Our Context

The Diocese of Ballarat

Buninyong Anglican Church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Ballarat, which covers a large geographical area; from Ballan in the east through to the South Australian Border in the west. It takes in the entire coast west of Lorne through to the South Australian Border and goes as far as Hopetoun in the north.

There are approximately 20 Parishes in the Diocese, most of whom have multiple centres of worship. The Diocese is known as a strongly “Anglo-Catholic” Diocese. The current Minister of Buninyong Anglican Church, Reverend Mark Schnerring, is from the Evangelical tradition of the Anglican Church. Garry Weatherill has been the Bishop of the Diocese since October 2011.

The town of Buninyong

Buninyong is a town on its own about 15 mins drive south of the centre of Ballarat on the road to Geelong. It has a population of over 4000 people, but has the largest Primary School in the Ballarat area with over 600 students. Federation University (Mt. Helen) is within our Parish. Buninyong has recently been described as “the Toorak of Ballarat”, a reference to its house prices! That said, there are also plenty of people not so well off living in the town. As a town on its own, it very much has its own identity and activities, including several significant events and activities. There are three other denominations operating in Buninyong—Baptist, Uniting and Catholic.