Bishop's Training Event 2024

The 2024 Bishop's Training Event will run over two Saturdays in October: in Hobart on Saturday 19 October and in Launceston on Saturday 26 October.

The 2024 guest speaker is Simon Smart, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity.

This year's event theme will focus on how we can persevere in making disciples of Jesus, in order to see a harvest.

The Hobart Bishop's Training Event will be held at St Clements Anglican Church, 100 Beach Rd, Kingston.

The Launceston Bishop's Training Event will be held at Worldview College for Intercultural Studies, 41 Station Rd, St Leonards.

The Bishop’s Training Event is an annual event for all Anglicans from around Tasmania to gather together to learn and grow and be encouraged.

2024 Program

9-10am – Registration, resource fair and morning tea

10 - 11am – Main Session 1 (Simon Smart)

11-11:15am - Short Break

11.15-12.15pm - Workshops Session 1

12.15-1.15pm – Lunch

1.15-2:15pm – Workshops Session 2

2:15-2:30 - Short Break

2.30-3:30pm – Main Session 2 (Bishop Richard Condie)

Children and Young People at the Bishop's Training Event

HOBART

A creche for toddlers through to Kindergarten age will be running from 10am-12.15pm. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Primary (Prep-Grade 6): A great day of activities, music, learning, discussion, fun and friendship is planned for children in grades Prep-6. The Primary Program runs from 10am-3:30pm on-site (starting in the main session with the grown ups). Not only will the kids have full hearts as we learn about God’s mission, his followers and His love for the world, they’ll also have full tummies as all food is provided. We look forward to seeing you there!

Youth (Grades 7-12): A program that samples LiT (Leaders-in-Training) Camp, whether or not you've been to it yet. It's for people in Grades 7-12. We'll have a lot of fun, engage with the Scriptures, and put into practice what we've learned as leaders-in-training with the children and with the adults. Oh and there's lunch for all youth who come. The youth program runs from 11:15am-2:15pm, with the option to stay on and help lead the primary program from 2:15-3:30pm or go back to the final main session with the adults. In Hobart, the Youth program will be held offsite at the Kingborough Community Centre (a 10 minute walk away).

Alternatively, Grade 7 -12s can remain in the main program with their responsible adult.

LAUNCESTON

A creche for toddlers through to Kindergarten age will be running from 10am-12.15pm. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Primary (Prep - Grade 6) – Children will start with parents and carers in the main morning session, leave around 10:20am and return at 3:30pm. This day is run on-site at Worldview, with lots of fun activities, games, and songs, all while learning about how we can use our gifts and talents for God’s Glory and the Great Commission. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are all provided.

Youth (Grades 7-12): A program for Grades 7-12 in Launceston is still being finalised. It will run from 11:15am, after the first main session. More info coming soon.

Alternatively, Grade 7 -12s can remain in the main program with their responsible adult.

Morning Tea and Lunch

HOBART

Morning tea will be provided before the first session.

Lunch - Anglican Camping will be running a BBQ onsite and there will also be a food van from Taco Taco. Alternatively you can BYO lunch but please do not bring any nuts.

LAUNCESTON

Morning tea will be provided before the first session.

Lunch - Anglican Camping will be running a BBQ onsite and there will also be another food option onsite (still TBC). Alternatively you can BYO lunch but please do not bring any nuts.

Keynote Talk - Simon Smart

“Public Christianity for a Post-Christian & anxious age.”

Increasingly in the West, Christian faith seems headed for the margins. Considered outdated, irrelevant or even sinister by some, it is certainly alien territory for many others.

The challenges in promoting the truth, beauty and goodness of the Christian story are many and varied.

But Simon Smart thinks this is not the time for pessimism, fear and withdrawal. Instead, he believes the Christian message, clearly articulated and embodied, still resonates powerfully with a society that is struggling to find satisfying answers to life’s deepest questions.

Workshops

The workshops run for an hour and are more interactive than the main sessions.

When registering for the Bishop's Training Event you will get to choose which workshops you would like to attend. You can select up to one workshop per session. Please note that there are attendance limits on some workshops, and spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. If you do not select a workshop, you will be allocated to the one running in the largest space.

Session 1

Telling a better story: connecting with 21st Century Australia - Simon Smart

Building on his keynote address, Simon will focus on the ways that the Christian gospel can speak into the lives of 21^st Century Australians even though they are increasingly estranged from the Christian story. We will consider the many and varied ways Christianity illuminates universal human longings that haven’t changed and remain fertile ground for a well-communicated and lived-out faith.

Simon will encourage us to see how our shifting cultural moment need not only be seen as a threat to faith but in fact an opportunity for gifting a hurting people with a story they desperately need to hear.

Simon Smart is Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity. A former English and History teacher, Simon has a Masters in Christian Studies from Regent College, Vancouver. He is the host of the Life & Faith podcast. He is the co-author of For God's Sake: An Atheist, a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim Debate Religion, and was co-presenter and co-writer of the historical documentary For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined. Simon’s writing has appeared in such places as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC, The Australian, and The Guardian. He lives on Sydney’s northern beaches and is an increasingly inept but enthusiastic surfer.

