Bathurst Bishop’s Newsletter — August 2026

Posted on August 6, 2026 
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Read the latest from the Diocese of Bathurst in The Bishop’s Newsletter for August 2026 – including –

“We give great thanks to God for the upcoming ordinations and commissioning on 22 August at 11am. …

Bishop Mark’s final service: A service of Praise, Prayer and Proclamation, 1.30pm, Sat 19 Sept at All Saints Cathedral. All welcome.

At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Mark will officially lay up his pastoral staff and his time as bishop will conclude.

The bishop’s election board recently reported: ‘We have met several times, and we believe, under God’s hand, that we have identified a number of suitable candidates. We appreciate your continued prayers for wisdom and discernment’…”

And from Bishop Mark Calder –

“Dear friends,

Four years ago last month, we launched Sharing Jesus for Life. It was never intended to be just another diocesan slogan or a strategic document that sat on a shelf. It was, and remains, a reminder of why we exist as churches: to share the Lord Jesus so that people might find life in him. …”

– Please be encouraged to download the newsletter and use it in your prayers, particularly in this coming time of transition for the diocese, for the eternal welfare of men and women, boys and girls, across this huge region of New South Wales.

 

The joys, privileges and rewards of Christian ministry — with Matt Fuller

Posted on August 5, 2026 
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More from The Pastor’s Heart –

“We often speak about the pressures and heartbreaks of pastoral ministry. But we speak far less about its joys, privileges and eternal rewards.

Matt Fuller, Senior Minister of Christ Church Mayfair, joins us to discuss his new book, The Joyful Pastor (Despite Everything).

We talk about difficult sheep, false accusations, losing joy, practising thankfulness, avoiding burnout and returning daily to Christ.

And we explore something pastors rarely discuss: the reward promised by the Chief Shepherd.

“When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” – 1 Peter 5:4

An honest and encouraging conversation for weary pastors.”

– Watch or listen here.

The Age of the Spiritual

Posted on August 4, 2026 
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From Phillip Jensen:

“In 1 Corinthians 12-14, we come to a passage that has dominated Christian discussion for the last 60 years. It is one that Peter and I have been thinking and preaching on for most of our public ministries. But I hope that you find this fresh take on the passage to be a helpful way of understanding Paul’s letter.”

In the discussion, Phillip recalls writing his book, The Coming of the Holy Spirit –

“In the writing of that book was a verse which held up the whole of my writing for 12 months, for there was a translation problem which one of the editors pointed out to me. That verse was 1 Corinthians 14:12, ‘So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.’

The trouble is, the Greek doesn’t say, ‘the manifestations of the spirit’. What it really says is, ‘since you are eager for spirits’, plural. The Holy Spirit is never spoken of in plural form, so it can’t be referring to the Holy Spirit—thus it should be written with a lowercase ‘s’. But then that raises the question: what spirits is it talking about?…”

– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen discuss these key chapters – at Two Ways News.

At the bottom of that page, there are ways you can support the ministry.

Seeing God at work in Wyong

Posted on August 4, 2026 
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“We came to Wyong in early 2021, between the first and second COVID lockdowns. The Central Coast was never on our radar—in fact, I used to tell Susannah as we drove home from family gatherings on the Central Coast, ‘I can’t ever imagine living on the Central Coast’… and she said, ‘Neither can I’. Yet here we are! God has shown me time and again that he has a sense of humour. Coming to Wyong has been entirely his doing, and it’s been the best thing ever!

Before COVID, I was part of the ministry team at Bondi-Waverley Anglican Church…”

– The Australian Church Record speaks with Aleks Pinter at Wyong Anglican Church.

Confusion over the Religious Question on the Australian Census — Michael Stead and Mark McCrindle

Posted on August 3, 2026 
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An important and timely episode from The Pastor’s Heart –

“Answering ‘Anglican’, ‘Catholic’, or ‘Baptist’ on the Census isn’t a test of church attendance.

