Archbishop Peter Jensen has asked whether Sydney has the "spiritual and moral resources" to care for others through possibly difficult times ahead, pointing to a growing imperative for Sydney Anglicans to connect effectively with their communities.
"Some astute observers are saying that there is a recession on the way, and that the new government is going to have to deal with a turbulence such as has not been the case in the last 11 years or so," the Archbishop has said in his address at Anglicare Sydney's annual Christmas Dinner on Wednesday night.
"If that is true" we are certainly going to pass through very difficult times as a nation, times that are going to test our moral and spiritual fibre, for we will be asked to care for each other, perhaps in ways that we haven't seen since the Great Depression."
The Archbishop " who is also the Chairman of Anglicare Sydney " suggested that with such times possibly looming, the need for the gospel in Sydney communities " and the upcoming Connect 09 campaign - will be even greater.
He referred to three highly intelligent non-Christian observers whose perspectives together indicate that modern Australian society is "morally lost" and "morally confused" with a "misunderstanding of freedom", "intolerant of failure" and "frightened to admit the truth about life and about the end of life".
However he confirmed that the gospel continues to be the salve and solution for these fears and failures.
"These issues are connected to the gospel we preach," he says, a gospel that "interacts with a strong immediacy to these concerns that exist around us".
"If my three commentators are on the money, then people everywhere are hungry for the bread of life.”
“There is a real question mark in the community as to whether we will have the moral and spiritual resources that are needed to say that my freedom is found in the service of others," he adds.
Anglicare helps parishes connect as 09 approaches
The Archbishop "warmly commends" the work of Anglicare, especially in its parish partnerships, which have seen the organisation work with parishes such as St John's, Wilberforce and St Stephen's, Newtown to reach out to people in need in local communities.
"We see churches here already beginning to do the very thing of which we have spoken, to reach out into the communities of which they are part with something which the communities can easily understand, interact with and begin to find in them the love of God through the Lord Jesus Christ," he says.
Anglicare Sydney's CEO, Peter Kell insists that pressures continue to be placed on people struggling for the basic necessities, particularly the "working poor', single-parent families, people with mental illness and the homeless.
"During a period of prosperity like the one we are now experiencing, I believe it is more important than ever to ensure that no one is left behind, particularly when it is often only lack of choice or opportunity that prevents many families and individuals from getting ahead and enjoying stronger, more stable relationships with each other and their communities," he says.
The Archbishop indicates that an element of transformation will be needed to help churches effectively reach their neighbourhoods.
"We're calling on our churches in particular so to change themselves that they will be able to reach out into the communities of which they are part to make the connections with their communities, to share the word of God with those communities and then to be open for people to join and to belong to our community."
As the "eyes and ears of the Diocese”, the Archbishop says Anglicare will play an important role in helping parishes to understand their communities and reach them effectively.
"The whole idea of the parish partnerships scheme is so integral to what we're trying to do as a diocese that Anglicare has more or less positioned itself to be one of the great engines of the work of God in this diocese."
