New Anglican priest for Bourke

Deacon John Gaff at Bourke’s Holy Innocents Anglican Church last week. John will be ordained as an Anglican Priest by Bishop Ian Palmer at Dubbo’s Holy Trinity Anglican Church this Saturday 15th December 2018 Photo: TWH

Bourke is about to get a new Anglican Priest. Deacon at the Holy Innocents Anglican Church John Gaff will be ordained as a Priest this Saturday 15th December.

His ordination service will be conducted by the Bishop of Bathurst, Ian Palmer, at the Holy Trinity Church in Dubbo after which Reverend John Gaff will be able to offer communion, blessings and absolutions to the Bourke congregation.

“As a deacon I can do weddings, funerals and baptisms, and I can take the bread and wine to those who can’t get to communion, but I cannot consecrate the bread and the wine and I cannot preside over a communion service. After the ordination I can.

“Becoming a Minister is not something to be entered into lightly,” John said. “As well as allowing me to perform a different range of ministerial duties, it also means I have a responsibility for the spiritual needs of my congregation.

Read more in the printed edition of the Western Herald.