Archbishop Peter Jensen’s Statement on the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury
March 19th, 2012
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney – Media Statement
Statement on the resignation of Dr Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury
“The Archbishop of Canterbury is universally admired for his intellectual stature and his personal warmth. In his time as Archbishop, the Anglican Communion has been subjected to unprecedented stresses which have hastened an inevitable tendency to regional independence and decentralisation. With the majority of Anglicans now from theologically conservative churches of the Global South, the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the future will demand a deepening appreciation of their place in the Communion.
Dr Peter F Jensen,
Archbishop of Sydney.”
Newcastle Diocese parish seeking new Rector
The parish of Bulahdelah with Tea Gardens is in the Diocese of Newcastle, and over the years, a solid evangelical ministry has been established there. The parish is now vacant and church members are looking for an evangelical minister to lead them into the future.
Doubtless, they would appreciate your prayers – and if you would like to know more, here’s the parish website, and an excerpt (400kb PDF) from the Parish Profile.
Bishops speak out on Gambling Reform
“This past week the Australian Anglican Bishops met in Melbourne for the annual National Bishops’ Meeting. One important item on our agenda was Gambling Reform…”
– Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower draws attention to this media release from last week.
Church of Nigeria on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to resign
PRESS STATEMENT — CHURCH OF NIGERIA REACTS TO ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY’S RESIGNATION
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt. Hon. Dr. Rowan Williams took over the leadership of the Anglican Communion in 2002 when it was a happy family. Unfortunately, he is leaving behind a Communion in tatters: highly polarized, bitterly factionalized, with issues of revisionist interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and human sexuality as stumbling blocks to oneness, evangelism and mission all around the Anglican world. Read more
Reform on Rowan Williams’ announced departure
From Reform:
Rev’d Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform, the 1,700-strong network of conservative evangelicals within the Church of England, said:
“Many people will have appreciated Rowan’s great courtesy in dealing with people of different views within both the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. But his departure opens up the potential for a new leader to heal the deep divisions within the Anglican Communion. What is needed is someone who will hold firm to biblical truth in areas such as human sexuality in order to promote the gospel and unite the church in the face of militant secularism.”
Canterbury not the future?
In his weekly video message, Canon Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council, reflects on the legacy of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. He argues that GAFCON, with a clear focus on the Lord Jesus, is the way of the future for Bible-believing Anglicans.
Rowan Williams to step down as Archbishop of Canterbury in December
A press release from the Anglican Communion News Service:
“Archbishop of Canterbury to be Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Archbishop Rowan Williams has today announced his acceptance of the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge with effect from January 2013. He will therefore be stepping down from the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of December 2012. Read more
New Hampshire names nominees for bishop
“The Diocese of New Hampshire’s Bishop Search and Nomination Committee March 15 announced a three-nominee slate for a bishop coadjutor to succeed Bishop V. Gene Robinson… Robinson announced in November 2010 that he would retire in January 2013.”
– Report from the Episcopal News Service.
Trellis and Vine Talk No. 6 — at The Briefing
Over at The Briefing, the latest episode of the ‘Trellis and Vine Talks’ has been posted. Col Marshall and Tony Payne chat about Discipleship teams. It’s episode 6, and the others in the series are listed here.
The Gippsland Crisis
At Theological Theology, Dr Mark Thompson, puts the recent developments in Gippsland in their wider Anglican context. We’ve reproduced his comments below, and added links to some related material at the end.
“This all too brief history is widely known. In particular it is known by all the Anglican bishops in Australia. None of them is in the slightest doubt about the volatile state of the communion and the issue which lies at the heart of the turmoil.”
“It is no secret that global Anglicanism is being torn apart over the issue of homosexuality. Actually, homosexuality is just the current presenting issue of a very deep and long running divide between liberal revisionists in the denomination and those who remain committed to the teaching of Scripture and the theological character of Anglicanism as represented in the Thirty-nine Articles, the Homilies and the Book of Common Prayer. However, it is the presenting issue, the point at which gospel faithfulness is currently being tested. Read more
The Challenges we face
“The church, like the Bible, is not primarily concerned with human sexual behavior. Our main concern is to seek the glory of God in all things, and to bear witness to the saving power of Christ’s gospel. But the Bible makes clear that God’s glory is inherently connected to our sexual behavior and our identity before the Creator. Furthermore, the gospel requires a clear understanding of human sinfulness, including, very specifically, sexual sins.
One thing is clear – the church has to learn how to speak honestly and courageously about sexual morality, but also to speak with true gospel humility. In other words, we must make clear that we are not moral superiors speaking to moral inferiors, but those who have been redeemed by God’s grace pointing others to his grace to us in Christ…”
– Albert Mohler outlines some of the key issues facing a new generation of ministers of the gospel.
Visual Theology — The Trinity
Tim Challies has produced another ‘infographic’ in his ‘Visual Theology’ series.
“It seeks to show what we must and must not believe about the Godhead while also explaining the complementary roles of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” – See it here.
What marriage is, and why it matters
“Why do Christians care about marriage, and what does it mean to them? The answer is quite simple, though it demands a considerable amount of unpacking: just as, according to Genesis 1:27, human beings ‘image’ God, so marriage ‘images’ the relationship between Christ and the Church, or to put it another way, the relationship between the Creator-Redeemer God and his created-redeemed people…”
– John Richardson in the UK seeks to flesh out (so to speak) the significance of marriage – at The Ugley Vicar.
‘The mistakes of Phillip Jensen’
Few people have been used by the Lord to bring gospel blessing to Sydney as has Phillip Jensen. And few people have been as maligned and misrepresented.
At The Briefing, Tony Payne chats with Phillip about his days in university ministry, about the Anglican Church, about being nominated for Archbishop, about the real agenda of REPA, and much more. Read it all here.
Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?
Keep a look out for this one –
“Crossway has just published a major new collection of essays from an international team of top-flight scholars on the historicity of Scripture and why it matters to faith: Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture, edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary…”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…