“How to reconcile a fractious Anglican Church”
From The Religion and Ethics Report at ABC Radio –
“The world’s 85 million Anglicans have a new spiritual leader, as Dame Sarah Mullally officially begins her term as Archbishop of Canterbury.
She’s first woman to hold the position.
But her historic appointment has highlighted divisions in the Anglican world, including in Australia, where some conservatives have rejected her leadership.
GUEST: Bishop Mark Short of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese is the new primate of the Anglican Church of Australia. It’s his job to try to reconcile a fractious church.”
– Listen here.
CEEC’s National Director resigns as Honorary Canon over Prayers of Love and Faith
News from The Church of England Evangelical Council –
“Reverend John Dunnett, National Director, Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) and chair of the Chelmsford Diocesan Evangelical Network (CDEN) has resigned his title of Honorary Canon in response to the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith at Chelmsford Cathedral.
Chelmsford Cathedral used the controversial Prayers of Love and Faith for the first time in a Sunday service on 16 November 2025. …”
– Read here.
Related:
Chelmsford Cathedral to Introduce “Prayers of Love and Faith” for same-sex couples –
“The prayers will be offered as part of the cathedral’s worship life, reflecting its commitment to pastoral inclusivity and spiritual support. …”
New federal hate speech laws- impact on religious freedom?
Associate Professor Neil Foster shares his opinion on the ‘“Hate Speech” laws –
“After the dreadful terrorist incident at Bondi on December 14 2025, where 15 folk from the Jewish community were murdered, the Federal government has introduced new ‘hate speech’ laws at the national level.
Whenever there is a proposal to target ‘hate speech’ there is always a potential danger that unpopular religious views will be caught up in the ban. However, it seems that the recently enacted changes will have little impact on religious freedom in Australia, except where religion is offered as a reason to justify calls for violence against others.
In this post I will try to spell out what the changes are, and why they seem to be a reasonable response to the danger of terrorist violence. …”
He does note that, “Perhaps surprisingly there is no clear definition of ‘hate group’ provided in the amendments.”
– Read it all at Law and Religion Australia.
New CEO for Bible Society Australia
“Bible Society Australia (BSA) has appointed long-serving mission leader, Chris Melville, as its new Chief Executive Officer …
Mr Melville has been serving as Interim CEO for the past six months and previously held the role of Chief of Mission, where he oversaw BSA’s domestic and international mission work. …”
– News and photo via John Sandeman at The Other Cheek.
Will the new Archbishop of Canterbury be any different?
“The election of the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury will be confirmed at St Paul’s Cathedral on the 28th January.
She inherits a Church and a Communion in crisis.
It is profoundly regrettable that the lack of decisiveness of Mullally’s predecessors will now become her problem. The failure to deal with progressive teaching at home and abroad, and the fallout that comes from decades of prioritising the reputation of the institution over and above the needs of victims of abuse, means Sarah Mullally has a very full inbox. …”
– Sadly, the writer of this opinion piece at Anglican Futures does not have high expectations.
The faith of our fathers and my hope for Australia
Andrew Hastie, Federal Member for Canning in Western Australia, shares this thoughts for Australia Day.
Regardless of one’s political persuasion, this is worth reading. It’s also worth contemplating how we might gently point people to true hope in Christ, in whatever realm of life we find ourselves.
And it’s also a reminder to pray for members of Parliament.
“Let me share a memory that gives me hope for my country, from the Sydney suburb of Ashfield, where I saw my father weave together a people from vastly different ethnic groups. And I will offer my thoughts on the kind of politics that will let us repair a fraying nation.
This hope is a gift from my father. At Bondi Beach in 2025, we saw how one man’s hatred was passed to his son. Decades earlier, in Ashfield, my father passed to me his love for others as he faithfully served his church community. His example is why I do not despair for our country and our future. …”
Photo: The front doors of Ashfield Presbyterian Church.
Recognition on Australia Day 2026
Spotted in today’s Australia Day Honours List:
Appointed as Officers of the Order of Australia (AO) –
“Mrs Jocelyn Kathleen Edna ELLIOTT
WA
For distinguished service to international relations through humanitarian medical care in remote regions of Burkina Faso.Dr Kenneth Arthur ELLIOTT
WA
For distinguished service to international relations through humanitarian medical care in remote regions of Burkina Faso.”
You will remember that ten years ago, after serving in Burkina Faso since 1972, Christian medical missionaries Dr. Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn, were kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists. (Previous posts here.)
Related:
How Ken Elliott survived seven years in the desert as a prisoner of Al Qaeda – ABC News, 29 August 2024.
Meeting Dr Ken and Jocelyn Elliott – Government House, Western Australia, 18 November 2024.
And, appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in today’s honours list –
“Emeritus Professor Christopher Raymond BELLENGER
NSW
For significant service to veterinary science, to tertiary education, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.”
In addition to Professor Bellenger’s much-valued service in the Diocese of Sydney, he has had a long association with university student Christian ministry in Australia and internationally.
Richard Johnson’s Address to the Inhabitants of New South Wales
This Australia Day, give thanks once more for the Rev. Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the First Fleet and first Chaplain to the Colony of New South Wales.
In 1792, Johnson wrote a tract designed to be distributed widely in the Colony. He gives his reasons for doing so:
“My Beloved,
I do not think it necessary to make an apology for putting this Address into your hands; or to enter into a long detail of the reasons which induced me to write it.
One reason may suffice. I find I cannot express my regard for you, so often, or so fully, as I wish, in any other way.
