Adelaide Synod Presidential Address

Archbishop of Adelaide Jeffrey Driver The Synod of the Diocese of Adelaide meets this weekend (October 23–25 2009).

Archbishop Jeffrey Driver gave his Presidential Address on Friday. The text is available here (PDF file).

Better Gatherings — new look

The recently-launched Better Gatherings website, produced by the Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel, has had a makeover.

“This site is designed to equip service leaders to craft meetings that by their shape, their contents and their tone proclaim the gospel of Christ, build his body in the unity of the spirit and bring honour and glory to God.

On this website we would like to help you reflect biblically and historically on just how good church can be, and give you the resources you need to put this vision into practice.”

At bettergatherings.com.

“A Star. A Stable. A Saviour.” – from Nathan Tasker

Nathan Tasker is releasing a CD in time for Christmas, A Star. A Stable. A Saviour.

As a pre-release promotion, 5 copies can be ordered for $50, including shipping. A Christ-honouring Christmas gift? An evangelistic talking point? Worth checking out. (h/t Justin Moffatt.)

New Social Issues website

The website of the Social Issues Executive of the Diocese of Sydney is now up and running. Lots of helpful resources.

Latest on their site: Who are the disabled?

The sin of GAFCON? (updated)

Did Archbishop Peter Jensen wonder out loud if the diocesan financial losses were the Lord’s punishment for going to GAFCON?

From an Anglican Media Melbourne story (22 October 2009):

“The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, has admitted questioning whether his diocese’s financial losses were a result of God chastising the Church for unethical behaviour, arrogance in handling its endowment or as punishment for its bishops going to the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem rather than Lambeth.” (emphasis added.)

AMM is not alone in reporting this seemingly out-of-character remark.

So what did Archbishop Jensen really say? From his prepared text: Read more

Richard Bewes: 50 years ago and now

John Richardson has posted this thoughtful article by Richard Bewes on contending for the faith – then and now.

“Do you know, life was altogether more simple when I was ordained! The evangelical intake in September 1959 numbered about seven percent of the total.

Who were we? What were we? Nothing, in the minds of the wider church. It was Backs to the Wall for us despised evangelicals…

It was really in 1962 – with Honest to God – that true battle began.”

Richard Bewes was Rector of All Souls, Langham Place until late 2004 and has also served as Chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council. (Photo: RichardBewes.com.)

Counterfeit Gods reviewed

Tim Challies reviews Tim Keller’s new book Counterfeit Gods.

And Christianity Today has an interview with Tim Keller:

“Look at your daydreams. When you don’t have to think about something, like when you are waiting for the bus, where does your mind love to rest? Or, look at where you spend your money most effortlessly.”

The book doesn’t appear to be available in Australia just yet, but you can read the first chapter here (PDF file via Westminster Bookstore).

Desperate bishops invited Rome to park its tanks on Archbishop’s lawn

“Rome has parked its tanks on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lawn after manoeuvres undertaken by up to fifty bishops and begun two years ago by an Australian archbishop, John Hepworth.

As leader of the Traditional Anglican Communion, a breakaway group claiming to represent up to 400,000 laity worldwide, he went to Rome seeking a means to achieve full, visible unity for his flock…”

– Ruth Gledhill writes in Times Online. Related: Traditional Anglican Communion website
(Photo: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)

ANiC responds to Vatican announcement

The Anglican Network in Canada’s Bishop Don Harvey:

“I need not become a Roman Catholic to be a Catholic Christian. As an Anglican, I am a Catholic Christian.”

Glebe board sorry for losses

“The 2009 Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney has accepted an apology from the board which administers more than one hundred million dollars in church funds, for large losses associated with the Global Financial Crisis…”

– Russell Powell wrote this report for SydneyAnglicans.net.

Reform initial response to ‘Apostolic Constitution’ announcement

MEDIA STATEMENT 20th October 2009

Revd Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform, makes four points as an initial response to today’s announcement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster:

“Anglicans concerned about protecting the basic Christian faith need not go to Rome, because we now have the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA (UK)) which holds together those who want to stop the orthodox faith being eroded. We can remain Anglican. Furthermore, the FCA Primates have recognised that problems with episcopal oversight are arising here in the UK. They have expressed the hope that these will be solved locally, but if not, they are willing to step in.”

“This development highlights the need for robust legislative provision to cater for those who cannot agree to women bishops, such as that recently suggested by the Revision Committee.”

“If priests really are out of sympathy with the C of E’s doctrine (as opposed to the battles we are having over women’s ministry and sexuality), then perhaps it is better they make a clean break and go to Rome. However, when they do, they will have to accommodate themselves to Rome’s top-down approach to church life, whereas the C of E has always stressed the importance of decision making at the level of the local church.”

“It is illusory to pretend that this development is an outcome of ecumenical dialogue. It illustrates the difficulties the C of E faces and the need for stronger leadership, rather than the ‘softly softly’ approach so far taken to those holding liberal views who are splitting the church.”

— from Reform.

What does it mean to be Anglican? IV

Mark Thompson continues his series –

“Anglicanism is both genuinely catholic and unambiguously Protestant. But what type of Protestantism is embedded in the Anglican formularies — Lutheran, Reformed or Anabaptist?…”

– read it all at Mark’s blog, Theological Theology.

Rome welcomes unhappy Anglicans

The Vatican has announced a structure to ‘bring home’ Anglicans dissatisfied with the liberalism rampant in many parts of the Anglican Communion –

“With the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion.

In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony.”

– Full statement from the Vatican website.

The Archbishop of Canterbury approves. So does Forward in Faith UK.

Update: And Bishop Bob Duncan of ACNA.