Anglican Church in Melbourne's West

[jane churchland]

About seven months ago, my family and I moved away from inner city life and St Jude's Carlton. We spent months comparing different areas before moving, including visiting local churches. The Sunday after we moved we started attending the local Anglican church. We expected things to be different, and they are. But we have found, and become a part of a living Christian community which we praise God for.

About two months ago the minister of our new church announced he was resigning. A few short weeks later he was gone. At this point a difference which I wasn't ready for (maybe I should have been, but I wasn't) became apparent. Everyone started telling one another how difficult it was going to be to find a half decent new minister. Stories abounded about how people didn't want to come to the West. (Or maybe they themselves didn't mind, but they had to take their families' wishes into consideration...) We were lectured from the notices podium by a warden speaking about the appointment process 'don't be waiting for superman, because we aren't going to get superman'. (Obviously not: the trunks would probably be a distraction during divine service anyway.) Initially I became a self-appointed booster: many Sundays the church was full, the Sunday school was full, we are located in a growth corridor: so much ministry to be done, why wouldn't potential ministers want to come here? Then I had a conversation with a person (Minister) who I respect : they said, look, it seems to me like a very hard place to work, why would I want to come there?

In the aftermath of that conversation I began wondering if there was substance to the many stories and suppositions going the rounds among the old hands at my new church.

I am raising this on this discussion board, not because I want to go into the pros and cons of my parish at this time, but to ask if people think there is something about 'the West' per se which makes it hard ground for Anglican church ministry; and if the attitude of low expectations I have discovered among people here is pessimism or realism?

[Steve Weickhardt]

Jane,

I moved over to the West from the Eastern Region three years ago. I agree with all your observations and I have seen first hand the issues you are talking about.

There is definitely a perception that there is something less appealing about serving Christ in the West, yet my experience is that the mission field is greater and more ready for the harvest than the East. In fact, I would argue that the West needs more evangelists and mission minded people ready to live sacrificial lives and uproot themsleves from "home" and their areas of comfort now than other areas, except perhaps the South East.
The Werribee, Geelong and Melton growth areas are presenting unprecedented opportunities to create home groups, faithful Christ following communities, and the churches will grow when given the right people and resources.
There is also a perception that the West has a less evangelical feel, and while this may be true - come on over and help us out!

In terms of living over here, I find travel much easier, fuel and groceries cheaper and it is much easier to get out of town to a quiet spot quickly. Of course the issue of the sun glare during travel times is the old cliche for dishing it out on the West, but come on, if that is the issue then get over it. The City is much easier to get into from the West (especially Ridley!), and the roads are just better.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

Steve

[Matt Williams]

Hi Jane,

I'm not surprised, exactly the same phenomenon exists in Sydney. There are a number of contributing factors. Some are just realities we aren't addressing; others are issues of godliness.

1) Often the Western suburbs have turned into immigrant areas, but most clergy aren't trained for cross-cultural mission so feel out of their depth.

2) Anglicanism on the whole - and particularly evangelical Anglicanism - has been a middle to upper class denomination. (I'm sure Jesus wouldn't be impressed, but it is an historical reality.) So our whole approach to ministry is often not well geared to reaching the working class. Most of our ministers come from middle class backgrounds and don't know how to relate to working class people, so they struggle. We do lots of careful thinking about cross-cultural ministry between ethnicities, but surprisingly little about cross-cultural ministry between white Anglo sub-cultures, and many of the barriers are just as or more significant. I have thought about this a bit myself, having grown up in a depressed working class area and lived in sheltered upper class areas and inner city middle class areas since. A chap in Sydney named Craig Blackett, who spearheads TAFE ministry, did a thesis on the subject; and I've had some chats with him about it.

Those two factors do make western suburbs ministry a lot of hard work in many cases with little fruit. But it also creates a cycle: because the western suburbs churches aren't healthy; they aren't sending many people into ministry themselves; so there aren't ministers who understand the western suburbs coming out of the colleges.

As a result, you are actually seeking people with a heart for cross-cultural ministry, but asking them to undertake it without the expert support that usually goes with cross-cultural mission. A lot of work needs to be done in theory, vision, and practical training; and it needs to be thought of as mission, not just another local posting.


But those factors are compounded by ungodly attitudes. Doubtless some clergy might hold latent attitudes of snobbery or prejudice, or aren't willing to put up with the lifestyle conditions. But in Sydney at least there was a secondary issue that clinches fear: people who go to difficult areas and work faithfully in them are often stuck there for the rest of their ministry lives; and everyone knows it. The 'plum' North Shore parishes with the nice rectories seeking a new minister simply don't look to the clergy out west, figuring they won't be their type. The clergy out west have less than glamorous CVs, and too often parish incumbency committees look for "has this person's past church grown or shrunk?" - as though people give the growth rather than God. So they hire the person who might be a less competent minister who happened to work in the bible belt, because their resume looks better. So that's a systemic ungodliness that is much harder to break than persuading a few ministers to take a job out west.

There are exceptions. One of my best friends, who grew up in Mosman with a top private school education, deliberately addressed this in his own life, without a trace of snobbery or paternalism. This is his seventh year loving the saints in Fairfield (four years of college and three years of curacy so far), one of Sydney's most depressed outer-south-western suburbs. He's an excellent pastor and preacher with a wonderful family. Gee I admire him for it. But there aren't many around like him.

