Anglican Communion News Service

by Geoff Robson

[Anglican Media Sydney] The Rev Richard Hurford, rector of St James' King St, will be consecrated as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst in a service at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney on Saturday, February 10th.

The service will commence at 11am, with the later than usual starting time arranged to accommodate an expected 230 central west Anglicans who will be making the journey to Sydney to welcome their new Bishop. Two buses from Bathurst and Orange will leave early on Saturday morning and return after the service, allowing parishioners from across the central west to be present for the occasion.

A number of church leaders and representatives from the Diocese of Bathurst will be present. Also attending the service will be a large number of Archbishops, Bishops and church leaders from around Australia, including Archbishop Harry Goodhew, Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales, Archbishop Peter Watson of Melbourne, and Archbishop Ian George of Adelaide. All diocesan bishops from NSW will be in attendance, along with several current and retired Archbishops and Bishops.

Mr Hurford will officially start his new role when he is welcomed in a service at All Saints' Cathedral, Bathurst, on Saturday, March 24. The consecration service is being held this month, however, due to the upcoming retirement of Archbishop Goodhew. This will be the final consecration conducted by Archbishop Goodhew prior to his retirement on March 19th.

Following the consecration, Archbishop Goodhew will present the new Bishop with a Bible, a gift from members of the Defence Force Board.

Mr Hurford will be presented by Bishop Roger Herft from Newcastle and Bishop Rob Forsyth of the South Sydney region. Bishop Philip Huggins of the Diocese of Grafton - the diocese where Richard Hurford was originally ordained - will deliver the sermon.

The retired Bishop of Bathurst who accepted Mr Hurford for ordination, Bishop Kenneth Leslie, will read the epistle during the service (1 Peter 5:1-4). Archbishop Watson, formerly Bishop of the South Sydney region that encompasses St James', King St, will deliver the Gospel reading (John 10:11-16).

The service will feature the combined choirs of St Andrew's Cathedral and St James'. The choir's performance will include two pieces of music written especially for the occasion by David Drury, musical director of St James', and his deputy Brett McKerm.

As the service concludes, the newly consecrated Bishop will be presented with his symbolic pastoral staff by the two school captains from Bathurst's All Saints' College, Danielle Goddard and Peter Birch.

Richard Hurford began his ministry life in Grafton, where he later returned and spent 14 years as Dean of the region. In the intervening period, he spent eight years in rural ministry in England. He has been rector of St James' for the past three and a half years, and last year was a Coordinator chaplain for the Olympic and Paralympic Village Religious Services Centre. He has been chaplain to the NSW Police Force, and the service will be attended by members of the NSW Police Force.

Mr Hurford has long-running connections and deep family ties with the central west. His great uncle was Mayor of Bathurst, his grandfather was baptised in the local Cathedral, and his father was born in Orange. In addition, the Bible to be used in the swearing of oaths was brought to Australia from Somerset, England by the Bishop-elect's great grandparents, George and Georginana Hurford, who settled in Bathurst and worshipped at All Saints' Cathedral.

He has said that his greatest challenge as bishop will be to help ensure that the church is 'visible and accessible' for the gospel in 21st century rural Australia. "In my observation, from the north coast of NSW to the CBD of Sydney, there remains the issue of one's identity as a human being, of helping people to become aware of their uniqueness in God's sight, helping people to find purpose," he said.

"My hope is that every Christian who is part of the Anglican Church in the central west will be fulfilled in what they know God is calling them to do in their daily lives."