The inaugural SDS Church Administration Conference has "sold out' with 550 wardens, parish councillors and treasurers slated to attend this Saturday's free event.
From 9am this Saturday, the Wesley Conference Centre will be swimming with Sydney Anglicans keen to get the latest tips for parish administration.
Manager, Clergy and Church Support Services Michael Newman says he was initially unsure about the kind of response the pilot conference would receive.
"Initially I thought if we got 150 people attending we'd be happy with that. We now have 550 and it's fully booked. If we didn't close registrations last week we would have got 600 plus."
There are representatives from 155 parishes attending which means more than half the Diocese will be represented at the conference.
Mr Newman says the main purpose of the conference is to encourage parish councillors and wardens that their role is very important for ministry.
"Administration helps ministry. I always think of the part in Acts where Peter and Paul are starting out and they ensure others were chosen to assist the poor and the widows. They don't get caught up in that administration but they see it as important that it gets done," Mr Newman says.
In many parishes, administration becomes a burden on the rector, so Mr Newman hopes wardens and parish councillors will be encouraged to see the value in their role of assisting their minister in this work.
Over four sessions, key SDS employees and a chartered accountant will share their expertise in a range of areas relating to church administration.
Following a welcome by SDS CEO Rodney Dredge and a devotion led by Bishop Peter Tasker, Manager of SDS Legal Services, Steve Lucas will share his insight on "What every church warden and parish councillor needs to know'.
Partner at Pascoe Whittle Chartered Accountants, John Pascoe will share practical tips for managing parish finances, and Michael Newman will give advice on ministry staff remuneration.
Finally, SDS Parish Relationship Manager Warren Stanley will release module 2 of the Parish Risk Management Program which continues on from module 1 which was released last September. This module will include information about safety hazards, noise pollution and managing contractors.
"This is another part of an overall strategy by SDS to better assist and resource parishes," Mr Newman says.
"We will receive feedback from the conference about how successful it was and see if this is the best format for communicating with parishes."
For parishes with no representatives attending the conference, SDS will be sending out a free DVD of the conference with extra materials that are useful for church administration.
Proving that there still is such a thing as a free lunch, SDS are also providing free morning tea and lunch to all those in attendance.
