(Southern Cross) The Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev Harry Goodhew has launched the Archbishop's Overseas Ministry Fund (AOMF) and called on Sydney Anglicans to support their brothers and sisters in the two-thirds worlds.
'This fund will be an additional opportunity for people within the diocese to help in Gospel witness and practice Christian caring. The AOMF is a long-term initiative to assist ministry development and the growth of the church overseas. It has a two fold focus and will provide practical assistance for the spread of the gospel, plus give Christians access to sound theological education which would otherwise be unavailable to them.'
He said that in his travels overseas as a bishop 'I have clearly seen the needs that this fund could clearly meet, and the effects of what we would in Australia as relatively small amount of money, can be enormous. The ORAF is unable to fund this type of Christian outreach due to its tax deductibility status'.
AOMF has already approved funding for four projects, one each in Southern Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda and India. The people of Southern Sudan continue to suffer through war and dissent and there is a growing need for strong Christian leadership. OAMF has committed to funding a local pastor and Archdeacon Peter Bol Arok to undertake a four year degree course in theology in Nairobi. Peter believes that with a deeper theological knowledge he will be better able to serve his people in Sudan.
By founding the Overseas Ministry Fund the Archbishop is following in the tradition of other Sydney Archbishops who established funds where they saw a particular need. During the Depression Archbishop Mowll began the Archbishop's Winter Appeal (now the Community Care and Development Program) , in the 1970s Archbishop Loane established Overseas Relief and Aid, and in the 1980s Archbishop Robinson started the Vision programme for the building of new churches.