I pray God will bless the socks off your parish in your new vicar. God knows what you need, so rather than talk yourselves down, or talk yourselves up on human factors; why not keep encouraging one another to ask a generous God in faith?

Blessings
Matt

[Bryan Hickey]

Hi Jane (and Steve & Matt)

Sadly, your questions cannot be addressed by me because I have the exact same questions that you are asking.  I attend a church in the west also.

I simply cry when I think of the tens of thousands who live in my shire and are not being nurtured in the gospel; a gospel which can place in proper perspective both their poverty and identity struggles.

(A notable exceptions to the drought of gospel ministry in the west might be churches like Enjoy or Life Christian Church or Suburban Baptist. But sadly I have visted all of these on multiple occasions and have found their teaching to poor, their liturgy manufactured and shallow. That said, at least they are gathering a group of people to hear something about Jesus and, while it may not be what I would want from a church, a great many do feel at home in these churches. Mental note: none are Anglican, and certainly not reformed as I understand the word.)

What accentuates my grief as I study at Ridley is the lack of people coming from this area (or the south-eastern growth corridor), as Matt noted above. There are a handful to be sure, but such numbers fail in comparison to the numbers who come from inner city or bible-belt suburbs. One of the lecturers at Ridley asked, "Who is evangelising the guys who go to footy on the weekend drink bear and eat pies'. This is a caricature of the western suburbs male - at least this was how I understood it. And he is one of the few evangelical Anglicans I hear asking this sort of question ( and when I say "few" I mean very few, and when I say "very few", I mean the only one)

On a mission trip down to Tassie last year we were stationed in the north-west of the state; working class and rural; this environment elicited from me a statement to one of my fellow classmates (for to clear and witty for my numble [sic] brain, which usually indicates for me God's call: "This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh" - Not a tertiary degree in sight and I was truly happy.

[David Palmer]

Hi Guys,

Presbyterians lost all their churches in the west in 1977 at Church Union save Williamstown, Sunshine and a Home Mission Station at West Footscray. The Sunshine congregation has developed in varied multicultural ways, we have church planted at Werribee and Melton in the past 15-20 yrs (Werribee may have been an over-plant) and last year church planted out of Melton at Brimbank (after an earlier false start). For us, coming off a very, very weak base, these are all situations requiring lots of support, men in leadership who are gifted evangelistically with good elders. I'm sure our men would enjoy fellowship with fellow Anglican evangelicals (yes ours are men, that's us). I've just remembered we had and have a congregation at Gisborne with some troubled history.

Every blessing in finding a new godly Vicar, Jane.

[jane churchland]

Thanks to all of those who have been praying with us as we seek a new minister. In church this morning it was announced that an appointment had been made, and the personal message from the new minister was very encouraging. We are expecting to welcome him at the end of April.

[Stephen Brown]

Thanks Jane for raising this one.
I did my first Curacy at St.Hilary's Kew.  That had its own unique difficulties when it came to evangelism and ministry to the local community.  Tough ministry out that way too; pretty self-reliant and capable types out that way.  Great people who can get things done.  Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness and blind spot.

I now work at St.John's Highton, Geelong.  Even though Highton is considered comfortable middle-class, the people are very different from Kew.  It's a mix of professional & working class types.  I've found evangelism and connection with the community much easier here.  People are willing to engage, chat, and listen to you talk about faith in Jesus.  They seem more open and soft in their response to the gospel.  Maybe because they don't immediately think they know everything, they see you as an equal from the get go.

I came from a blue-collar family in Mulgrave & North Dandenong.  I'm convinced that Anglicanism in Melbourne is far to high-brow for most 'common' people, we just don't speak their lingo or met them in their gathering places.  I still gag over some of the pompous rot we go on with.  We feel uncomfortable around so called 'un-educated' (no tertiary qualifications) people.  After-all, our model of ministry training basically removes our potential young ministers from their local environment and sits them in a highly academic class room to read thick books that wrangle over words for years.  Of course we need to study, but where is the practical application of those studies in our communities?  Finally, You've made it when you get our Bth or MDiv, etc, and walk the isle in the Cathedral.  Very seductive stuff!  Not bad, but subtly seductive.  Can be dangerous to our own faith.

I didn't mind study and appropriately ornate litergy, but I could've easily got sucked into the mind set of thinking that's where ministry is at.  We do need theologians and thinkers to sit in libraries and do some hard academic yakka.  But most of us are going to be on the coal face, with real people (hopefully).  We need to be more honest and discerning about what type of person God has made us into and where we fit in order to effectively proclaim his Gospel and bring him glory amongst the Lost.

My dad is a Storeman and Packer.  My mum a home-carer with the local council.  Salt of the earth, love them!  Yes, I got a couple of degrees (off the back of their hard work), but my heart will always be with the working class.  That's who I am.  And at one stage I needed to stop pretending I was something different.  That's why I am keen to stick around Geelong (in the WEST).  Lot's of positive ministry out this way happening too, just need to look a bit harder and dig in a bit deeper.

So let's be encouraged, promote the NORTH/WEST, chase good ministers that we know and call their bluff to get out here, and most importantly JUST talk to working class people about Jesus.  They really don't mind!  In fact they love talking religion and 'deep stuff' because they don't get much of it from their mates in the pub or shop floor.  They have an opinion and they'll let you know it, but they take on board what you say too. They have an incredible BS detector too!  AWESOME Ministry!  Not for the faint-hearted.  But then again, when was evangelism & ministry to the Lost supposed to be comfortable?