Having grown up as an atheist (well, up to the age of 17, if you call that grown up) I have always taken an interest in atheism.

If you haven’t heard it yet, you are sure to hear it more and more… that 60 per cent of non-church goers in this nation have no close friend who is involved in a church. What is your immediate reaction to that statistic? Mine was one of surprise – I expected a much higher number, perhaps 80 per cent or higher.

I don't think people intentionally place stress on clergy couples, but at times high expectations of the clergy husbands, wives and children can be unrealistic and very difficult to live up to.

I am writing this column on the very day that The Da Vinci Code hits the big screens all over Australia. It has been interesting seeing how different churches around Australia and the world have reacted – ranging from calls to boycott the film, a stance of indifference (‘it’s fiction – why react and give it more publicity?’), right through to booking up cinemas and taking your friends. I, for one, support any method, within reason, which will initiate conversations about Jesus and create opportunities to point people to the real Jesus of the gospels.

It is easy for churches in the North West to be overwhelmed with the challenge, but initiatives are bearing fruit.

Once upon a time, thinking about people’s circumstances and needs as part of evangelistic strategy or preaching was simply not thought about – at least not very much! In fact, especially in the area of preaching, talking too much about ‘needs’ and addressing these ‘needs’ was seen as shallow preaching.

Mission Impossible? From a ‘worldly’ perspective, yes, the diocesan goal of reaching 10 per cent of Sydney’s affluent, self centred and hardhearted population of nearly four million for Jesus Christ does seem like a daunting task. Well, it so happens that I am writing from Gosford where the World Anglican Chinese Clergy and Workers’ Fellowship Conference is being held. Yes, what a mouthful, but what a conference!

Murder investigations often make for gripping news, but one really amazed me recently. The story was of a US man who confessed to murdering his wife. He turned himself into police after faking her suicide months earlier. His confession made headlines around the world.

Putting lives on the right track

St Stephen’s, Lidcombe was built in 1875 and over the years it has gradually changed from a strong Anglo-Celtic ministry to become a largely ethnic Chinese ministry. There is a cultural diversity, ranging from second generation Australian Chinese to those who are newly arrived in Sydney. Today St Stephen’s consists of Australians, Chinese and Chinese Australians.

Clergy are often called on to take funerals for people they have not met. In such cases, especially where the family can tell me little about the person’s spiritual beliefs, I can only preach the gospel in general terms, without making definite statements about the deceased.

Bishop Ivan Lee introduces us to the ministry team at the Western Region’s Penrith Anglican College

In the Bishops’ Statement of 19 June, 2003 on sexuality and the Anglican Communion issued by the Archbishops and Bishops of Sydney, reference was made to Canon Gene Robinson, the Bishop-elect of New Hampshire.

Archbishop Peter Jensen and the five regional bishops of the Diocese of Sydney have released a statement on the 'crisis in the Anglican Communion'. They refer to the appointment of a gay activist to be Bishop of Reading in the UK, the blessing of same sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster, Canada, and the election of the Rev Gene Robinson, a clergyman living in a homosexual relationship, to be a bishop in New Hampshire Diocese, USA.

Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney and the Regional Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney on developments in the Anglican Communion

Link speaks to regional Bishop, Ivan Lee, about the challenges and opportunities ahead for Western Sydney

The day after Ivan Lee was announced as the new Bishop of Sydney’s Western Region, his phone ran hot. On the phone, members of the media sought interviews, well-organised groups from his new region began filling his 2003 diary, and friends congratulated him on his ‘promotion’. But Mr Lee says he has never seen his new position as a step up the ladder. “I see this as a ministry position, not as a stepping stone or anything like that,” he said. “I’m honoured, and it shows a trust that people have in me, and I can’t despise that. But I hardly think of it as a promotion.”