Bishop of Bathurst to retire in November

From the Diocese of Bathurst Anglican News, May 2012 –

“Bishop Richard Hurford has formally announced his intention to retire on November 10, when he will lay up the Diocesan Pastoral Staff in a service of Pastoral Leave-Taking in All Saints’ Cathedral, Bathurst, commencing at 10.30am.  Read more

The Bishop of Tasmania’s Pentecost message

In his Pentecost message, Bishop John Harrower reminds us that the Holy Spirit points us to Christ. Watch it here.

(In 2012, Pentecost falls on Sunday, May 27.)

Prayers for Defence ministry

Our friends who minister to Australia’s Defence personnel would be very glad of your prayers on a regular basis.

There’s the current Prayer Diary (pdf) and other prayer resources at this link.

Churches oppose Greens motion on same sex marriage

Media release from the NSW Council of Churches – 03 May 2012

“The motion, set for debate in the May sittings of the NSW Legislative Council, could be voted on as early as today.”

Churches oppose Greens motion on same sex marriage

The NSW Council of Churches has urged church leaders to publicly oppose a motion by Greens MLC the Hon. Cate Faehrmann supporting same sex marriage and calling on the federal parliament to extend the legal definition of marriage to include same sex couples.

The motion, set for debate in the May sittings of the NSW Legislative Council, could be voted on as early as today.  Read more

Survey on same-sex marriage bills closes April 20

There are just two days remaining for anyone interested to complete the online survey for a House of Representatives Committee inquiry into the two same-sex marriage bills before the House.

The survey closes on Friday, 20th April.

(Image: Australian Marriage Forum.)

Related: Responding to Australian same-sex marriage proposals – from the Social Issues Executive of the Diocese of Sydney, February 2011.

First NSW female Anglican bishop consecrated

“The first female Anglican bishop to be appointed in New South Wales and the ACT has been consecrated in front of a packed congregation at St Saviour’s Cathedral in Goulburn…”

– report from ABC News. Also a report from NineMSN.

Having your say on the future of marriage

The Australian Christian Lobby is urging people to write a submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Greens’ Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010. Submissions are due by Monday April 2. Details here.

Related: Responding to Australian same-sex marriage proposals – from the Social Issues Executive of the Diocese of Sydney, February 2011.

(Image: Australian Marriage Forum.)

Australian Bishops agree on sexuality protocol

From SydneyAnglicans.net –

“The annual meeting of Australian bishops has agreed to a set of protocols on human sexuality, which conforms to the landmark 1998 Lambeth resolutions.

Australian bishops, including all Sydney bishops, met in Melbourne this month, several weeks after it was revealed that the Bishop of Gippsland had appointed a male priest living with a partner of the same sex to a ministry position in that diocese.   Read more

Newcastle Diocese parish seeking new Rector

The parish of Bulahdelah with Tea Gardens is in the Diocese of Newcastle, and over the years, a solid evangelical ministry has been established there. The parish is now vacant and church members are looking for an evangelical minister to lead them into the future.

Doubtless, they would appreciate your prayers – and if you would like to know more, here’s the parish website, and an excerpt (400kb PDF) from the Parish Profile.

Bishops speak out on Gambling Reform

“This past week the Australian Anglican Bishops met in Melbourne for the annual National Bishops’ Meeting. One important item on our agenda was Gambling Reform…”

– Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower draws attention to this media release from last week.

The Gippsland Crisis

At Theological Theology, Dr Mark Thompson, puts the recent developments in Gippsland in their wider Anglican context. We’ve reproduced his comments below, and added links to some related material at the end.

“This all too brief history is widely known. In particular it is known by all the Anglican bishops in Australia. None of them is in the slightest doubt about the volatile state of the communion and the issue which lies at the heart of the turmoil.”

“It is no secret that global Anglicanism is being torn apart over the issue of homosexuality. Actually, homosexuality is just the current presenting issue of a very deep and long running divide between liberal revisionists in the denomination and those who remain committed to the teaching of Scripture and the theological character of Anglicanism as represented in the Thirty-nine Articles, the Homilies and the Book of Common Prayer. However, it is the presenting issue, the point at which gospel faithfulness is currently being tested.  Read more

‘Bishop defends gay priest appointment’ – updated

“The Anglican Bishop of Gippsland has defended his decision to appoint an openly gay priest to a local parish, saying he has acted appropriately…”

– Story and audio from ABC Gippsland. (February 27th 2012)

Related: ACL Statement on developments in the Diocese of Gippsland.

Update March 8th:
Bishop John McIntyre of Gippsland Responds, “I have no intention of responding…”

(Photo: Diocese of Gippsland.)

Archbishop Peter Jensen on the DNWA election

Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, has issued this statement on the election of Gary Nelson to be the new Bishop of North West Australia –

“I’m delighted to welcome the election of Gary Nelson as Bishop of Northwest Australia.

Gary is a Gospel-hearted man, firmly grounded in the Scriptures, with a wide experience of ministry and a deep desire that all God’s people grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

We look forward to continued fellowship with him and the Diocese of Northwest Australia in the years to come.”

(with thanks to Russell Powell / SydneyAnglicans.net.)

ACL Statement on developments in the Diocese of Gippsland

“The Anglican Church League expresses its dismay at the appointment of an openly homosexual man as priest in charge of a parish in the Diocese of Gippsland as announced in the December 2011 issue of The Gippsland Anglican.

The teaching of Scripture about appropriate sexual behaviour for disciples of Christ and the appointment of elders who are ‘beyond reproach’, is quite clear. Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008, the professional standards embodied in the document Faithfulness in Service (a document approved by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia) and the express commitment of the General Synod on a number of occasions to uphold the biblical teaching on marriage and human sexuality leave no room for ambiguity. Appointments like this put unwanted strain and tension upon relationships between the various dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. It also contributes to the fragmentation of the Anglican Communion.

For the sake of the parish, the diocese and the Anglican Church of Australia we call upon the Bishop of Gippsland to rescind this appointment. We also call on him to make clear his commitment to the teaching of Scripture, to Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1.10, to the standards embodied in Faithfulness in Service and the various resolutions of the General Synod of the Anglican Church on this issue.

Mark Thompson        Robert Tong
President                    Chairman. ”

ACL congratulates the Rev Gary Nelson on his election

The Anglican Church League congratulates the Rev Gary Nelson on his election as the seventh bishop of the diocese of North West Australia. Gary has been a godly and effective minister of the gospel in the diocese of Sydney since his ordination in 1983. Having served curacies in Seaforth and Dapto, he was rector of Panania for 17 years before he took on responsibility for the Department of External Studies at Moore College.   Read more

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