2009

Tuesday 26th May 2009
Churches' Historic Covenant: One Year On

As Christian churches throughout Australia join together to celebrate the 2009 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Catholic Dioceses of Maitland-Newcastle and Broken Bay and the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle will come together this Wednesday evening, May 27th, to renew their commitment to the Covenant during a ceremony at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

According to Bishop Michael Malone of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, "Our three dioceses have taken some significant steps towards greater unity during the first year of our Covenant. Last May, Bishop Brian Farran (Anglican Diocese of Newcastle) and I led a pilgrimage 'In the Footsteps of St Paul' in which 44 members of the Anglican and Catholic communities travelled to Greece and Turkey. The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle have also embarked upon a joint approach to the management of professional standards."

Bishop David Walker from the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay said that the three Diocesan Ecumenical Commissions “continue to meet regularly, working to find new expressions of our Covenant, as well as our unity with all of our Christian brothers and sisters. Parish and regional communities have come together for worship on feast days and during Lent and Easter and Advent and Christmas. They have gathered together in times of particular need and at times of rejoicing. Ordained members of our communities have prayed, planned, explored and come together for joint clergy days; strengthening unity among us all."

According to Bishop Brian Farran of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, "On Wednesday evening we will give thanks for these and other significant ways in which we are living out our Covenant together. We will also acknowledge and lament the ways in which we are unable to come together and those things which are still left undone.”

“We are saddened that we cannot mark the stages of our faith journey by celebrating sacraments together,” Bishop Brian said. “We regret that we are unable to gather together in small rural communities to worship on Sundays. We also feel very deeply the reality that we are unable to share a common Communion table. This means that when we worship together, we cannot receive Communion together.”

“The Covenant is a reminder for us all that within the one faith community, the Body of Christ, we share a responsibility to bring ourselves into closer relationships with other Christians,” Bishop David said. “As we affirm our commitment in this gathering, we acknowledge this responsibility and pledge to continue the things that we are doing together, with a commitment to be open to further involvement in the future.”

What: Ceremony of Renewal of Tri-Diocesan Covenant
When: This Wednesday, 27 May at 7.45pm
Where: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hunter Street, Newcastle West

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