Rick Lewers consecrated Bishop

On Friday night Rick Lewers was consecrated as Bishop of Armidale. Russell Powell has the story at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Bishop McIntyre breaks ranks on homosexuality

How does this square with the Australian Bishops’ Protocol?

The Synod of the Diocese of Gippsland met in Sale, 18–20 May 2012. In his Presidential Address, Bishop John McIntyre spoke of the “new place” to which he had come in his understanding of homosexual people and the church. He said –

“I will appoint to office in our diocese those whom I believe God is calling to minister among us … and I am willing to live with any consequences that may arise from remaining true to that commitment.”

Read the full text of his address – linked from the diocesan website (PDF) – also quoted at length in The Gippsland Times (“Anglican Bishop enters gay marriage debate”, 19 May 2012).

Related posts. (Photo: Diocese of Gippsland.)

Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Bathurst to enter into Covenant

A report from Bathurst Diocese’s Anglican News –

“Clergy from across the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst and their counterparts from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst will gather in Bathurst on Thursday May 24 to witness the signing of a covenant between the two denominational groups.  Read more

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.)

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