Bathurst News: Archdeacon Jono Williams to Canowindra
From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:
“Bishop Calder announced today with thankfulness to God, that Archdeacon Jono Williams has accepted his invitation to be the next minister of the cooperating Anglican Uniting parish of Canowindra.
Please pray for Jono and Cudgegong Valley parish in a time of transition.”
New ‘flying bishop’ for Church of England
From Church Society:
“We are delighted on behalf of Church Society to welcome Rob Munro as the new bishop of Ebbsfleet.
We have greatly appreciated serving with Rob in Church Society, and, as fellow Council member Amanda Robbie comments, ‘I am so pleased that Rob will be the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet. His wisdom, wide experience, and warm pastoral heart will be a great blessing to the many parishes he will serve.’
We look forward to working with Bishop Rob in the coming years.”
– Revd Dr Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society.
And see the announcement from the Church of England.
The Status Quo Is The Only Option
“Following the last meeting of the College of Bishops to consider the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith process, it was reported that there was general agreement that simply restating the existing ban on same-sex marriages or blessings in church was not an option.
Sadly, I agree. It will not be enough merely to restate the ban. Clearly there are large numbers of people in the church, in General Synod, and even in the College of Bishops, who will need to have the biblical and theological basis of the ban explained to them. They will need what the Living in Love and Faith resources have consistently failed to provide: teaching about the historic, orthodox position of the church, as evidenced in Scripture, and outlined in the formularies of the Church of England itself. …”
– Ros Clarke at Church Society’s blog looks at what is needed in the Church of England.
The only qualification you need to speak about Jesus
“This Christmas, various officially qualified people will have messages for the season. Bishops and archbishops will get some airtime on the news channels and social media feeds. Preachers in churches nationwide will give sermons, reflections, messages, and kids’ spots. I thank God that in our nation, these great opportunities still exist every Christmas for people to hear about God’s grace in Jesus.
But what about you? Do you have any qualifications to speak about God’s grace this Christmas? …”
– Encouragement from ACL Communication Secretary Lionel Windsor – at The Australian Church Record.
Moore Matters Summer 2022 now online
The latest copy of Moore College’s Moore Matters (Summer 2022) is now available for download (a 35MB PDF file).
Hugh Latimer: Gospel Ploughman
For preaching of the gospel is one of God’s plough-works,
and the preacher is one of God’s ploughmen
“So proclaimed Hugh Latimer (c. 1485-1555) on a rainy eighteenth day of January during the winter of 1548. This sermon – the famous ‘Sermon on the Ploughers’ – was preached at Paul’s Cross in London, where renowned preachers drew huge crowds and prophetically proclaimed the word of God to the hearts of the hearers. Latimer had Romans 15:4 as his scriptural text, and having preached in the previous weeks on the subject of the seed which is sown in God’s field, he turned to the subject of the sower of the seed, the humble ploughman. …”
– The Australian Church Record has published a most informative and encouraging short biography of Hugh Latimer – written by Dr Mark Earngey.
The war zone of the Pastor’s Heart – with Peter Orr
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Peter Orr says there is a crisis among pastors. He says a fight is on for our hearts, ministry and joy.
Pastoral work will only be a joy and sustainable if the congregation self consciously reciprocates the love and encouragement that is extended by the pastor to the congregation.
Peter Orr, who lectures in New Testament at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, is the author of a new book ‘Fight for your Pastor’…”
The Mothers’ Union & the ministry of lay women
At an event at Moore College last week, Jane Tooher shared something of the history of Mothers’ Union and its gospel service in 84 countries.
Great to learn about this quiet but important ministry which is growing today. Most encouraging,
Time to Rethink your Church Website?
“Our website is our most easily accessed 24/7 communication face to the world. Are we being wise in our use of it?…”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Peter Adam has some thoughts on the plusses and minuses of church websites. Worth pondering.
Totalitarianism vs. Human Dignity
In his The Briefing for Thursday 1st December 2022, Dr Albert Mohler looks at current examples of Totalitarianism. What do they have in common?
And he explores what makes modern totalitarian states more totalitarian than their predecessors.
Yarning the Bible in the bush
“There was no sandstone, either of cathedral or parish church, but ghost gums and a rainbow looking over the twilight ordination service for the Reverend Michael Duckett.
The unique service took place at the Indigenous Ministry centre at Wedderburn in South West Sydney, home of the Macarthur Indigenous Church. …”
– A really encouraging report from Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.
(See the report for a lovely photo of a heavenly reminder of God’s promises.)
Fight For Your Pastor
“Sometimes a preposition makes all the difference. We do not need to look far to find examples of Christians who fight with their pastor. If you speak to just about any one of them I expect he will be able to tell you of people who have fought him tooth and nail over some peeve, some cause, some perceived slight. But much rarer are those who fight for their pastor, those who honor him and his position by battling for his success, for his joy, for his encouragement. …”
– Tim Challies reviews Peter Orr’s book “Fight for your Pastor”.
Archbishop of Perth continues with Ordinations in the face of large objection
“The Archbishop of Perth, Kay Goldsworthy, chose on Wednesday evening to continue with and preside over the ordination to the priesthood of a man living with his civil union partner despite receiving a formal objection from a large number of members of the diocese, both clergy and lay.
The letter of objection, forwarded to davidould.net, is signed by 25 clergy, 12 wardens, 18 parish councillors and 64 other church members. It asks the Archbishop to not proceed with ordaining the candidate …
The clergy objecting represent more than 15% of clergy in the diocese (based on 2022 General Synod delegate numbers). The laity represent a variety of the largest parishes and the overwhelming majority of financial contributions for the diocese from the parishes.”
– David Ould draws attention to events in Perth.
Are We Really A Communion?
“Over the decades, and on many occasions, we Anglicans gave thanks to God for the ‘gift of the Anglican Communion’. Yes, we saw the Communion as ‘a gift’ because we enjoyed being a family of churches. A global family of Anglican churches of diverse nations, living in different countries, speaking a variety of languages and yet we are in full communion with each other.
…
I am deeply saddened to say that the Anglican Communion we have loved, though it has kept its name, yet has lost its heart; which is the interdependence. Provinces taking unilateral decisions without consideration ‘how it might harm the mission of other Provinces’, or how it might cause divisions, or disruption of fraternal relations with other provinces.
None of us forget the appeal made by the Anglican Primates during their meeting in 2003 in regard to the consecration of Gene Robinson in The Episcopal Church USA (TEC) [5]:
“If his consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. …. This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level and may lead to further division ….”
When TEC ignored that appeal and went ahead with its unilateral decision to consecrate the practicing gay Gene Robinson as bishop, our mission here in Egypt within the Islamic world was badly affected in the following way …”
– The Global South Fellowship Of Anglican Churches has released this message from the Archbishop Emeritus Dr Mouneer Anis.
Another Bathurst ordination on Saturday 3rd December
Bishop Mark Calder, James Daymond, Jonny Lush, Steven Klouth, Tim Smith, Rev. Greg Harris (BCA)
Give thanks to the Lord for the good things happening in the Diocese of Bathurst, and please pray that the churches will be strengthened and encouraged.
From the diocesan Facebook page –
“Our candidates for Saturday’s ordination are on retreat with Bishop Mark and the Rev’d Greg Harris from BCA. Please pray for their preparation.”
and
“God willing Bishop Calder will, on 03 Dec at 11am, make Jonny Lush and Tim Smith deacons, and ordain James Daymond and Steven Klouth as priests.”
The service will be streamed liveon YouTube from shortly before 11:00amAEDT.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…