Bishop's Training Event

The Bishop's Training Event runs over two Saturdays in September: in Hobart on Saturday 23 September and in Launceston on Saturday 30 September.

This year's event theme will focus on taking bold risks to advance mission, relying on God to do the transforming work of bringing people to know and follow Jesus.

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.

The main morning session will feature a talk from Stephen McAlpine, a public commentator on theology and culture, on the rapidly changing face of secularism in the West. Bishop Richard will also give a talk in the afternoon main session. During the day, you are also invited to choose two workshops to attend (more information below).

The Bishop's Training Event is a free event, but you are required to register before the event to attend. All are welcome. If you register and later realise you are not able to attend, please do cancel your ticket.

If you would like to make a contribution towards the running costs of the event, and to enable us to continue delivering high quality training events, you can do that on the registration page.

About Stephen McAlpine

Stephen McAlpine is the Director for Cultural Engagement at City To City Australia, and has three decades of experience working in and planting churches in Perth. He has a background in Journalism and a keen interest in helping Christians navigate our cultural moment faithfully and fearlessly. With extensive Christian Schools' board experience, Stephen is aware of the challenges facing our Christian institutions, and the discipleship pressures on Christian families. His book Being The Bad Guys: How To Live For Jesus In a World That Says You Shouldn't, was Australian Christian Book of the Year 2021.

Program

9.15am – Bookstall opens

9.15-10am - Registration

10 - 11am – Main Session 1 (Stephen McAlpine)

11-11.30am - Morning Tea

11.30-12.30pm - Workshops 1

12.30-1.30pm – Lunch

1.30-2pm – Workshops 2

2.15-3pm – 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-12.30pm. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Primary: A great day of activities, music, learning, discussion, fun and friendship is planned for children in grades Prep-6 as we delve into the Bible together and get inspired to be bold for God’s glory. The Primary Program runs from 10am-3pm 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: If you are in Grades 7-10, you will automatically be registered for the Youth Workshop which will run from 11:30-2pm and includes a fully paid for and youth-only lunch! We think this workshop would be amazing for young people in Grade 11 and 12 as well, although it's up to you to opt-in. The Youth Workshop is the ultimate workshop for all young people. This will run offsite, a short walk from the main conference area. You will engage with Stephen McAlpine's talk, hear testimonies from our youth leaders and connect with youth from across Hobart.

LAUNCESTON

A creche for toddlers through to Kindergarten age will be running from 10am-12.30pm. 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 3:00pm. 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: If you are in Grades 7-10, you will automatically be registered for the Youth Workshop which will run from 11:30-2pm and includes a fully paid for and youth-only lunch! We think this workshop would be amazing for young people in Grade 11 and 12 as well, although it's up to you to opt-in. The Youth Workshop is the ultimate workshop for all young people. You will engage with Stephen McAlpine's talk, hear testimonies from our youth leaders and connect with youth from across Northern Tasmania.

Morning Tea and Lunch

HOBART

Morning tea will be provided.

At lunch a gold coin-donation BBQ will be run. There are also a number of shops close by for those who are interested in that. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch.

LAUNCESTON

Morning tea will be provided.

At lunch a gold-coin donation BBQ will be run onsite with all donations going to the Launceston AFES group. We are aiming to have a couple of other food options onsite. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch.

Workshops

The workshops in Session 1 run for an hour and in Session 2 run for half an hour.

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.

In Hobart, the Youth Workshop and one other workshop will be held offsite at the Kingborough Community Centre (a 5 minute walk away).

Session 1

Bringing your whole self to work (and why that's a problem) - Stephen McAlpine

Work has moved from a means of material production in the West, to a means of identity production. The best of our work is satisfying and provides a level of meaning as well as financial security. But what happens when work wants more? More, not just of your time and your effort, but your allegiances and values? How does the Christian navigate the increasingly complex world of the modern workforce and its agenda?

