Religious freedom concerns raised at cult inquiry

“Religious freedom advocates have warned recommendations to criminalise coercive control in cults could target mainstream churches and faith communities.

The Victorian Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee’s inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups is holding public hearings. …

In hearings on 21 October, the Australian Christian Lobby and Freedom for Faith raised fears the inquiry’s outcome would affect how Christians practice and teach their faith. …”

– Hannah Felsbourg writes at The Melbourne Anglican.

Adelaide Synod 2025: walking together into another year

The Diocese of Adelaide held its 2025 Synod last weekend. It was the last for Archbishop Geoff Smith, who concludes his time as Archbishop on 1st November:

“The Adelaide Anglican Synod for 2025 concluded its annual session on Sunday, marked by an emphasis on synodality, youth engagement, and a move toward streamlined ministry governance.

Held once again at Starplex at Trinity College Gawler, due to the very high satisfaction survey last year, the session was, once again, affirming for Synod members to listen carefully, and speak respectfully, acting synodically – flourishing and united in God’s Love.

The weekend began with the Synod Eucharist held on Friday 16 October at St Peter’s Cathedral. During the beautiful service a new Archdeacon was collated, four new area Deans for the Triennium were commissioned and four members of the laity were awarded Diocesan extraordinary service ‘Archbishop’s Pins’.…”

– Secretary of Synod Joe Thorp reports at The Adelaide Guardian.

Bathurst Diocese Ministry Opportunities October 2025

The Diocese of Bathurst has posted its latest page of Ministry Opportunities.

New to the list is the parish of Blayney, Millthorpe, Barry and Trunkey.

My story, God’s story

“Your story is unique. Sharing your story is one of the most authentic ways you can witness to your faith and confidence in Jesus. It is so adaptable to different situations from sharing one-on-one at a cafe? or sharing to a group of people at an event, or even in written form. And when it’s our story, it’s not a debate, or pushy, or fake and, if it comes from the heart, it will be personal, engaging and real.

I am convinced that personal stories (testimonies) are a very powerful tool that the Holy Spirit uses to stir spiritual interest and to draw people towards Jesus. …”

– David Bassett, Assistant Bishop in Perth, writes to encourage Christians to share their story – and offers some simple principles to help.

On page 2 of The Messenger from the Diocese of Perth, for October 2025.

Direct link to the PDF file.

Bathurst Synod 2025 edition of the Bishop’s newsletter

See the Synod edition of the bishop of Bathurst’s latest newsletter – at this link.

Number of Bible studies doubles in Bathurst – Tara Sing at SydneyAnglicans.net.

And Bishop Mark Calder spoke at the closing service of the Armidale Synod on Sunday morning.

He is seen here with Bishop Rod Chiswell. (Other images on the Bathurst Facebook page.)

Archbishops: Installed or enthroned?

“It is all about a seat! A ‘cathedra’ is the proper name for the seat of a Diocesan Bishop or Archbishop, hence cathedral is the building in which it is placed. Its origin is the Greek, then Latin, word for a seat with arms. Why a seat? What should a bishop do when sitting in their seat?

The seat is often described as a ‘throne’, hence the words, ‘enthronement’ or ‘enthronisation’. This implies that the bishop rules the diocese from this seat, a symbol of authority. …”

– At The Melbourne Anglican, Dr Peter Adam explains how much evidence he finds in the New Treatment for “Diocesan Bishops as rulers with thrones”.

He also shares some “New Testament instructions which are relevant to a bishop’s role”.

Image: St Helen’s Bishopsgate.

Musician glorifies God

“From outback North West Australia, singer/songwriter Tenielle Neda puts scripture to song so that God is glorified and his Church is built up.

Tenielle recently moved from Karratha to Geraldton where she is part of the Cathedral congregation with her young family. She is a blessing to the Christian community, having produced a catalogue of songs that bring bible truths to bear on the heart and mind. …”

– Good news and photo from the Diocese of North West Australia.

