Ian Cox appointed as new Georges River archdeacon

The Rev Ian Cox will become the new Archdeacon of the Georges River Region on December 1. He has been the rector of Brighton/Rockdale Anglican Church since 2003.

Mr Cox says he and his wife, Bronwen, will miss the opportunities they have had to teach the Bible to individuals and to groups there.

“I have enjoyed meeting with some of the men in the congregation, particularly for breakfast where we have studied the Bible together. Bronwen has led a Bible study and organised a playgroup at Rockdale, which has brought us in contact with many different ethnic groups in the area.”

Administration and ethnic ministry will be the two major focuses of the archdeacon role, believes Mr Cox.

“Part of my role as archdeacon is to keep freeing ministers up from administration,” he says.

“I believe one of the new challenges as archdeacon will be to get the right people for some of the multicultural parishes in the region.

“I think we are still trying to work out how to serve people in these diverse parishes. With Bishop Tasker, we will be looking for men and women who want to create opportunities to meet and befriend people in the local communities.”

Huard retires as Archdeacon

Geoff Huard will complete his ministry as the Archdeacon of the Georges River Region (Liverpool) on November 30, after 15 years in the role.

Prior to that he was Archdeacon of Sydney and Cumberland from 1989. He became Archdeacon of Liverpool when the new Georges River Region was created.

Archdeacon Huard was ordained in 1970 in the Diocese of Essex, England. He spent 1968 in Sydney after taking leave from his theological education. After numerous curacies in England in the early 1970s, Archdeacon Huard returned to Australia in 1976 with his wife Cathy, where he became the rector of the parish of Redfern and Waterloo. He then served as the rector of the parish of South Sydney from 1978 to 1989.

As Archdeacon of Georges River, Archdeacon Huard is happy to have overseen an increased focus in reaching those from non-English-speaking backgrounds.

“ESL classes have grown as we now have 60 in the diocese with 300 teachers. Seeing the growth in multicultural ministry has been very encouraging,” he says.

Although officially retiring, Archdeacon Huard will continue as the part-time rector of St Paul’s, Bankstown for the foreseeable future.

A farewell brunch was held at Christ Church, Mortdale on September 27.

A longer tribute article will be printed in the next Georges River Regional supplement in SC’s December edition.

Ellem embraces chaplaincy

After nine years of ministry as rector of St Mark’s Yagoona, the Rev Peter Ellem will become the new Anglican chaplain to Westmead Hospital on November 10.

After 18 years of parish ministry including curacies in England in the parishes of St Mary’s, Islington and St George’s, Leeds, Mr Ellem says he will miss local ministry. However he has been interested in pursuing a specific ministry in pastoral care for some time and sees chaplaincy as a better use of his gifts.

“I think at times of pain and uncertainty, people are faced with the big questions of life. At those times they are open to God in ways that they are often not in their normal daily lives,” he says.

“Over the years, I have seen many people go through painful issues and walked that path with them. I think God has enabled me to develop some ability to listen and to be able to help people explore God when they are in pain.”

New chancellor appointed

The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen has announced the appointment of His Honour Acting Judge Peter Johns as Chancellor of the Sydney Diocese.

Mr Johns became a Christian at the 1969 Billy Graham Crusade. He has studied at Moore Theological College, and has been part of the congregations at Caringbah and now Gladesville.

He was admitted as an associate of the Australian Society of Accountants in 1965, and admitted to the Bar in 1969.  He practised as a barrister until 1990, when he was appointed as a judge of the Compensation Court of NSW, and then of the Dust Diseases Tribunal. He served finally on the District Court until his retirement in 2004, at which time he was appointed an Acting Judge of the District Court and Dust Diseases Tribunal.

He has been married to Val for over 44 years, and they have four children and nine grandchildren.

“I look forward very much to the contribution Mr Johns will make to our life as a diocese, and to working closely with him,” said Dr Jensen. “He will take up his appointment immediately following this year’s synod.”

New man at St Matt’s, Manly

The Rev Bruce Clarke will become the new rector of Manly on November 15.

Mr Clarke has been the senior assistant minister at Figtree Anglican Church since 1994.

After 15 years at Figtree, Mr Clarke says he will miss the people there more than anything else.

“They are our spiritual family and we will greatly miss them.”

Mr Clarke says the reason for the move is that he believes God has called him, his wife Catherine and their family to Manly.

“After 15 years of never wanting to leave Figtree, the Lord put a great desire in my heart to return to Sydney and move to a place that has such enormous potential for gospel ministry,” he explains.

“St Matthew’s is a great church with fantastic people located in one of the most unique geographic locations in Australia for doing gospel work. As soon as I went up and met with the nominators I felt a great excitement about what could be.”