Peter Corney (pastor)

The Venerable Peter Corney OAM
Church	Anglican Church of Australia
Diocese	Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
Orders
Ordination	1966 by Sir Frank Woods
Personal details
Born	Peter James Corney (1942-06-17) 17 June 1942 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Merrill Corney
Children	3 sons
Education	Guilford Grammar School
Alma mater	Ridley College Australian College of Theology Melbourne College of Divinity

Peter James Corney OAM (born 17 June 1942) is an Australian Anglican theologian and pastor who was the Vicar of St Hilary's Anglican Church between 1975 and 1999.

Corney was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1942. He studied at Guilford Grammar School, matriculating in 1959. From 1960 to 1963, Corney studied at Ridley College in Melbourne. He later went on to study for a graduate in theology at the Australian College of Theology and the University of Melbourne's Melbourne College of Divinity.

During this time, Corney worked for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne as an assistant curate and later Youth Chaplain between 1966 and 1973. It was in the later 1960s and early 1970s that Corney pioneered a new youth ministry program that saw him work in contemporary Christian worship in counter-cultural manners. This was all innovated at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and at Ridley College.

In 1974, the Anglican parish of St Hilary's in Kew invited him to become their 6th Vicar. He would commence in this role in early 1975; a role in which he maintained until the end of 1999. During Corney's 24 years at St Hilary's, he spearheaded new ways of ministry that were relatively modern. This came in the form of a more contemporary, evangelical outreach, with social justice and a large youth and young adults program. Within a decade of being vicar, he had turned around an ailing local parish, to later become the largest Anglican parish in the Melbourne Diocese; welcoming over 1,000 parishioners every Sunday to worship. Corney eventually stepped down from the position of vicar in 1999. He would continue much of his intellectual and social justice work.

Outside of St Hilary's, Corney researched and lectured at his former alma mater, Ridley College as well as authoring many books and other Christian commentaries on issues occurring throughout the world.

Honours

For the 2007 Australia Day Honours, Corney was conferred the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "For service to the Anglican Church of Australia, particularly through the development of creative programs to meet contemporary community needs".

In recognition of Corney's work at St Hilary's Anglican Church, the parish named one of their buildings, the Peter Corney Training Centre after him and also honoured him with the honorific title of Vicar Emeritus for the remainder of his life. Subsequently, this granted Corney the new title of 'The Venerable' in exchange of the customary 'The Reverend' in the Anglican tradition.

References

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Anglican theologians Category:20th-century Australian male writers Category:20th-century evangelicals Category:21st-century Anglican theologians Category:21st-century Australian male writers Category:21st-century evangelicals Category:Australian Anglican priests Category:Alumni of Ridley College, Melbourne Category:Australian College of Theology alumni Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:Anglican writers Category:Australian Anglican theologians Category:Australian evangelicals Category:Australian male non-fiction writers Category:Australian religious writers Category:Bible commentators Category:Evangelical Anglican clergy Category:Evangelical Anglican theologians Category:New Testament scholars Category:People from Perth, Western Australia Category:People educated at Guildford Grammar School