Diocese of Armidale Synod begins tomorrow

The Synod of the Diocese of Armidale meets this weekend (Friday 26 – Sunday 28 September).

“Bishop Mark Calder (Bathurst Diocese) will join us on Sunday to preach at our concluding service.”

– It’d be good to uphold the Anglican churches of that diocese in your prayers.

Presidential Address — Bathurst Synod 2025

Video of Bishop Mark Calder’s Presidential Address to the Bathurst Diocesan Synod today is now available.

– Watch here.

Thanksgiving in Sydney Synod as Bathurst Diocese shares what God has been doing

On Tuesday of this week, three representatives of the Diocese of Bathurst were welcomed to the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney – Bishop Mark Calder, Dr Warwick Baines (Registrar) and Adrian Ahern (Chancellor).

As shared with the Diocese of Bathurst via their Facebook page –

“Bishop Mark reported on all that God has been doing among us for his glory as we prioritise Sharing Jesus for Life.

He also thanked the Diocese of Sydney for their generous financial and prayerful support, which makes such a significant difference to the ministry here.

Finally, he shared the great need for more gospel workers, noting this would wonderfully maximise Sydney’s financial investment.”

These slides were used by Bishop Calder in his presentation –

The summary and further images can be seen at the Bathurst Facebook page.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, travelled to Bathurst Cathedral to speak at their Synod service tonight.

It’s all a great reminder to pray for the eternal welfare of the men and women of this huge area of NSW, and for the churches of the diocese as they are committed to Sharing Jesus for Life.

Thanks to the Diocese of Bathurst for the images.

BCA Information Night – October 13 2025

The Bush Church Aid Society is holding an Information Night on Monday October 13.

Perhaps you, or someone you know, would like to find out more about BCA’s work across Australia, with the possibility of going.

Click the image above, or go to this link and scroll down to “Nation Wide”.

(Via the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page.)

Matthew Gospel hits the stage

“An engaging stage dramatisation of the gospel produced kingdom fruit in Geraldton.

Geraldton Anglican Cathedral member Eugenie Harris produced The Matthew Drama, a 90-minute retelling of the Gospel of Matthew with a cast of 15 local Christians.

‘More than 200 people attended the two performances which happen as theatre-in-the-round so the audience is central to the action,’ she said. …”

– Encouraging news from the Diocese of North West Australia.

Anglican Diocese of North Queensland enters receivership

“A church diocese covering a third of Queensland has entered receivership to help fund ongoing compensation payments to victims of child sex abuse.

The Anglican Diocese of North Queensland covers 75 congregations, from the Torres Strait to Mackay and west to Mount Isa. …”

– Report from ABC News.

(The ABC report does not outline how this move will affect parishes, but notes that “schools and aged care service providers” will not be directly impacted.)

Image derived from the North Queensland Diocese website.

Top Centre issue 2 for 2025

Top Centre is the News Publication of the Diocese of the Northern Territory.

The latest issue was published online a few weeks ago, and it’s ideal reading to fuel your thanksgiving and intercession for the churches and people of the Northern Territory.

At the moment the Diocesan Synod is meeting in Darwin (prayer point!) – so it’s good to read Bishop Greg Anderson’s article on the Diocese’s Strategic Plan –

“This is the last in my series of articles on the Diocese’s strategic plan. I have written before about our vision statement “Growing communities in the love of Jesus Christ” and about our values: love, unity in diversity, hope, integrity, courage, safety and faithfulness to our foundations. Now, finally, I want to say something about our two strategic objectives: “Promote the gospel” and “Provide effective support structures around ministry.”

Those two objectives are about what we plan to do, under God, to achieve the growth in our churches and Christian engagement with our neighbours across the Northern Territory which we all hope for.

Promoting the gospel starts with having at the very centre of all our ministries the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord. How much unpacking we have to do to get all the meaning from those four words, not to mention why we think this is a good strategy! …”