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She may be well past her diamond anniversary, but a diamond in the rough she still is. Going as strong today as the day she was built, St John’s Anglican Church in Cooks Hill will celebrate 150 years of being the centre of a very diverse and often changing community this weekend with celebrations galore.   

Growing significantly over the past decade, people now flock from all over Newcastle to share in the Worship at St John’s.  

“Only 11 years ago, you would be lucky to see 50 people in attendance on a Sunday. Remarkably in 2010 parishioner numbers are just under 200 most Sundays and the congregation continues to grow,” said Reverend Stewart Perry.

This little church in Cooks Hill is the oldest, existing and operating church building in the Newcastle area. So revered is St John’s that it is on the Register of the National Estate and has a Permanent Conservation Order under the State Heritage Act 1977.

150 years deserves more than one party and the celebrations this weekend will include a Parish dinner on Saturday evening and a Eucharist of Celebration on Sunday from 2pm which is open to all.

“The 2pm service will see Bishop Brian Farran and Bishop Peter Stuart celebrate and preach. The Parish will also welcome Councillor John Tate, Lord Mayor of Newcastle, other clergy and many people of whom have connections to the parish over the years,” said Reverend Perry.

A lot of the recent success of St John’s Cooks Hill is due to Reverend Perry, and before him Reverend Garry Dodd, as well as Ministry Assistant Victoria Hunter.

“Stewart’s passion is innovative and engaging Worship, as well as empowering others to embrace mission and ministry. He and Victoria have brought a young vibrancy and new life to the Parish of St John’s and it will be a great pleasure to join the Parish to celebrate 150 years this weekend,” said Bishop Brian Farran.

St John’s was built for the largely mining population of Newcastle as Bishop Tyrrell had noted that “only the wealthy of the district attended Christ Church and in order that the people may be “reclaimed from practical atheism”.

The new parish included the suburban area at that time as far as Waratah, Lambton, Adamstown and Cardiff in addition, of course, to its mining core in the Glebe and Merewether.  In 1856 a school and parsonage were commenced on 1½ acres of land “at present in a state of bush and abutting on the Lake Macquarie Road” (later to become Darby Street).  The land was donated by the Australian Agricultural Company (AA Coy) and the new parish was founded on March 1, 1856 by Bishop Tyrrell. The building of the church was also commenced in 1856.  The foundation stone was laid on Saturday 27th September and the building consecrated on February 20th, 1860.  The AA Coy made the money available mainly through the efforts of Walter Stevenson Davidson, a director and a banker who co-instigated in 1854 a fund to provide money for the construction of churches and schools in this area where the Company had derived considerable wealth through mining and agriculture.

Over time changes have been made to the interior layout and in the early 1950’s a major reconstruction took place, enlarging and raising the Sanctuary and Chancel, raising the floor level and replacing two side aisles with a wide centre aisle. 

At the tender age of 26, Joshua swapped the scissors for scripture as he was called from his trade as a hairdresser to the Church, where he attended Bible College full time to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology.  He believes this was always his destiny following an early introduction to the church as an 8 year old at his local Baptist Church.

“I attended Sunday School and always gravitated towards Christians and Christian activities, though the major turning point in my faith didn’t actually come until 1988,” said Joshua.  

Following two years attending a local Youth Group, at only 16 Joshua knew he wanted to devote his life to the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures, encourage God’s people to be passionate followers of the Lord Jesus and proclaim the gospel of Jesus to those who don’t know him.  He was convinced that one day God would call him to the Anglican Priesthood; nearly 20 years on and Joshua believes Gods timing could not have been better!

Jess Grant is Joshua’s fellow youthful Stipendiary Deacon, and just as significantly is the first graduate of the Bachelor of Theology at the University of Newcastle to be ordained in the Diocese. Jess will be the youngest full time Minister in the Diocese of Newcastle.

The 25 year old Youth Synod member and former paediatric nurse has recently been appointed to the Parish of Foster and Tuncurry and is very excited about the move north.

Having known for a long time she would take up full time ministry, Jessica just wasn’t sure what that ministry would be.

“Studying Theology helped greatly in the articulation and depth of my faith and I now feel confident in sharing my beliefs and continuing to learn the wonders of God and faith in the community,” said Jess.

The Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Dr Brian Farran is pleased to welcome so many new Deacons to the Diocesan family.

“It is so pleasing to see these large numbers continue. At this same time last year we saw 17 Deacons Ordained, with 12 of them going on to be Priested in November. It is rewarding to see people still experiencing the calling to serve and be a part of the Anglican Communion,” he said.

“I am particularly pleased to see Jessica Grant coming forward for Ordination. With Jessica studying a Bachelor of Theology at the University of Newcastle, I have had quite a lot to do with her and I am sure she will be an asset to this Diocese for many years to come.  It will be very gratifying for me to see her graduate with her degree in April,” he said.