Creating safe spaces for children and people who have experienced trauma - Mary Blake

Children and adults attending our churches, youth groups, camps and other programs may have experienced trauma and broken attachments. This may present as big emotions, unhealthy attachments, and harmful behaviours and leave us unsure how to support the individual, their family, and others in our churches. In this workshop you will gain an understanding of simple, complex, and developmental trauma and how these impact children and adults. With understanding, the workshop will explore strategies to create safe spaces for those who experienced trauma and broken attachments and others.

Mary Blake is the Executive Officer of Fostering Hope, a Christian organisation that exists to reflect Christ’s love by supporting at-risk children, and those who care for them. Mary is a mum to five sons, two biological sons and three sons who entered her home through care. Mary is also involved in her community, Chairing the school association, coaching her kids sports, and in the local community association.

HOBART ONLY: Do our young people think being the “bad guy” is worth it? - Kate Boughton & Beck Gough

Peter’s image of believers as foreigners and exiles in 1 Peter 2 is a beautifully appropriate one for what life is increasingly like for Christians today. But, is being different to the world around us - knowing that you won’t fit in, an attractive reality for our young people? To top it off, what if the Christian faith makes you the “bad guy”? Is following Jesus really worth all of that?? Our workshop is not promising all the answers, but it’s going to address how we can help our children and young people answer ‘yes’ to this question.

Beck Gough enjoys her dream job as the Assistant Chaplain at St Michael’s Collegiate - teaching Faith and Life and running Chapel for 200 students each week. Since graduating from UTAS with an Arts Psychology degree, she has done a ministry apprenticeship, studied Preaching & a Master of Divinity at Sydney Missionary & Bible College, and completed an Education degree. Beck is married to Sam, and mum to two spirited children – Henry and Phoebe, and two even more energetic labradoodles. She enjoys coffee, audiobooks and walking along the beach.

Kate Boughton is in awe of Beck Gough and has the privilege of working alongside her as Chaplain at St Michael’s Collegiate. For a longtime now Kate has worked with children and young people in a number of different contexts, in different roles and in a couple of different states of Australia. Even after all these years she still thinks that it is a privilege to share Jesus with young people and their families, to work with and alongside them, and those who care for them, as they navigate life and faith, praying always that they will find life to full in Jesus.

HOBART ONLY: Connecting with God's mission through things you love - Kim Beales (COMMUNITY CENTRE - 5 MINS WALK AWAY)

Could it be that making time for some of the things you love might actually serve God's gospel purposes? What might that look like in your life? You are invited to a workshop and conversation exploring the connection between your interests and God's great gospel purposes.

Kim Beales is the minister at St Mark's Anglican Church Bellerive. He's married to Kate, and father to Amelie, Zac & Jeremy. He loves song-writing, reading, food, conversation and getting out for a run. He's also a cricket enthusiast who dabbles in over 40's cricket! Kim is likely to be seen most mornings reading, writing and reflecting at a café on Hobart's eastern shore. His heart is for helping people meet Jesus and discover the treasures that can be found through faith in Him.

LAUNCESTON ONLY: How to think about the Voice to Parliament as a Christian - Michael Guerzoni

The Voice to Parliament is topical within the Australian media as of late, with polarising perspectives being presented by various activists, academics, community members, and politicians. Amongst this plethora of perspectives it can be difficult to know how to approach the topic. This workshop will offer a Christian perspective for our decision making on this matter.

Mike Guerzoni (PhD, University of Tasmania) is a criminologist at the School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania. He coordinates the unit ‘Indigenous Justice Issues’ within the Bachelor of Justice Studies, and is involved in research on the wellbeing and educational success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

LAUNCESTON ONLY: How to help teens make the jump to young adult faith - Mikey Lynch & Christine Jolly

Drawing on their experience working with university students, Mikey and Christine will share advice and underlying values for families and churches to help emerging adults become established in Christian faith, life and ministry.

Christine Jolly is the Community and Fellowship Groups Overseer for the Uni Fellowship of Christians. She is married to Mike and mum to Olivia and Ella. Together they enjoy taking the occasional big trip overseas to visit family, ride bikes and make new friends. She studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and has been serving the local church community in many ways since moving to Tasmania in 2007. Christine wants students to confidently follow Jesus through all seasons of their lives.

