A personal ‘Barmen Declaration’ in the light the Church of England’s current direction
“The following is a personal statement by the Revd Tom Parsons who is a member of the Rochester Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship. I am posting it on this site because I think it is an important theological response to the vote by General Synod a fortnight ago to give a green light to the blessing of same-sex couples in Church of England churches.
On Wednesday 15th November this year, the Church of England’s General Synod voted to give the House of Bishops a green light to develop liturgy of blessing for sexually active same-sex couples. …”
– Martin Davie has posted this personal statement from the Rev Tom Parsons, Vicar of Christ Church, Sidcup, in Kent. In it, he outlines a Biblical and theological response to the General Synod’s vote.
New Gafcon General Secretary asks for your prayers
Dean Paul Donison has released this video as he assumes office as Gafcon General Secretary.
Source: Gafcon.
Archbishop of Perth set to push on with controversial Ordination
From David Ould:
“The Archbishop of Perth, Kay Goldsworthy, will proceed with the ordination to the priesthood of a man who is openly living in a relationship with another man on Thursday evening despite a large growing protest in the Diocese.
I understand that more than 700 signatories have been received on a letter of protest. These 700 signatories represent close to 15% of regular church attendance in the Diocese and do not include members from one large church, St Matthew’s Shenton Park, which is organising its own response and will effectively double the number protesting. This leaves easily one quarter of regular church goers in the Diocese now protesting against an ordination. …”
– Read here.
Photo: Diocese of Perth.
The Bible’s answer to poverty – with David WIlliams
A thought-provoking episode of The Pastor’s Heart:
“Poverty is fundamentally relational says David WIlliams.
What might a theology of caring for the poor look like?
The Bible’s terms for the poor (widow, orphan and alien) are all relational terms which describe someone who has lost relationships and as a result have lost connection with the land.
David and his wife Rachel started serving as missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya in 1999. David now serves as Principal of the Australian Church Missionary Society Training College St Andrew’s Hall, where Australian missionaries are trained for six months, before heading out to the field.
David has just given a provocative paper at the Anglican Aid conference at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and has agreed to come in and discuss it.
The issue for David is not just academic, with his first significant engagement with poverty, starting when working in the slums of Nairobi 20-plus years ago.”
Related:
Bathurst Diocese Advent Newsletter 2023
The Bathurst Diocese Newsletter for Advent 2023 is now available here as a PDF file.
Great to use to pray for the churches of the diocese and the people they seek to serve with the gospel.
Bishop Mark Calder writes:
Dear friends,
My guess is that most of us are well and truly getting into Christmas planning and shopping.
Some of you may have purchased an Advent calendar which are increasingly popular. However, the secular version seems to be all about helping kids countdown to Christmas. That is not actually what Advent is about!
Advent is about preparing for Christ’s second coming! In Advent we look forward to Christ’s second coming and then celebrate his first coming at Christmas because it marks the beginning of God’s plans to save the world through his Son Jesus.
My Advent sermon series this year is called “On that Day” and arises from a song by CityAlight.
We will be reminded that when Jesus returns, we will rise; we will see him; we will know him, and we will keep on singing!
The season of Advent is meant to lift our eyes from all the disaster which surrounds us – to see the glorious nature of the future which awaits. To see that there will one day, be an end to the mess. To understand that that Jesus has conquered all evil and even death! We’re reminded that Christians are people of hope and expectation. We are people who know that on that day – when Jesus returns – we will rise as Jesus rose!
May Advent be a time of recapturing our Christian Hope and rejoicing in all that is yet to come!
Mark.
What’s your Hope? — Revelation 21 and 22
As the Moore College academic year (its 167th) draws to a close, Principal Dr. Mark Thompson preached on Revelation chapters 21 and 22 at the last College Chapel Service.
He lifts our eyes to God’s ultimate purposes. Most encouraging.
Related:
The Summer 2023 edition of Moore Matters is now up on the College website.
Iron Sharpens Iron: An Anthology of Wise Quotations
“Sentences have the power to stay with us. They can come to mind, even years later. As I’ve prepared various talks and lectures in the last few months, I’ve been struck by this, reminding me of the power and beauty of words to deliver truth, to help us feel the truth. In God’s kindness, we can learn from the wise words of Christian brothers and sisters.
Here are some of the one-liners and longer quotations that I’ve benefitted from recently and would like to pass on to you—‘[a]s iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another’ (Prov 27:17). …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Jane Tooher shares some wise and encouraging quotations.
