Churches offering sanctuary to asylum seekers — some context
“In a high-profile decision of the High Court of Australia yesterday, Plaintiff M68-2015 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] HCA 1 (3 February 2016), a 6-1 majority ruled that the Australian government is entitled to continue its policy of detaining certain asylum seekers off-shore in the Pacific nation of Nauru. …
Today a number of Christian churches went public with an offer of ‘sanctuary’ for those who are supposed to be returned.”
– What is ‘sanctuary’, and does it still apply in Australia today? Here’s some legal context from Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia.
Related:
“The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, says Anglicans and other Christians in Sydney are concerned by the prospect of 91 asylum seeker children being returned to Nauru following the recent High Court ruling…” – SydneyAnglicans.net
Armidale’s Anglican Bishop urges caution on calls to defy the law to safeguard refugees – ABC News 05 February 2016.
Australia Day Honours 2016
In the 2016 Australia Day Honours List, a number of Anglican Christians whom we know and love have been recognised. Included among them are:
Mrs Christine Jensen, who has been awarded Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia, “For service to the Anglican Church community in Sydney”, including her many years of encouragement to women of the Moore College family and through Mothers’ Union.
In 2010, Christine was interviewed for the In Tandem ministry wives’ blog. In it, she shares some excellent advice:
“Love Jesus, read your Bible, say your prayers and ‘do the good works he’s prepared for you to walk in’ (Ephesians 2:10)”.
Mr Peter Kell, has been appointed Member (AM) of the Order of Australia, “For significant service to the Anglican Church of Australia, to social welfare programs and delivery, and to the community of the Illawarra”.
Peter is well known through his many years of gospel-driven service, including as CEO of Anglicare Sydney, 2004-2011.
Our congratulations and best wishes go to them both, and to all who have been honoured.
Sydneyanglicans.net has more here.
(Photos courtesy Mothers’ Union Sydney and Anglicare Sydney.)
Face 2016 with Prayer
“We live in a disturbing, unsettled world. This year we will face a Federal election in Australia and the possibility, if the Coalition is returned, of a national plebiscite on the nature of marriage…”
– Amid all the challenges 2016 will bring, Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook calls Christians to prayer.
Nungalinya College vacancies
Nungalinya College in Darwin is seeking to fill three vacancies. Perhaps you know (or are) the right person for one of them.
Either way, we are sure the College would be glad of your prayers. Details here.
Free speech and religious freedom even for ADF members
“The Federal Court has recently handed down a very important decision on free speech, with connections to religious freedom, in Gaynor v Chief of the Defence Force (No 3) [2015] FCA 1370 (4 December 2015). It encouragingly reaffirms the right of Australians, even members of the Defence Force, to be able to speak their minds, even when their views are not popular…”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster bring us up to speed on another legal ruling – this one with important implications for free speech in Australia.
UNSW Campus Bible Study 40th Anniversary
Campus Bible Study at the University of New South Wales held a 40th anniversary thanksgiving and reunion event on October 31st.
There is much cause for thanksgiving to the Lord for a ministry that has been such a blessing to so many around the world.
Video from the day has now been posted at phillipjensen.com.
First they came for the Catholics…
“The proposed action for sexual orientation vilification against a Roman Catholic bishop for teaching what the Roman Catholic church believes about marriage, which I noted at an early stage in a previous post, is now becoming broader…”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster expands on his previous posts about the anti-discrimination case brought against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hobart.
Related: Bishops face discrimination case – The Australian.
“All Australia’s Catholic bishops have been drawn into a national test case for freedom of religion and speech after Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commission found they have a case to answer over humiliating gay, lesbian and transgender Australians by distributing a booklet supporting traditional marriage.”
Abortion ‘buffer zones’, free speech and religious freedom
“Governments around Australia are showing a sudden enthusiasm for introducing restricted ‘zones’ around clinics offering abortions, in order to prevent protestors from operating in those areas. Tasmania has introduced such legislation…”
– Neil Foster looks at some of the ethical and legal implications of ‘buffer zone’ legislation. Where does freedom of religion fit in?
