‘Our strategic moment’: The massive greenfields challenge for Sydney Diocese
“It is crucial strategic moment for the work of the Gospel in Sydney. There is limited time to act as the city of Sydney undergoes massive infrastructural changes.
The phenomenal population changes demand a reimagining and redistribution of Church assets, ministry resources and people. The growth will be tremendous, and so will be the responsibility.
In the next 50 years, the current Western Region alone will have a population two and half times that of the South Sydney Region or the Northern Region.”
– In another very helpful episode of The Pastor’s Heart, Bishop Peter Lin and Ross Jones, the CEO of the Anglican Church Growth Corporation, speak about the strategic opportunity facing the Anglican Church in Sydney.
How to reach Australia + The Queensland Presbyterian crisis
On the latest edition of The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Queensland Theological College Principal Gary Millar at the Reach Australia conference on the NSW Central Coast.
As well as sharing from his keynote addresses on Holiness and Hope, Gary is asked about the problems facing Queensland Presbyterians and the College he leads.
Does the Church of England deserve to survive?
“Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a business enterprise decided to sponsor an educational establishment.
The business made widgets, and at the time everyone thought that widgets were just the bees knees. People bought the widgets; they learned about how widgets were made; they visited widget shops and even widget museums, dedicated to understanding all about the history of widgets. …”
– British theologian Ian Paul is bemused by the silence of Church of England bishops when a Church of England clergyman is attacked for teaching Church of England doctrine.
Annual General Meeting 2021
The ACL gives notice of, and warmly invites our members to attend, the 2021 Annual General Meeting.
Date: 6.00 pm, Thursday 10th June, 2021.
Location: T.C. Hammond Room, Moore Theological College, 1 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042.
Hear from ACL President Andrew Bruce, as he speaks to us from God’s word. Hear what the League has achieved, under God, over the last year, pray for the League’s future work, and take part in making decisions.
In order to vote, current members should renew by 10th June.
PrayerMate celebrates ten years
PrayerMate is ten years old, and has been a blessing to so many. It may help your prayer life.
The Equality Act, other symbols of a new era, and the church’s response
“Phil Ashey of ACNA’s American Anglican Council has written with customary clarity about the implications of the Equality Act for Christian life and witness in the US.
Behind the (as many see them) apparently reasonable laws to prevent egregious and unjust discrimination are assumptions contained in the Act about belief and worldview.
It is not just actions which will now be policed (for example, refusing to bake a cake celebrating a same sex wedding,), but words. It seems that to express publicly a view derived from the bible about binary genders and a heterosexual norm might become ‘legally discriminatory’. Canon Ashey shows how the definition of ‘public space’ has been widened specifically to include churches. …”
– Andrew Symes writes at Anglican Mainstream.
Out-Thought or Out-Discipled? Mission and Ministry in 2020s Australia
“In 1901 about 96 percent of Australians identified themselves as Christian. By the 1950s this had hardly moved, with a good 89 percent nominating Christian on the census.
The big change has happened in the last half-century. It began in about 1963, and it has accelerated in the last ten years. The next census, due this August, is almost certain to mark a significant milestone: the first time fewer than fifty percent of Australians identify as Christian. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Rory Shiner helps us understand the context in which we preach the gospel to Australians today.
His article was first published in the recent ACR Journal.
Image: The Pastor’s Heart.
New Prayer Cycle for the Diocese of the Northern Territory
The Diocese of the Northern Territory has produced a Prayer Cycle to encourage prayer for the work of the gospel in the Top End and elsewhere.
Waves of frustration: Following Jesus in mid-pandemic Europe
“This is a season of great frustration, sitting in Bari, Italy, amidst the third wave of Covid-19, which doesn’t feel like it was really separate from the second. In my daughter’s class, there are 6-year-olds who have not been at school in person since October.
Frustration is revealing itself in pretty much every element of life, and everyone is feeling it, many to a worse extent than we are. …”
– The Australian Church Record has this on-the-spot reflection from Jessica Cowell in Italy. Food for prayer.
