Illawarra’s Wave of Hope

“Christians in the Illawarra have prayed high and low for the coming Hope for the Illawarra events, from Mount Keira to Wollongong Harbour.

‘It’s a combination of 18 months of endeavour,’ says Bishop Peter Hayward, chairman of the committee that has organised three major opportunities to share Jesus on March 28 and 29. …”

– Food for prayer – from Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Can we remain silent? — a ‘Must Read’ post

From SydneyAnglicans.net, writing about a proposed bill coming before NSW Parliament,

“As the NSW Parliament considers widening access to abortion and forcing doctors to facilitate it – regardless of their conscience – two medical professionals urge Christians to speak out.”

‘I’ve been a doctor for 15 years and I love my work – I just love it. In general practice I’m in the privileged position of doing something I love, helping people and caring for them through all stages of life. …

if the Bill being considered by the NSW Parliament passes unamended … Christian GPs will be faced with the alternative of compromising either their faith and beliefs or their medical qualifications, and that’s a fairly nasty position to put people in.’

– Do read the whole thing.

And this would be very good for congregations to know about / pray about this weekend. Image: SydneyAnglicans.net. Bold added.

See also:

Statement on Abortion Law Reform proposals – Media release from the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, 20 March 2025.

Doctors’ conscience protection under threat

An important alert from SydneyAnglicans.net:

The New South Wales Parliament is considering a bill to force medical practitioners to facilitate abortions, against their conscience.

At present, doctors can object and not take part in referring patients for abortion. But the Greens party has put forward a bill that would scrap that protection for doctors and force them to refer women for abortion in violation of their conscience.

The bill is designed to expand access to abortions, especially in rural and regional areas.

Christians are being urged to voice their concerns about the bill to MPs, with the Archbishop of Sydney and the Social Issues Committee of the Diocese (SIC), expressing strong objections to Premier Chris Minns and the Opposition leader, Mark Speakman.

The letter from the SIC, signed by its chairman Dean Sandy Grant, said many will find the measures ‘morally compromising’.

“Should these amendments be passed into law, many Christian health practitioners, services, organisations and hospitals may feel forced either to break the law, or to act against their Christian convictions, or else to leave their job to avoid both of those two alternatives,” the letter says.

“No government should put any of its citizens in a position where they are required to make such a decision. Furthermore, the proposed expansion of the categories of people eligible to perform abortions up to twenty two weeks to include nurses and midwives will increase the number of individuals likely to be faced with such an unjust moral dilemma.”

The bill is in the NSW Upper House with the option for MLCs to make amendments there, and if passed it will go to the Lower House, so there is opportunity for Christians to contact MPs of both houses to express their oppiosition.

Please share and check sydneyanglicans.net regularly for updates.

– Source. (Emphasis added.)

Image: Anglican Media Sydney.

Anglican Aid report — 3,000 dead in Goma

“Tim Swan CEO of Anglican Aid issues an urgent update.

We have just heard from Bishop Martin Gordon in Goma. He said that at least 3,000 people have been killed in his city. Many thousands have been injured, and hospitals are overwhelmed. UNICEF estimates 330,000 additional children are missing out on school as a result of the recent fighting, as 2,500 schools are closed. There is widespread sexual violence, theft, and looting.

Local clergy told Bishop Martin of the fear they felt as they hid in their homes, listening to gunfire as the city was taken over. …”

– John Sandeman at The Other Cheek shares this troubling news via Canon Tim Swan. And there’s a link to Anglican Aid’s appeal page.

Hope for Sydney

“The Buddhist faith in which I was raised as a child teaches rebirth. The Christian faith into which, by God’s grace, I was rescued, teaches that you must be born again. So, it could sound like these two faiths have something in common. But in fact, this is not so.

The ‘rebirth’ taught by the Buddhist faith says that, after death, you are born into another lifetime. It’s called rebirth because the life into which you are reborn depends on the life you have lived – what you sow in one life you reap in your next life. …”

– Archbishop Kanishka Raffel shares the hope everyone needs.
At SydneyAnglicans.net.

Sydney’s link to Chilean ‘blockbuster’ event

“Supporters from across the globe have travelled to the Chilean capital Santiago for a threefold ceremony that Anglican Aid CEO and former missionary to Chile, the Rev Canon Tim Swan, calls an ‘Anglican blockbuster event’.

The occasion was the retirement of Héctor (Tito) Zavala as Primate of Chile, the consecration of Juan Esteban Saravia as Bishop of Santiago, and the installation of Bishop Enrique Lago as Primate of Chile. …”

– Russell Powell reports at SydneyAnglicans.net.

27 Ordained and Director of Indigenous Ministry Commissioned in Sydney

Russell Powell writes at SydneyAnglicans.net –

“With more than 1000 people in the congregation and 27 servant-hearted men and women, St Andrew’s Cathedral echoed with the sound of singing, fulfilling Charles Wesley’s hope for ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise’.

