Diocese of Tasmania submission on “Voluntary Assisted Dying”
Bishop John Harrower has posted some details on his diocese’s submission concerning “Voluntary Assisted Dying” in Tasmania – and he has also written a Pastoral Letter on proposed Abortion legislation for that state.
Archbishop Welby and the E-Word
“Archbishop Justin Welby very seldom uses the E-word – ‘Evangelical’. He mentions it only when amongst friends.
Speaking at New Wine, for example, in 2006 he declared: ‘I’m an orthodox Bible-believing Evangelical … Scripture is my final authority for all matters of life and doctrine.’ But it’s not a label he usually chooses to define himself. …
… Although the ‘Evangelicalism’ label will not often be heard at Lambeth Palace, that other momentous E-Word – ‘Evangelism’ – falls much more frequently from Welby’s lips. His abiding passion is for people to come to faith in Christ and for churches to grow.”
– In an article to be published in the Spring 2013 issue of Cross†Way, Andrew Atherstone provides a very informative profile of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
St. Helen’s Thanksgiving service for Chappo
The video from the Thanksgiving service for John Chapman, held at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London a week ago (1st March 2013), is now available on Vimeo.
Participants include William Taylor, Dick Lucas, Richard Bewes and Hugh Palmer.
Dick Lucas remembered the first time he met Chappo – and Hugh Palmer preached from Romans 1.
The video runs for 51 minutes and is most edifying.
BC cathedral congregation backs same-sex blessings
“The congregation at Christ Church Cathedral [in Victoria, British Columbia] has voted more than 90 per cent in favour of blessing married homosexual couples. … Rev. Logan McMenamie, dean of the cathedral, said he was pleased with the result of the vote and proud of the way the cathedral’s parishioners came to the decision.”
– Report from The Times Colonist. h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog. Photo: Christ Church Cathedral.
Good news for Braidwood
The Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn’s Bishop Stuart Robinson is continuing his ‘150th birthday [of the diocese] pilgrimage’ – and is using every opportunity to preach evangelistically.
This morning he and his wife Jane, with members of the local church, entered Braidwood and Stuart preached evangelistically in the park. He reports that more than 20 people made commitments or recommitments to Christ.
Bishop Robinson would appreciate continued prayer support (next “Bungendore, then Goulburn (Good Friday) then on Easter Saturday, Reid in Canberra and on Easter Day around Parliament House to the lawns of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture for a sunrise evangelistic service at 7.15am.”)
Photo courtesy Alex Rea at The Braidwood Times.
Indaba with an MBA?
“It would be wonderful for His Grace to take note of the grave errors and blatant misconduct of the American Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, reflect on the evidence already provided during his predecessor’s tenure, and if, as some suspect, there is a need for the two North American Provinces to repent and return to Jesus Christ in the historic and Biblical sense, that they be called to do so and set to one side until they have.
What is not called for is making nice, photo ops, smiles and handshakes with those who have broken covenant and relationships unilaterally by their stubborn independence and arrogance.…”
– Bishop David Anderson of the American Anglican Council writes about the true nature of reconciliation and the task ahead of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Related: The Archbishop of Canterbury’s latest sermon – on Reconciliation – “Faith and Conflict”.
New Testament scholar Ralph P. Martin dies
“Ralph P. Martin, a prominent Bible scholar and author of numerous studies and commentaries on the New Testament, died Monday in Southport, England. He was 88.”
In a little while – thanking God for Chappo
“My generation missed Chappo. I think I heard him preach once, maybe twice. By the time I went through Moore Theological College he was no longer the one giving sermon feedback. Others were the regular evangelists up at the Katoomba conventions when I attended them.
I heard a number of his jokes — even I knew of his encouragement of younger Christians with words along the lines of ‘Don’t worry, the first 40 years are the hardest’ — but I heard most of these stories from others who knew him better, or had heard him more often.”
– Coinciding with the day of a special Thanksgiving service in London, Sam Freeney explains why The Briefing (March/April 2013) will carry some special appreciations of our dear brother John Chapman.
Canterbury tale
Evangelicals Now, has an account of last month’s visit by Archbishop of Canterbury-Designate Justin Welby to a Vineyard church.
“Unusually perhaps for a senior Anglican, Justin Welby was very clear on the exact time and date he became a Christian and on the gospel he responded to.”
– Read the article here. (Photo: Diocese of Durham.)
My Brittle Bones
“I belong to a very ordinary Australian family, albeit with two obvious differences. First, compared with the stereotypical sports-loving, tough Aussie, some of us are quite weak and physically frail, thanks to a mutant gene. Second, my family has resisted the secularism that is a dominant feature of modern Australian life.…”
– a disturbing article relating to eugenics. Worth your time to read. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net)
New Archbishop for Tanzania
Bishop Jacobo Chimeledya, has been elected as Primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.
– Story from Anglican Ink.
Freedom is the issue
“Any expression of the view that marriage is between a man and a woman is held to stigmatize those who believe that marriage is gender neutral.
Such alternative views are claimed to be prejudiced, to stigmatise others, and to be the source of unhappiness and searches for “change”. Such stigmatization has to be banished from society by the state.
Therefore even holding such an opinion is wrong – or rather causes offence and hurt, and must be eliminated. Even if the state admits diversity and plurality, certain pluralities cannot exist. …”
– The American Anglican Council has published an important article from the UK by Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden. Read it all here.
(images via Anglican Mainstream and GAFCON.)
Ordination in Kenya for church plant in Sheffield
“In Sheffield, South Yorkshire, statistics show that only 3% of the population regularly attend church. Back in 2002 the leadership team at Christ Church Fulwood were invited by senior diocesan staff to investigate the possibility of church planting…
Pete Jackson, who has been one of the associate ministers at Christ Church Central, is the founding minister [of Christ Church Walkley].
Although recommended by the Reform Panel of Reference and trained at Oakhill Theological College, Pete had not been ordained since Christ Church Central was not part of Sheffield Diocese. Concern that his ministry and that of the new church should be appropriately recognised led us to consult the leadership of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), who subsequently wrote to the GAFCON Primates’ Council…”
– Read the full story at Anglican Mainstream.
Bathurst Diocese welcomes new Bishop
“Bishop Ian Palmer, who was consecrated as the tenth Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst on Saturday (February 9), has said that he is very aware of the difficult financial situation facing the Diocese. … Bishop Ian Palmer was consecrated by Archbishop Peter Jensen, Metropolitan of NSW, supported by twelve other Bishops from throughout the Australian church.”
– Story here from the Diocese of Bathurst.
Also from Bathurst:
Anglican Schools in Orange and Dubbo to be sold
“The new Bishop of Bathurst, Ian Palmer, has announced … that Bishop-in-Council had decided to sell two Anglican Grammar Schools as going concerns for the 2014 school year…”
– Story here.
‘An Aussie Christian icon’
In a recent post at Reformation21, Paul Levy in the UK writes, “Colin Buchanan is, to my son and countless other kids like him, the equivalent of what John Piper is to Christian hedonists, Gresham Machen is to the OPC and John Stott is to English public schoolboys…”.
Now Eternity Newspaper has a profile piece on Colin. Good reminder to pray for him and his ministry.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…