Dogs, donkeys, cockatoos head to annual Pet Blessings in Newcastle

“The Anglican Parish Telarah Rutherford and Christ Church Cathedral held their annual Blessing of the Pets this week.

A bearded dragon, delightful donkeys, cackling cockatoos and a pack of pooches were just some of the purrfect pets who attended with their human companions.”

– News and photos from the Diocese of Newcastle.

Meanwhile, also in Newcastle Diocese, “Anglican Priest Rod Bower brands Peter Dutton a ‘Sodomite’ in social media post” – Sydney Morning Herald.

Faithfulness to Christ against the odds: the Anglican Communion and the global sexual revolution

“Global Anglican leaders will gather to meet in Canterbury in early October for a summit meeting. Most of them come from contexts where the Anglican church is continuing to teach and promote the biblical Gospel of repentance and faith in Christ for salvation, and the historic Christian understanding of sexuality and marriage. A few Provinces, with most of the wealth and power, are dominated by a leadership wanting to promote a different form of Christianity that is more acceptable to the secular West.

The last Primates meeting, in Canterbury January 2016, only made these divisions clearer. The majority of Primates resolved then to work together to continue the important work of the Anglican Communion, but required TEC to withdraw from full involvement, as they had violated the ‘bonds of affection’ by continuing to pursue their revisionist agenda, of which acceptance of same sex marriage was the latest example. But the TEC leadership, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion Office, interpreted things very differently. …

Primates from the Global South and their advisors due to attend the meeting in Canterbury should not be in any doubt that the ground has shifted since the fruitless efforts of years gone by to discipline TEC for their revisionist actions which have torn the fabric of the Communion. …”

— The Rev. Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream makes clear what next week’s Primates gathering in Canterbury is about.

Please do pray for the Primates, especially that they will be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Photo: The 2016 Primates meeting.)

Statement on the Consecration of Gavin Ashenden by the CEC

“Bishop Gavin Ashenden is a winsome and courageous defender of the Christian faith who has been prominent in supporting the same gospel values for which Gafcon stands, but his consecration was not an initiative taken by Gafcon. The Christian Episcopal Church, of which he is a bishop, is not part of the Anglican Communion and is not a constituent Church of the Gafcon movement.

Gafcon is committed to reforming our Communion from within and it was in accordance with this great vision that Bishop Andy Lines was consecrated as a missionary bishop for the United Kingdom and Europe by Primates representing the majority of the world wide communion in Chicago earlier this year.

We recognize that there is a spiritual vacuum caused by the silence and even compromise of much traditional leadership in the West and it is not surprising that new leadership should emerge. Our preference is that it will emerge from the highest level of cooperation and collaboration between these initiatives, so that those who uphold ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ (Jude 4) work together as far as the integrity of their church polity allows. Nonetheless, we pray that the ministry of Bishop Ashenden, and all Christian leaders who love the truth, will bear much fruit for the gospel.

Dr Peter Jensen
GAFCON General Secretary.”

— A statement from GAFCON on 28 September 2017.

For background, Kevin Kallsen speaks with Gavin Ashenden (YouTube) about the Anglo-Catholic Christian Episcopal Church.

Developing Rectors Program at Moore College

“In March, Moore College’s Centre for Ministry Development (CMD) launched the Developing Rectors Program – a program to equip new Rectors across the Diocese…”

– Read about the program at the Moore College website.

‘No need to speculate’

Freedom for Faith, have published this video featuring Professor Iain Benson, an expert in religious freedom.

He speaks about the Canadian experience.

Other videos are being posted on the Freedom for Faith website.

Humanity’s value and dignity

“Have you ever thought about one of the underlying assumptions behind almost every Hollywood thriller?

It is the value of human life.

Basically, because we value human life, the hero will bend over backwards to ensure that the nerve gas isn’t released into the city’s gas supply or stop the nuclear warhead from being detonated.

These movies would be pretty short if the hero simply did a cost-benefit analysis and concluded that it would be simply too expensive to save the city. No, the underlying assumption is that human life is precious. …”

— Moore College’s Dr Peter Orr reminds us why human life is valuable, when so many around us think otherwise. At SydneyAnglicans.net.

Moore College Open Day on Saturday October 28

The next Moore College Open Day is set for Saturday October 28.

“The day includes a sample lecture from one of our faculty, a campus tour and plenty of opportunities for questions. You are welcome to drop in at any point during the day, lunch is provided at 12 noon.”

– Details from Moore College.

Have we domesticated service?

“A few times every year in our church we have ‘welcome suppers’ for people who are new to our church.  During those times we talk about the things that define us and invite people to come on board.  On each occasion we open up various passages of Scripture to talk about different aspects of church life and one passage we always look at is Mark 10:42-45 …”

– Phil Colgan, Rector of St. George North, wants us to truly understand the gospel of grace. At The Australian Church Record.

The Purpose of Humanity

“When we know our purpose it has far reaching implications for all that we do and give ourselves to.

