Reflections from the 2026 Sydney Synod

From The Australian Church Record –

“The Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney ran this year from ran this year from 14 to 22 September, with sessions held over five days.

The ACR caught up with Greta Morris, a lay member of Synod from St Paul’s Canterbury, and Andrew Levy, rector at St Anne’s Ryde, to hear what stood out to them during Synod, what encouraged or challenged them, and what they are praying for as the Diocese of Sydney looks to the future. …”

– Read their reflections here.

Photo: SydneyAnglicans.net.

See also the Synod Summary for Rectors, Synod representatives, wardens and parish councillors.

“The Synod made 58 resolutions, passed 3 ordinances, and filled 256 positions on boards, councils, and committees. This circular outlines the key features of the Synod’s proceedings with respect to parishes.”

Christ and Everyday Life

“It’s Monday morning, so there is the school run, a car service, a full inbox and a list of tasks for home and work. The washing is on the line, a meeting runs long, you check in on a neighbour and then cook dinner. So, the week rolls on till Sunday, and for an hour or two life feels ‘spiritual’ again. If you know that rhythm, you’re not alone. For many of us the week is divided into two compartments: the sacred bits (church, Bible reading, prayer) and the secular bits (everything else).

J. I. Packer once observed that the Puritans knew nothing of this divide. …”

– John McClean, Moore College graduate and Vice Principal of Christ College in Burwood, encourages Christians to live every day in the light of the gospel.

Bishop Gary Koo – observations on the 2026 GAA Opening Night

Last month the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia met in Sydney. Bishop of Western Sydney, Gary Koo, shares his impressions of the opening night, at AP.

“While the culture was different and there were words I’d never heard of (I have now added the word ‘sederunt’ to my vocabulary), I was struck by the degree of alignment both missionally and theologically, our two Churches enjoy.

The Presbyterians of Australia and the Anglicans in Sydney are people who believe that God’s word – the Scriptures – are the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and practice, and that ‘there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved’ outside of the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). …”

– Read it all here.

The West as a mission field

“I’m reading a book on the stock market crash of 1929 (because yes, I’m a special kind of nerd). I’m fascinated by the mindset of the investors that led the world into such economic devastation, and the collective mentality of the millions of people who willingly followed them.

And when I read this line, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning:

So long as faith in tomorrow was maintained, debts could be rolled over endlessly into the future.

This is an apt description of our mindset in the West today when it comes to spiritual reality. …”

– The Australian Church Record has published the first of two articles by Ruth Baker who writes to remind us that our local communities are mission fields.

Bishop Mark Calder — Sermon from synod service 2026

The Diocese of Bathurst has published Bishop Mark Calder’s “last word” to the diocese (video) in his sermon at the Synod service on Saturday 19th September 2026.

At the end of this service, Mark concluded his time as Bishop of Bathurst.

He spoke from Romans 15:5-6. Most encouraging.

Recording of the 2026 ACL Synod Dinner

Toby Neal spoke at the Anglican Church League’s Synod Dinner on Monday 14th September 2026.

He spoke on the topic From Plant to Parish – The Joys and the Pains.

“A glimpse of what God is doing among us”

Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net reports on Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s 2026 Presidential Address to Synod on Monday 15th September –

“A Mandarin-speaking woman who first encountered church through AI translation and two young men who decided to read the Bible together before seeking baptism were among the stories highlighted by Archbishop Kanishka Raffel in his Presidential Address to Synod.

Weaving together statistics and personal testimonies, the Archbishop pointed Synod members to evidence of God’s work across the diocese.

Referring to Synod’s goal of 5 per cent growth through conversion, Archbishop Raffel said churches were increasingly reaching people from overseas backgrounds, who make up 31 per cent of the population. …”

– Read his report.

You can also read the full text of the Archbishop’s address or  see the full video.

Thanks, as always, to SydneyAnglicans.net.

