Man for mission gets down to business

Webmaster | 1 August 2006

Font size: + - | print | email to a friend

the promised land

The goal of converting 10 per cent of Sydney is a formidable task - but if we don’t buy more land now it will be too late to reach the new suburbs of our city, argues BILL NICHOLSON.

I lived and attended churches in the parish of Lalor Park/Kings Langley and Seven Hills in the 1980s and 1990s. I well recall attending a meeting in 1982 and being informed that plans were well advanced for the Diocese to purchase land and commence a number of centres in the north-west and west. For much of that time I heard progress reports at our regional council meetings at Parramatta, about how we were on the cusp of land purchases.

As far as I can work out, since about 1980 the major developments in the west as to land purchase and/or building have been confined to Crestwood, Glenmore Park, Quakers Hill (all then new centres), the relocation of Blacktown parish centre, the relocation and redevelopment of Kellyville, and Rouse Hill.

In the last 40 years the population of greater Sydney has more than doubled, from two million to five million. This has not happened overnight. We have had plenty of notice of the need to purchase and build, but we have been unable to react appropriately. Some might think that all we need is a few major centres to which people will drive considerable distances. Christians might be prepared to do so, but I wonder about the willingness of non-Christian parents (often single these days) with kids who need to be driven to youth groups, and whether they will do so – with rising petrol costs, and where a round trip might take one hour with a second trip later in the night.

As we continue to fail to establish centres in and around these new suburbs, new schools and new families, we continue to miss community opportunities for mission.

Bill Nicholson is a barrister and a member of the Standing Committee.

God has called Les Gray from the corporate world to help our churches reach the strategic goals of the Mission, GEOFF ROBSON reports.

Parishes and ministries across the Diocese can expect to be better equipped for their task than ever before, thanks to a new position aimed at promoting and resourcing the Mission.

Les Gray, Sydney’s newly appointed Mission Executive, believes planning and strategy must continue to result in action at all levels for the Mission to be successful. “My job is to facilitate practical outcomes, and work out how to best use the resources we have to achieve those outcomes,” he said.

Reporting directly to Archbishop Peter Jensen, he will spend much of his time liaising with and advising diocesan bodies such as the newly created Mission Board.

He also expects to spend much of his time ‘on the road’ among parishes and ministry workers.

Mr Gray says he is excited by the prospect of developing the new role and tackling the issues facing churches.

“The Archbishop is keen to ensure that we’ve done everything we can possibly do to support the Diocese in achieving the Mission, and this role will facilitate that. It will help the Diocese achieve the Mission more effectively, and build on the good work that’s gone on already.”

He hopes to combine his own Christian commitment with his experiences as a management consultant and senior executive in the secular workforce, using those skills to further God’s kingdom.

Mr Gray has a background in consultancy, strategic planning, performance improvement and organisational development across a number of industries, including his recent position with Fairfax.

Among several key issues, he believes the training and equipping of clergy, and the role of Moore College, are key to the future of the Diocese. A key feature of Mr Gray’s past experience had been to identify ‘road blocks’ that prevent organisations from achieving their aims. “Identifying those road blocks and trying to move them is something that the Archbishop and the Mission Board will be keen to do,” he said.

Mr Gray is grateful for the training and experience he has gained within the Christian community and says it was ‘invaluable’ to him in the secular world.

“When you read Acts, you see Paul in Ephesus or Rome strategising – planning, working out logistics, moving people around. He’s doing the things that we as Christians in ministry have always done.”

Mr Gray has three children and four grandchildren, and his son, Ben, is in third year at Moore College. He and his wife Ann currently attend St Andrew’s Cathedral, and have both been involved in many different ministries at local churches.

Archbishop Jensen said he looks forward to working alongside Mr Gray and benefiting from his insight.

“I am delighted that Les Gray has accepted this role, and for the experience he brings to it,” Dr Jensen said. “His appointment means that the Mission Board and I will be well served in resourcing the parishes in mission.”

Mission property plans for the West

Alongside strategic planning, property needs are also high on the Diocese’s Mission agenda this year. The Mission Property Committee is putting plans into place to purchase two parcels of greenfields land in the west and south west of Sydney. The purchase is dependent on the availabililty of diocesan investment funds.

“We need sites and we need them now,” says Mission Property Committee chairman, Geoff Kyngdon. “[But] it’s slow, it’s painful and there’s not enough money.”

The committee is also negotiating with the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation and talking to parishes about existing property that could be utilised.

“We’ve got to think creatively about where the sites come from – they won’t just fall out of the tree,” he said.

But Mr Kyngdon concedes the process is fraught with difficulty.

Click here to comment on this article for the next edition of Southern Cross