Bishop of Leicester steps down as lead on Living in Love and Faith

“The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, has announced that he is stepping down as lead bishop for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process.

On Facebook on Friday afternoon, he wrote that he was doing so ‘with a very heavy heart’. He was ‘hugely grateful to the staff team that I have worked with over the last 18 months and similarly the Working Group members who have given hours of their time to seek an agreed way forward in the Church of England on matters of sexuality, relationships, and marriage. I hope it may yet be possible to reach such an agreement, but I don’t think that can happen under my leadership.’…”

– Report from Church Times.

Image from an October 2024 (now deleted) video by Bishop Snow.

75 Years of Church Society

In the latest Church Society podcast with Ros Clarke:

“Church Society is celebrating 75 years since its formation from the Church Association and the National Church League in 1950.

In this episode of the podcast, we hear from Andrew Atherstone, Gerald Bray and Lee Gatiss about the history of Church Society before 1950, in the past 75 years, and into the present day.”

– Listen here. 35 minutes.

Church of Uganda celebrates Archbishop Janani Luwum’s legacy

From NTV Uganda –

“Forty-eight years ago, Archbishop Janani Luwum was reportedly assassinated on the orders of the former President Iddi Amin Dada.

Luwum was at the time the leader of the Church of Uganda. But his legacy lives on after Uganda declared the 16 of February a public holiday to celebrate the life of Luwum. Daniel Kibet brings us the tales from the Northern Uganda Diocese of the Anglican Church, where Luwum once served as the bishop, and how people there remember him.”

– The 5 minute report includes comments from Moore College graduate Bishop Alfred Olwa.

ACL AGM 12th June — click image

Joint statement on the NSW floods

Joint statement on the NSW floods

Our hearts ache for the people of the Mid-North, Hunter and other areas of New South Wales suffering in the current flood crisis.

We pray for the tireless work of emergency workers and first responders as they guard and save lives. May God give them strength and endurance. We cry out to God for families grieving the loss of loved ones, homes and businesses. May they find comfort and hope.

We give thanks for the countless acts of neighbourliness, kindness and help, and for the resilience of these communities.

As Anglicare, Samaritans and local churches gear up for the recovery operation ahead, may God bless their efforts to share the love and compassion of Christ with a hurting community.

May those who suffer cling to the hope of restoration through the God who makes all things new.

The Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of NSW

The Right Reverend Dr Peter Stuart, Bishop of Newcastle

The Right Reverend Dr Murray Harvey, Bishop of Grafton

23 May 2025.

– via SydneyAnglicans.net

Ashley Null consecrated as the second Anglican Bishop of North Africa

“On Sunday 11th May, the world-renowned Thomas Cranmer scholar, the Rev Canon Dr John Ashley Null, was consecrated as the second Anglican Bishop of North Africa in a joyful service at St George’s Tunis …”

– Report from Charles Raven at the GSFA website.

(Gafcon photo.)

Notice of the Anglican Church League’s 2025 Annual General Meeting

The ACL gives notice and warmly invites its members to attend the 2025 Annual General Meeting.

Date: 6.00 pm, Thursday 12th June, 2025.

Location: T.C. Hammond Room, Moore Theological College, 1 King Street, Newtown NSW (enter via Carillon Avenue).

Come and hear Dr. Mark Thompson, Moore Theological College Principal & ACL Vice President on –

“The night the Diocese, the College and the ACL all almost imploded.”

An agenda for the meeting, including positions that need to be filled by election, will be made available on the ACL website, in good time before the meeting.

The list of current Council members can be found here.

Need to renew your ACL membership? (Due by 6:00pm 12th June). Please use this link.

The vision of the ACL is to advance the reformed and evangelical character of the Anglican Church of Australia, particularly in the Diocese of Sydney.

Authentic Anglicanism

What is an Anglican? How is Anglicanism being stretched out of shape to be unrecognisable? Sydney’s Doctrine Commission has produced a report on authentic Anglicanism and the following is an abridged version, with some language simplified for general reading.

“ ‘Anglicanism’ is the label attached to a form of Christian corporate life that traces its theological convictions and ecclesiastical practice to the New Testament, with an especially formative period during the English Reformation.

Its congregations are part of the ‘one holy catholic and apostolic church’ confessed in the ecumenical creeds, yet they share distinctives that mark them out from other communions and denominations. …”

– Dr Mark Thompson writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.

(Mark is Chairman of the Sydney Doctrine Commission.)

Have your heart warmed for global mission

We’ve previously mentioned the work of Dr Tim Keesee, founder of Frontline Missions, and his Dispatches from the Front documentaries.

“Dispatches from the Front is a series of documentary films that highlight the marvellous extent, diversity, and unity of Christ’s Kingdom in our world. The journal format of each episode underscores the daily unfolding of God’s activity on the ‘frontlines,’ bringing viewers up-close with sights and sounds from distant corners of the Kingdom.”

While the films are still available on DVD format (remember that?), in the video linked above, Tim Keesee explains that the videos are now available to stream at no charge.

These would be ideal to show in a home group.

Go to frontlinemissions.info/dispatches and scroll down to click on each title.

Under “Add DVD to cart”, there’s now the option to “Stream for Free”.

John Piper writes:

“Beware of watching these Dispatches films if you don’t like being moved and inspired and shaken out of the ruts of your life. My wife and I were riveted in watching the frontline reports of God’s work as recorded in the Dispatches from the Front series. This is the sort of information that builds faith in the present providence of God over His mission and stirs up action for the sake of lost and hurting people near and far.”

There’s also a companion book by Tim Keesee – “Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance in the World’s Difficult Places” available from Reformers Books.

Anglican Communion participants in choice of next Archbishop of Canterbury announced

“The Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, is to be one of the five representatives of the global Anglican Communion who help to decide the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The names of the Communion representatives were announced on Tuesday morning, along with those selected from among the central members elected by the General Synod for a five-year term.

Previously, the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) has had only one representative of the Anglican Communion…”

– Church Times reports on the latest in the search for a new Archbishop of Canterbury.

See also:

‘Omnishambles’ May Delay Canterbury Selection – The Living Church.

Save the date for Gafcon Sunday 2025 — 29th June

From Archbishop Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council:

“Dear Gafcon family,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Will you celebrate with us Gafcon Sunday on the 29th June?

On this day in 2008 we gathered at our first Gafcon conference to unveil the historic Jerusalem Statement, which continues to express the truth and unity that binds together our movement in love.

At our G25 mini-conference in Plano, Texas in March, we played this short video that captured this historic moment:

We invite every Gafcon church to devote time during worship services on Sunday 29th June to read or display a short item about Gafcon, and to lead prayers for our movement.

We also humbly request that each church collect a special thanksgiving offertory for Gafcon, so that through your precious partnership in the gospel, you might equip us to guard God’s gospel.

In the coming weeks our Gafcon Secretariat will make available some digital resources which you may choose to distribute or display at church, or share via email and social networks.

As we gathered in the land of our Lord Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection, we experienced a moment that continues to lead us to pray to see the Bible at the heart of the Anglican Communion.

Please join with orthodox Anglicans everywhere, as we gather to celebrate Gafcon Sunday on 29th June, in just under eight weeks’ time.

The Most Rev’d Dr Laurent Mbanda
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
Monday, 12th May 2025.”

Sydney Diocese Media release: Abortion Bill amendments

The Archbishop of Sydney is grateful for progress made, and urges Lower House MPs to reject the amended bill.

Anglican Diocese of Sydney
Archbishop’s statement re the amendment of the Greens’ abortion Bill

I am thankful to those MPs who upheld freedom of conscience for doctors and amended the Greens’ abortion bill in the NSW Upper House.

But the burden will now also fall on nurses and midwives to be involved in something at odds with their vocation.

So, I urge lower house MPs to protect the unborn and reject the bill entirely.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

9 May, 2025.

NSW Abortion bill ‘gutted’

From John Sandeman:

“The debate over the Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Health Care Access) Bill 2025 introduced by Greens’ member Amanda Cohn into the NSW Upper house, has seen several amendments.

Lyle Shelton reports: ‘I’ve been watching the NSW Parliament live feed as MLCs have debated the Greens’ abortion bill. Amendments carried tonight seem to have all but gutted the bill. It seems pro-life hospitals will now not be forced to perform abortions and pro-life heath practitioners will not have to be complicit in them.’…”

– at The Other Cheek.

Image from NSW Parliament website.

Abortion bill protest draws fired-up crowd

“A Greens bill to require doctors who object to abortion to be forced to formally refer patients to somone who will perform a termination, and allow midwives and nurse practitioners to prescribe abortion pills, drew a large protest outside the NSW Parliament last night. Religious leaders, and a former prime minister addressed the 6,000 strong crowd. …”

– At The Other Cheek, John Sandmen reports on the Abortion bill protest we mentioned previously.

Photo: John Sandeman.

Malawi: A graduate’s holistic ministry

“Visiting Anglican Aid projects at the end of last year was a joy! I witnessed how God is working through your support to grow and strengthen his church in some of the world’s poorest nations. I could see how our long-term partnerships in the gospel were bearing fruit.

I was encouraged to meet Rev. David Mponda, Pastor of Thyolo Parish in the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi …”

– Canon Tim Swan shares great encouragement from Malawi.

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