Evangelism, Manipur, budget motions pass | Melbourne Synod day 2

12 October 2023

10pm

That’s it for the second evening!

Tonight we heard:

• The Reverend Canon Glenn Loughrey’s presentation about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
• Registrar Malcolm Tadgell’s presentation on the Revised 2023 Diocesan Budget and 2024-2026 Financial Plan
• Motions commending evangelism and urging support for the Christian minority in Manipur, India

Thanks again for tuning in to us tonight. We hope you enjoyed our coverage and will continue to tune in for the next two days.

Goodnight from me and from my colleagues Jenan Taylor, Elspeth Kernebone, and Maria Tan.

9.55pm

The archbishop is asking synod members whether they want to continue with another motion considering it is nearly 10pm.

The archbishop said 556 synod members were attending and noted the high turnout.

Synod has decided to regroup tomorrow to continue with the motions.

9.50pm

The Right Reverend Dr Bradly Billings moved a motion asking that synod receive the discussion paper titled “Parishes and their Boundaries” and encouraging clergy and laypeople to consider the questions raised therein ahead of next year’s synod.

The motion passed with 88 per cent support.

Bishop Billings said the paper posed questions concerning the ongoing relevance and purpose of the traditional parish model.

Audrey Statham asked a question to the mover and seconder of this motion about the process for enabling dialogue and debate with parishes.

The Right Reverend Dr Paul Barker responded saying he would be happy to receive any questions and comments from across the diocese. He said he suspected discussion would be necessary to bring people together on this issue ahead of next year’s synod.

9.35pm

The Reverend Megan Curlis-Gibson spoke of her gratefulness for the Melbourne Anglican Foundation in moving a motion of thanks for the work the foundation does to support the ministry and mission of the diocese. The motion was carried with 98 per cent support.

Synod passed a motion embracing the annual United Nations celebrations of the International Day of People with Disability on December 3. 95 per cent of delegates voted in favour.

Mover Jill Pickering said the motion asked synod to put this special day on the diocese’s radar. She spoke of the need to engage more fully in involving people with disabilities in church celebrations and local communities.

9.20pm

A motion asking synod to strongly to condemn the violence in Manipur and stand in solidarity with the Christian minority facing persecution there passed with a majority.

The motion urged synod to communicate its support for human rights in India to Indian authorities, the Australian government and international bodies and organisations, and to call on them for a resolution to the matter. 

Some of this violence erupted after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi belatedly condemned the sexual assault of predominantly Christian Kuki women in an incident in Manipur state by people from the Hindu-majority Mei Tei community. 

The incident is linked to escalating conflict over land rights.   

The Reverend Jobby John moved the motion, and Mr Jeffrey Rae seconded it. 

Read more: Churches in flames, thousands of Christians displaced as North-East India faces civil war (melbourneanglican.org.au)

Synod voted to pass a motion rejoicing in new congregations, lamenting the closure of some congregations and hoping to see accessible vibrant Anglican congregations across all parts of the diocese.

Mover the Reverend Robert Miller spoke of celebrating congregational growth and the need to pray for leaders and resources to support new congregations.

Read more: New church’s fast growth could overwhelm its space (melbourneanglican.org.au)

9.05pm

A motion asking synod to commend churches and individuals reaching out to the lost through personal evangelism and courses such as Alpha, Christianity Explored and Introducing God is being brought before synod by Fiona McLean.

Mrs McLean said evangelism was challenging but essential to making the word of God fully known. She gave several examples of parishes supporting evangelism, even resulting in baptisms of adult converts.

The motion passed with an 80 per cent majority.

Motion 22, regarding refugees in Papua New Guinea, passed. The motion asked synod to urge the Australian government to transfer refugees and asylum seekers still in PNG to Australia and allow them to live in the community.

In moving this motion, Audrey Statham said about 70 refugees remained in limbo in PNG, having been there for ten years. Dr Statham said some of these 70 refugees, mostly men, were in line to be settled abroad, in the United States and Canada. She said a few of these men faced extreme mental health issues.

8.50pm

Welcome back to The Melbourne Anglican’s 2023 Melbourne Synod liveblog. I’m Maya Pilbrow, taking over from Jenan Taylor for the rest of tonight’s session.

See our coverage of yesterday’s session here.

Read the archbishop’s Presidential Address to the Melbourne Synod here.

Explore photos from Melbourne Synod day one here.

The Reverend Kathryn Watt is moving a motion urging synod members to commit to assisting the function of the diocese by suggesting and encouraging suitable volunteer candidates to the Governance and Nominations Committee.