Presbyterian Church of Queensland goes into receivership
“The Presbyterian Church of Queensland has gone into receivership, raising questions about the long-term fate of its aged-care facilities, schools and other operations.
PwC Australia intends to continue all operations while it carries out a sweeping review of the church’s activities and financial position.…”
– Unwelcome news via The West Australian – and a matter for much prayer.
See also this PCQ Media Statement which gives some of the background, and a Letter to Congregation Members from the Clerk of Assembly.
Roebourne’s Holy Trinity Church, the oldest church in WA’s north-west, celebrates 125 years
“The historic Holy Trinity Church in Roebourne — transformed last year after decades of neglect — turned 125 this week, with more than 50 people attending celebrations to mark the milestone.
Some travelled more than 1,600 kilometres to celebrate the anniversary of the church, which is the oldest in north-west WA. …”
– This story from ABC Pilbara serves as a reminder to pray for gospel ministry in Roebourne and elsewhere in the North West.
The Anglican Church League welcomes the election of Kanishka Raffel
The Anglican Church League expresses its congratulations to Dean Kanishka Raffel on his election to become the new Archbishop of Sydney. We look forward to his installation at St Andrew’s Cathedral on 28 May 2021.
We give thanks for the prayerful and diligent way the members of Synod chose our new Archbishop from among four godly nominees. We also wish to express our appreciation to all the nominees and their families for allowing themselves to be considered for such an important role, and we commit to praying for their ongoing ministry within the Diocese of Sydney.
Over his entire ministry life, both within and outside the Diocese, we have seen Kanishka demonstrate a heartfelt love of Jesus and a commitment to following him as Lord, whether it be through the gracious proclamation of the Gospel to the lost, or in the courageous contention for Evangelical truth with the wider Anglican Communion. We are confident he will continue to bring these same traits to the new ministry role of the Archbishop of Sydney.
The ACL encourages its members to continue to uphold Kanishka, Cailey and their family in prayer as Kanishka seeks to lead our Diocese in mission to the lost and lead the wider church in faithfulness to the Scriptures. We give thanks for his willingness to serve.
Kanishka has been a member of the Anglican Church League for more than 25 years.
Rev. Andrew Bruce
President
Dr. Robert Tong AM
Chairman
Kanishka Raffel with Richard Glover on ABC Radio Sydney
Updated with a direct link to the interview.
Richard Glover on ABC Radio Sydney interviewed newly elected Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel on Monday 10th May 2021.
The interview can be heard at this link.
Image from the Cathedral video stream, 09 May 2021.
Hear the back story of Sydney’s new Archbishop
“In the days after Kanishka Raffel’s election as Sydney’s new Archbishop, his face has been on the major TV news, he has been questioned by the Sydney Morning Herald and now an in-depth interview with ABC Radio.
While Channel Nine News drew comparisons with the first leader of Anglicans in Sydney, Bishop Broughton, the main news on Channel Seven featured the Dean of Sydney speaking about his election last Thursday. …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell gives a roundup of media coverage of the Archbishop’s election, including a transcript of Kanishka’s interview with Richard Glover on ABC Radio Sydney yesterday.
Image: Wesley Mission.
Religious Freedom Weekend June 11-13, 2021
Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, writes,
“Let me commend this event, the ‘Religious Freedom weekend’ to be celebrated over June 11-13, 2021; details available at this website: religiousfreedomweekend.com.au.
The weekend is being sponsored by Freedom for Faith, a legal think-tank supporting religious freedom in Australia which I am proud to be associated with. This is not a conference, but simply a weekend where we are encouraging believers all over Australia, and those who just support the important human right of religious freedom, to celebrate religious freedom and consider what they can do to support this right.
There is a Resource Pack outlining some current challenges, with some suggestions for prayer for churches and other religious groups. There is a call which can be sent to Members of Parliament to support proposals to protect religious freedom, especially through laws prohibiting religious discrimination. Church leaders can also email for further resources.
I think this is a great resource and encourage all those who read this blog to support it and share it with others!”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…