Newly ordained, the deacons then made their way through the crowds for a group photo on the steps of the cathedral and then celebrated with family and church members from across Sydney, Wollongong and beyond. …”

– Read it all here.

Pray for Congo as atrocities echo those of the Rwandan genocide

“Horrific reports are emerging from the Democratic Republic of Congo as the nation is being torn apart by fighting which has echoes of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s…

In the isolated city of Goma, rebels have conducted a campaign of looting, rape and indiscriminate killing.

The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid has launched an emergency appeal to provide food, clothing, and medicine to those in extreme need. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell shares something of what is happening in Congo, and what you can do to help those suffering (including by praying).

Related:

Back in 1997, ACL News spoke with Bishop Peter Dawson, then recently returned from DR Congo (then Zaire). He called for prayer for the churches of Congo. It would be good to pray such prayers now. (See the prayer included in today’s Sydney Anglicans report.)

Read the interview here.

Bringing Hope to the Illawarra

“March 2025 will see one of the largest evangelistic campaigns for many years in the Illawarra region.

‘Hope For The Illawarra’, a partnership between the US broadcast ministry Leading The Way and churches in the Illawarra, will culminate in outreach events. …”

– Russell Powell has news of good news for the people of the Illawarra.

At SydneyAnglicans.net.

Nexus 25 coming up on 17th March

The Nexus25 conference is coming up on Monday 17th March at Village Church Annandale:

“Nexus25 is about how we can reach our city with the life-giving gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Our conviction as a Nexus network is that the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his imminent return, means that our lives and churches must be driven by the urgent proclamation of our Saviour and Lord. And yet if we’re honest with ourselves, this conviction often wanes and does not flow into concerted, effective action in our churches.  We believe that God is not done with Sydney. Christ still has many people in this city—people who have not yet heard and believed the gospel of Christ—and we long to see them saved and gathered around his throne.

Together under God, let’s think about what we need to do in our churches as we strive to reach this city for Christ.

Dave Jensen and Phil Colgan are going to help us think about how we can help everyone in our churches be on board with the mission that drives us.  What are the convictions we need to sharpen in ourselves and encourage in others if we are going to be evangelistically effective? Are there things holding our churches back?  Are there better ways to do things that flow more truly from our convictions?  Those are the sorts of questions we’re going to consider.

Of course, along with this, we’re going to do what we always do at Nexus – come together for encouragement, fellowship and prayer, to spur one another on to persevere in the noble task of serving God’s people as pastors, teachers and evangelists.”

– Learn more, and register, at the Nexus25 website.

Southern Cross magazine February – March 2025

The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine (February – March 2025) is now available in churches.

If you miss out on getting a printed copy, a digital version is available from sydneyanglicans.net.

• Ministry to bubs and preschoolers
• Welcoming
• Positive masculinity
• Outreach in your suburb
• SRE teachers

PLUS: news, views, reviews and more

Advancing Indigenous Ministry

“In a boost for ministry to Indigenous peoples, Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has announced the landmark appointment of the Rev Michael Duckett as the first Director of Indigenous Ministry in the Sydney Diocese.

Synod last year voted overwhelmingly to create the position after a recommendation from the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Peoples Ministry Committee (SAIPMC) that it would greatly impact the growth and oversight of ministry by, among and for Indigenous people in Sydney and the Illawarra. …”

– Good news from Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photo: Michael Duckett thanks to SydneyAnglicans.nrt.

Back to school in East Africa

“As kids are heading back to school in Australia, the school year is also beginning in East Africa where there are over 2000 children in schools and education programs supported by Anglican Aid.

We praise God that Tarime Girls Secondary School in Tanzania is due to open this week. …”

– Anglican Aid has this news for your encouragement and prayers.

‘Religious groups split on changes to hate-speech laws’

“A proposal to criminalise hate speech in NSW has split religious organisations, with Australia’s peak Jewish body welcoming it as long overdue, but the Anglican and Catholic churches warning it could have unintended consequences of criminalising expressions of doctrine. …

Michael Stead, the Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, said his church was ‘deeply outraged and appalled’ by the spate of attacks against the Jewish community, but cautioned against the ‘unintended consequences‘ of such a law.”

– Report from The Sydney Morning Herald.

Image of Bishop Michael Stead courtesy of The Pastor’s Heart.

Mothers Union Sydney annual seminar 2025

Mothers Union Sydney has details of their 2025 Annual Seminar coming up on Friday 28th February.

Speakers and topics:
Shining Like Stars – Anna Brotherson
Living in a Secular Age – Steve McAlpine
Equipping Our Children – Al James and Beth Braga

It’s free, but registration is required. Read about it and register here.

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