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
The Archbishop we don’t need (but will probably get)
“Central to the role of the next Archbishop of Canterbury will be his views on human sexuality, not because that is the most important thing about Christian theology (though it is quite important), but because the agenda of our society will make it so…”
– John Richardson calls for an Archbishop of Canterbury who will ‘uphold sound and wholesome doctrine, and … banish and drive away all erroneous and strange opinions’. At the Ugley Vicar.
FCA Leadership Conference to be held in London next month
GAFCON / FCA Media Release
Anglican leaders gather to work towards visionary future
More than 200 delegates from 30 Provinces of the Anglican Communion will gather in London in April to build on the work of the GAFCON conference in Jerusalem and in the words of the organisers to ‘help turn the present crisis moment into a visionary future’. Read more
New Director for Church Society
It’s been announced that Lee Gatiss will be the new Director of Church Society from the start of 2013.
Archbishop Peter Jensen’s Statement on the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury
March 19th, 2012
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney – Media Statement
Statement on the resignation of Dr Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury
“The Archbishop of Canterbury is universally admired for his intellectual stature and his personal warmth. In his time as Archbishop, the Anglican Communion has been subjected to unprecedented stresses which have hastened an inevitable tendency to regional independence and decentralisation. With the majority of Anglicans now from theologically conservative churches of the Global South, the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the future will demand a deepening appreciation of their place in the Communion.
Dr Peter F Jensen,
Archbishop of Sydney.”
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.
Church of Nigeria on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to resign
PRESS STATEMENT — CHURCH OF NIGERIA REACTS TO ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY’S RESIGNATION
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt. Hon. Dr. Rowan Williams took over the leadership of the Anglican Communion in 2002 when it was a happy family. Unfortunately, he is leaving behind a Communion in tatters: highly polarized, bitterly factionalized, with issues of revisionist interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and human sexuality as stumbling blocks to oneness, evangelism and mission all around the Anglican world. Read more
Reform on Rowan Williams’ announced departure
From Reform:
Rev’d Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform, the 1,700-strong network of conservative evangelicals within the Church of England, said:
“Many people will have appreciated Rowan’s great courtesy in dealing with people of different views within both the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. But his departure opens up the potential for a new leader to heal the deep divisions within the Anglican Communion. What is needed is someone who will hold firm to biblical truth in areas such as human sexuality in order to promote the gospel and unite the church in the face of militant secularism.”
Canterbury not the future?
In his weekly video message, Canon Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council, reflects on the legacy of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. He argues that GAFCON, with a clear focus on the Lord Jesus, is the way of the future for Bible-believing Anglicans.
Rowan Williams to step down as Archbishop of Canterbury in December
A press release from the Anglican Communion News Service:
“Archbishop of Canterbury to be Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Archbishop Rowan Williams has today announced his acceptance of the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge with effect from January 2013. He will therefore be stepping down from the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of December 2012. Read more
New Hampshire names nominees for bishop
“The Diocese of New Hampshire’s Bishop Search and Nomination Committee March 15 announced a three-nominee slate for a bishop coadjutor to succeed Bishop V. Gene Robinson… Robinson announced in November 2010 that he would retire in January 2013.”
– Report from the Episcopal News Service.
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
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…