Before filling out your form, hear researcher Mark McCrindle, and Bishop Michael Stead discuss

  1. What the Bureau of Statistics is actually measuring.
  2. Why writing your specific denomination helps community planning more than generic labels.
  3. How census data impacts real-world support—like hospital, prison, and military chaplaincy. …

The Bureau of Statistics definition of religious affiliation is simple: it’s the faith group you associate with, even if that differs from your active practice or participation.”

– Watch here.

Related:

Count us in! – SydneyAnglicans.net.

The Sydney Family Album 5 — Frederic Barker

Posted on August 2, 2026 
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In 2011, Mark Thompson, now Principal of Moore College, published a series of posts, entitled “The Sydney Family Album”, for his website, Theological Theology.

We felt they merit wider distribution, so, with Mark’s kind permission, we are re-posting them on the ACL website, at the rate of one a week.

Here’s the fifth in the series, on Bishop Frederic Barker.

“Barker’s long episcopate (until his death in 1882) saw massive change in the colony. Barker was certainly up to the challenge. He was a gifted administrator and was both visionary and practical.”

Other posts in the The Sydney Family Album series (as we add them) are in our Resources section.

Kirralie Smith- transgender vilification and sport

Posted on August 1, 2026 
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Associate Professor Neil Foster writes –

“I have previously written about the case of Kirralie Smith. Ms Smith is part of an advocacy organisation, Binary Australia Ltd, which advocates for sex-based rights, especially for women, and sometimes posts about biological males who have been allowed to compete in women’s sport. Stephanie Blanch (and Riley Dennis) were mentioned on the website of Binary and elsewhere online in this context, and then claimed that this amounted to ‘transgender vilification’ under section 38S(1)(a) of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1975 (“ADA”). The plaintiffs in the original litigation were each described by Deputy Chief Magistrate Freund as a ‘transgender woman’, and were both born biologically male.

In the earlier proceedings (judgments linked in my previous post) Smith was found to have committed vilification, ordered to pay a total of $95,000 in damages to the two plaintiffs, and found liable for costs. An appeal was lodged, and the NSW Supreme Court (Rigg J) has now handed down a judgment granting leave to appeal in some respects, but mostly dismissing the appeal grounds: see Smith v Blanch; Smith v Dennis [2026] NSWSC 879 (24 July 2026) (Blanch and Dennis Supreme Court Appeal, ‘BDSCA’). Smith remains liable to pay $95,000, is forbidden ‘from publishing on social media or otherwise anything relating to the defendant[s] to the same or similar effect as held to be unlawful vilification in [the previous] Local Court proceedings’ – see BDSCA [261], [262]. She also has to pin a notice about the proceedings ‘on all social media pages and websites over which [she has] control, including Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) and the website of Binary Australia’, for 3 months. (See Annexure A to BDSCA for the content.)

In this post I will aim to explain the basis for the court’s decision. As will be seen, I think there may be grounds for a further appeal. …”

– Read it at Law and Religion Australia.

Artefact in Focus: The Taylor Prism

Posted on August 1, 2026 
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From Tyndale House in Cambridge – this page and short video by George Heath-Whyte, Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church College, Oxford.

“The ‘Taylor Prism’ has stood on display in the British Museum for 170 years. Named after Colonel R. Taylor, the British diplomat who purchased it in the 1830s, it is a masterful example of ancient Assyrian cuneiform and craftsmanship, with its six tightly-inscribed columns standing almost 40 cm tall.

Remarkable to look at, it is even more remarkable to read. …”

– Watch the video and read the accompanying story.

Dr Robert Tong thanked for 45 years of service on the Board of Moore College

Posted on July 31, 2026 
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From Moore Theological College:

“Dr Robert Tong was acknowledged for 45 years of faithful service on the College Board this month.

Robert has served under 6 Archbishops and 4 Principals and has always been motivated by his devotion to Christ and his gospel. We are greatly indebted to this gifted and faithful governor.”

Photo: Robert Tong with three College Principals – Mark Thompson, John Woodhouse and Peter Jensen.

– More photos here.

