A handful of millimetres of rain a year; dry; hot; high pollution levels; one of the highest densities of people per square kilometre in the world; driving a car is like being in the chariot race in Ben Hur! This is the wonderful city of Cairo.

At the kind invitation of Bishop Mouneer Anis, Bishop of the Diocese of Egypt, I spent the first two weeks of May there. I was invited to preach at the opening and closing services of Synod and to take the daily Bible studies.

The Synod Address given by Bishop Mouneer stressed the need for his diocese to become a ‘Missionary Diocese’, to move from ‘maintenance to outreach ministry’ – to search out and take hold of every gospel opportunity, and to establish a School of Theology in Egypt to train future clergy and laity for ministry.
Each congregation, set in many different cultures, was seeking to come to grips with the changes going on around them.

I found it a time of great encouragement and became aware again of the abundant resources we have in Sydney, under God, for gospel outreach and training.

Reflecting on my visit, I became aware that spending all the time we did before our last synod, and at the synod itself, working on our four Policies was not wasted time.

It is great to have a hunger and desire to reach out with the gospel. However, without some practical plan we could simply have good intentions and actually do nothing. Our four Policies are therefore very important as we work out the focus and plans for both the Diocese as a whole and our individual churches.

In Georges River, the regional council members are aware that they need to drive the Mission Policies. They have asked the area deans to give their attention to policy one (prayer). Our parish ministry Taskforce, children’s and youth Taskforce, and leadership Taskforce are working on policy two and three (multiplying congregations and training). The executive of the regional council is working on policy four (changing diocesan structures).

Each group will contact parishes in the Region to share practical ways in which we can encourage and support each other as we together serve God.

Individuals and groups have been discussing the Policies, and in so doing we have all become more conscious that without prayer and spiritual vitality, we struggle in our own strength and with our own agendas, which will not grow the Kingdom of God.

Our cry to the Lord needs to echo the cry of David as expressed in Psalm 51:10 – “create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” This cry could only come after God had confronted David with his sin and rebellion against him. David acknowledged his sin and recognised that cleansing and washing could only be his as a result of God’s mercy and grace, flowing from his compassion and unfailing love.

It is only then that “the Lord could open his lips, and his mouth declare God’s praise.” The Psalm concludes with David being reminded that what the Lord requires above all else is “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.”

Serving is important. However, our daily, personal walk with the Lord is the most important thing. John expresses this as ‘walking in the light as God is in the light’. Walking in the light is a fellowship activity and can only occur when we are aware that “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”  (1 John 1)
Let us work together to find ways in which we can encourage and support each other to drive Policy One.

Peter Tasker
Bishop of Georges River Region