June 2026 - Monthly Update from His Grace Bishop Rewis

Dear Beloved Congregation of the Diocese of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions,

It is with great joy and thanksgiving to God that I share this monthly update of the matters relating to the Diocese of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions.

1. Monthly Clergy Meeting

At June’s Monthly Clergy Meeting, I announced the need for Churches to ensure their Diocese contributions are paid on time each month by the church treasurer. The delay in payments (with some churches up to 24 months behind) has left the Diocese with $600k of outstanding debts to our bank loan repayments. The churches' monthly contributions go towards the diocese's loan repayments (total debt $6m) as well as the upkeep of the Diocese's Headquarters in Donvale, Eporo Tower, general priest salaries, church insurances and diocese-wide initiatives.

2. Establishment of Three New Committees

I have established three new committees to support the services of the Diocese of Melbourne. These committees are formed from church fathers from across the Diocese:

1. Secretarial Committee

2. Family Committee

3. Children’s Committee

3. Secretarial Committee

On 26 July 2026, the committee's first meeting established five principal areas of focus, with Fathers assigned to lead each:

• Diocesan Online Presence: A group of fathers will ensure Diocese news becomes more accessible online via website and social media.

• Financial Advisory Board: A group of fathers will form a Financial Advisory Board (of experienced accountants and business leaders) to support the Diocese with financial and strategic matters. An introductory meeting has been set for 5th of July 2026.

• Church Treasurers meeting: The Secretarial Committee will meet with church treasurers from across the diocese on 26 July 2026 to discuss the importance of timely contributions and the various ways the diocese supports its churches.

• Diocese-Wide Events: A team of fathers will work towards diocese-wide events to unite parishioners from all around our diocese. The first event will be the Feast of Nayrouz in September 2026.

• Regular Clergy Meetings Schedule: The yearly schedule will be established for monthly clergy meetings.

• Meeting with Diocesan Charities: The Diocese Secretarial Committee will meet with all established charities in our diocese to better support schedules, events and collaborations occurring within our diocese.

• Donvale Accommodation for Retreats: The committee will look into opportunities to improve the accommodation at Donvale to become a regularly used retreat centre for our children. They will look at ways to increase the capacity of occupants over the next several months.

4. The Little Flock - Children's Committee

The Children’s Committee met on 24 June 2026. The committee established three main branches of service:

• Diocese-Wide Conventions

  • Annual Kids' conventions and servants' conventions.

• Education

  • Revisit the Sunday School curriculum.

  • Establish a central discipleship program.

  • Provide ongoing professional development for servants through the Theological College.

• Children's Safety

  • Establish a servants' database with Father of Confession verification.

  • Maintain a central, up-to-date database for the Code of Conduct and Working with Children Checks.

5. The Family Committee

The Family Committee will meet in July to discuss initiatives for families from across the dioceses. Some of the Family committee initiatives will be shared in the next August 2026 update.

A Word of Encouragement

I ask all Fathers, servants and members of our Christ-loving Diocese to keep one another, and the work of these committees, in your prayers. Let us labour together in unity and love for the building up of our beloved diocese and the care of our children, who are the flock entrusted to us by the Good Shepherd.

“Feed My lambs.” (John 21:15)

With my love and blessings in Christ,

✠ Bishop Rewis

General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne & Affiliated Regions