New Archbishop of Uganda elected

“On 22nd June 2012, at a press conference held at the Archbishop’s Palace, Namirembe, the Rt. Rev. Nicodemus Okille, Dean of the Church of the Province of Uganda, announced that the Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali was elected the 8th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda. The election was held during a meeting of the House of Bishops on Friday, 22nd June, 2012, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe…”

– Report from The Anglican Communion News Service.

Baptist statement reaffirms marriage

“[O]n Friday the President of the Baptist Association of NSW & ACT released the following statement to all our churches, affirming our understanding of the nature of marriage…”

– Baptist minister Rod Benson (who is also Public Affairs Director for the NSW Council of Churches) points out that NSW Baptists have not changed their position. He also comments on statements made to the media by a Sydney Baptist.

Related: Baptists overwhelmingly oppose gay marriage.

Archbishop Peter Jensen in the Sydney Morning Herald on same-sex marriage

The Sydney Morning Herald has published this opinion-piece by Archbishop Peter Jensen –

“We are in the midst of a sustained and brilliantly orchestrated campaign to radically alter the marriage laws of this country to allow same-sex marriage.

Three slogans carry the message: ‘marriage equality’, ‘marriage won’t change’, ‘it’s inevitable’. Of course, the difficulty with slogans is that they are not arguments and, so, are hard to refute, except by slogans in return…”

– Read it all here, ‘Stylish same-sex campaign glosses over real issues’. Worth reading and passing on.

Church Society response to the Church of England Submission on Same-Sex Marriage

The Church Society media release below refers to this submission (PDF) from the Church of England.

“Church Society Response to the Church of England Submission on Same-Sex Marriage

Church Society welcomes the Church of England’s official submission to the government’s ‘consultation’ on sex-same marriage, which argues strongly in favour of retaining the current definition of marriage as “the voluntary union for life of one man with one woman to the exclusion of all others”.  Read more

‘Sexegesis’ book launch in Hobart

Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, reports –

“Today we launched Sexegesis – An Evangelical Response to Five Uneasy Pieces on Homosexuality at St David’s Cathedral, Hobart. I would like to express my thanks to the Revd Joel Kettleton and the Dean Richard Humphrey, for their work in putting together this event.

Here is the introduction which I gave at the book launch:

2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Anglican Church of Australia. At the recent Synod of our Diocese we gave thanks that our founding documents affirm that we are part of the apostolic and worldwide church, that we are biblically based and that we are Christ centered.

As Anglicans then as we deal with issues such as homosexuality we do so in this context.

We are part of a worldwide Anglican communion and need to listen to that body which has clearly stated in the Lambeth Resolutions (1.10 – Human Sexuality) that homosexual practice is incompatible with the Scriptures.

As that resolution makes clear and the constitution of our Church says we take the Scriptures “as being the ultimate and standard of faith given by inspiration of God.” The Church is not at liberty to “ordain anything contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another.” (Article XX of the Anglican Church’s 39 Articles of Religion).  We need to keep coming back to Scripture, to wrestle with it, understand and apply it, even when it corrects and challenges us and our culture. Read more

‘Is David Cameron about to force the Queen to break her Coronation Oath?’

Well-known UK blogger ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ looks at some implications of the British government’s proposals –

“The newspapers today are full of reports of the likely consequences to the Church of England of the Government’s plans to redefine the institution of marriage to include same-sex unions, contra the official teaching of Church, as established by Act of Parliament. The Report has been hyped, selectively quoted, misquoted and misrepresented by much of the media, so His Grace urges you to READ IT for yourself…”

– Read it all here. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.)

Same sex marriage — Weekend Sunrise interview

On Saturday (June 9 2012), Archbishop Peter Jensen, Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous and the Australian Christian Lobby’s Jim Wallace were interviewed by Andrew O’Keefe on the Seven Network’s Weekend Sunrise.

The topic was, “Why are so many Christians opposed to same sex marriage?”

The segment runs nearly 12 minutes and is well worth watching and passing on.
(h/t Lionel Windsor.)

Queen’s Birthday Honours 2012

We spotted these people among those in the just-published Queen’s Birthday Honours List –

Member (AM) of The Order of Australia

Professor Alanna Nobbs (pictured)
Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University
For service to education in the fields of ancient history and the classics, particularly the Society for the Study of Early Christianity.

Medal (OAM) of The Order of Australia

Canon Dr Peter Adam
For service to theological education, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.

Mrs Noelene Beer
For service to the Anglican Church of Australia through the Girls Friendly Society.

Professor Trevor Cairney
Master of New College, University of New South Wales
For service to education as an academic and administrator.

