Satvasheela Pandhare
23 November 2024
Multicultural clergy of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne thanked Archbishop Philip Freier for his support and encouragement when they gathered to farewell him at Holy Trinity East Melbourne recently.
The group meets twice a year to share stories of success and challenges in their ministry spaces, under the leadership of Bishop Paul Barker.
In a speech, Bishop Barker noted that the Melbourne diocese started engaging multiculturally during the time of Archbishop Penman, who invited clergy from overseas to join it.
He said this engagement strengthened during Archbishop Freier’s tenure, with a significant hike in the number of multicultural priests coming to the diocese.
The archbishop thanked the clergy for joining the diocese, trusting him and working hard despite the multiple challenges they continued to face with their visas, some with language, or with adopting the climate and culture.
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He underlined that multicultural clergy had a significant privilege of connecting with the multicultural communities in Melbourne.
Language, food, and dress were the special gifts the clergy brought to this city which helped the diocese reach out to the wider community and offer them a sense of belonging in the Anglican Church.
The archbishop encouraged the clergy to preserve and celebrate their cultural richness and urged them to use this cultural privilege to carry the gospel creatively in this multicultural city.
“Use your liberty and be bold. Reach out with the humility of Christ to preach the gospel. Most importantly, engage cross-culturally to strengthen the cause of the gospel,” he said.
The Reverend Canon Nigel Pope was among the clergy who took the opportunity to share their success stories.
He spoke about how well the Leading your Church into Growth framework of prayer, presence, proclamation and persuasion was working at St John’s Footscray.
It was encouraging to know Canon Pope and the Reverend Dr Kezhalezo Angami’s hard work was attracting a growing number of attendees each Sunday.
They and their families work tirelessly in this significant multicultural part of the city, engaging with students and shopkeepers, extending hospitality and boldly inviting them to church.
As Archbishop Freier observed, being bold and offering an opportunity to “come and taste” is quite a significant step in these times of growing multiculturalism in Melbourne.
Nevertheless, it remains a common challenge for churches to see newcomers every Sunday or to retain them in the Church.
Some clergy continue to find ways to address this by extending friendships and fellowships at the personal and church levels.
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I am reminded of Indian Theologians such as Raimundo Panikkar and Sadhu Sundar Singh, who saw inculturation of the gospel as an important step to spreading, flourishing, and deepening the seed of the gospel in the hearts and minds of culturally diverse communities.
Some may argue that the gospel needs to be shared in an “authentic” way — the traditional Christian way.
Some may find it important for the flourishing of the Christian faith, to offer the gospel in the containers that people with diverse ethnicities are comfortable holding.
I believe people should do it in the way that best suits their situation, and continue to proclaim the gospel to make the word of God fully known.
A sumptuous morning tea of international cuisine prepared by the clergy families to farewell the archbishop was the highlight of the day!
The Reverend Dr Satvasheela Pandhare is priest-in-charge at Hume Anglican Parish.
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