Hundreds gathered to farewell Bishop Peter Hayward and his wife Julie at Figtree Anglican Church in Wollongong as tributes praised his faithful pastoral leadership and unwavering commitment to God's people.
“The word that came to me to describe Peter was unflinching,” Archbishop Kanishka Raffel said in his address. “Because bishops end up in difficult, complex, messy and painful places where you might, if you had the choice, prefer not to go.
“But there's a pastor or a sheep who needs you to be there and Peter has never flinched to be there with the word of God, with prayer, with the weapons of righteousness. And for that, we're very grateful.”
Archbishop Raffel was joined at the service by the three previous Archbishops of Sydney – Harry Goodhew, Peter Jensen and Glenn Davies.
Three clergy wives spoke of the impact of Mrs Hayward, summed up by Paula McPhail who said, “Julie has impacted many lives for Christ, and when Peter was appointed Bishop of the Illawarra our region was blessed, not only with a faithful bishop, but with a marvellous woman of God.”
Burning lamps
One of the region’s pastors, the Rev Stu Crawshaw of Soul Revival Church in the Shire, picked up the imagery of Matthew 25 in his tribute.
“Throughout your ministry as bishop,you have taught us pastors to keep our lamps burning until Jesus comes,” Mr Crawshaw said. “You've taught us to honour God, who is generous and kind, to see our role as a spiritual endeavour, not just a human effort. You've constantly reminded us that to trust in Christ means everything.
“Your legacy will live on in the churches, ministries and people you've influenced, and most of all, it will live on in those who keep burning their lamps.”
After a service led by Stacey Chapman and the Archdeacon of Wollongong Anthony Douglas, an official gift of a large photo of the Wollongong shoreline was presented to Bishop Hayward. Archdeacon Douglas described the gift as “a reflection of our thankfulness for you, and for the way that you have loved us and prayed for us”.
In saying farewell, Bishop Hayward revealed the question he had been asked most, wherever in the region he visited.
“Of all the questions I've had over the 16 years of being a bishop, the number one question I get is simply this: ‘What does a bishop do?’,” he said. “The flippant answer of course is… ‘He visits the churches and answers the question, what does a bishop do?’
“That's not actually the case. I wish I could give a clear answer, but… I'm going to leave that to [the new bishop] Jono Squire to answer. But for now this particular bishop and his wife will say ‘Thank you’ for your love and support over the years.”
