I should like to thank Rod for allowing this opportunity to
introduce myself and to explain the changes that have taken
place, allowing me to be elected Chairman of the Bahrain
Anglican Church Council (BACC) and to outline some of the areas
that I personally believe we, as a Church body, should be
focusing on in the coming months.
However, before I start, while I appreciate there is more space
dedicated elsewhere in this copy of The Bahrain Anglican News, I
should like to thank Alan and Pam for all that they did for St.
Christopher’s Cathedral and all the groups and associations with
whom we are associated. It is also my great pleasure to be able
to congratulate Alan that, in recognition of his work, he has
been made Honorary Canon of St. Christopher’s Cathedral.
Firstly, with regard to the Constitution, it was identified by
one of the more legally-minded members of the BACC that a
disparity existed in the previous Constitution, in that the
Dean, employed by the BACC, was also the Chair of the BACC.
Following further discussion and agreement with the Bishop, and
as now ratified by you all, it was agreed to have the
Chairperson elected by the BACC from those lay members elected
to the BACC. I am honoured to have been invited to become
Chairman and will aim to serve the Church and you all to the
best of my abilities.
The additional change was to dispense with the formal titles of
the Wardens (formerly Dean’s Warden and People’s Warden). We now
have two elected Wardens who will collaborate between themselves
and decide on how best to divide their duties. It was felt that
this change allowed us more flexibility to allocate tasks in the
running of the Cathedral that better suit the skills and
personalities of those elected. Our current Wardens, Angela
Murray and Rachel Bainbridge, are currently in the process of
making those decisions. The title of Awali Warden remains
unchanged and I am delighted that Paul Hamilton, who has done so
much work for the BACC over the years (often unrecognized) has
agreed to continue in that role.
In terms of the focus areas over the coming months we, as the
BACC, have already moved to rectify some long standing matters
that were starting to adversely impact on our ability to work
collectively. I am pleased to announce that we have now managed
to secure a date for our Assistant Chaplain, Rev’d Stephen to
take his driving test in mid-July (the first available date). He
is hindered in his ability to perform his role without the
freedom to transport himself and we therefore ask for your
prayers that Stephen is successful at his first attempt!
We have also taken steps to improve the administrative structure
in the office – this is not a reflection on Anne who has
acquitted herself admirably in her first year and who has to
deal with more groups and people than many realize (myself
included)! We simply felt that, while we accept the need to act
as a Church body, we are also an employer and recognized legal
entity in Bahrain and needed to become more comprehensive and
clinical in our paper-handling!
There has also been, through necessity, a better division of the
many roles within the Cathedral. It is unhealthy to have one or
two hardy souls left to run everything. There is now a more even
spread of these tasks throughout the BACC. We are blessed with a
mix of skills, talents and experience, both within the BACC and
the wider Congregation and it makes more sense to me to make
better use of these resources.
However, we should also like to continue to reach out still
further than just our existing Congregations and to share
experiences and friendships with other Christian groups in
Bahrain and in the wider area of our Diocese, including old
friends as we go. To start the ball rolling, we have agreed to
invite a number of “Guest Speakers” to address our
Congregations. Invites have been made to Bill Schwartz, our
Archdeacon in Qatar, to the Canterbury Group and, closer to
home, Clare Ramsden (Uganda), Linda Simpson (on behalf of RIA)
and to the ECC.
It is imperative for the future of the Cathedral that we all
work together – whether that be in Bahrain, the Gulf, the
Diocese or globally through a network of friends. To make this
happen we need to communicate with each other more regularly and
we will aim to use this forum to at least cover some of the
basics. However, we would like to invite you to share with us
your thoughts, hopes and ideas on how we can improve the running
of the Cathedral, whether they be what you consider to be small
matters or large!
Finally, I would also like to thank Arabian Exhibition
Management for their long-standing and continuing support in the
distribution of this newsletter and to Gloria and Derek for
ensuring those of you who are cyber-friendly have immediate
access to the latest news!