On a related note, The Anglican Church League is also grateful to the Lord for Robert’s long and faithful service as the Chairman of the ACL. He retired from that position at our Annual General Meeting last month. The ACL is immensely grateful for Robert’s wisdom and generosity over many years.

Kara Hartley appointed Faculty Member of Moore College

Posted on July 31, 2026 
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From Moore Theological College –

“The Moore College Governing Board has accepted the Principal’s nomination of Archdeacon Kara Hartley to join the College Faculty in January 2027 in a part-time capacity.

Kara is a graduate of the College (BD 2007, MA(Theol) 2019), has continued her involvement with it in many ways, and has extensive ministry experience, both lay and ordained, in the Diocese of Sydney. …”

– Read the full story from the College website.

Photo: Kara Hartley with Moore College Principal Mark Thompson.

In Defense of the Abuja Affirmation

Posted on July 30, 2026 
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Writing in Covenant, the online journal of the American publication The Living Church, Bishop Glenn Davies responds to an article by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver about the Abuja Affirmation –

“I am grateful for the irenic article that the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver published on Covenant on April 13, 2026, where he engages theologically with the Abuja Affirmation.

As a participant in the G26 Assembly in Abuja in March, I have a good idea of what was achieved in that extraordinary gathering, which was a celebration of the Global Anglican Communion launched by the Gafcon primates on October 16, 2025.

The heart of the issue that Gafcon has been addressing since its 2008 inaugural assembly in Jerusalem is the authority of Scripture in its plain, canonical sense. …”

– Glenn’s response is an important setting out of why Gafcon / The Global Anglican Communion is needed.

It is worthy of careful study.

________________

Related: (each will open in a new window)

The Kuala Lumpur Statement, 1997.

Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1.10.

GAFCON Final Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration – 29 June 2008.

The Jerusalem Declaration – as a PDF file – formatted to two A4 pages.

The Abuja Affirmation – 2026.

The Thirty Nine Articles.

Darrell Bock on Engaging Aussie (or any) Culture

Posted on July 30, 2026 
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A special from The Pastor’s Heart –

“In this special ‘pop up’ episode of The Pastor’s Heart we talk with New Testament Professor Darrell Bock about how best might Christians might engage culturally to reach Australians for Jesus.

Plus his love of Sydney,  Sydney Swans Australian football team and why he would move here if he didn’t have grandchildren. Bock is known for getting up at 2am in Dallas to watch the Swans play live on TV.  He will see three Swans games during his current visit to Australia.

Darrell Bock is executive director of Cultural Engagement at The Hendricks Center and Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.”

– Very helpful. Watch here.

Preaching God’s Way Of Salvation

Posted on July 30, 2026 
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From The Expository Preaching Trust:

“In his previous article, Bob Thomas encouraged us to preach with single-mindedness, focused on the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this article, Bob walks us through an example of how this might be done when preaching from Ephesians 2:8-10 and 3:14-20, bringing a gospel shape to a sermon. …”

– Read it here.

Ordinations for Bathurst Diocese announced for 22 August

Posted on July 29, 2026 
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From the Diocese of Bathurst –

“Bishop Mark [Calder] has announced today that, God willing, five people will be ordained at All Saints’ Cathedral, Bathurst, on Saturday 22 August at 11am.

Robert Yemm, Xanthe Yemm and Justin Baker will be made Deacons,
and Robbie Nichols and Jim Kapetangiannis will be ordained Priests.

Please join us in thanking God for each of them and praying that the Lord will strengthen and sustain them as they prepare for this significant step in their ministry.

(Steve Cimarosti will be commissioned as Archdeacon in this service.)”

–Source, Bathurst Diocese Facebook page.

Darrell Bock answers questions on Luke’s Gospel

Posted on July 29, 2026 
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From The Pastor’s Heart –

“Leading New Testament scholar Darrell Bock gives a rapid fire exploration of Luke and Acts.

Bock, who is Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, outlines what first drew him to Luke and answers questions including:

Plus Luke’s distinctive emphasis on the world wide expansion of the gospel, the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit, care for the poor and the creation of one new family from Jews and Gentiles.”

– Watch or listen here.

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