Abp Akinola turns 70, prays for his abductors
“The retired Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Peter Akinola, has called on members of a criminal gang that attacked him recently to turn a new leaf. He appealed to the criminals to register with his foundation to learn skills that they could use for legal businesses.
Mr. Akinola was robbed of his vehicle and briefly kidnapped on Christmas Eve of 2013…”
– Story from The Premium Times, Nigeria.
Australia Day Honours 2014
In the 2014 Australia Day Honours List, Deaconess Margaret Rodgers has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Margaret has served in a number of important positions in Sydney Diocese and also in the General Synod Office. Most notably, she was Principal of Deaconess House 1975-85, CEO of the Anglican Media Council 1994-2003 and the Archbishop of Sydney’s Media Officer 2004-2007.
The award is for “significant service to the Anglican Church of Australia through governance and representational roles, and to ecumenical affairs”.
Others to receive Australia Day honours include:
Dr Timothy Hawkes (Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM) – Headmaster of The Kings School, “for service to education, and to professional organisations” (pictured),
Mr Peter Achterstraat (AM), member of Warrawee Anglican Church, “For significant service to public administration through financial management and governance roles, and to the community” and Mr Allan Ezzy (AM), member of St. John’s Parramatta, for “significant service to local government in New South Wales, and to the community through law enforcement, church and service organisations”.
Our congratulations and best wishes go to all. SydneyAnglicans.net has more.
(Photos: Mary Andrews College and Ramon Williams, respectively.)
‘Work of ARCIC irrelevant to most Christians, says Lord Carey’
“Catholics and Anglicans involved in formal ecumenical dialogue might as well be ‘talking on the moon’ because no one is listening to them, a former Anglican leader has said.
Lord Carey of Clifton said the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) was ‘irrelevant’ to most Christians…”
– from The Catholic Herald (UK).
Condolences on the death of Archbishop Johnson of West Africa
Archbishop Dr Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya and Chairman of GAFCON has released this statement after the unexpected death of the Primate of West Africa, Archbishop Dr Solomon Tilewa Johnson. Read more
An Extraordinary Life
“Friends of our ministry in East Timor will be saddened to learn of the sudden death of Pastor Manuel Rodriquez. He was in many ways an ‘ordinary’ pastor but God used him in extraordinary ways. He never wrote a book or appeared on a platform as a speaker at a conference but God used him to spread the glory of His name in East Timor. This man is a tremendous example to us of someone who was determined to see the Kingdom of God grow in East Timor.”
– Australian Presbyterian World Mission gives thanks for this man of Christ in Timor Leste.
Being on message for Jesus without projecting yourself
Nathan Campbell, who blogs at St. Eutychus, interviews David Ould about his appearances on TEN’s The Project –
“… I applied for the show the first time around with the line that normal Christians don’t get a fair play in mainstream media. I almost dared them to take me on on that basis. I felt no need to play down – in fact – quite the opposite, I felt like that was the gimmick in having me on, not just a Christian, but a minister in fact.”
– Read it here.
Crossway article on The Pilling Report
“The easy thing for us to do, in the current climate, would be to respond to our culture’s normalising of homosexual practice by re-thinking the Church’s historic opposition to it. Many people, and especially the younger generation, now feel that there is nothing wrong with same-sex attraction or behaviour, so it seems obvious to many that to attract them we must soften our stance on this issue at some level.
The riskier, more radical and more difficult thing to do is to hold on to what the Holy Spirit teaches us in his word about what it means to be holy, and what kind of lifestyle is pleasing to him. Will we take that risk, and pay the cost of discipleship, for the sake of Jesus and the clarity of his gospel call to ‘Repent and believe the good news’?”
– In the latest issue of Crossway, Church Society Director Lee Gatiss responds to The Pilling Report. PDF file.
‘Lord’s Prayer should remain a part of opening parliament’
Here’s a media release from The Australian Christian Lobby –
“The Australian Christian Lobby believes the support of mainstream politics for the Lords’ Prayer in Parliament means the latest Greens’ push to remove it will fail.
ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said Labor and the Coalition have consistently told ACL, through its election questionnaires over the past three federal elections, that they support parliament opening with prayer and will not change this…”
A Canterbury Tale
“The archbishop of Canterbury means well and there is no doubt that his heart is with GAFCON in many ways. He told the delegates that he wants its aims to be those of the Communion as a whole and there is no reason not to believe him. But if he is going to occupy the place that the Anglican Communion assigns to him and exercise the kind of influence for good that he undoubtedly wants to, he will have to get with the programme, as the Americans say.
GAFCON is not just one more Anglican organisation, like the Mothers’ Union, that can be flattered and pacified by an occasional nod from the hierarchy. It is a renewal movement that wants to make its agenda that of the church as a whole, and it will expect Justin Welby to nail his colours to the mast. It is a wonderful opportunity for him to assume the leadership of the Communion and use the GAFCON base to bring about the kinds of changes that he wants to see, but will he take it?”
– In the Editorial of the latest issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray writes about GAFCON, the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. PDF file – direct link.
An Alternative Baptismal Liturgy
John Richardson in the UK proposes an alternative Baptismal liturgy for the Church of England. It has a bit more substance.
‘Is the Church of England ashamed to preach Christ crucified?’
“It must be the ultimate irony in liturgical development that the Church of England becomes ashamed of the exhortation not to be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified …”
– UK blogger ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ on the CofE trial Baptism service.
Anglican church accused of ‘dumbing down’ baptism service
“The Church of England has been accused of ‘dumbing down’ the baptism service by changing its wording so parents and godparents no longer have to ‘repent sins’ and ‘reject the devil’.…”
– story from The Guardian.
‘Emulate Mandela’ says Abp of Canterbury
“People should pledge this new year to try and emulate Nelson Mandela and change the world around them, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.”
– Report from BBC News.
Christmas Massacre — and a call for prayer
“It was good to remember our Saviour on the day we call his birthday. But sadly this year it was not a good day for vulnerable Christians in difficult places around the world.
‘We see injustice in the ever more seriously threatened Christian communities of the Middle East,’ Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury… preached in his Christmas sermon. ‘They are attacked and massacred, driven into exile from a region in which their presence has always been essential.’
… On Christmas day, Welby’s prediction of threat came true.”
– from Eternity Newspaper.
Archbishop Akinola kidnapped, later rescued — reports
“A former Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola, was kidnapped yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
… Akinola was waylaid at about 3pm by gunmen … and driven away in his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) along with his daughter and driver.
However, their ordeal was short-lived as the trio was rescued by officers and men of the Ogun State Police Command at about 8pm. …”
– from This Day Live, Nigeria. More from PM News.
Update: “My ordeal in the hands of kidnappers”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…