Mikey Lynch is the Campus Director of the University Fellowship of Christians, University of Tasmania, Hobart. Mikey was a founder of The Vision 100 Tasmanian church planting network and is currently a board member of Reach Australia. He is also the Editorial Director of The Gospel Coalition Australia and the chairman of New Front Door: the Church IT Guild. Mikey is the author of The Vine Movement and The Good Life in the Last Days. Mikey is married to Nikki and has three children. He loves cooking, fishing, reading and rollerblading.

Session 2

How to parent in this new era: worshipping the King versus reading with queens - Stephen McAlpine

It's no easy task helping our children navigate the sexualised world, a world coming to a public library near you. How do we instruct our children in the ways of God confidently and fearlessly, in a culture that celebrates what the Bible prohibits, and prohibits what the Bible celebrates? There's a way to do it, and it's grounded in timeless gospel truths.

How to know if you are called - Bishop Richard

We are all called to love and serve God. Some people are gifted and called to serve God in vocational Christian ministry as clergy, pastoral workers, evangelists, pastors, chaplains, missionaries, youth ministers, or children’s ministers. How do you know if you are called to this? This workshop will explore these questions and challenge you to consider whether God might be leading you in this direction. You don’t have to know the answer to the question to join the workshop, or even think it might be a question you should ask. Anyone is welcome.

Bishop Richard has been encouraging people to explore vocational Christian ministry for many years, partly because he loves what he does and wants to share that joy with others. Before coming to Tasmania, he taught at Ridley College where was preparing people for vocational ministry. He also spent 15 years in a parish that, during that period, sent over 30 people to train for vocational ministry and 20 people to the mission field. He has lots of interests outside of ministry including gardening, woodwork and cooking to name a few. He is married to Helen, and they have two adult children.

How to talk to people who are different to you - Tess Delbridge

As Christians, we follow the one who befriended tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. Yet sometimes we find ourselves reluctant to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, and instead fall back into comfortable relationships with those in the same age and stage as us, with those who look, dress and act the same as us.

Is it even possible to step outside our comfort zone and learn to embrace those who are different to us? This workshop will give you some guiding principles and lots of practical steps to get you started.

Tess Delbridge is the Executive Assistant to Bishop Richard Condie. Since graduating the University of New South Wales with a Science degree she has done half a PhD, a ministry apprenticeship with AFES in Wollongong and Mexico City, a Theology degree at Moore College, and has worked as a freelance writer, a journalist, in public relations and now she works for the Diocese. She is married to Mark and lives in Launceston.

HOBART ONLY: How to think about the Voice to Parliament as a Christian - Michael Guerzoni

HOBART ONLY: How to help teens make the jump to young adult faith - Mikey Lynch & Christine Jolly (COMMUNITY CENTRE - 5 MINS WALK AWAY)

LAUNCESTON ONLY: The comfort of the Cross - David Rogers-Smith

For Jesus, the cross brought only humiliation and suffering. But for His followers, the cross brings comfort. How can that be? This workshop will give us the tools to help us experience four of the deep and daily comforts available to the believer: love, justification, the purpose of suffering and endurance.

David Rogers-Smith was a self-absorbed, morally compromised, God-avoiding sinner whom God was pleased to call and save 39 years ago. David’s been active in Christian ministry for the last 37 years, with Bible Society NSW, Bush Church Aid, Sydney Missionary & Bible College, and in ordained Anglican ministry. David and his wife, Julie, have served in rural, regional, and urban Australia. They have two adult children, one in Canada, the other in Brisbane. David’s loves are Jesus, the Bible, Julie, their children and family, God’s family, preaching and teaching the Bible, the beach, and riding his Yamaha V-Star 650 cruiser. He currently serves as the pastor-teacher for Bridge of Hope Anglican Church, Port Sorell/Latrobe NWTAS.

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.