On the evening of 7th November the Reverend Peter Adkins was commissioned as Rector of Bulahdelah / Tea Gardens Parish. The Right Reverend Dr Peter Stuart, Bishop Administrator, officiated at the service.
It has been a long and patient wait for the parish of over 2 years and we give thanks to God for the locum ministers who faithfully served the parish over that time, particularly the Rev Denis Kirkaldy who was our Interregnum Locum for some 18 months.
The Commissioning Service was held at St Andrew’s Tea Gardens and the church building was full to capacity with official guests, visiting clergy, parishioners and supporters from the local community.
Rev Peter was presented with the symbols of his ministry including water, oil, bread & wine, a bible & prayer book and a purple stole by members of the congregation.
The Area Dean, Rev Brian Ford read out the terms of Rev Peter’s licence and the licence was officially presented to Rev Peter by the Bishop. Rev Peter was then welcomed into the parish to the enthusiastic applause of the congregation.
Speeches were given by Mr David West, the newly elected Mayor of MidCoast Council; Mr Len Roberts, Pastor of Tea Gardens Baptist Church on behalf of the local churches; Mrs Robyn Guthrie, Rector’s Warden of St John’s Bulahdelah and Mr Ross Weightman, Rector’s Warden of St Andrew’s Tea Gardens.
The evening concluded with a supper on the church lawns sheltered from the drizzling rain by a marquee.
It was a wonderful evening thanks to the hard work of a dedicated and always cheerful band of volunteers.
We very much look forward to Rev Peter’s ministry among us as we take the good news of Jesus Christ into our local communities on the Myall Coast.
All photos by Andrew Sillar.