The above are summaries – details and the full list may be seen here.

Nationwide launch announced for Sexegesis

“On June 14, senior clergy of the evangelical church in Australia will make statements in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and Adelaide (June 19), with an online launch in Canberra.”

– Download the full media release here (PDF) via the Diocese of Tasmania.

Related:
An important contribution to a vital debate.
Bishops publish protocols.
Sydney Standing Committee motion on Gippsland ‘breach of trust’.
Bishop McIntyre breaks ranks on homosexuality.
The Gippsland Crisis.
Bishop defends gay priest appointment.

An important contribution to a vital debate

An important book, which meets a desperate need, is due to be launched next week.

“Sometimes we all just wish this debate would go away. Christians aren’t preoccupied with this subject, they’re preoccupied with Jesus. However, this is the form in which the gospel of Jesus is under most direct challenge just at the moment and we need the courage and the resources to take our stand on the teaching of Scripture.” – Mark Thompson

ACL President Dr. Mark Thompson explains why the book is important:

“The debate about homosexual behaviour and the concerted attempt by the gay lobby and others to gain legitimacy by rebadging homosexual liaisons as ‘same-sex marriage’ is quite intense at the moment. A culture bankrupt of any moral compass increasingly accepts the gay lobby’s caricature of Christians who take the Bible’s teaching on the subject seriously as bigots and homophobes.  Read more

Bishops publish protocols

“Australia’s Anglican bishops have published 17 protocols for their ministry, three of which they approved at their meeting in Melbourne in March, and have agreed to abide by them and renew them annually by consensus.

The protocols, which may be found [here] cover issues including pastoral guidelines for private confession especially relating to child sexual abuse, Eucharistic hospitality, women in the episcopate, approaching clergy in another diocese, receiving clergy from other churches and episcopal collegiality…”

– story from Anglican Media Melbourne.

Living Between Times — The Bishop of Tasmania’s 2012 Synod Address

“Next month there is an anniversary which has special significance for me. Can you imagine which anniversary it might be? No! It’s not my wedding anniversary. It’s the 30th anniversary of the end of the Falkland Islands War.

The end of that war introduced a significant season in the life of Argentina: a change from military dictatorship to democracy.

Let me explain. Argentina suffered a civil war, the so called “Dirty War”, during the rule of a brutal military dictatorship from 1976-83.

The Argentine dictatorship ruled ruthlessly to guard and grow its own ends. We lived in a street that had abandoned and burnt out houses. We were told that the occupants of an abandoned house on the corner of our street had ‘disappeared’ one evening following a raid by military personnel. Behind closed doors Argentine confidants told us of all the year 12 students in a college ‘disappearing’ one night and never being seen or heard of again; of whispered reports of people thrown from military planes.

We often wondered, ‘Would the dictatorship ever end? Would democracy ever come?’…”

On Friday, Bishop John Harrower delivered his Presidential Address to the Synod of the Diocese of Tasmania. Well worth hearing or reading.

Bishop Rick Lewers commissioned in Armidale

“Hundreds of people crowded into St Peter’s Cathedral on Wednesday to welcome Armidale’s new Anglican bishop.

Rick Lewers was installed and commissioned as the Bishop of Armidale in front of some 400 people watching both in the cathedral and via video link in a nearby hall. The event was not restricted to Anglicans, with representatives of other Christian denominations and the Salvation Army [!!] also in attendance …”

– Story and photo from The Armidale Express.

Does Moore matter?

Cam Capel, Chief Executive of Moore College, writes in the Winter 2012 issue of Moore Matters of the strategic gospel significance of the College:

“With the likes of D Broughton Knox, Graeme Goldsworthy, Donald Robinson and TC Hammond, the College has had a massive impact on the biblical theology of the Australian church across denominations.”

“Does Moore matter?

This question has become a critical one for the future of the church in Sydney, Australia and the world. We as a College community have been considering this question as we review our structures, education programs and delivery channels—to ensure we continue to serve individual Christians and the churches effectively. To answer this question we have to understand what Moore is, what it does and where it has come from in history. Read more

Gary Nelson installed as 7th Bishop of North West Australia

“On Saturday the 26th of May, over 200 people gathered in the Cathedral to show their support, to pray for and to welcome the 7th Bishop of the Diocese of the North West Australia, Bishop Gary Nelson.  Friends and family came from Perth, Sydney, The Kimberley & the Pilbara to celebrate this new beginning for Bishop Gary.

We value your prayers for Bishop Gary and the whole Diocese of North West Australia.”

– from Geraldton Anglican Cathedral. where they have posted a couple of photos and the audio of Bishop Nelson’s sermon on Titus 2:11-15.

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