She said good governance and transparency was needed both to be able to respond to secular criticism and also because it is the right thing to do.

This motion asks synod to welcome and affirm the contribution of volunteers in helping the diocese function, to recognise that volunteers need appropriate support and training and to acknowledge the value of the Governance Handbook and encourage its continual updating to maintain its usefulness to volunteers.

The motion is passed with 97 per cent in favour.

Motion 15 is being brought before synod by the Reverend Angus Monro. If passed, this motion asks synod to request that Archbishop in Council include strategies for supporting lay people in paid or unpaid ministry work when next reviewing the diocesan vision and strategy.

Mr Munro said the Diocesan Vision and Directions 2017-2025 missed mentions of day-to-day ministry and mission and role of laity in this.

The motion is passed with 479 delegates for, 18 against and 14 abstentions.

8.30pm

The archbishop has just run through the upcoming motions, and identified eight formal motions, including the Christian Minority – Manipur India motion, which synod will address after a 15-minute break.

8.15pm

Archbishop Freier is discussing a question on accessibility and inclusion, put by Jill Pickering.

The archbishop said staff were being recruited to help address this.

A question about how many members of synod received the electronic voting link is being addressed. Dr Freier said as far as the diocese could tell everyone who was entitle to vote had received the link via email.

8.05pm

Melbourne Synod voted to receive the diocesan accounts for the year ending 31 December 2022

Delegates noted the revised 2023 diocesan budget and received the 2024-2026 Diocesan Financial Plan.

Eighty-four per cent of delegates voted in favour of the motion putting the budget, 10 per cent against, 6 per cent abstain.

7.50pm

Registrar Malcolm Tadgell has told the synod that the Revised 2023 Diocesan Budget and 2024-2026 Financial Plan will restore the diocese’s budget to near breakeven. 

TMA reported last year that the revised budget and financial plan originated at the 2022 synod, which received a one-year budget for 2023 showing a deficit of $1,480,000. 

The 2022 synod noted no existing plan to return the budget to surplus and asked the Archbishop in Council to bring expenditure in line with income. 

Mr Tadgell has said the revised budget and financial plan will deliver on the 2022 synod’s call to restore the budget to near breakeven thanks in part to the making redundant of the two most expensive staff positions and the decision to end hospital chaplaincy.  

Mr Tadgell has said the revised budget and financial plan allow the Diocese to maintain ministry activity (except hospital chaplaincy), fund the Reimagining the Future initiative and church plants, support Children and Youth Ministry and Accessibility and Inclusion, improve Diocesan services including through new IT systems, protect and maintain Diocesan assets and ensure the Diocese meets compliancy obligations. 

A budget revision working group reported to the Archbishop in Council in February 2023. The Archbishop in Council accepted the report’s 72 recommendations. Motion 30 if passed, would direct the Archbishop in Council to make this report available to all synod members. 

The report’s 72 recommendations included personnel changes, such as making redundant the positions of General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, ceasing funding to hospital chaplaincy, investing in new IT systems and identifying new revenue sources. 

Mr Tadgell detailed presentation and policy changes in how income is recognised and reported in the revised budget and financial plan. The original 2023 budget deficit of $1,480,000 as published in 2022 has been restated to $2,157,000. Mr Tadgell said this was following the effects of changes in presentation and policy. 

Mr Tadgell said compared with this restated deficit, the revised budget shows a deficit of $892,000, trending down to $24,000 by 2026. 

Mr Tadgell said spending has increased by $1,545,000 as compared to the original 2023 budget due to increased audit fees, the inclusion of property depreciation and property security as “above the line” costs, IT and compliance consulting fees, and costs of staffing movements resulting from this year’s personnel changes. 

7.30pm

The Reverend Canon Glenn Loughrey is speaking as the educator and advocate for the Voice in the Diocese of Melbourne.

Canon Loughrey said while the diocese has supported his project there has been no financial support from the diocese itself for it.

He has done 120 presentations, reaching 7000 people from Hobart to Bunbury. It allowed him to unpack the Statement from the Heart and allowed the process to be shown to take away any public fear of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

He said people have responded positively, and not so positively.

Canon Loughrey went on to speak of his experiences while delivering his project to educate people about the Voice.

A disappointment was that unlike the 1967 referendum where the Church was able to advocate how people should vote, that was not the case in 2023.

He said in ethical, moral and spiritual matters the church should have a right and an obligation to speak up about supporting the Voice, but unfortunately that was not the case now.

He said he believed Australia was a race-based nation, and there was still a great deal of fear there, as well as in churches.

