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1 February, 2006
Induction of the Rev Keith V. Garner as the ninth Superintendent of Wesley Mission, Sydney
The Rev Keith V. Garner will be inducted as the ninth Superintendent of Wesley Mission, Sydney, on Sunday, February 5 at the Wesley Theatre, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney.
The service begins at 7 pm.
The Rev Garner will be inducted by the Rev Vernon C. Prowse, Chairperson of the Presbytery of Sydney, Uniting Church in Australia.
Greetings will be delivered by Her Excellency Prof. Marie Bashir, AC, Governor of New South Wales and Mr Jim Mein, Moderator of the New South Wales Synod of the Uniting Church.
The service will also feature performances by the Wesley Rotuman Congregational Choir, leading Australian Christian songwriter Geoff Bullock, and dance by students from Wesley Institute.
The Rev Garner follows the Rev Dr Gordon Moyes, who left Wesley Mission at the end of 2005 after 27 years as Superintendent.
The Rev Keith Garner is a native of the Bolton and Rochdale District in Northern England and was brought into the Christian faith through Methodist youth work.
Between 1977 and 1980 he was a student at Wesley College, Bristol. He began his ministry at Plymouth Central Hall and in 1983 became the minister of Elm Ridge Methodist Church in Darlington, where the church underwent a remarkable period of growth.
In 1992 he became Superintendent of Colwyn Bay & Llandudno Circuit and was minister of St John’s Llandudno, one of Britain’s largest congregations, as well as helping to develop St David’s Craig-y-Don into a modern, progressive church.
He was appointed Chair of the Bolton Rochdale District of the Methodist Church in 2001.
He completed his Master of Theology at Oxford University in 1995.
Best known as an inspiring and gifted preacher, he has preached throughout the world — in Africa, Iceland, across Europe, the United States of America, the East Asia, Burma and India.
He has a vision for the church and is a hands-on worker who uses organisational skills alongside an ability to delegate. His interests include travel, community involvement and sport. He is a former chaplain to the Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
The church he now heads — Wesley Mission — is one of Australia’s largest church-based charities delivering a diverse range of services: child and family services, aged care, community services, homeless persons’ services, disability services, Wesley Uniting Employment, research and advocacy, health and counselling services, Sydney and Sutherland Lifeline and 50 weekly church services. Wesley Mission directly assists more than 200,000 people each year.
Wesley Mission has its origins in the first Methodist Church formed in Sydney in 1812. Originally established as the Central Methodist Mission, the organisation focused on social justice and evangelism for the poor and needy of Sydney.
Copies of the Rev Garner’s sermon will be available on the night and at www.wesleymission.org.au . A splitter box for media will be available in Wesley Theatre. A media area has also been allocated.
Interviews, media packs and biographical details of the Rev Keith Garner can be arranged by contacting:
- Graeme Cole
- Public Affairs Manager, Wesley Mission
- 02 9263 5350 (B) 0408 470 722 (M)
- Dinoo Kelleghan
- Public Affairs Officer, Wesley Mission
- 02 9263 5545 (B) 0434 076 644 (M)
