On Thursday 12, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 December the Diocese of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia held its seventeenth triennial Diocesan Conference. Representing our parish at the Conference were the rector, Priest James Carles, and the lay delegate elected by parish members, Mrs Irene Lupish. Delegates to the Conference heard reports from the Ruling Bishop, Metropolitan Hilarion, and from the Diocesan Treasurer, Mr Nicholas Nedachin, before discussing a range of legal, administrative and pastoral matters. On the third day of the Conference Father James was chosen by delegates to be one of the five members in priestly rank of the new Diocesan Council. The other members of the 2014-2016 Diocesan Council are Mitred Archpriest Michael Protopopov, Archpriest Nicholas Karipoff, Archpriest Gabriel Makarov, Archpriest George Lapardin, Protodeacon Alexander Abramoff, Nicholas Nedachin, Dimitri Roudenko, Nicholas Wirubow, and Lubov Cowall.