Australians had very little understanding about the Voice, he said, and in many ways the referendum had made Australia unsafe for Indigenous people.

He said some work had to be done to make the Church safe for Aboriginal people to be a part of.

Archbishop Freier said the diocese would continue to pray for its role to make Australia better for Indigenous people.

7.20pm

The Reverend Moe Win Tun Kin has just opened tonight’s synod session with prayers together with some members of the St Stephen’s Werribee Karen Authorised Congregation.

Now we’re going through announcements and some vote tests.

Earlier

Good evening and welcome to day two of the 2023 Melbourne Synod. I’m Jenan Taylor and I’ll be taking you through the first half of this first online session.

As indicated yesterday, there’ll also be an online session tomorrow evening, while Saturday’s in-person event will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Tonight’s line up after prayers and announcements, includes answers to questions, the Reverend Canon Glenn Loughrey’s presentation on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and diocesan accounts.

Formal motions will take place in the second half of tonight’s session.

Key items tonight:

Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Wiradjuri man the Reverend Canon Glenn Loughrey will deliver a presentation about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Australians will vote on whether or not this Voice should be enshrined in the constitution in a referendum this Saturday, October 14.

The debate on whether to say “Yes” or “No” has been vigorous, and at times contentious.

Some of the most contested aspects of the debate have included the referendum question, and even how voters might mark their ballot papers.

Canon Loughrey has urged Anglicans to educate themselves about the Voice to Parliament, and the Anglican Church of Australia has urged all Australians to seriously consider supporting it.

Read more about this issue:

• A ‘Yes’ begins our journey of healing
• A Voice to Parliament is just a first step towards healing
• Voice a matter of justice, reconciliation: Christian leaders
• Anglican Church asks Australians to consider ‘yes’ vote on Voice to Parliament
• Faith leaders urge Christians to side-step public noise on Voice

Formal motions and motions

Hospital chaplaincy, the Revised 2023 Diocesan Budget and 2024-2026 Financial Plan, and the Christian minority in Manipur India are among the motions we may hear about tonight.

Health Chaplaincy

This motion asks delegates to request Archbishop in Council to form a working group to consider alternate models of providing Anglican healthcare chaplaincy and continuity of care for vulnerable people, and alternative funding models.

The diocese will stop financing the hospital chaplaincy program at the end of 2023. It provided 80 per cent of funding for Anglican hospital chaplaincy.

The Reverend Dawn Treloar put the motion to synod, and it was seconded by the Reverend Christopher Morris.

Read more:

• Hospital ministry future clouded as funding cuts loom
• ‘Review case for five-day week for clergy’: Synod motion
• Thanksgiving service for hospital chaplains as wind down begins
•  Chaplain’s honour bittersweet, as future uncertain

Revised 2023 Diocesan Budget and 2024-2026 Financial Plan

This motion asks synod to note the revised 2023 Diocesan Budget and receive the 2024-2026 Diocesan Financial Plan.

The 2022 Synod noted no existing plan to return the budget to surplus and asked Archbishop in Council to bring expenditure in line with income, whilst preserving ministry as much as possible.

The original 2023 budget, published in 2022, had an operating deficit of $2,157,000.

Registrar Malcolm Tadgell moved the motion, and Mr Neil Sigamoney seconded it.

Read more: Lay representation, Archbishop Election Act – 2022 Melbourne Synod wraps up

Christian Minority – Manipur India

This motion calls on synod to condemn the violence in Manipur and stand in solidarity with the Christian minority facing persecution there.

It urges synod to communicate its support for human rights in India to Indian authorities, the Australian government and international bodies and organisations, and to call on them for a resolution to the matter.

The Reverend Jobby John moved the motion, and Mr Jeffrey Rae seconded it.

Read more on this issue:

• Churches in flames, thousands of Christians displaced as North-East India faces civil war
• Australia urged to stand up for human rights in India
• Christians face rising hate as India’s anti-conversion laws unleash violence

So, lots to go through this evening, but don’t forget if you missed any of last night’s session, you can find out about it.

Revisit day one of the Melbourne Synod sessions here:

• Review report requested, Anglican Communion motion withdrawn as synod begins | Melbourne Synod day 1
• Presidential Address to the Melbourne Synod, 54th Synod
• Melbourne Synod 2023 | Photo Gallery

To view all of tonight’s action online, you can view the public livestream at Synod | Anglican Diocese of Melbourne (melbourneanglican.org.au)

Again, if you want to reach us with any queries, comments or corrections, email us at editor@melbourneanglican.org.au

Enjoy the session!

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