Lalor Park is not in the northern region, but there is a special reason the parish was well represented at the consecration of Sydney's newest bishop.
The Reverend Chris Edwards was consecrated as the Bishop of North Sydney on Saturday 29th March at St Andrew’s Cathedral, before a congregation including representatives of parishes and bishops from as far away as South Australia and Tasmania.
But it was the church at Lalor Park, where Mr Edwards came to faith, which received a special place at the proceedings.
The Bishops presenting him for consecration, retired Bishops Peter Watson and Reg Piper, were rector and curate when Mr Edwards was in the youth group at Lalor Park. Also present were two other former rectors of the parish, Archdeacon Ian Cox and North Sydney’s Simon Manchester, who spoke from Acts 6.
Mr Edwards carried the bible used by his late father when he was commissioned for work with the Church Army.
The new Bishop is a church planter, with experience in Australia and overseas.
He was the founding minister of Holy Trinity Adelaide Hills, in South Australia and later led St Paul’s Anglican Church, Tervuren, Belgium. Since returning to Australia, he has been the Mission Director of Anglican Retirement Villages, ARV, in Sydney.
ARV CEO Rob Freeman prayed for Mr Edwards as he goes into his new role.
In his sermon, Mr Manchester also spoke of prayer support for the new bishop and his wife Belinda, from around the diocese.
“Your position is full of pressure. We are with you 100 percent.” Mr Manchester said. “Your position opens great doors. We hope you go through those doors strong in prayer and word and whether you speak to hundreds of outsiders who need saving faith or hundreds of insiders who need growing faith, we trust they will get from you a model of what pleases God and what his priorities are….”
52 year old Mr Edwards will take on the oversight of the Northern Region, which contains 64 parishes, including some of the largest churches in Sydney and emerging multicultural ministries.It stretches north from Sydney Harbour to the Central Coast.
The previous Bishop of North Sydney was Dr Davies, who held the position from 2001 until being named Archbishop of Sydney last year.
All Photos: Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos
