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.
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.
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!”
Sydney’s almost unnoticed Archbishop-elect: The challenges facing Kanishka Raffel and the Anglican church
“Sydney’s Anglicans have just elected a new Archbishop — the current Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel. You may not have noticed. Only two decades ago, the election of an Anglican Archbishop in Sydney was not just news, it was a matter for critical commentary in the opinion pages of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Earlier this year, the retirement of the previous holder of that office, Archbishop Glenn Davies, was not even mentioned in the secular press. The death of former Archbishop Donald Robinson, Archbishop from 1982 to 1993, likewise scarcely caused a ripple.
All this tells you something about the current cultural moment into which the new Archbishop of Sydney must step. …”
– In an opinion piece for ABC Religion and Ethics, Michael Jensen concludes,
“If Sydney Anglicans can catch something of the character of Christ as it has been refracted in their new leader, and imitate him as he continues to imitate and serve his Lord, then who knows what the Spirit of the living God may do?”
Anglican Aid Update for Churches – May 2021
At last week’s Diocese of Sydney Synod, this short video from Anglican Aid was screened. It introduces their partnership with the people of Madagascar. and would be ideal to show in church or to small groups.
A downloadable version is available via the website where there’s also an update in the situation in India.
Women Pastors, Women Preachers, and the Looming Test of the Southern Baptist Convention
“In truth, the issue of women serving as pastors fuelled the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC. The question was instantly clarifying. The divide over women serving in the pastorate served as a signal of the deeper divide over the authority and interpretation of the Bible. …”
– Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler sees a fresh test coming to the Southern Baptist Convention.
Sydney’s new Anglican Archbishop faces an enormous task
“Last week, Sydney’s Anglicans elected Kanishka Raffel to serve as Archbishop of Sydney.
Kanishka is currently serving as dean in Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral. At a service there on May 28, he will be officially installed in the role, making him the spiritual leader of some half a million people who identify as Anglicans in Greater Sydney and Wollongong. …
Only about 60,000 people regularly attend Anglican churches in the Sydney diocese. … There is, however, a deep spiritual hunger in our community – a desire that has intensified during the pandemic.”
– Michael Jensen writes about the challenges facing the new Archbishop and Anglicans in Sydney – in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Image: Kanishka and Cailey Raffel were interviewed about their new roles during the Cathedral service this morning.
What Can we Learn Today from the Preaching of John Stott?
“John Stott visited Australia in January 1965, and this visit, one of many, had a profound effect on Australian preaching.
Stott gave Bible studies on 2 Corinthians at the Anglican Church Missionary Society Summer Schools in several states in Australia. Much Australian preaching at that time was on ‘a text’, that is, on an individual verse from the Bible, often without much regard to its context.
In his Bible studies John Stott was demonstrating the obvious value of preaching from passages of Scripture, and from consecutive passages of Scripture. His example had a profound impact on Australian preaching, initially transforming preaching in Anglican churches, but soon also in other churches as well. …
Under God, he was part of a revival of systematic expository preaching in the UK in the 20th Century, which was achieved through Willie Still in Aberdeen, and Martin Lloyd-Jones, John Stott and Dick Lucas in London, and has spread around the world.”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Peter Adam’s article is an encouragement for preachers and their hearers.
Image: An interview with Peter Adam at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.
Australian Church Record Journal for Autumn 2021
The latest Australian Church Record Journal (for Autumn 2021) has been posted on their website.
This issue focusses on topics relating to the election of the next Archbishop of Sydney.
(Note that the ACL does not have a preferred nominee but encourages continued prayer for the Election Synod and each of the Nominees.)
Engaging Preaching
“In his substantial biography of J.I. Packer, Leland Ryken interviews Dr. Packer regarding his literary and spoken style and rhetoric:
Did Packer consciously cultivate the stylistic and rhetorical strategies that I have explored?
I asked him that question and he said yes. He followed that affirmation with the explanation, “One of the things I am is a communicator”.
Ryken highlights Packer’s anticipation of questions in his hearers, ‘but someone will say’, or, ‘but wait a minute’, or ‘you may still be wondering’, all of which serve clarity…”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook shares encouragement for preachers.
Things I have learned about coaching senior ministers – with Peter Mayrick
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Ministers have a crucial role as a source of guidance and authority in the church environment – but we also need coaching, guidance and support.
So how do we make sure that as spiritual leaders we are doing effective ministry? What heart issues and skills should we be focussing on to encourage sustainable and innovative service?
This week we’re speaking to an expert on the topic of ministry training, Peter Mayrick. As the co-director of the Centre for Ministry Development at Moore College, his key area of responsibility is supporting pastors and churches. Peter shares his wealth of experience with us as we discuss what’s helpful for coaching those who will shoulder the most responsibility for the health and growth of a church.”
Common Prayer for Homes — a new resource
Repost: Originally posted 04 April 2020 – a reminder of this locally produced resource:
From the Better Gatherings website (an initiative of the Diocese of Sydney), here is a very helpful addition to use when you can’t meet in church.
“A new liturgical resource has been completed which provides flexible forms of household worship to serve the churches, by complementing the spiritual resources already being offered during this difficult period: Common Prayer for Homes: Resources for Family Worship.
We trust it will be of some assistance to the ministry already taking place in homes, and ultimately we hope that it provides some good benefit to the spiritual lives of Christ’s flock.”
“Common Prayer for Homes” contains:
- HOUSEHOLD WORSHIP – 1ST ORDER
a classic approach to Christian worship, easily modified for any household - HOUSEHOLD WORSHIP – 2ND ORDER
another classic approach to Christian worship, with various options to suit many households - HOUSEHOLD WORSHIP WITH KIDS
a simple approach to Christian worship which is suitable and easily adaptable for young children - MORNING PRAYERS FOR EVERY DAY
an all-in-one guide to morning prayers for each day of the week, for group or individual use - VARIOUS PRAYERS FOR THE HOME
a short collection of prayers which can be prayed in our homes - COLLECTS
this traditional name is given to short and beautiful prayers which cover the whole year, and special occasions.
Download “Common Prayer for Homes” from Better Gatherings. – and do share widely.
Here is some encouragement from the back cover:
Read the Holy Scriptures humbly with a meek and lowly heart, to the intent that you may glorify God, and not yourself, with the knowledge of it. And read it not without daily praying to God, that he would direct your reading to good effect.
– Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556)
Therefore, confident in your holy teaching and promises, and all the more since we are gathered here in your presence and in the name of your Son our Lord Jesus; we fondly plead with you, our good God and Father, that in the name of our only Saviour and Mediator, by your infinite mercy, you would freely forgive our transgressions and so draw and lift our thoughts and desires to you, that from our whole heart we may seek you, and that according to your good pleasure and will, which alone is reasonable.
– John Calvin (1509-1564)
The Almighty Lord, which is a most strong tower to all that put their trust in him, to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under earth, do bow and obey: be now and evermore your defence, and make you know and feel, that there is no other name under heaven given to man, in whom, and through whom, you may receive health and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
– from the Book of Common Prayer (1549)
Related:
We ask Mark Earngey about ‘Common Prayer for Homes’
Resources for ANZAC Day
This Sunday is ANZAC Day – These resources from Defence Anglicans (including audio of the Last Post) might come in handy for use in your regular church service or for a special gathering.
Related: What to preach on for Anzac Day? – David Cook.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…