The Anglican Church, Brisbane Diocese, is led by Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, supported by Bishops Rob Nolan, Geoff Smith and Jonathan Holland.
Street address: St Martin House, 373 Ann St, Brisbane QLD 4000
Postal address: GPO Box 421, Brisbane QLD 4001,
Phone: (07) 3835 2222, Fax: (07) 3832 5030 E-mail: info@anglicanbrisbane.org.au
Media Inquiries: Darrin Davies, Mobile: 0420970605 Phone: 0738352210, Email: ddavies@anglicanbrisbane.org.au
Webmaster: webmaster@anglicanbrisbane.org.au
Visit: http://www.anglicanbrisbane.org.au/
Brief Description/History
The Diocese of Brisbane covers 542,000 square kilometers of southern Queensland and extends west to the Northern Territory and South Australian borders, south to the News South Wales border and north to Bundaberg.
The Diocese of Brisbane is led by Archbishop Dr Phillip Aspinall who is also Australia’s Primate. Dr Aspinall is assisted in the Diocese by the Rt Rev Robert Nolan, Bishop of the Western Region, the Rt Rev Jonathan Holland, Bishop of the Northern Region and the Rt Rev Geoff Smith, Bishop of the Southern Region.
Also assisting the Archbishop in Brisbane is Archbishop's Chaplain The Rev Canon Richard Tutin. There are many other clergy who form an integral part of our faith community including Archdeacons, Canons, Priests, Deacons and of course parishioners.
The Diocese of Brisbane includes many dedicated people who are actively engaged in Ministry, serving God through various ministries and commissions. From primary schools to residential aged care facilities, community care and social service programs the Church community aims to serve the members and in doing so reflect something of the unity in diversity of God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Anglican Church is involved in many Ministries through its many lay volunteers in the Parishes focusing on serving the wider community.
The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Brisbane also engages with the broader community in a number of ways. The Hospital Chaplaincy program is well received with Chaplains on call 24 hours a day to visit numerous hospitals throughout the diocese. Their day to day duties can be demanding as Chaplains come into contact with grief and trauma on a daily basis.
The Parish and Other Mission Agencies Commission also supports the St John’s College Council, the Anglican Committee for Ecumenical Affairs, the Stewardship Committee AngliGreen, Police Chaplaincy, Corrective Services Chaplaincy, Mission to Seamen, Tertiary Chaplaincy, Aboriginal, Torres Strait, Sudanese, and Interfaith Dialogue amongst others.
The Parishes and Other Mission Agencies Commission (PMC) is a new approach to organisational structure within the Diocese and is intended to complement the existing Episcopal Regions with their pastoral, liturgical and strategic mission functions.
The Anglicans bring together traditions from the early centuries of Christianity, ancient Celtic Christianity, medieval Catholicism and the European Reformation of the sixteenth century. The name ‘Anglican’ indicates roots in the Church of England and still involves being in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Today, Anglicans embrace a variety of languages and cultures from many different parts of the world, giving distinctive features to our worship, church life and theology. Anglicans today are actively exploring how our own land and multicultural heritage enrich Australian Anglicanism. Anglicans world-wide are seeking to reflect something of the unity-in-diversity of God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit: three persons in one God.
Information supplied by Canon Dr Don Edwards, BD, PhD, Grad Cert ED
Rector of St Peter the Fisherman, Bramble Bay
Diocese of Brisbane
Activities
St. John’s Cathedral co-sponsored with the Multi-Faith Centre and Queensland Churches Together, the 2006 Brisbane’s Multi-Faith celebration of the International Day of Peace held at St. John’s Cathedral, Ann Street. Leaders of Queensland’s faiths joined children teachers, parents and the general public for the celebration. St. John’s historic bells rang out for peace, multi-faith prayers were said and biodegradable balloons with peace messages of the children were released and the students’ voices massed to perform a special peace song. Peace prayers, reflections and messages from diverse faiths and cultures were compiled into a resource book circulated throughout Australia and abroad.
Since 2004, Leaders and members of the Anglican Church in Brisbane have participated in various activities and programs of the Multi-Faith Centre of Griffith University, including readings in multi-faith prayer services, presenting papers in interfaith conferences and symposia, and lectures on core beliefs and values of Christianity in the MAQ-funded MFC Interfaith Dialogue Training Program in 2008.
Towards the healing of the world’s ills: The Cathedral west windows.
Excerpted from The Eagle, Vol 2 No 2 Autumn 2008 (Magazine of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane):
Fundamentalism, terrorism, nationalism and the other fruits of human tribalism are unsettling the world. Many groups seem to be retreating to their little corner and becoming defensive … various religious groups trade insults and draw battle lines; racial and ethnic groups seek to live in what might become ghettos rather than nation-states.
Recognising how destructive this dynamic is, some are working to develop dialogue across the barbed wire fences.
St. John’s Cathedral community is determined to be an instrumental part of this healing movement. As a contribution we intended to set aside the North-West portion of the Nathex as a space for dialogue; a place for interfaith conversation, for open discourse between science and religion, and a place for uncovering a common ethic for life.
We are in the process of equipping the space with images which symbolise this desire.
The main source of such imagery will be a series of windows commissioned for the area from artist Glenn Mack.
While the majority of the religious symbolism contained in the windows is overtly Christian, the inclusion of other elements conveys our intention to engage in dialogue…
… The inclusion of ‘non-Christian’ names for the divine reminds us that for true dialogue to occur those who come need to find something of their self in the dialogue space…
… We trust that this complex of images will invite all dialogue partners to enter into conversation with a deep sense of awe. That all will be reminded that our silences, openness, and desire to listen may be more important than the words we speak. So that when we do speak, we might do so with a deep sense of reverence.
The Revd Canon Dr. Peter Catt, Sub Dean of St. John’s Cathedral
COVENANT OF UNDERSTANDING with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane