Anglican Communion News Service

from Margaret Rodgers
Anglican Media Sydney

The Most Rev Harry Goodhew, Archbishop of Sydney, and the Most Rev Ian George, Archbishop of Adelaide, were each appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day (26th January) Honours List. This is the second highest honour in the Order of Australia awards.

The announcement of the Honours List was made from the office of Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia.

The Most Rev Harry Goodhew AO

Archbishop Goodhew's citation says he was appointed "for service to the Anglican Church and to the community, particularly in the areas of education, reconciliation between white and indigenous communities, overseas aid and the value of maintaining a strong family life."

Archbishop Goodhew is the 10th Bishop of Sydney and the 7th Archbishop. He was elected Archbishop by the Synod of the Diocese in 1993, becoming at the same time, the Metropolitan of NSW, Australia's most populous State. Prior to his election as Diocesan Bishop he was the Bishop of Wollongong, one of Sydney's five episcopal regions.

Archbishop Goodhew has been closely involved in plans for the establishment of low-fee Anglican schools in the Diocese of Sydney. During his episcopate six (6) new schools have been established, mainly in Sydney's Western suburbs, and five (5) sites have been obtained for development within the next few years.

He established an Aboriginal Task Force, charged with the development of work for, and by, Aborigines in the Sydney area and beyond. The Indigenous People's Ministry Programme has also been established, and the fruit of much of this ministry will be seen on February 3, when two Aboriginal pastors will be ordained deacon by Archbishop Goodhew, with other ordinands, in St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney. These two men are already pastors in two Anglican Aboriginal ministry centres, Mr Ray Welsh in the Crossroads Centre in the inner-city parish of South Sydney, and Mr Neville Naden with the growing Aboriginal congregation in the Parish of Mount Druitt in Sydney's sprawling western suburbs.

Under Harry Goodhew's leadership, cross-cultural ministries have been fostered in the Sydney and a number of clergy have been ordained to minister to multicultural congregations. There are presently 12 Chinese congregations in the Diocese of Sydney, and some 25 full-time ministers are serving non-English speaking groups, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, Maori, Korean, Spanish and Indonesian.

Through his Overseas Relief and Aid Fund Archbishop Goodhew has given support for numerous appeals from overseas countries, and his Archbishop's Winter Appeal has raised large sums for support of Australians living in poverty.

As a particular legacy to the Diocese of Sydney, Archbishop Goodhew, who retires on March 19, 2001, has commenced an Archbishop's Overseas Ministry Fund, and within Australia he serves as a Patron of Jubilee Australia (formerly Jubilee 2000), a ministry that works for the cancellation of unpayable debt of the world's poorest nations.

The Most Rev Ian George AO

Archbishop George's citation says he was appointed "for service to the Anglican Church, to ecumenism and to the community through engagement in social policy issues and international relief work."

Archbishop George was elected Archbishop of Adelaide and Metropolitan of South Australia in 1991, prior to that he was Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn. He served as Dean of Brisbane from 1973 to 1981 with a notable ministry not just within the Church, for he was media spokesman for the Diocese, he was prominent in art and literary circles in Queensland, and he wrote a weekly column for the Courier Mail.

In 1973 he became a member of the Liturgical Commission of General Synod, which produced the first Australian Prayer Book in 1977. He was also appointed to the International Affairs Commission of General Synod and was Chairman of that body from 1989 to 1998.

Within South Australia, Archbishop George he heavily active in both community and church affairs. He is a member of the South Australian State Heritage Authority and the Australian Police Ministries Advisory Council. He is a Patron of Habitat for Humanity (SA) and the Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia.

Perhaps Archbishop George's most notable contribution to the Australian churches and the wider community has been in the field of international aid and development. He is a well known spokesperson and lobbyist on refugee issues, and from 1994 he has been Chairman of the Christian World Service Commission of the National Council of Churches in Australia. In 1998 he was appointed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs' Advisory Council on Overseas Aid, and in that same year he was invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury to chair the re-constituted Anglican Communion International Refugee and Migrant Network.

The two Archbishops show the Aussie love of sport. Archbishop Goodhew played grade cricket in the Sydney District competition in his youth, and these days is to be seen at all major games in Sydney. Archbishop George is Chaplain and Co-Patron of the Port Adelaide Football Club (Australian Rules football).

Both Archbishop George and Archbishop Goodhew said that the honour they received was not simply a personal award, but one to shared by all Anglicans involved with them in their ministries to the nation.

"I believe it is a recognition of the contribution of many hard working Anglicans, who while serving their Lord and Master in their daily work, also bring a rich treasury of gifts to this nation as a whole," Archbishop Goodhew said.