Stephen J. Hale is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...

. He served as an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

in the

Anglican Diocese of Melbourne The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Hale grew up in the Anglican Church in Sydney. He studied at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

then taught at

Leeton, New South Wales Leeton is a town located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Leeton is situated in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, approximately 550 km west of Sydney and 450 km north of Melbourne. It is the administrative centre of the Lee ...

in the

Anglican Diocese of Riverina The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the far west of the state. The diocese was established in 1884 when the Diocese of Goulbu ...

, for four years. When he returned to Sydney, Hale studied at

Moore Theological College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

and his first position was at

St Paul's Anglican Church, Castle Hill St Paul's Anglican Church is a Heritage register, heritage-listed Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican former church building located at 221 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill, New South Wales, Castle Hill, The Hills Shire, New South Wales, Austr ...

. While there, St Paul's became the biggest Anglican church in Australia. In 1988, Hale was invited to Melbourne by Archbishop

David Penman David John Penman (8 August 1936 – 1 October 1989) was the 10th Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne. Early life and career Born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 8 August 1936, Penman received his secondary education at Hutt Valley High School, an ...

to head up a new youth department where he served for eight years. He later became Vicar at

Diamond Creek Diamond Creek is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Diamond Creek recorded a population of 12,503 at the 20 ...

then

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of Box Hill, before becoming Bishop of the Eastern Region in the Diocese of Melbourne in 2001. While Bishop, Hale also chaired Access Ministries and Christian leadership organisation, Arrow International. In 2009, Hale was appointed as

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of what is now the St Hilary's Anglican Network, the combined parishes of St Hilary's Anglican Church,

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

St Silas Anglican Church,

Balwyn Balwyn () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Balwyn recorded a population of 13,495 at the 2021 census. Whitehor ...

and St Augustine’s Anglican Church, Mont Albert North. He served in that role until January 2020. Hale is married to Karen and has two children and a dog, which affords him the privilege of being able to comment on canine matters in regards to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic.

References

21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-Anglican-bishop-stub