Russian Patriarch concerned about liberalisation in Church of England
“On October 18, 2016, His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, met with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury at the Lambeth Palace in London. …
Patriarch Kirill drew Archbishop Justin Welby’s attention to the Russian Orthodox Church’s concern over the liberalization of the Church of England’s teaching on church order, particularly, the ordination of women as priests and bishops and on the family and morality. His Holiness Kirill expressed hope that the Church of England will oppose challenges of the modern world and seek to preserve the Gospel’s teaching. …”
– from The Russian Orthodox Church. Photo: Lambeth Palace.
Suggestions from a Scottish Sabbath
Kirsten McKinlay, who has recently come to Sydney from Scotland, reflects on what is different about Sundays in Sydney – and how we might be missing out.
“… I do miss that rest was standard on a Sunday in Scotland. It turns out that it’s much harder to cease from my work when it isn’t the cultural norm, and no one else is doing it! Whether a biblical mandate or not, it’s possible that Sydney Christians have missed out by neglecting the Sabbath.
Whether we see it as obligatory or not, it is good to have a set pattern of expecting our work to stop on a certain day, because our restless hearts won’t always feel like stopping. Having this rhythm of rest can be a useful check on our pride—when we think the world depends on us—and stops life from becoming overwhelming.”
– Read it all at GoThereFor.com.
Same-sex marriage on Melbourne Synod agenda
Here’s a press release from the Diocese of Melbourne, October 19, 2016:
“Same-sex marriage, legal aid and poverty are among the issues to be discussed at the Melbourne Anglican Synod, which opens at St Paul’s Cathedral tonight. Read more
The Open Letter from Evangelicals to C of E Bishops: a commentary
“On Wednesday 12th October a letter was sent to the College of Bishops, signed by nearly a hundred evangelical leaders, making it clear that “further changes to practice or doctrine” on sexual ethics would result in serious damage to the Church of England. The letter isn’t titled. There was no sophisticated media strategy involved in getting it out, other than asking signatories to make it more widely known.
There was initially some confusion about whether it was meant to be kept ‘in house’ among the evangelical constituency, or publicised in the wider media. The organisers, led by John Dunnett of CPAS and some of the committee of the Evangelical Group on General Synod, then let it be known that it is a public letter.
The issue is considered to be of sufficient urgency that it can’t just be a private communication with Bishops, but must also be a signal to the wider church. …”
– Andrew Syme at Anglican Mainstream, provides some commentary about that letter.
Discipleship Training in the Gospels — Preaching Matters
The latest “Preaching Matters” from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has just been released with a video from William Taylor:
“What is a Gospel, and what are the Gospel authors trying to do? Can you give us some examples of how the Gospels train us? How does the authors’ structure in the Gospels help us understand what true discipleship involves? What difference will this make to the structures and strategies in our churches?
In this month’s Preaching Matters, William describes the radical differences that follow in the way we do evangelism, preach, and disciple others.”
He asks some provocative questions about the way we do evangelism.
Moore’s global vision given a new focus
“Launched at Synod tonight, Moore’s Centre for Global Mission (CGM) promotes theological reflection and practical engagement in cross-cultural mission work. The Centre provides a pathway for the rich biblical theology taught at the College to be deployed in service of those seeking to make disciples across cultural boundaries in Sydney and around the world. …”
– Report from Moore College. Related: Centre for Global Mission.
The old Absolution switcharoo
“Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
who in his great mercy
has promised forgiveness of sins
to all those who with heartfelt repentance and true faith turn to him:
have mercy on you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and bring you to everlasting life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In my earlier years as an evangelical, I would rankle when I heard the absolution delivered in this way. ‘Priestcraft!’ my mind would shout. ‘Say us! Are you not also a sinner needing forgiveness, O vicar? …”
– At Church Society’s blog, Tom Woolford has a point worth considering.
(Image: The Absolution from the AAPB, Lord’s Supper, First Order.)
‘Accusations laid bare: In defence of the Archbishop’
From The Australian Church Record:
“The editor of the Australian Church Record has penned a important response to a recent article by Julia Baird concerning a group of Anglican church leaders who have accused Archbishop Glenn Davies of silencing supporters of same-sex marriage.
The ACR response can be downloaded by clicking on ‘Download Special Issue’ from australianchurchrecord.net.”
Direct link to the special issue – PDF file.
Related: Same-sex marriage: Anglican Church leaders accuse Sydney Archbishop of silencing supporters – by Julia Baird, ABC News.
In other media news this week, David Ould has received an apology from The Sydney Morning Herald.
Letter to the Church of England’s College of Bishops
“I am publishing here, with permission, a letter that has been sent to all members of the College of Bishops prior to their next meeting to decide what proposals to bring to General Synod in February. …
First, this is not a PR exercise. Although the sending of the letter has been reported in Christian Today, it has not been circulated to media outlets, unlike some other previous letters. It is intended to be an honest communication to the bishops of the concerns of the signatories and others like them.
