saints\u00a0who have walked with me. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

God has guided and helped me through them on innumerable occasions. Thank you.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Exhortation is from\u00a0‘The Ordination of\u00a0Bishops’, A Prayer Book for Australia, Broughton Books 1995, page 802.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0as Bishop of Tasmania. A … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4851"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4893,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions\/4893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}