How to go to church - Richard Condie

We all do it, but it is easy to get into unhelpful habits, and not think intentionally about why and how we go to worship and serve God’s people. This workshop will look at why we go to church, what we should do when we get there, and how we can make a real difference in serving God. From preparing for the sermon, to choosing a seat, to singing with conviction, we will try and work out how to go to church for the glory of God and the service of his people.

Richard Condie is the Bishop of Tasmania. He is married to Helen and has a small black woolly dog called Dotti. He loves to cook, garden and work with wood. He has a lot of experience in going to church.

Faith in Action - Welcoming Refugees to Tasmania - Helen Condie

There is a repeated refrain in the scriptures encouraging us to 'love those who are foreigners' (Deut 10:19). We know that the Lord our God 'raises the poor from the dust.....and seats them with princes' (Ps 113:7,8). We see Jesus' love for the poor, the vulnerable and the outcasts on many occasions. But how do we put these principles into practice? I'm sure there are many ways to care for the 'foreigners' in our society, but a way that 18 Tasmanian Anglicans are seeking to do this is to be involved in supporting newly arrived refugee families through a new community support program. We have been encouraged by God's kindness and provision as we step out in faith in this ministry. Come and hear about the program and our experiences so far.

This workshop will be led by Helen Condie from St Clements, Kingston. Helen is married to Bishop Richard and has lived in Hobart for eight and a half years. She decided to retire from 30 years in General Practice a few years ago and prayed that the Lord would direct her path for the next season of life. Helen retrained as an English language teacher and does relief teaching in the Adult Migrant English Program at TAFE in Hobart. She has always had a heart for those outside the local church and after hearing about the new CRISP (Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot) Program, decided to step out in faith and gather others with a common interest in getting involved in welcoming refugee families to Tasmania. Her group welcomed a Congolese family of 9 to Hobart in May this year.

Session 2

What to do about the boys? - Simon Smart

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, terrible domestic violence statistics, and enormous cultural shifts of recent decades, there are significant and legitimate questions about masculinity today. What should we be aiming for in the rearing of our sons? What aspects of masculinity should we be seeking to reframe?

In his new book The End of Men? Simon Smart argues that boys won’t simply know how to be good men. They will have to be shown.

So, how do we go about creating spaces that increase the likelihood of boys growing into men you’d want to be around if you were a child, a teenager, a woman, or another man. What are the lessons, the rituals, the wisdom that can be imparted to foster an environment whereby boys can become their best selves and be a gift to those around them?

This workshop will address these questions, asking what the Bible might have to tell us about this urgent issue.

So you’re retired…..what now? - Greg and Anne Foot

Retirement is not a Christian concept. This workshop will explore appropriate ways that, as we age and our capacities decline, we can keep on serving the Lord while he gives us the strength to do so, and at the same time have space in our lives for grandchildren, travel and leisure activities. And we will explore how church leaders can encourage older members to continue to serve in ways commensurate with their gifts and abilities.

Anne and Greg Foot have been married for 57 years.

They have 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandson, and they serve in the parish of Kingston.

Anne has extensive work experience in the childcare, education and welfare sectors, while Greg worked for 30 years in state secondary schools, then later at World Vision and at Scripture Union in school chaplaincy.

Anne has served the Diocese as Director of Professional Standards and has been closely involved in a number of child abuse enquiries.

Greg has been on the ministry team at St Clements Kingston since 2011.

How to run an evangelistic course - Anita Booker

As we look ahead to Hope25 this elective will cover how to prepare and encourage your congregation to pray , plan and invite a friend, neighbour, family member or colleague to an evangelistic course whether that be for one person or twenty. We will cover some practicalities about prayer, invitation, hospitality, building a team and follow up.

Anita Booker attends St Mark's Anglican Church in Bellerive and is passionate about seeing people explore faith and the hope we have in Jesus. She came to faith while studying nursing in London thanks to two faithful Christian friends and the work of the Holy Spirit in her heart. More recently Anita has had the privilege of working for Alpha Australia and hearing of many people coming to believe in Jesus and of churches growing as they reach out to those in their local community.

How can rural and city churches partner together in making disciples of Jesus? - Josh Skeat

In this session we will look at the idea of Gospel partnership in the New Testament, as well as consider practical ways that Parishes, big and small, rural and city, can partner with others in sharing the Gospel.

Josh Skeat is both the Rector of the Parish of Ulverstone, and serves as the Tasmanian Regional Officer for Bush Church Aid. He is passionate about people having the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus and loves to support local churches as they partner with others in Mission. Josh has served in a variety of ministry contexts throughout Tasmania, including Launceston (Riverlinks) and Deloraine.

About the Bishop's Training Event

The Bishop's Training Event provides both theological and practical teaching, grounding us in God’s word and also providing us the opportunity to learn some new skills with practical workshops, for example, in evangelism and discipleship, ministry to all ages, prayer, mission, leadership, and public worship.

At the heart of our Vision to be a church for Tasmania, making disciples of Jesus, is developing a network of flourishing parish centres across our Diocese working together with our other Anglican ministries, schools and agencies. It is hoped that people leave the training event encouraged, with greater knowledge of God, and some practical skills and ideas to grow a flourishing parish and to serve God in the community and with their whole life.

Contact Us

This Diocese is committed to training people for ministry and partnering with our parishes, chaplaincies, schools and agencies to see this happen. If you require further information about training please contact the Director of Ministry Development.