New NSW “Religious Vilification” law
From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:
“An amendment to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, making certain types of speech connected with religion unlawful, commenced operation on 11 November 2023.
The amendment, made by the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Vilification) Act 2023 (No 15 of 2023) (‘the ADA’), is a form of ‘religious vilification’ law which has not previously been in force in NSW. It is not as bad as some forms of such laws in terms of its effect on religious freedom, but it is worth being aware of its potential operation. It will be important, for example, for those preaching and teaching the Bible (or other religious texts) to understand what the law does, and perhaps more importantly, does not, prohibit. …”
The Priscilla & Aquila Annual Conference 2024 – Following Christ as men and women
From Moore College:
“Our 2024 P&A annual conference theme is ‘Following Christ as men and women’. Moore faculty member Andrew Leslie will unpack this topic in our morning plenary sessions. Understandably, much of our interest in the Bible’s teaching about men and women is centred on what it means in practice. In the morning plenary sessions, Moore College faculty member Andrew Leslie wants to take a step back from these practical concerns and reflect on the wisdom of this teaching. He’ll begin by exploring how the depiction of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden echoes the pattern of creation itself set out in Genesis 1. Reflecting on this pattern will shed much light on the nature of God and the complementary vocation he has given us as his image bearers. In his second talk, Andrew will take us to the New Testament where the same pattern underlays its description of Christ’s relationship to his people and the life of the church itself.
Our afternoon electives will further unpack the theme of ‘Following Christ as men and women’, with Clare Deeves sharing her PhD research about things to consider when men and women work together on a ministry team. Moore’s dean of Women Susan An and Senior Pastor of The Bridge Church Paul Dale will look at when we disagree with each other about complementarianism while being on the same staff team. Other electives include gender considerations in South Asian ministry; fatherhood; teaching the woman at the well in John 4; and if there are reasons for making different theological decisions than the Apostles.”
– See the details and book via the College website.
The blood that brings peace
“As the Israel-Gaza war rages, with all the tragic death and suffering it entails, many pressing concerns naturally spring to our minds.
Why is the situation so dire?
Who is to blame for the suffering?
And what are our political leaders doing about it?
I can’t begin to answer all these questions in this short article. But I want to point us to something that will help us: the cross of Jesus Christ. How does it help? I’m convinced that the message of the cross gives us a deep foundation and a vital framework for making sense of issues of conflict in our world as well as in our lives. …”
– A timely reminder – from Lionel Windsor at The Australian Church Record.
Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi steps down as Gafcon General Secretary
Archbishop Ben Kwashi has concluded his time as General Secretary of Gafcon. He has recorded this encouraging video.
Do give thanks for this dear brother.
And pray for Paul Donison, Rector and Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Plano, Texas, as he takes up the mantle.
On Sexuality, Justification, and Sanctification
“There were many speeches made in favour of the Prayers of Love and Faith at the November session of the General Synod which raised my eyebrows. The prize for the most ludicrous, however, goes to …”
– Michael Hayden clears up some nonsense which was evident at the Church of England’s General Synod earlier this month.
In doing so, he points us to the beauty of the gospel.
Image: John Calvin by Hans Holbein the Younger
Moore College Student Support Fund
“Finding the funds to attend College full-time is challenging. Many need to obtain varied forms of support to make it possible. Some students may have already built a financial support base before coming to College, others perhaps not.
The College is committed to providing financial support to our students that will support them to continue in their studies. The Student Support Fund is a way to provide this type of additional support, particularly for living expenses. …”
– This is a great initiative to help students at Moore College.
Church Society’s St Antholin Lecture 2023: Same-Sex Love in the Puritan World
From Church Society:
“This year’s St Antholin Lecture on Puritan Divinity will be delivered live on the Church Society Facebook page by Dr Christy Wang, a church historian from Singapore Bible College.
Dr Wang is also a Post-Award Visitor affiliated with the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, where she was a tutor and earned her DPhil on ‘Puritan Conformity, Church Polity, and Anglican Identity, 1628–88’, having previously also studied at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and National Taiwan University.
The title of the lecture will be ‘By Love to Them I Cease Loving of Thee’: Journaling Same-Sex Love in the Puritan World.’…”
– Details here.
The lecture is on Wednesday 6th December at 6pm (UK time), 5:00am the next morning Sydney time.
Resources to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
From SydneyAnglicans.net:
“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has commended the work of Anglicare as the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls on November 25. …”
Image: Anglicare resources website.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…