Moore College Mission
Chaplain Mal York with College students preparing for mission (source)
CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 22 March 2025
Friends in Christ, apologies to be writing late this week... But I am excited to share news of the Moore College Mission to the Cathedral that will run 6-13 April, ending on Palm Sunday. The team will comprise sixteen students, along with two college chaplains, the Rev Mal York, Dean of Students and Jocelyn Loane.
They will learn about evangelism and ministry by being with us and having a chance to participate in the various ministries that occur at the Cathedral. So they will get a taste of community chaplaincy and Street T, of English and Bible classes, of SRE (Scripture in Schools), and our Chinese language Bible study groups. We will be blessed by their preaching and teaching at all services during the 8 days, as well as some special opportunities such as our Cathedral women's Easter event that Clare mentioned last Sunday.
One of the excellent opportunities for the students is to experience mid-week services such as Choral Evensong and the Healing Service, with ministry styles and opportunities, which are rarely experienced in local suburban churches. They will also get a chance each day to learn from such wisdom our various staff team members have with their particular areas of experience and focus.
But perhaps what I am most excited about is the chance for the Moore College team to augment our mid-week Cathedral welcome and evangelism team, which greets the hundreds and hundreds of visitors who come into our Cathedral each week as tourists, the curious, the seekers, and those wanting to pray or to think or reflect. Our Welcomers have great opportunities to show Christian hospitality, and can often take chances to commend Christ, tell a Gospel story, or explain some aspect of Christianity.
The lovely thing about this ministry is that you can contribute whether you are shy or more gregarious since visitors expect to find Christian people inside and are not surprised that they are greeted. So the variety of personalities that come to a theological college like Moore will get a chance to do lots of talking to a variety of visitors.
I am hopeful that we might be able to extend our Cathedral's opening hours that week. Even better, on Saturday 12 April, I hope to experiment with offering guided tours of the Cathedral that we advertise to the public. More details to come.
Furthermore, where possible some of the Moore College team members will get out on George Street to offer invitations to Easter services to the numerous passers-by, and to see what other helpful conversation might arise.
How can you help with our Moore College Mission?
Firstly, by prayer. Pray that all who preach the gospel publicly or speak personally in commending Christ or answering questions can speak clearly, and make the most of every opportunity, with grace and saltiness of speech (Colossians 4:2-6). Pray also for courage (Ephesians 6:19).
Secondly, you might consider whether you can invite a friend or family member to church on Sunday 6th or 13th April or over the Easter weekend. All the Holy Week and Easter service details are now online here, and there will soon be postcards to use to invite a friend personally.
Thirdly, contribute to feeding the Mission Team. Being so close to the College at Newtown, it is not a residential mission for the team. But we do need to feed them during the days – both lunch, and morning and afternoon teas. Could you volunteer to help assist with cooking or otherwise preparing morning tea or lunch one day? Or if you cannot cook, can you come in and serve and wash up for the team one day, which helps them stay focused on their tasks? We need people to assist with this on both Sundays and also on Monday-Thursday.
Warmly in Christ,
Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney