Victorian state election: threat to religious freedom
Melbourne pastor Mark Durie speaks out on the implications for religious freedom of an Opposition win in the Victorian elections – at the Australian Christian Lobby.
We are so grateful for GAFCON
“Speaking to Anglican TV in Ottawa shortly after his investiture on 6th November as Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), Bishop Charlie Masters emphasized the importance of GAFCON for his Canadian congregations…”
– from the GAFCON website.
Related: Bishop Masters’ Call to the ANiC Synod – via Anglican TV.
“We want your thoughts on the next Anglican Communion Secretary General”
“Anglicans and Episcopalians from Communion provinces worldwide are being invited to share their thoughts on the ministry priorities and qualities of the next Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. …”
– Any thoughts? The deadline is 27 November 2014.
Woman speaks out at Muslim prayer service in Washington National Cathedral
“It was supposed to be a shining moment for proponents of the interfaith movement.
The Islamic “jummah,” or Friday call to prayer, would be held on America’s grandest Christian stage – the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
It was a bold move that had never been tried. Leaders of the Episcopal cathedral said sending prayers up to Allah from a Christian church would show the world that two religions at odds with each other for centuries could “approach the same God” as one body of believers.
The stage was set. The prayer rugs were neatly arranged facing Mecca. The lights shone down on the imam for his opening remarks.
Not so fast…”
– Christian booted from National Cathedral speaks out.
See also:
- About the Muslim Friday Services (Jumu’ah) at the Episcopal Cathedral.
- Watch the service (minus the interjection) here. (Can be slow to load.)
Image from the video feed.
Archbishop Welby: the Communion’s challenges
In his Presidential address to the Church of England’s General Synod, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke about the issues faced by the Anglican Communion and possible ways forward.
While emphasising that “the Anglican Communion exists and is flourishing in roughly 165 countries”, he also conceded,
“There are enormous problems. We have deep divisions in many areas, not only sexuality. There are areas of corruption, other areas where the power of the surrounding culture seems to overwhelm almost everyone at one point or another.
Our divisions may be too much to manage.
In many parts of the Communion, including here, there is a belief that opponents are either faithless to the tradition, or by contrast that they are cruel, judgemental, inhuman. I have to say that we are in a state so delicate that without prayer and repentance, it is hard to see how we can avoid some serious fractures.”
Washington National Cathedral to host Friday Muslim prayer service
“Washington National Cathedral, known for presidential funerals and other major spiritual services, will host a Muslim prayer service for the first time Friday…”
– Story from The Washington Post.
GAFCON 2013 Remembered
“Just over a year after more than 1,300 leading Anglicans, including 331 bishops, gathered at All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi for GAFCON 2013, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala dedicated a commemorative plaque in All Saints’ Trinity Centre on All Saints Day, 1st November…”
– from GAFCON.
Big changes for Mars Hill
“Marking its own Reformation Day of sorts, Mars Hill Church will dissolve Mark Driscoll’s multisite network and let each of its remaining 13 churches go their own way.
Founded in 1996, the Seattle-based megachurch planted 15 satellite sites across five states, its passion for creating new churches further evidenced by Driscoll founding the Acts 29 network. By New Year’s Day, the multisite organization and the Mars Hill name will be no more…”
– from Christianity Today.
See also this statement on the Mars Hill website –
“Following much prayer and lengthy discussion with Mars Hill’s leadership, the board of Mars Hill has concluded that rather than remaining a centralized multi-site church with video-led teaching distributed to multiple locations, the best future for each of our existing local churches is for them to become autonomous self-governed entities. This means that each of our locations has an opportunity to become a new church, rooted in the best of what Mars Hill has been in the past, and independently led and run by its own local elder teams. …”
Senator encourages involvement in Solidarity Sunday
Senator David Fawcett spoke yesterday about the persecution of religious minorities, particularly Christians, under ISIL, and informed the Senate of Solidarity Sunday. (YouTube.)
“Bill Shorten’s description of Christians ‘wide of the mark’.”
“The Australian Christian Lobby’s Lyle Shelton has said Bill Shorten’s speech backing same sex marriage at their conference was “wide of the mark” because of his characterisation of Christians as people who invoke God and Bible to attack blended families and demonise people for who they love. …”
– report from The Australian.
See also:
- Why we invited Bill Shorten to our National Conference – Lyle Shelton, Australian Christian Lobby (including video of the Q&A session).
“I’m grateful to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for speaking at our national conference at the weekend. Enormous pressure was put on him to stay away….” - Text of Bill Shorten’s Speech to the Australian Christian Lobby National Conference.
GAFCON Chairman’s October 2014 Pastoral letter
The October 2014 Pastoral Letter from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala (Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council) –
“the investiture demonstrated that the realignment of the Anglican Communion is now established and unstoppable.”
Extract:
“The recent news that Lambeth 2018 has been postponed, perhaps indefinitely, is the latest sign that the old institutions of the Communion no longer command confidence. We must remember that the fundamental reason for this is doctrinal. We are divided because the Faith is threatened by unbiblical teaching.
In contrast, GAFCON 2 demonstrated that we were emerging as a new and effective ‘instrument of unity’ for the Anglican Communion. Nearly twelve months later, that reality was underlined at the investiture of Archbishop Foley Beach as the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America by the Primates gathered in Atlanta, representing GAFCON and the Anglican Global South, receiving him as a Primate of the Anglican Communion.
Speaking shortly after that historic service I said ‘It is a sign of great hope for the Gospel in the world. It is not a small thing that has happened’. There was no need for us to be reminded of the reasons why GAFCON had called the Anglican Church in North America into being five years ago because the investiture demonstrated that the realignment of the Anglican Communion is now established and unstoppable.
Anglicans around the globe are now affirming this fact. Last month the Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Kenya unanimously approved a resolution to be in formal partnership with the GAFCON movement. Then just before the investiture, the Synod of the Diocese of North West Australia passed a resolution recognizing ‘the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) as a member church of the Anglican Communion, in full communion with Diocese of North West Australia’. Shortly afterwards, the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney passed a resolution which recognized ‘that GAFCON is an emerging instrument of communion when others have failed to provide the well needed leadership’ and stated ‘recognizing Synod’s desire to be in full communion with the ACNA.…. Synod congratulates the Most Reverend Foley Beach on his consecration as Archbishop to the ACNA.’…”
– Read the full Letter on the GAFCON website.
Bill Shorten speaks at Australian Christian Lobby national conference
“Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has told a Christian conference he supports same-sex marriage.
Mr Shorten made the comments in a speech to the Australian Christian Lobby national conference in Canberra this morning.
‘When I see people hiding behind the bible to insult and demonise people on the basis of who they love, I cannot stay silent, I do not agree,’ he said…”
– Story from ABC News. (Photo: BillShorten.com.au)
Related: Australian Christian Lobby media release.
ANiC statement on terrorist attack in Ottawa
“Today, Canadians are grieving the deaths of two members of the Canadian Armed Forces at the hands of terrorists this week. …
Let us pray for those who are caught up in this hatred, and actively seek to extend to them the gospel of peace.”
– The Anglican Network in Canada’s Bishop Charlie Masters speaks on the attack in Ottawa yesterday.
The Pulse Oct-Nov 2014
Presbyterians in NSW are are dealing with many similar issues to Sydney Anglicans.
Read about them in the latest edition of The Pulse (3.4MB PDF) which features another Moore College graduate on the cover.
Who or what defines the Anglican Communion?
“In an interview with the editor of the Church Of Ireland Gazette (Canon Ian Ellis), the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has given his opinion on what defines a church as part of the Anglican Communion, and therefore, by implication, what is critical for Anglican identity…”
– SydneyAnglicans.net published this piece by Moore College Principal mark Thompson shortly before Synod. Take the time to read it all.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…