Secondly, it attempts to give a clear outline of the major theological reasons why this is felt to me such an important issue. …
Thirdly, it is striking that the signatories come from the whole range of the evangelical constituency, including ‘open’, ‘charismatic’ and ‘conservative’ evangelicals. These are people involved in key initiatives in the Church at the moment, and although they do not claim to represent the groups they work for, there will be many others who share these concerns. …
The Church of England is at a crossroads in her calling to bring hope and transformation to our nation. The presenting issue is that of human sexuality, in particular whether or not the Church is able to affirm sexual relationships beyond opposite sex marriage. But the tectonic issues beneath, and driving, this specific question include what it means to be faithful to our apostolic inheritance, the Church’s relationship with wider culture, and the nature of the biblical call to holiness in the 21st Century. …
We do not believe … that it is within our gift to consider human sexual relationships and what constitutes and enables our flourishing as sexual beings to be of ‘secondary importance’. What is at stake goes far beyond the immediate pastoral challenges of human bisexual and same-sex sexual behaviour: it is a choice between alternative and radically different visions of what it means to be human, to honour God in our bodies, and to order our lives in line with God’s holy will.
At this crucial juncture, as our bishops pray and discern together regarding how the Church of England should walk forward at this time, we urge them not to depart from the apostolic inheritance with which they have been entrusted. …”
The letter has now also been published at GAFCON UK’s website.
Asia Bibi’s appeal delayed
“After more than seven years in prison, the first Pakistani Christian woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy has had her Supreme Court appeal delayed, amidst renewed Islamist calls for her to die. …”
– News from World Watch Monitor.
Photo: Barnabas Fund.
Synod approves gay marriage booklet
“Sydney Synod has expressed deep concern about moves to remove gender from the marriage act and has authorised the distribution of a booklet outlining the consequences of same-sex marriage for families and society.
Debate on the third night of Synod was led by Bishop Michael Stead, who chairs the Archbishop’s Plebiscite Task Force and the Dean, Kanishka Raffel. …
‘… the Task Force was convinced of the need to provide resources for Sydney Anglicans. The booklet “what has God joined together?” is the first such resource. The booklet aims to engage, equip, and embolden Sydney Anglicans to be a part of the debate on same-sex marriage.’…”
– full report from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Australian Church Record, Spring 2016
The latest issue of The Australian Church Record (Spring 2016) is now online.
From the article ‘One Man and One Woman’ by Kanishka Raffel –
“The Scriptures delight in human friendship and community. Our hyper-sexualised culture has almost forgotten about intimate non-sexual friendships. Relationships are essential for human flourishing, but marriage is not. But God’s plan and purpose in marriage … reflects his plan to bless individuals, families and society, and to display his faithfulness and love for his people in Christ.”
From the article ‘Church-Planting and Gospel Confidence’ by Simon Flinders –
“Paul’s primary strategy in seeking to make disciples was to proclaim the gospel, rather than to establish a church. That’s not to say he had no interest in the establishment of churches. Clearly he did. But it does tell us that establishing a church was not his first order of business.”
Download it from the ACR website. Direct link to the PDF file.
Chappo’s legacy lives on with Preaching Clinics
“John Chapman was a much loved and great evangelist and preacher not only in Sydney but around the world. He was also a champion of engaging expository preaching and the need to train preachers well. He regularly used to say ‘There is nothing in the world like good preaching. Mind you, there is nothing in the world like the opposite either!’ …
The Chapman Preaching Clinics are part of an integrated program to help preachers keep improving from the day they commence preaching until the end of their ministry.” – News from Moore College.
(Illustration from a Department of Evangelism videocassette cover, 1986.)
Draft Australian Same Sex Marriage legislation unveiled
“Today the Federal Attorney-General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, released an Exposure Draft of the legislation that would, if it were to pass the Federal Parliament, introduce same sex marriage to Australia- the Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill. There is a good summary of the provisions of the legislation in a press release issued by the Attorney-General. This follows the introduction on 14 September 2016 of an enabling Bill to allow a plebiscite, a popular vote, on the matter to be put to the Australian public, the Plebiscite (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill 2016. That Bill has not yet received any substantive consideration by the Parliament.
Earlier today the leader of the Australian Labour Party Opposition, Bill Shorten, announced that his Party would be voting against the enabling Plebiscite Bill when it reaches the Senate…”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster takes a look at the draft Same Sex Marriage legislation.
Archbishop of Sydney’s Presidential Address to Synod 2016
“Archbishop Glenn Davies, in his Presidential address opening the 2016 Synod, or Parliament, of the Anglican Church, has spoken of Sydney’s urban sprawl and efforts to establish new churches on the fringe of the city…” – Read Russell Powell’s report at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Read Archbishop Davies’ Address (PDF file).
Watch it here. Or listen here.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…