20 September 2019

Dear sisters and brothers,

Synod

Work is well advanced on preparing the business paper for the Synod. The material will be with
you in a few weeks.

In order to assist members of the Synod be informed about the key business, we will load relevant
papers onto the Diocesan Website when they become available
(https://www.newcastleanglican.org.au/our-diocese/synod/). For example, the Diocesan Budget
will be uploaded as soon as it has been approved by the Diocesan Council but will be formally
circulated to Synod members with the supplementary business paper.

Synod members will recognise that Synod Legislation can come from two possible sources. The
main source is legislation approved by the Diocesan Council. The other avenue is ‘private
members bills’, that is a bill promoted by a member of Synod without it being considered by the
Diocesan Council. This year we have the following legislation to consider (drafts have been
uploaded to the Diocesan Website).

Diocesan Council Sponsored Legislation

A Bill for a Clerical Ministry Ordinance Amendment (Retirement Age) Ordinance 2019 which
proposes a framework to remove compulsory retirement ages for clergy and provide for a review
of clergy once they have reached pension age. The Bill provides for a similar framework for the
Bishop.

A Bill for an Administration of Parishes Ordinance Amendment (Audit and Review)

Ordinance 2019 follows a principle being used by the Australian Charities and Not for Profit
Commission (ACNC) and proposes that the number of parishes requiring a formal audit of their
financial statements is reduced. Those parishes would have a review rather than an audit.

A Bill for a Clergy Discipline Ordinance 2019 which intentionally uses the framework of the Clergy
Discipline Ordinance 1966 but introduces amendments to modernise the process. A new Bill was
seen as less cumbersome for the Synod than a Bill with extensive amendments to the existing
ordinance.

‘Private Members Bills’

A Bill for a Clergy Discipline Ordinance of 1966 Amending Ordinance 2019 which would
remove any disciplinary process for a member of the clergy who pronounces or declines to
pronounce a blessing of a marriage in which the persons being married are of the same sex and
would remove any disciplinary process for a member of the clergy who is married to a person of
the same sex. The Bill proposes that the Synod would have to agree at a subsequent meeting by
resolution that the Ordinance come into effect and that the Ordinance would only come into effect
with the concurrence of the Bishop.
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A Bill for Blessing of Persons Married According to the Marriage Act Regulation 2019 which
would provide for a form of service for the blessing of a marriage conducted in accordance with
the Marriage Act. The Bill proposes that the Bishop would have to stipulate a date on which the
Regulation would come into effect.

In order to ensure the Synod is not distracted by drafting issues, I directed that the Diocesan
Solicitor review the drafting of the Bills to ensure that that the intention of the movers was clear
and that the Bills are in a proper form.

Conversations about human sexuality

There is no doubt that these ‘Private Members’ Bills will cause anguish to some in the Diocesan
community as well as being a cause of celebration for others. In a real way the debate that has
being underway in the Anglican Communion for over 20 years, and is a very current debate in the
Anglican Church of Australia, will be a live debate in the formal processes of our Diocese. Our
engagement with and response to LGBTIQ+ Anglicans has been actively discussed for some time.
The Doctrine Commission of the General Synod has published a series of essays as part of this
conversation (https://anglican.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Marriage-Doctrine-Essays-
Final.pdf).

I shared with the clergy recently a summary of the main standpoints of Anglicans that has been
workshopped by Bishops Stephen Pickard and Michael Stead –

1. The church should exclude those with LGB identity because it is a sin
2. The church should encourage a person to repent of LGB identity and seek to live as a
heterosexual
3. The church should fully and unreservedly welcome people who are LGB, but expect them
to live in singleness and abstinence
4. The church should fully and unreservedly welcome LGB couples who live a celibate life
5. The church should fully and unreservedly welcome LGB couples who live in a legally
recognised civil relationship/same-sex marriage
6. The church should endorse a liturgy to bless the marriage/relationship of LGB couples
7. The church should solemnise LBG marriages as a religious marriage

All of these views are expressed within our Diocesan family and will be present within the Synod.
I have written previously to the Synod about my experience of the National Meeting of Bishops. I
am looking forward to Bishop Pickard assisting the Synod frame this significant conversation.

The Primate has already referred a similar regulation to Blessing of Persons Married According to
the Marriage Act Regulation 2019 from the Diocese of Wangaratta to the Appellate Tribunal.
Should our Synod pass this regulation and/or the Clergy Discipline Ordinance of 1966 Amending
Ordinance 2019 it is likely, and to be welcomed, that the Primate would refer them also to the
Appellate Tribunal. The combined processes of Diocesan Synods, the General Synod and the
Appellate Tribunal over the next two years will fashion what is lawful in the Anglican Church of
Australia and what approaches Diocese’s will take.

The Primate has called all of the bishops to a meeting in November because of the significance of
these deliberations. As difficult as the conversations may be for our Diocesan Synod, your bishops
will be assisted in understanding the breadths of views within the Diocese as well as the majority
and minority positions. The NSW Bishops also have a two day meeting scheduled in November.
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In speaking with and for Bishop Sonia and Bishop Charlie as well as for myself, I want to assure
you again of our commitment to exercise episcopal ministry across the breadth of the
comprehensive expression of Anglicanism we have in this Diocese. We are deeply conscious of
the sincerely but differently held views of Christians across the Diocese. We are passionate about
the way we together explore the scriptures, worship, pray, receive the sacraments and engage in
ministry.

Bill Process

The Synod is a meeting of the clergy and the laity with the Bishop. For a Bill to become an
ordinance it must be approved by the clergy and the laity and receive the assent of the Bishop.
There are two pivotal votes in the passage of a Bill. The first is that the Bill be agreed to in principle
and the second is that the Bill (as amended) do now pass. The vote of the clergy and laity is often
taken together but can be taken separately which is called a vote by houses. The Standing Orders
of Synod allow the President or the Synod to determine that a vote be by secret ballot. I have
determined in relation to the Clerical Ministry Ordinance Amendment (Retirement Age)
Ordinance 2019, the Clergy Discipline Ordinance of 1966 Amending Ordinance 2019, and
the Blessing of Persons Married According to the Marriage Act Regulation 2019 that the two
‘pivotal’ votes in each case will be by secret ballot and by houses.

In relation to assent, in NSW, the Diocesan Bishop has up to 30 days from the passage of a Bill to
signify assent otherwise a Bill lapses. In exercising their mind, the Diocesan Bishop is expected to
weigh up their own view, the view of the clergy and laity of their Diocese, and the views expressed
by bishops nationally, internationally and ecumenically. I will carefully and prayerfully use that time
for bills on complex matters.

Conclusion

I commend the Synod and its officers to your prayers. May God richly bless our work together to
his glory and the advancement of his kingdom.

Grace and peace

Dr Peter Stuart
Anglican Bishop of Newcastle