2019: A Ground-Breaking Year for GAFCON

“A lot has happened during 2019, and we give praise and thanks to God for His faithfulness to this growing movement of Global Anglicans. Watch our round up of 2019 here and we hope that you will stand with us as we move forward into the new year …”

– Encouragement from Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Ben Kwashi.

Bible Reading Plans for 2020

“Many Christians take the beginning of a new year to evaluate their Bible reading habits and then change or begin a Bible reading plan.

For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of Bible reading plans for you …”

– Ligonier Ministries has published this comprehensive list.

Church Society Best of 2019: Audio

Church Society in the UK is highlighting some of their most helpful audio from 2019 (and earlier).

Launch: A camp for school-leavers keen to live for Jesus, February 3-6, 2020

From Two Ways Ministries and Phillip Jensen, here’s something important for school-leavers who are keen to live for Jesus. “Launch” is a strategic camp for young Christians transitioning from school to post-school life.

“Our first Launch in 2019 was so successful that we are expanding and preparing for a bigger Launch group in 2020.

See phillipjensen.com for more information, including a video and a downloadable flyer.

There’s also a Facebook page.

Related:

On this week’s The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele spoke with Rowan Kemp from the Sydney University Evangelical Union and Geoffrey Folland from Power to Change USYD about the value of being involved with a Christian group on campus.

The gospel for the boss (Ephesians 6:9)

“Authority implies responsibility. Christians, who have a heavenly Lord and Saviour, have a special reason to be responsible in the way we use our authority.”

– Lionel Windsor turns to the exhortations in Ephesians 6:9 and their application today. At Forget the Channel.

Church leaders use Christmas message to spread hope for the new year

“Millions of Australians have today celebrated the spirit of Christmas with family and friends.”

– Report and Image from Seven News Sydney (on Facebook).

‘God is with us’: Anglican Archbishop’s Christmas message to us

“The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, has told Mark Levy no trouble, bushfire or any other event can separate people from the love and comfort of God in Jesus.”

– Archbishop Glenn Davies was interviewed on Sydney’s 2GB this morning.

Bishop Mark Calder’s Christmas message 2019

Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has released his Christmas message for 2019 –

“Christmas – that time when God turned up on earth as one of us.

That is what Christmas is about and it’s worth celebrating!

It’s the sure sign that God cares enough about us to turn up, loves so much that he would come and live among us in humility; that he died and rose again so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life if we put him back in control of our lives.

So despite living in a drought ravaged land, a land deeply impacted this year by bushfires, we have in Jesus  a sure sign that God loves us, cares for us, is with us, is alongside of us, wants to know us, wants to be in relationship with us and promises us a glorious future.

Friends, have a happy Christmas!”

Link to the video on YouTube.

You can also watch Bishop Calder’s Christmas sermon, on Luke 2:1-4.

It’s all a good reminder to pray for the people of the Diocese of Bathurst, which covers the region bordered by Oberon, Cowra and West Wyalong in the south; Cobar and Bourke in the west; across the north-west to Coonamble and Coonabarabran; and Coolah, Mudgee and Rylstone in the east.

Gary Koo consecrated as Bishop of Western Sydney

“A warm smile and a ready handshake was everywhere as the new Bishop of Western Sydney was consecrated at St John’s Cathedral in Parramatta on Friday night, 20th December.

The Reverend Gary Siew Leong Koo was one of their own and many western Sydney clergy and congregation members came out to see him consecrated at the regional Cathedral. …”

– Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net has the story and some photos.

Losing a job for believing that biological sex is immutable

“An astonishing decision from an Employment Tribunal in the UK has ruled that it is acceptable to dismiss an employee because of their view that sex is biological and immutable (unable to be changed).

In a preliminary ruling in Forstater v CGD Europe (18 Dec 2019; Case No 2200909/2019, Employment Judge Tayler) this view was found to be ‘incompatible with human dignity and [the] fundamental rights of others’ (para [84]), and hence not a protected ‘belief’ for the purposes of a claim of “belief”-based discrimination under the UK Equality Act 2010.

While this case is not based on a religious belief, it brings into sharp focus a number of issues connected with religious beliefs and the workplace. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster looks at a case which might have been unthinkable a very short time ago.

‘Tis The Season to Be Jolly, So What If I’m Feeling Sad?

The song playing in Target will tell you “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, but you might feel like screeching back “For who?”

A light up display on Santa’s belly in Kmart will tell you how many sleeps are left, but to you it might feel strangely reminiscent of a ticking time bomb.

And if you’ve managed to suppress all that by the time you get home, you may be fortunate enough to have a three-year-old who regularly shouts “Hey Siri! How many days ‘til Christmas?” to refresh your memory/increase your blood pressure. …

– At The Australian Church Record, Jocelyn Loane considers what we mustn’t forget at Christmas.

Bishop of Bathurst’s Christmas Sermon 2019

Newly installed Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, is sharing his sermons from Bathurst Cathedral by video as an encouragement to people across his far-flung diocese.

Here’s his Christmas sermon, on Luke 2:1-4.

Why would God do the Christmas thing?

“Why would God do the Christmas thing? It’s commercial, it often brings out the worst of consumerism, it stresses people, promotes greed and jealousies among children, and rekindles moments of bitterness and family frictions among adults.

Sadly for most people there is just a confusion about the purpose of Christmas. Christmas for many has become like a statue in the park where observers wonder why it is there and pigeons find it convenient for all the wrong reasons.

So why would God do the Christmas thing in the first place? …”

– Bishop of Armidale, Rick Lewers, has been writing about Christmas in his In Focus column.

Here’s the latest, “Why would God do the Christmas thing?”.

New Archbishop of York, and other news from the UK

“It has been announced this morning that the new Archbishop of York will be Stephen Cottrell, currently Bishop of Chelmsford.

Stephen Cottrell is the President of Affirming Catholicism, an organisation which is ‘seeking to bring together and strengthen lay and ordained people who recognize the positive, inclusive and joyful currents in the Catholic tradition of Christianity.’ Among other things, they are seeking to allow same sex marriage and the ministry of people in same sex relationships within the Church of England. …”

– See Church Society’s website for more. Photo: Diocese of York.

The Church of England website has a story.

In other news from the UK, Bishop Gavin Ashenden, who joined the Anglo-Catholic Christian Episcopal Church two years ago, has now announced that he is ‘crossing the Tiber’.

Related:

Rome Scholars & Leaders Network, June 15th-19th 2020.

“Evangelicalism currently has an incoherent relationship with Roman Catholicism. Many evangelicals are uncertain about what Roman Catholics actually believe. Do they believe in the same Gospel, or something entirely different?…”

Swimming the Tiber? by Mark Jones at Ligonier Ministries.

Our Times are in God’s Hands

“As Christmas 2019 approaches, many of us have a sense that the world has almost tilted on its axis. There are droughts and bushfires in the natural sphere, and in the civil sphere we have seen the widespread acceptance of abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex relationships. Furthermore, there is a perceptible coarsening and hardening of public and private life. …”

– Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the Rev. Dr Peter Barnes, shares great encouragement this Christmas.

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