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There's ecclesiastical movement at the station for two major Christian denominations in the district, with the region's Anglican bishop retiring next month, as a new parish priest is appointed to Blayney for the Catholic Church.
Father Francis Muhenda was officially announced as parish priest of St James' Parish and vice-rector of the Diocesan Shrine in Carcoar, after a long period of time without a dedicated minister for the small parish that includes St Canice's at Millthorpe and the Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception at Carcoar.
Fr Francis also celebrated his 40 years since ordination in the middle of last year and was honoured during a special jubilee gathering and Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of St Michael and St John.
Originally from Uganda, he was ordained on July 27, 1985, in the Diocese of Fort Portal in the western part of the African nation.
He has replaced Father Diep Quang Nguyen, who was acting in the position for some time following the untimely death of Fr Tim Cahill in 2021. Fr Cahill was the last priest to actually live in the shire at the presbytery in Glasson St, with Fr Francis to continue travelling up from the diocesan seat at Bathurst, where he is also resident and assisting.
The appointment coincides with the upcoming retirement of the Anglican Bishop of Bathurst Mark Caulder, who expertly administered a diocese covering virtually all of western NSW. Farewell services for Bishop Mark are being held at Cumnock, Dubbo, and Coonamble.
Bishop Mark's final act, though, is a service of "Praise, Prayer and Proclamation" at 1.30pm on Saturday, September 19, at All Saints Cathedral in Bathurst, after which time, he will officially "lay up" his pastoral staff and his time as bishop will conclude.
Time waits for no man of God, though, and the Election Board recently reported that they have received high-calibre candidates to replace Bishop Mark, who took over the diocese in November 2019, just a few weeks before the first COVID outbreaks saw services go online for months on end.
The Bishop's media background, however, served him well at this time, with online sermons proving highly popular with locked-down parishioners, a practice he continued even after the lockdowns had ended. He also helped revive attendances at many of the district's churches, attracting many younger and family-based parishioners with a reforming message of evangelism.
Bishop Mark has also been central in efforts to replace the local priest of Blayney Parish, the Rev Wally Cox, who, in April this year, took an appointment with his family to the frozen north, becoming rector of St Paul's Anglican Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
With newly minted Anglican priests not exactly thick on the ground in the Central Tablelands, Bishop Mark told Orange City Life that the search has so far been unsuccessful.
"We began looking for a replacement for Wally as soon as he left," Bishop Mark revealed.
"The process continues with a parish profile on our website, with the parish committed to paying a full-time replacement," he added.
He also explained that the search for a new parish priest for Blayney was not contingent upon the announcement of a new bishop for the diocese.
"We are not waiting for a new bishop to make new appointments; all new appointments will be carried on with the diocesan archdeacon, Andrew Thornhill, leading the process.
"He will be what is called 'the Administrator' in between bishops and can make all appointments in the meantime," Bishop Mark clarified.
Fill-in ministers, including the Rev Linda Boss, are currently sharing duties in the parish that also includes the villages of Millthorpe, Mandurama, Carcoar, Trunkey Creek, and Barry.
"The Rev Bob Cameron has been appointed as locum until January 2027," Bishop Mark said.
"Should a new rector be found before that time, he will finish earlier," he concluded.