Dear TOM's church member,

You may be aware that for many years our church, TOMS Anglican Church Cranebrook (Parish of Cranebrook with Castlereagh), has not owned a residence for our Senior Minister or Assistant Minister to live in and has had to pay rent to accommodate them. Renting houses can cause a significant drain on church funds and the church has little control over location, length of lease or rising rental costs. Additionally, our church currently uses a small house at the rear of the Ministry Centre that is not owned by the church. The Sydney Anglican Diocese, of which TOMS is a member, would like us to resolve these anomalies.

After prayerful consideration, the Parish Council has decided that the best option available to resolve the anomalies is to sell some vacant land owned by the church.

The sale process requires us to have an ordinance passed by the Diocese Standing Committee and due diligence requires the Parish Council to notify you of this proposal. Attached to this email is the ordinance and the Notice of Parish Council’s intention to apply to the Standing Committee for an ordinance to permit the sale of the vacant land and application of the proceeds of sale.

After reading the ordinance you may have questions and wish to discuss this further, if so, please contact one of TOMS Wardens: Karl Fretwell, Colin Cooper or Jinming Pap by Wednesday 4 March 2026. 

Yours in Christ,

TOMS Parish Council