Southern Cross magazine for September — October 2026

The latest issue of the Diocese of Sydney’s Southern Cross magazine is now out for September – October 2026.

You can get a copy at your local church – or you can download / read it online.

Plenty of interesting and encouraging articles, including –
• The Big Church Song Survey
• Year 13 in Fiji
• Laughter
• Psalm 93

There’s also a story about Alice Cooper and the new book Evangelism in the Local Church by Paul Brennan and Dave Jensen. See it on page 7.

The Tron Church has this interview with the authors. There, Dave Jensen argues that you don’t need a celebrity to promote the gospel. (Of course, every celebrity needs the gospel!)

And The Wandering Bookseller currently has the book on special.

Photos: SydneyAnglicans.net.

A faith shared across generations

“At the National Grandparent Conference, Moore College celebrated the vital ministry of grandparents and encouraged older Christians to keep growing in their knowledge of God’s word through the Moore PTC.

What does faithful ministry look like across a lifetime and across generations?

This was at the heart of the 2026 National Grandparent Conference, where Moore Theological College joined hundreds of grandparents and ministry leaders seeking to leave a living legacy of faith. …

The value of faith shared across generations can be seen in the Ramsay family where three generations have been trained at Moore in order to be equipped to serve God’s church.

Nathan, first year student at Moore, speaks warmly of the wisdom he has received from his parents and grandparents …”

– Moore College has this encouragement for older Christians, including those who are grandparents.

The joys, privileges and rewards of Christian ministry — with Matt Fuller

More from The Pastor’s Heart –

“We often speak about the pressures and heartbreaks of pastoral ministry. But we speak far less about its joys, privileges and eternal rewards.

Matt Fuller, Senior Minister of Christ Church Mayfair, joins us to discuss his new book, The Joyful Pastor (Despite Everything).

We talk about difficult sheep, false accusations, losing joy, practising thankfulness, avoiding burnout and returning daily to Christ.

And we explore something pastors rarely discuss: the reward promised by the Chief Shepherd.

“When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” – 1 Peter 5:4

An honest and encouraging conversation for weary pastors.”

– Watch or listen here.

Darrell Bock on Engaging Aussie (or any) Culture

A special from The Pastor’s Heart –

“In this special ‘pop up’ episode of The Pastor’s Heart we talk with New Testament Professor Darrell Bock about how best might Christians might engage culturally to reach Australians for Jesus.

Plus his love of Sydney,  Sydney Swans Australian football team and why he would move here if he didn’t have grandchildren. Bock is known for getting up at 2am in Dallas to watch the Swans play live on TV.  He will see three Swans games during his current visit to Australia.

Darrell Bock is executive director of Cultural Engagement at The Hendricks Center and Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.”

– Very helpful. Watch here.

Preaching God’s Way Of Salvation

From The Expository Preaching Trust:

“In his previous article, Bob Thomas encouraged us to preach with single-mindedness, focused on the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this article, Bob walks us through an example of how this might be done when preaching from Ephesians 2:8-10 and 3:14-20, bringing a gospel shape to a sermon. …”

– Read it here.

Southern Cross for August – September 2026

The latest issue of Southern Cross, the magazine of the Diocese of Sydney, is now up on their website. Printed copies should arrive in parishes soon, if not already!

Online version available here.

The Preacher’s Singlemindedness

“When Sir Marcus Loane was installed as Archbishop of Sydney in 1966 during a service broadcast nationally on ABC TV, he preached a powerful sermon on 1 Corinthians 9.16b: ‘necessity is laid upon me, and woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel.’

Even those of us who were beyond his jurisdiction could see that it was a sermon in which he preached what he practised and which carried the undertone: ‘go and do thou likewise’. And we were happy to fall in behind a man of such biblical firmness and faithful conviction.…”

– Bob Thomas writes to encourage preachers – at The Expository Preaching Trust.

The Lord will Provide — Encouragement from Alistair Begg

Here’s a short and encouraging clip from Alistair Begg.

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