Purpose doesn’t determine what I can or can’t do, but it will tell me what I ought to be doing. For instance, a scalpel can have very great or terrible uses depending on whether it is acting in line with its purpose. Similarly, an athlete can forgo all kinds of luxuries, not because they are ‘wrong’ but because they do not fit with their purpose.

So then when it comes to the actions and plans of humanity, discerning the ‘purpose statement’ is of infinite importance. …”

– Sam Manchester, Head of Communications at St Helen’s Bishopsgate, addresses a question few people ask, and to which fewer heed God’s answer. At The Australian Church Record.

Hypocrisy

“Hypocrisy just makes us mad doesn’t it?

Politicians speaking of tightened belts, while endorsing payments for themselves. There is the hypocrisy of some media figures speaking of truth and objectivity, while at the same time advancing a personal or political agenda with inaccurate or selective reporting.

There is the hypocrisy of some doctors supposedly committed to the Hippocratic Oath, while at the same time advocating killing. It makes us mad when we see examples of Police who are supposed to be guardians, caught in corruption or carelessness… and then there are examples of hypocritical clergy, preaching and standing for morality while living out the worst kinds of immorality.

Hypocrisy rightly makes us angry. We hate hypocrites. Hypocrisy makes us cynical. Hypocrisy makes us distrustful. I hate the hypocrisy that I see in those others around me, and the damage that it does… but there is a kind that I hate even more. …”

– Dean of Armidale, Chris Brennan, offers hope for hypocrites.
(Earlier, we incorrectly attributed this to the Bishop. Our apologies.)

My self-help Bible?

“The self-help industry is flourishing. Isn’t that ironic?

The industry is built on the premise that all you need for happiness, success, and contentment is within you, yet it peddles self-improvement programs as the key to becoming a better you. The endless supply and demand for the latest life changing-book betrays the fact they never actually deliver the transformation we long for.

The question is, have we taken on a self-help approach to reading the Bible? …”

– Ruth Schroeter, Associate Minister at St Andrew’s Cathedral, writes in The Australian Church Record. (Photo courtesy St. Andrew’s Cathedral.)

Just who is raising objections?

“Five bishops in the Anglican Church of Australia have asked their church lawyers whether bishops can take part in consecrating another bishop of a church which is not formally part of the Anglican Communion.

Meanwhile bishops from Uganda and Sudan have been taking steps to support a movement in South Africa to maintain biblically faithful Anglican witness. The Southern Africa Mission held an ordination service of the Church of Uganda in Trinity Anglican Church Franchhoek near Cape Town on 10 September. …”

– Anglican Mainstream reprints an article written by Chris Sugden for Evangelicals Now.

Who decides membership in the Anglican Communion? Not the Secretary General of the ACC!

“It is simply not true to say that ACNA is part of the Anglican Communion,” he [Idowu-Fearon] said. “To be part of the Communion, a province needs to be in communion with the See of Canterbury and to be a member of the Instruments of the Communion. ACNA is not in communion with the See of Canterbury—and has not sought membership of the Instruments.”  Idowu-Fearon added that “There is a long-standing process by which a province is adopted as a province of the Communion… ACNA has not gone through this process.”  <http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/acna-not-province-anglican-communion-secretary-general-clarifies/> Accessed 13 Sep 2017.

The Secretary General’s statement that The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is not a province of the Anglican Communion is misleading at best.

It ignores the very process of recognition of the Anglican Church in North America by some GAFCON provinces as early as July 2009.

It ignores the public and published recognition of Archbishop Foley Beach as “a fellow Primate of the Anglican Communion” by those Primates of the Anglican Communion who installed him as the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America on October 9, 2014.

The Secretary General ignores the recognition of the Anglican Church in North America as a “partner province” of the Global South by the Primates of the Global South in their October 2016 Communique. …”

– Canon Phil Ashey, President of the American Anglican Council, challenges a declaration by the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council.

Videos: Moore College School of Theology 2017: Celebrating the Reformation

Moore College has posted the videos from their 2017 School of Theology.

The theme was “Celebrating the Reformation”.

A wonderful resource.

Coalition for Marriage calls for ‘respectful and peaceful’ national conversation

This afternoon, the Coalition for Marriage has released this statement:

“As the ABS mailout of plebiscite ballot papers nears its conclusion, more and more Australians are speaking up and participating in the debate about marriage.

Freedom of speech is a central issue in this campaign. It is absolutely crucial that people are able to speak up and participate in a national conversation about marriage in a respectful and peaceful manner.

They need to be able to do so without fear of intimidation, bullying, sackings or violence.

Equally, it is incumbent on all those seeking to participate in the debate to do so in a respectful manner.

This weekend there will be a number of events and rallies across the country. Some of these are organised by the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns. Others are not.

We call on all Australians to participate in the process peacefully and respectfully and will continue to encourage this throughout the course of the campaign.”

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