On our first arrival in this distant part of the world, and for some time afterwards, our numbers were comparatively small; and while they resided nearly upon one spot, I could not only preach to them on the Lord’s day, but also converse with them, and admonish them, more privately.
But since that period, we have gradually increased in number every year (notwithstanding the great mortality we have sometimes known) by the multitudes that have been sent hither after us. The colony already begins to spread, and will probably spread more and more every year, both by new settlements formed in different places under the crown, and by a number of individuals continually becoming settlers. Thus the extent of what I call my parish, and consequently of my parochial duty, is enlarging daily. On the other hand, my health is not so good, nor my constitution so strong, as formerly. And therefore I feel it impracticable, and impossible for me, either to preach, or to converse with you so freely, as my inclination and affection would prompt me to do.
I have therefore thought it might be proper for me, and I hope it may prove useful to you, to write such an address as I now present you with…”
Johnson’s warm pastoral tone, and his urgent call to trust Christ and to turn from sin, are clearly evident in this Address.
Download An Address to The Inhabitants of The Colonies Established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island as a PDF file here.
(Photo: Richard Johnson’s Address – copy held by Moore College.)
Football and “transgender vilification” — the Kirralie Smith cases
“I have written previously about litigation involving Kirralie Smith stemming from her comments about a biological male playing in a womens’ football team.
In that post I noted the decision in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘NCAT’) in Blanch v Smith [2024] NSWCATAD 20 (22 January 2024). …”
– at Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster shares updates and his opinion on four recent legal decisions.
Inside Australia’s Hate Speech Backflip and what it means for Faith Communities
A special edition of The Pastor’s Heart –
“A roller-coaster week for religious freedom in Australia.
In just days, sweeping Australian national legislation moved from deeply alarming to not great, but not terrible — after intense pressure from faith leaders across the country.
In this special bonus episode of The Pastor’s Heart, we speak with Michael Stead, Bishop of South Sydney and director of Freedom for Faith, who had a front-row seat as the law was debated, amended, and finally passed late at night in Parliament.
What was originally proposed? Why did faith leaders unite in an extraordinary last-minute letter to the Prime Minister? Which parts of the bill remain concerning — and which dangers were narrowly avoided?
We walk through how the law was actually made — and what it now means for preaching, Bible teaching, protest, and free speech in Australia.”
The message of the National Day of Mourning for Bondi
“ ‘Today we remember, honour and mourn our fellow Australians who were robbed of their lives on December 14 last year,’ said the Archbishop of Sydney on the National Day of Mourning, ‘and we express our sympathy and solidarity with all who grieve their loss.’…”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on today’s National Day of Mourning for the victims of the terror attack at Bondi.
Here is a statement from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel.
Communique from the GSFA Primates, 21 January 2026
“We, Primates of the Global South, met in Victoria, Mahe, the Seychelles, from 14-17 January 2026 for our first in person meeting since the inauguration of the GSFA’s Covenant Structure at our First Assembly (9th Trumpet) in Egypt in June 2024.
As we met to pray, worship and take counsel together, the Seychelles national motto ‘Finis coronat opus’ (the end crowns the work) reminded us of the biblical truth that we should be steadfast in those things which are of eternal worth and not be driven off course by passing cultural fashions, so that what we build may be sound and stand the test of time. …”
– Full statement at the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches website.
A new era for Australian evangelical university ministry
The Pastor’s Heart this week:
“As a new year begins, Australian evangelical student ministry is marking a significant leadership transition.
After 23 years of stable and influential leadership, Richard Chin has handed over the leadership of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students to Pete Sorrenson. The handover was symbolically marked at the Big National Conference in Canberra last December, where Richard preached the first half of the conference and Pete the second.
We step back to reflect on what the Chin era has meant for Australian evangelicalism. How has campus ministry shaped churches, training colleges and mission agencies over the past four decades? What has changed on university campuses since the turn of the millennium? And what kind of AFES will be needed for the next generation of students?
Long-standing campus leaders Tim Thorburn and Andrew Sennett, offer perspectives from both metropolitan and regional university contexts.
The discussion moves beyond gratitude and legacy to ask harder, forward-looking questions. If many of the theological and ministry convictions once championed by AFES are now mainstream, what is AFES uniquely for today? Are inherited evangelism models still effective on contemporary campuses? How central should international student ministry be? And does Australia’s increasingly fragmented university landscape require more than one model of campus ministry?”
Courageously Staying in The Church of England
From Church Society –
“Lee Gatiss, Chris Moore and Ros Clarke discuss what it takes to stay in the Church of England and faithfully contend for the gospel.”
– Listen here.
Pray for Iran
A prayer update from Gafcon:
“As the nations groan under injustice and violence, we are called to pray with clarity and hope. Today, let us be especially mindful of Iran and its people, where reports continue of brutal repression, widespread arrests, and the silencing of those who cry out for freedom. Pray for an end to violence, for the protection of innocent civilians, and that the weak, the poor, and the oppressed would be defended and upheld.
Pray that God would intervene in the hearts of those who wield power and weapons: that security forces would restrain themselves, prisoners would be released, and corrupt rulers would be brought to account. Ask for wisdom for world leaders as they consider how to respond, and for justice and peace to prevail where fear and brutality now dominate.
As part of the Gafcon movement, pray with confidence that Christ’s gospel continues to advance even in the darkest places. Give thanks for the many who have turned to Christ in Iran in recent years. Pray for the protection, perseverance, and bold love of Iranian believers, and that through them many more would come to know Jesus, to the glory of God.”
– Source: Gafcon.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…