Action on anti-semitism
“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel and the Bishop of South Sydney, Michael Stead, have held consultations with Jewish and other faith leaders, as well as Government, as anti-semitism reaches a new level.
Firebombing of cars, graffiti hate attacks on homes and synagogues in Sydney’s east, and now the arson attack on a preschool in Maroubra, have created fear in Jewish communities. …”
– Story from Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Image: The burnt-out Maroubra childcare centre (photo by Judy Adamson)
Anglican Aid’s 2025 Prayer Diary
Anglican Aid have published their 2025 Prayer Diary as a PDF file on their website.
If you don’t receive a printed copy at church, this is a great alternative.
And don’t forget that you can also subscribe to Anglican Aid’s feed in the PrayerMate app for the content from the Prayer Diary.
2025 Summer Prayer Diary
Tara Sing at SydneyAnglicans.net has produced a very helpful resource:
“It’s summertime and we’re getting out into the sunshine, sharing the good news of the gospel and diving deep in understanding the word of God.
With the weeks packed with camps, conferences and missions, we’ve put together an eight-day prayer diary featuring some of the great kingdom initiatives that we can bring before the Lord. …”
– Find it here.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s 2024 Christmas message — God does not leave us alone
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has released his Christmas message for 2024 — God with us in our loneliness.
Good to watch – good to share — good to play in church!
See also this post from Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net, which includes a link to the text of the Archbishop’s message (PDF file).
Southern Cross December 2024 – January 2025
The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine is now available from the Diocese of Sydney.
Surfing and serving
Summer prayer diary
Baptism testimonies
Teachers and preachers
Grandparents
Faithfulness
Movies and summer reading
PLUS: news, views, reviews and more.
Antisemitic attacks — Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney
Here is a Media release from the Diocese of Sydney:
Anglican Diocese of Sydney
Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney
Antisemitic attacks
The latest attack on the Jewish community in Sydney is egregious, cowardly and despicable.
All people of good will, faith or none, will condemn this outrage. It follows the terrorist attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, and more than a year of increasing hostility and intimidation of the Australian Jewish community in multiple, grotesque ways.
This is totally unacceptable.
The Jewish community in Sydney is resilient and peace-loving, contributing to the welfare and harmony of our city in myriad ways. Jewish people arrived in Sydney with the First Fleet. Sydney is the home we all share.
I urge all political, community and religious leaders to unite and I offer the support of Sydney Anglicans as together we stand against hate.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
11 December 2024.
Source: SydneyAnglicans.net.
Raising the Next Generation of Leaders
“I was privileged last month to spend an afternoon watching our prayers being answered.
It is a constant prayer point of our Diocese to ask the Lord to raise up workers for the harvest field.
In my recent Synod address (see SC, Sept-Oct), I said that if we were to succeed in establishing one new church for every 30,000 people in greenfields areas, we would need far more men and women training for ministry than are currently in our system.
I asked for every parish to be intentionally prayerful about sending or supporting at least one suitable person to train for full-time ministry at Moore College or Youthworks College in the next three years. …”
– Archbishop Kanishka Raffel writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.
He also reveals that a diocesan Day of Prayer for Mission has been called for May 4, 2025.
Nexus 25 registration open
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.
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.
Sydney and Tanzania Celebrate Over a Century of Mission Work
“This year Synod celebrated 130 years of partnership between the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and the Anglican Church of Tanzania, a fellowship that dates back to 1893. ‘We have sent about 400 missionaries to Tanzania,’ said the Rev Canon Peter Sholl, international director of the Church Missionary Society Australia, adding: ‘About 250 of those have been from NSW.’ …”
– A cause for thanksgiving – story from Tara Sing at SydneyAnglicans.net.
From the Archives: Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane remembers the beginnings of the SUEU
From our archives:
In 1980, Archbishop of Sydney Sir Marcus Loane (1912 – 2009), addressed the Sydney University Evangelical Union’s End of Term Service.
In his 19 minute address, Sir Marcus recalls the beginnings of the Evangelical Union, fifty years previously.
Photo: Marcus Loane as Vice Principal of Moore College, 1950.
North Sydney Rector speaks about meeting the King and Queen
St. Thomas’ North Sydney Rector Mickey Mantle was interviewed by Matthew Pantelis on 5AA Adelaide earlier this week. He took the opportunity to share the good news.
Related:
Mr Eternity: The Story of Arthur Stace, launched in Sydney – November 2017.
Link thanks to SydneyAnglicans.net.
Image: Mickey Mantle at St. Thomas’ on 20 October 2024.
Sheltering families in north Lebanon
From Anglican Aid (Sydney):
“Over the last month, many families from the conflict zone in south Lebanon have moved north, seeking safety. Believing that the Christians there would help them, some have sought help from Anglican Aid’s long-term partner, Good Shepherd School. In response, the school is now sheltering some of these displaced families.
Directors of Good Shepherd School, Reem and Emil Bourizk, have also taken some families into their home alongside their own children.
They told us yesterday that bombardments in their area early this week have brought the conflict very close to home. …”
– Read more, watch their video, pray, and support Good Shepherd School if you are able.
Guess who’s coming to church
“The congregation of St Thomas’ North Sydney was told only the day before that they would have the King and Queen as special guests for the Sunday morning family service.
Strict security had to be in place for the opening official engagement of King Charles’ first visit to Australia as King.
‘We really hope and pray that he recovers well and what he hears in the service will be of great encouragement and meaning to him,’ said the rector, the Rev Micky Mantle, as he prepared for the service. …”
– Russell Powell has the story at SydneyAnglicans.net.
You can read the text of Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s sermon here. (PDF file.)
Video of the full service can be seen here (link to the arrival of the King and Queen).
A Cloud of Witnesses: Australian Anglicans in Tanzania – Rev Dr Colin Reed
“The Letter to the Hebrews encourages us with the account of the great cloud of witnesses in the Old Testament – people who lived by faith looking forward to Jesus. The Moore College Archives encourage us with some of the witness of people of more modern times who have stepped out in faith looking to Jesus as they went to serve God in Tanzania. How do they encourage and challenge us today? What shaped their faith? What shaped their passions? What were their aims in mission? How do they ‘strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees’?”
Colin Reed spoke at a Moore College Library Lecture earlier this month. His fascinating lecture will be of great interest to anyone wanting to know more of the history of CMS in East Africa, and many people he mentions will likely be familiar to our readers.
Rev Dr Colin Reed grew up in Africa and (along with his wife Wendy) served with CMS as a missionary in Tanzania, on staff of the NSW & ACT Branch, and as Principal of St Andrew’s Hall.
Over many years, Colin has studied and written on the history of the Church in East Africa.
And on YouTube, there are timestamped links to topics mentioned in the lecture.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…