wfn.org | ACNS3706 Bathurst ordination of military chaplains a 'first'

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3706     |     AUSTRALIA	  |	10 DECEMBER 2003 

Bathurst ordination of military chaplains a 'first'

by Lewis Hitchick

[ACNS source: Bathurst Diocesan News] Last weekend's ordination at All
Saints' Cathedral in Bathurst marked the first time the Anglican Church
in Australia has specifically ordained anyone for service as a military
chaplain.

Helen Dinsmore and Clyde Appleby were ordained deacons in the ceremony,
and will now spend two years of on-the-job training in parish ministry
within the Diocese of Bathurst before they are commissioned as chaplains
to the armed services.

Both have spent many years in military service - Helen Dinsmore holds
the rank of Squadron Leader in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF),
while Clyde Appleby is an officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

In the past, military chaplaincy positions have been filled by clergy
who have worked in mainstream parish ministry.

The Dean of All Saints' Cathedral, the Very Revd Andrew Sempell (a
former military chaplain himself), said the significance of this
ordination is that it will be the first in the Anglican Church of
Australia to include ordinands trained by the Australian Defence Force
(ADF) for the purpose of full-time chaplaincy.

"It is also a sign of the good co-operation between the Australian
Defence Force and Anglican Church, as these ordinands will complete
their ministry training within parishes in the Diocese of Bathurst,"
Andrew Sempell said. "There are currently around thirty-five full-time
and fifty-five part-time Anglican chaplains serving in the Navy, Army
and Air Force."

He said they are principally concerned with the provision of pastoral
care and counselling, sacramental ministry, the conduct of church and
memorial services and instruction at the Defence Force's many training
colleges.

"The leadership of the Bishop to the Defence Force, Dr Tom Frame, had
been instrumental in the ongoing development of the relationship between
the ADF and the Church, which has brought us to this important milestone
in chaplaincy training," Andrew Sempell added.

In his sermon during the ordination service, Bishop Tom Frame
acknowledged the 'generosity of spirit' shown by Bishop Richard in
starting a new relationship between the Defence Force Chaplaincy and the
Diocese of Bathurst.

"Our work in the Defence Force is the most significant youth outreach of
our Church, and I'm pleased this diocese has shared in it," Bishop Frame
said.

He also noted the role played by Diocesan Archdeacon Peter Danaher in
the process of selecting the candidates, and setting up the placements
and processes of ongoing training.

During the service the Registrar of the Defence Force Chaplaincy, Colin
Aiken, was installed as an honorary canon of All Saints' Cathedral - a
procedure that Bishop Frame described as cementing the relationship
between the Diocese and the chaplaincy service.

Referring to the Gospel reading used in the service (Luke 10:1-9),
Bishop Frame highlighted the words of Jesus to those he sent out in his
name: "Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals".

"We take lots of things with us, 'just in case'," he said. "We burden
ourselves, and we leave a very heavy footprint on the ground."

He said St Luke emphasised the importance of Jesus' directions to his
disciples, to proclaim the message of God's forgiveness by the manner of
their being. "While we might provide materially for those in full-time
mission, and seek financial support for those in full-time ministry,
neither the material support nor the financial resources ultimately
determine the outcome or the quality of the ministry," he said. "Those
who are ordained today must remember that their ministry depends more on
who they are and how they live, and much less on what they carry or on
what they possess."

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