More than 120 delegates attended the South New South Wales (SNSW) Conference’s 86th constituency meeting on Sunday (December 5) at the Australian National Museum in Canberra.
Incumbent president Pastor Cristian Copaceanu was re-elected to serve another term of four years. Pastor Copaceanu has been president of SNSW since January 2019, moving to Canberra after serving for several years at the Australian Union Conference (AUC).
Incumbent secretary Calvin Drinkall, who has served in the SNSW Conference in this role for the past six years, was also reappointed.
Delegates voted and approved Caleb Williams as the new chief financial officer. Mr Williams had been serving as SNSW senior accountant for the past 18 months.
The meeting began with AUC president Pastor Terry Johnson calling out the church to leave their comfort zone and take the gospel to those outside of our “own camp”. Pastor Glenn Townend, South Pacific Division president, prayed for the delegates and invited the Holy Spirit to lead His church in the South New South Wales region, the ACT and churches across the border in Victoria.
During the one-day event, AUC secretary Pastor Michael Worker helped delegates work through proposed changes to the SNSW constitution, realignments of the Conference geographical boundaries between SNSW and the Greater Sydney Conference, and constituency process. Pastor Worker also provided clarity regarding religious liberties and the Australian Religious Freedom Act.
Pastor Copaceanu expressed thanks and appreciation for the excellent work of SNSW principals and schools that have continued to grow over the past four years. The president acknowledged the challenging circumstances schools have endured during the pandemic and thanked all teachers and support staff for their dedication and commitment in trying times.
The final part of the day saw nominated delegates work through the selection of a new nominating committee and the appointments committee, chaired and facilitated by Pastor Johnson.
The newly appointed SNSW Executive Committee will meet early next year to appoint departmental directors.
