Eleven years ago – plans for GAFCON crystallise


On 1st January 2019, after ten years at the helm, Dr Peter Jensen will step down as General Secretary of GAFCON and hand over his responsibilities to Archbishop Ben Kwashi, the new General Secretary.

We give thanks for Peter’s global leadership these last ten years.

Eleven years ago, Peter – then Archbishop of Sydney – wrote to explain why GAFCON was needed, and he foreshadowed the first Conference, to be held in Jerusalem:

“A Global Anglican Future Conference is planned for June 2008. The aim of the Conference is to discuss the future of mission and relationships within the churches of Anglican Communion.

Those who wish to retain biblical standards especially in the area of sexual ethics have spent much time and effort in negotiations on these issues in the last five years. They want to move on together with the gospel of Christ’s Lordship, a gospel which challenges us and changes lives. Israel is planned as a venue because it symbolises the biblical roots of our faith as Anglicans. I want those in the fellowship of our Diocese to know what this is about and why I am involved…”

– Read Peter’s full message, published in December 2007.

Continuing erosion of biblical authority in many parts of the Anglican Communion highlights GAFCON’s vital role.

Photo of Archbishops Ben Kwashi and Peter Jensen courtesy GAFCON.

Religious sanctions and contempt of court

“The recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal in Ulman v Live Group Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCA 338 (20 December 2018) raises important issues about the interaction between internal disputes within a religious community, and the ‘secular’ court system.

In this case a majority held that the threat of purely religious sanctions, to be applied if a dispute was resolved in the ordinary courts rather than in a religious tribunal, amounted to contempt of court, and imposed financial penalties on members of the tribunal.

Significant questions are raised as to whether religious groups are able to apply their own religious beliefs in disciplining members of their community, or whether these decisions will be over-ridden by the ordinary court system. …”

– Associate Professor Neil Foster highlights a recent court decision, at Law and Religion Australia.

Toronto Bishop Kevin Robertson marries his same-sex partner

Bishop of Toronto, Kevin Robertson (left), has married his same-sex partner in a service at St. James Cathedral.

Link via Anglican Samizdat.

Bible Reading Plans for 2019

Ligonier Ministries has assembled a list of Bible Reading Plans you can download as PDF files.

Of course, there are many phone apps to help you read the Bible (some free, and some paid). One such is Reading Plan on iOS.

The free iOS app BCP: Daily Office Readings is also worth checking out.

Be encouraged to read God’s Word in 2019!

UK Foreign Secretary orders review into persecuted Christians’ plight

“Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review into the plight of persecuted Christians around the world and how much help they get from the UK.

The review, led by the Bishop of Truro, will look at government efforts to help some of the 215 million Christians who faced discrimination and violence last year, according to the Foreign Office. …

The intervention comes after an outcry over the treatment of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who faced death threats after being acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan.”

– Story from BBC News.

The Queen’s Christmas message for 2018 – and other recent news

Here’s is Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas Message.

In other news you might have missed the last few days:

Jesus shows how to lay power aside for the sake of the foreigner – Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, in The Australian Financial Review.

“The 2000-year-old story of the Middle Eastern family of modest means seeking a safe lodging place speaks to the weariness of the modern world with a surprising relevance. Because it is at heart, the story of the laying aside of power for the sake of the lowly. God comes to us, so that we may come to him. …”

Russell Powell, CEO of Anglican Media Sydney, had this published in the Letters section of The Sydney Morning Herald on December 24 – in response to Elizabeth Farrelly’s regular column.

“Farrelly states that the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney had ‘reaffirmed … the ban on divorced people – even women divorced after being abused by clergy – being remarried in church’. There has never been such a ban.

The link embedded in the online story shows the resolution carried by the Synod: ‘Synod, noting that it is the prerogative of the Archbishop or a Regional Bishop, in accordance with the laws of this Church, whether or not to approve the remarriage of a divorced person, requests the Archbishop and Regional Bishops to consider approving the remarriage of a divorced person, where that person has been abused physically or emotionally by their former spouse.’

The effect of the motion was simply to urge bishops to be vigilant on this issue. The fact that Bishops have permitted the remarriage of victims of domestic violence shows there is no ban.”

Letter to the Archbishop of York on Liturgy celebrating ‘Gender Transition’

“Your Grace, This letter to you is respectfully to express concerns about the liturgy commended by the House of Bishops in celebration of gender transition in local churches. As a member of Church Society, I would support the concern expressed by its director, Dr Lee Gatiss, about the use of the existing rite of affirmation of baptismal faith for this purpose.

He wrote: ‘The repurposing of liturgy like this is troubling. As a church whose doctrine is derived from Scripture and expressed in our liturgy, transitioning the meaning and purpose of liturgy looks like changing our fundamental doctrine by stealth’.

The theological reasons for the concerns about this liturgy have been well expressed in the various resources which Church Society has published and so there is no need to rehearse those arguments here.

But the specific issue I would like please to raise with you, if I may, relates to the potential misuse of the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy against frontline ministers who cannot in good conscience celebrate gender transitions.

Clause 2.4 of the Guidelines states quite rightly that ‘clergy should always be conscious of the power dynamics involved in their pastoral care, noting both the position of trust which they hold and the power which they exercise’. Clause 12.3 also states that ‘pastoral care should never seek to remove the autonomy given to the individual. In pastoral situations the other party should be allowed the freedom to make decisions that may be mistaken’.