The 12 OLM’s to be Ordained come from all walks of life:

Due to the large number of Ordinations there will be two ceremonies

Dean’s Verger, Dean of Newcastle, Bishop of Newcastle

Media Release:- December 8, 2009

The Jesus Racing Team has finished the 2009 racing season on a high note.

Driver Andrew Fisher earned a podium finish in the weekend’s first-ever Telstra Sydney 500 Yokohama V8 Ute Series round, ending the weekend in third place.

The result capped off an amazing year for the Jesus Racing Team, both on and off the track.

Andrew and the team have visited schools right across the state, talking to the kids and their teachers about the Yokohama V8 Ute Series, motor racing as a whole, and  the importance of courage, both on and off the race track.

It’s the team’s amazing profile and hard work that has provided amazing returns for their sponsors,  speaking to more than 50,000 students, more than 20,000 men at conferences, dinners, breakfasts and the like,  and thousands more at community events around Australia.

Jesus Racing makes a huge impact.

The main sponsors for 2009 was the Bible Society’s enormous ‘Jesus. All about life’ campaign.

This was a multi-media communication campaign that aimed to create a greater awareness of Jesus and what he had to say ‘about life’.

The campaign brought together almost 2000 churches across the state.

Unfortunately for the team,  due to a scaling back of the program,  the Bible Society will reduce its financial support of the team in 2010, leaving Jesus Racing to find  additional funds from other sources next year.

Talks are already underway with several high-profile organizations that are keen to leverage off the teams profile and marketability.

“Nothing is signed yet,” says Andrew, “and we are still talking to organizations who want to support or work with the Jesus Racing Team in 2010. ”

Driver Andrew Fisher says finishing third in the Jesus Ute at the first ever Telstra Sydney 500 was an incredible experience.

“It was an honour to take part in that historic event,” he says. “And the race capped-off our most successful season all-round, especially with our involvement in the Main Game Enduro races at Philip Island and the Bathurst 1000

“The track was fast and narrow, so it was great to watch. We came out unscathed, but there was plenty of panel damage for some teams, but that’s par for the course in the Ute races!

“The team is really excited with how things are shaping up for 2010. It will be our 4^th year in the Yokohama V8 Ute Series and we would love to compete in the endurance races again if the opportunity arose”.

For more information, photos or interview opportunities, please contact Lindsay Fisher on 0413 02 02 61 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Singleton Christian College visit Rhema FM on a 'Communications' (how we talk to each other) excursion 11th Nov 2009

more photos 'click here'

Rhema Fm held it's 2009 Volunteer's thankyou luncheon on 24th September.

Thankyou, also to all the volunteers who couldn't make it.

'click here' to see the rest of the photos

See the rest of the photos of Maitland Baptist Family Fun Day (click here) 13th Sept 2009

Media Release- September 6  2009. Jesus Racing driver Andrew Fisher has track-tested the V8 Supercar he’ll race in the Bathurst 1000 alongside David Sieders, and says the team is already clocking impressive times.  The car itself has a great heritage, being the Bathurst-winning BF Falcon from 2007 (which was driven by Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup) which is  still owned by Triple 8 Engineering. Andrew and Steve Peach from Jesus Racing along with Dave and Luke Seiders from the Seiders Race Team traveled to Triple 8 Vodafone Headquarters in QLD for their first and only test day before the L and H 500 at Phillip Island next week. The test day was the perfect opportunity to push the limits and see what the car can do!  Dave and Andrew had seat fittings for the race car, as well as practicing driver changes.  They lined up at the QLD circuit alongside the other members of the top Triple 8 Race Team, including Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup, which gave Andrew and co-driver Dave Sieders a good idea of their pace. “I was a second or so off the mark after a day’s testing,” says Andrew, “which is fantastic considering those boys are pretty-much guaranteed a top-five finish”. “The Utes and the Supercars are like chalk and cheese,” he says. “The Supercar is much more powerful and they’re a more physical car to drive.  “Braking technique is incredibly important in the Supercar so that is what we focused most of our track time on.  David is obviously more advanced in that area given his previous Supercar experience Andrew is pleased with the shakedown and says it gave the team the opportunity to iron out a few teething issues.  “Our times were pretty much within the parameters of where we expected them to be after one day,” he says. “I got to practice with a full tank of fuel, then with fresh tyres, both of which made an incredible difference to the car’s performance. “Now I just have to build up confidence so I’m mentally prepared because the next time I get behind the wheel will be in the race at Phillip Island. There’s nothing like diving in at the deep end!” The Jesus Racing Team is still working on pulling together the additional funds needed to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. “I have no doubt that the funds will come in however if they don’t then it will be up to us to pay.  This was a risk we had no choice but to take”. Who would have thought that you would see a V8 Supercar with the name of Jesus written all over it racing at the Bathurst 1000?? 

For more information and interview opportunities please call Lindsay Fisher on 0413 02 02 61.

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