Long-time religious liberty leader for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pastor Ken Vogel, has announced his decision to step aside from his role as secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia (AUC).
Pastor Vogel, who was appointed to the position in January 2004, shared with the AUC board recently that he had made the decision for personal reasons. He will remain at the AUC in a new role.
AUC president Pastor Munoz commended Pastor Vogel for his outstanding leadership. “We pay tribute to the incredible contribution that Pastor Vogel has made in this role, particularly in the areas of governance, Safe Place Services and religious liberty,” Pastor Munoz said. [pullquote]
The board reviewed the needs of the Union, including the need for a number of strategic mission-focused projects to be undertaken by a senior, experienced Church leader. In response to these needs, the new role of Union associate secretary was created with the primary focus on attending to these strategic projects.
Pastor Michael Worker, president of the Greater Sydney Conference (GSC), has been appointed as the new Union secretary, while Pastor Vogel has been appointed associate secretary.
Pastor Worker has been GSC president since December 2011 and prior to that he was GSC secretary for six years. Recently he has also served the Church as chair of the AUC Religious Freedom Steering Committee.
“It is an honour to serve God and advance the mission of the Church through this role,” Pastor Worker said.
Pastor Munoz also announced the appointment of Peter Cameron as the new CFO, after former CFO Francois Keet was appointed associate CFO for the South Pacific Division in November 2016. Mr Cameron has been serving as acting CFO since Mr Keet’s departure and has been recognised for the work he has done during this time.
According to Pastor Munoz, “This new leadership team will continue to enable the Union to inspire and resource a thriving disciple-making movement across Australia.”
Pastor Worker will be officially stepping down from his role as GSC president when his replacement is appointed.
