Manly's new senior minister, the Rev Bruce Clarke, says he is ‘having a great time' one week into his new job.
"My head is spinning as I'm still trying to take everything in. It's an amazing place to be with such a cosmopolitan mix of people," says Mr Clarke (pictured with his wife Catherine) regarding the surrounds of his new parish.
"The Corso is alive from six in the morning until ten at night. I went to the beach for a surf at 6:15am and 130 surfers were in the water."
Mr Clarke believes the busyness of the area has important implications for St Matthew's and he is keen to continue to grow in his understanding of the area.
"I have to sit, listen and learn, then start talking about how to be unified as a group of people who want to reach out," Mr Clarke says.
"My passion for my first year here is to get everyone on board with the vision of seeing St Matt's make a difference."
Mr Clarke says the process is going well so far.
"I have met with numerous people during the week and all are very keen to be very involved in the ministry of the church and make a stand for Jesus in this unique place," he says.
"There is a buzz in the area about the possibilities that are here. Archdeacon Terry Dein has done a great job as acting rector, but it's been a long time since the last full-time rector was here so the people in the church are ready and waiting to get to work."
Mr Clarke became the new rector of Manly on November 10 and his induction service was held last Saturday.
Farewell to Figtree
Mr Clarke was previously the assistant minister at Figtree Anglican Church since 1994.
After 15 years at Figtree Mr Clarke says he will miss the people there more than anything else.
"Churches have many facets to them, their culture and traditions, their history and the ways God has worked at various points of the journey. In recent years we have gone through a building programme and have this amazing building space to do ministry in," Mr Clarke says.
"But central to all of these things is the people whom the Lord is at work through as we serve him in the proclamation of the gospel. They are our spiritual family and we will greatly miss them."
Mr Clarke says the reason for the move is that he believes God has called him and his family to Manly.
"After 15 years of never wanting to leave Figtree, the Lord put a great desire in my heart to return to Sydney and move to a place that has such enormous potential for gospel ministry," Mr Clarke explains.
"St Matthew's is a great church with fantastic people and is located in one of the most unique geographic locations in Australia for doing gospel work. As soon as I went up and met with the nominators I felt a great excitement about what could be."
There are a few notable differences between doing ministry at Manly compared to ministry at Figtree, believes Mr Clarke.
"While there are some similarities, Figtree is a large regional suburban church while St Matthew's is really an urban church with a very different feel and context," he says.
As an avid fisherman and surfer, Mr Clarke says the beachside surrounds of Manly are a “side blessing”. However, he is really excited about being the leader of a passionate church.
"The great excitement for me as a leader is to come to a church with a congregation and staff of highly talented and motivated people who want to see the church go forward and make a big difference for Jesus," Mr Clarke says.
"I dream of further building up St Matt’s as a centre of mission, love, service and gospel proclamation in the region of Manly and beyond."