Sydney Synod reaffirms marriage
“A capacity-crowd at the Sydney Synod has voted for a re-affirmation of marriage as between a man and a woman and called for all Australian Christians to respectfully engage in the public debate on redefining marriage.
‘If we don’t do this – what will our silence say?’ argued Tara Sing [pictured], who spoke as seconder of the reaffirmation motion…”
– Read the story at SydneyAnglicans.net.
‘Turnbull Govt victim of abortion lobby push to silence Troy Newman’
“The Australian Christian Lobby has expressed concern that the Turnbull Government has acted hastily at the request of the abortion lobby to deny a visa to an American pro-life advocate…
‘Australian taxpayer money funds Planned Parenthood operations in the Asia-Pacific region and Mr Newman’s visit promises to shed light on the abortion provider’s murky activities.’…”
– strong words from the Australian Christian Lobby, who have also launched a petition calling on the Immigration Minister to reverse the decision to deny Mr Newman a visa.
From Bible Society Australia:
The SMH is reporting, “Counsel for the Commonwealth gave the undertaking not to immediately remove Mr Newman at a hearing in Melbourne before High Court justice Geoffrey Nettle on Thursday evening, at which counsel for Mr Newman sought to have the decision to bar him from Australia overturned.”
On Thursday afternoon Immigration Minister Peter Dutton agreed to not deport Newman for 24 hours.
Eternity understands the matter will be decided this afternoon.
Update: What the Aussie Media has not told you about Troy Newman – John Sandeman.
‘Anglican Church concerned gay marriage would force Christian wedding suppliers to cater for same-sex couples’
“Conservative elements within Australia’s Anglican Church want new laws giving devout Christians the right to discriminate against same-sex couples, as the Federal Government pushes ahead with plans to hold a national plebiscite on the issue of gay marriage. …
The synod of the Anglican Church’s Sydney diocese will next month consider a report from a senior bishop which argues that wedding service providers should have the “religious freedom” to refuse to cater for gay couples.”
– Report on ABC Radio’s The World Today.
Free to live by one’s beliefs
“Many Australians are uncomfortable talking about religion or God. Sometimes we are surprised when one of our sporting heroes, like Jarryd Hayne, comes straight out and says: ‘All the glory goes to God, because without him none of this is possible.’ Some commentators are quick to criticise.
But there are many Australians who are very serious about religious belief. …”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster (who runs the Law and Religion Australia blog) has this opinion piece in today’s Newcastle Herald, ahead of a conference at the University of Newcastle on Friday September 25th. (Conference programme.)
‘Syrian migrant crisis: Christians to get priority as Abbott faces pressure to take in more refugees’
“The Abbott Government wants to restrict any intake of Syrian refugees to minorities which are largely Christian, as passions run high in the Coalition over the way Australia should handle the crisis in Syria…
Government ministers, like Malcolm Turnbull, have argued for accepting more Syrian Christians, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has nominated minorities like the Yazidis.”
– Report from ABC News.
Related:
Operation rescue: the Christians of the Middle East face extinction – Paul Sheehan, Sydney Morning Herald, 7th September 2015.
“For the past 20 years Christians have been ethnically cleansed across much of the Middle East as part of the rise of Muslim militancy.
In Syria, before the civil war, more than 1 million Syrian Christians lived in security and were better educated than the general population. That number has been decimated. …
Would it be in breach of our discrimination laws to prioritise Christians as refugees? No. I’ve checked.”
‘NSW Education Minister bans school from screening gay film’
“Public pressure appears to have forced a Sydney girls’ high school to screen a documentary on gay parenting after school hours, instead of during scheduled lesson time…” – Report from The Sydney Morning Herald. (School flier here. PDF.)
‘Religious instruction scrapped from [Victorian] curriculum’
“Victorian schools will scrap special religious instruction from class time, with changes to the state’s curriculum throwing the future of the controversial program in doubt.
The Andrews government has ordered that the weekly 30 minute program move to lunchtime and before and after school in 2016 to make way for new content on world histories, cultures, faiths and ethics…”
– Report from The Age. More from Bible Society Australia.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…