That individuals must never be coerced or manipulated in pastoral conversations should not be in dispute. But gently inviting individuals in the light of the Holy Scriptures to think about the consequences of decisions they may be contemplating and lovingly warning them of the spiritual dangers of disobeying the Bible’s teaching should not, according to the Ordinal, be viewed as wrong. The Ordinal clearly enjoins clergy ‘to be messengers, watchmen, stewards of the Lord; to teach and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family’.

The use of already canonically authorised liturgy for the purpose of celebrating gender transitions presents a new set of circumstances under which frontline clergy minister. So, the current uncertainty over whether the sensitive expression by clergy of spiritual and moral concerns about gender transition might be treated as an abuse of pastoral power poses a threat. Doubt about this would seem to leave clergy, who believe as a matter of deep theological conviction that gender transition is not in accordance with God’s good and loving will for people made in his image and who cannot in conscience affirm such transitions, vulnerable to having complaints of misconduct upheld against them under the Clergy Discipline Measure (2003).

As a parish incumbent, I ought to take my spiritual and moral accountability to my chief ministers under the infallible Word of God in the Bible very seriously. I should accept their ‘godly admonition’, which the Ordinal exhorts ordained presbyters to.

So, I think it is my duty to be clear with you as the senior pastor of the Province in which I minister that I would be morally bound to contest any CDM action brought against me for expressing concerns about gender transitions and not using the new liturgy. I would also be duty-bound to support any other licensed minister threatened with CDM action for following his or her biblically-informed conscience on this.

I believe I should show this letter to the Oughtibridge PCC so that they know where I stand on this issue as their servant in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This letter to you is also being forwarded to the Bishops serving Sheffield Diocese. It would be good to meet with them in the New Year, if they wanted, together with other colleagues who share these concerns.

With all Christian good wishes,

Julian Mann – Vicar, the Parish Church of the Ascension, Oughtibridge, in the Diocese of Sheffield.”

– The Rev. Julian Mann has sent this letter to the Archbishop of York. (Photo: Archbishop of York John Semantu.)

See also:

Church of England’s plan for transgender baptisms outrages bishops – The Telegraph.

Reformation sights in Oxford

Moore College’s Lionel Windsor shares some sights from Oxford relating to the English Reformation.

“Right in front of the pillar and the picture of Cranmer was a little stand where people could pay a pound to light a candle.”

Looking for a Saviour — Archbishop Glenn Davies’ Christmas message 2018

Here is Archbishop Glenn Davies’ Christmas message for 2018.

Short, to the point, and ideal to show in church or embed on your church website.

See also the story and text from SydneyAnglicans.net.

“The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, has paid tribute to lifesavers and bushfire fighters while marking celebrations for the birth of Jesus, the saviour.

Archbishop Davies annual Christmas message was released as preparations were being made for Christmas services to be attended by thousands of people across Sydney, the Illawarra and beyond.…”

The Christmas Preacher

“There are numerous benefits of preaching at Christmas. 

But Christmas preaching comes with particular challenges too. Here are some things to keep in mind …”

– Helpful reminders from Mike Raiter. (GAFCON photo.)

Christmas message from GAFCON General Secretary Peter Jensen

Dr Peter Jensen, soon to retire as GAFCON General Secretary, has recorded this Christmas message.

Accommodation is not Guidance

“On Tuesday 11th December the House of Bishops published ‘Pastoral Guidance for use in conjunction with the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith in the context of gender transition.’ Whilst sharing the desire to show pastoral care, the content of the Guidance causes me deep concern and I support the request from the Bishops of the Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda for the reception of the Guidance to be reviewed. I note too the personal reservations expressed about it by the Chair of the House of Bishops’ Delegation Committee, The Rt Rev’d Julian Henderson, and commend the recent critiques produced by the Church Society and the Church of England Evangelical Council.

The Guidance represents a way of accommodating the request from the General Synod that the House of Bishops consider devising a liturgy for the welcome of transgender people. However, in doing so it has raised many more questions than it answers. These include:

Accordingly, I would support any move to change the status of this Guidance so that it is seen as a contribution to the LLF Project, rather than a finished product of the House of Bishops.”

– Bishop of Maidstone Rod Thomas has posted this statement on this website.

Earlier: Bishop Andy Lines on the Church of England’s guidance on liturgies to celebrate gender transition.

Update on Bishop Lee — 20 December 2018

“The Bishop of Western Sydney, Bishop Ivan Lee has now been diagnosed with cancer in his liver.

Bishop Lee wrote an update on his health, thanking people for prayer support. …”

– SydneyAnglicans.net has published the latest update from Bishop Ivan Lee, Bishop of Western Sydney, and also a Vice-President of the Anglican Church League. Please do continue to uphold in prayer Ivan and Virginia and their family.

Ruddock Report response (part 3)

“In my former posts (here and here), O Friend of Law and Religion, I have dealt with all that the Ruddock Report covered in recommendations 1-12 and 15, along with the official Government Response to those recommendations.

In this post I aim to cover recommendations 13-14 and 16-20. These deal with important issues of the law of blasphemy and religious free speech, along with State discrimination laws, collection of data, education on religious freedom, the role of the Australian Human Rights Commission, and the exercise of leadership in the area by the Commonwealth. …”

– Associate Professor in Law, Neil Foster, has just posted part three of his response to the Ruddock Report.

He concludes, in part, “… my general response is that the Report is a sensible document which takes religious freedom seriously, and hopefully the actions promised by the Government will be implemented with due speed”.

Christmas: Satan’s field day?

“Now the title of this article might appear a little too shocking for the ‘merry’ Christmas season… but let me highlight some of the ways that the great deceiver tries to take our minds off Christ during the Christmas period, before suggesting some ways to respond.  …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Mike Leite encourages you to swim against the tide this Christmas.

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