Anglican Bishop Matt Brain of Bendigo has been elected Bishop of Bunbury in Western Australia. In a letter sent today to the Bendigo faithful, he says he has been praying for some time about where he should serve.

Last year Brain polled strongly in the election to become Primate (head) of the Anglican Church of Australia, being the favoured candidate in the House of Bishops, while fellow evangelical Mark Short of Canberra-Goulburn had the votes of the Houses of Laity and Clergy.

It was notable that the Primatial election had two strong evangelical candidates in the lead.

Brain’s doctoral thesis, Treasures in Jars of Clay: Towards a new Pauline Pastoral Theology of Mission to Generation Y in Australia, was awarded by Mark’s Theological College / Charles Sturt University where he also lectured. He is the author of God is Enough (2021), Wise – Transforming Pastoral Ministry (2019), and Engage! How the church can reconnect with young people (2011).

Bishop Matt Brain was born in Sydney, grew up in Perth, and was ordained in the Diocese of North-West Australia in 2003. He moved to the Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn in 2010 and was consecrated a bishop in 2015 in that diocese before becoming Bishop of Bendigo in 2018.

Bishop Matt Brain’s move to Bunbury means that both the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo and its neighbour diocese, Ballarat to the west, are vacant, with the retirement of Ballarat’s Bishop Garry Weatherill also this month

Bishop Matt Brain’s letter

Dear Friends,

On Sunday I was elected the next Bishop of the Diocese of Bunbury.

Rachael and I have been spending significant time in prayerful discernment over the past year pondering where God would have us serve. It is with this in mind that I allowed my name to go forward as a candidate to the synod of the Diocese of Bunbury as they prepared to elect a new bishop. As much as I would love to stay with you, I cannot attend to two calls!

It has been a great privilege to be your bishop. We have seen our family grow up in the nine years we have shared with you. Thank you for welcoming and loving us all. It will be a wrench to leave you, the spiritual family we have here in Victoria. The Diocese of Bendigo is a beautiful place, and you make it all the more so. We have been able to share the greatest adventure, as we have worked together in God’s mission.

There is always much to do as we seek to act faithfully as people drawn into God’s mission. The challenging parts of this work can loom large and cause anxiety. Yet we follow a loving God who has proved faithful in the lives of those who entrust themselves into God’s care. God has been very kind to the Diocese of Bendigo in the team who share leadership. Please be active in praying for Sarah Crutch our Registrar, Dean George Hemmings who as Vicar General will act as Administrator when I conclude, and your Archdeacons, Tracey Wolsley, Steve Weickhardt and Peter Blundell who will help you hold space in the things which must wait and go ahead in the matters which must progress. Please also pray for the Bishopric Electoral Board as they prepare to convene and do the work of electing your new bishop.

As timings and other matters regarding our departure and the beginning of the Electoral Board’s work are settled, we will be sure to let you know.

Rachael, our children and I will all value your prayers as we prepare for all the changes which will come in following God’s new call.

Your servant in Christ,

+Matt