Talks from the Bathurst Diocesan Camp 2025

Dr. Mark Earngey spoke at the Bathurst Diocesan Camp earlier this month. His theme – “Why Church?”

Bishop Mark Calder has now posted the videos for your encouragement and edification.

Bathurst Winter 2025 Newsletter

The Winter 2025 edition of the Bathurst Diocese Newsletter is now up on their website.

Plenty to pray about, including –

“Grenfell – you’re invited to join many in welcoming the Rev’d Steve and Mrs Clenda Wockner as we commission Steve as their new minister – Sat 23 Aug, 11am.”

– Download the newsletter for your interest – and your prayers.

Donison Down Under Tour — November 2025

A prayer point from Gafcon –

“We pray for the upcoming November visit to Australia and New Zealand by our General Secretary, The Rt Revd Paul Donison, as he presents the ‘Gafcon Global Vision’ events, and visits key leaders in the two countries.

Bishop Paul will be speaking at free evening events this November in Melbourne (Tuesday 18th), Hobart (Wednesday 19th), Perth (Thursday 20th), Adelaide (Friday 21st), Sydney (Wednesday 26th), Brisbane (Friday 28th), and Christchurch (Saturday 29th).

Pray that this two-week visit will energise and inspire Aussies and Kiwis as they hear important updates about our movement, and that it will help grow their Gafcon Global Vision as they hear of the many opportunities to partner with brothers and sisters around the world in generous fellowship.”

– Prayer point and photo: Gafcon. Might be good to pop in your calendar.

More prayer points and stories from Gafcon here.

Discover serving in Bathurst Diocese

From the Diocese of Bathurst –

INFORMATION ZOOM EVENING
12 AUGUST @ 7:15 PM – 8:30 PM

Are you interested in ministry opportunities and pathways outside of the city? Are you curious about what it actually looks like to minister out west? Are you keen to hear about what it is like to SHARE JESUS for LIFE in the Bathurst Diocese?

Join us for an Information Zoom session and have all your questions answered! All welcome!

– Interested? Register at this link.

(And even if you are not able to go, you can still pray for the progress of the gospel and the building up of Christ’s people in Bathurst.)

The Church in Wales departs from biblical teaching and orthodox fellowship — Diocese of Sydney statement

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has released this statement on behalf of the Diocese of Sydney —

The election of the Rt Rev Cherry Vann, a person in a same sex civil partnership, as Archbishop of Wales is a grievous departure from the teaching of the Bible, inconsistent with the understanding of marriage as expressed in the formularies of the Anglican Church, and a tragic rejection of the words of Jesus.

At a time when the See of Canterbury remains vacant, and the Church of England proceeds to develop liturgical recognition of same sex unions, this appointment adds to the increasingly irreconcilable divisions between the majority of the Anglican Communion who hold to the authority and primacy of Scripture in matters of life and faith and those churches that have departed from the teaching of Christ.

In the face of the failure of those who should be witnesses and keepers of Scripture, we give thanks for faithful Anglicans in Wales who hold to ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ and contend for the gospel within the Church of Wales.

There is, however, a growing number whose consciences prevent them from remaining in a denomination in which the leadership has so clearly departed from the scriptures. For them, we commend the fellowship of the Anglican Network in Europe, under the pastoral care of Bishop Andy Lines.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
4 August 2025

— Media release via SydneyAnglicans.net.

Related:

Anglican Network in Europe.

Southern Cross August-September 2025

The latest edition of Southern Cross magazine from the Diocese of Sydney is now available.

“In this edition:
•   Ministry to seafarers
•   Holiday kids’ clubs
•   Reaching Gen Z
•   Testimonies of women working in specialised areas
PLUS: news, views, reviews and more.”

– including
•   Eleven churches and one big Bible college working bee
•   Emu music celebrates 25 years
•   A ransom to reckon with
•   Answer with gentleness and respect.

In churches now, or downloadable from sydneyanglicans.net/about/southerncross.

Bathurst Diocesan Prayer Diary — July 2025

The Bathurst Diocesan Prayer Diary has been updated with the latest points for prayer and thanksgiving.

Maybe you could use it to help you pray for the work of the gospel in this huge area of New South Wales.

“Please pray for our diocese as a whole, that the Lord
…would fill us with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that we may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
See Colossians 1:9-10”

Download here (PDF file).

Moving to a five-day working week for the welfare of clergy

“We have always made clear to our new clergy that their stipend is not a salary for ‘services rendered’, but rather an allowance so they don’t have to work for a living.

Set free from that burden, they are able to adopt that particular lifestyle which is ministry—that is, giving of themselves to shepherding their sheep and seeking the lost…”

– Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder shares his thoughts on the advantages of having a five-day working week for clergy.

Mark Short elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia

From John Sandeman at The Other Cheek:

“Mark Short, the Bishop of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese, is the new Primate – titular head – of the Anglican Church of Australia.

He is an alumnus of Moore Theological College, and was elected as Bishop of Canberra in 2019. Prior to that, he served as National Director of the Bush Church Aid Society from 2011.

His election means that the head of the Australian Anglicans is once more an evangelical. Short has been involved in EFAC, the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion. …”

– More here.

Read some of Mark’s addresses on the Canberra Goulburn Diocese website.

Update:

The Melbourne Anglican has this story.

Grafton and Riverina adopt five-day week for thriving clergy

“Clergy health and safety has been behind the decisions two dioceses in NSW recently made to reduce the number of days their ministers worked.

The synods of the Anglican Dioceses of Grafton and Riverina both voted to embrace five-day working weeks for clergy in June. …”

– Story from The Melbourne Anglican.

Bishop of Tasmania’s 2025 Synod Presidential Address

Bishop Richard Condie gave this Presidential Address to the Synod of the Diocese of Tasmania, meeting in Launceston on 13 and 14 June 2025 –

“ You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

What an encouragement to us as we commence our Synod to know we are joined together as citizens with God’s people, as brothers and sisters in his household, and indwelt by the Spirit of God himself, gathered around Jesus as our cornerstone, our guide and the reference point for all that we do. …”

– Bishop Condie shares the latest encouraging developments in the Diocese of Tasmania.

Food for your prayers.

Image: Richard Condie in a Hope25 message for the Diocese of Bathurst.

Prisoners seek Prayer

From the Diocese of North West Australia:

“Inmates at Greenough Prison are turning to the chaplain for prayer and encouragement.

Geraldton Assistant Minister Mal Walker has begun filling in as prison chaplain two days a week and says the experience has shown him God’s immense love for people.…”

– This and other matters for prayer and thanksgiving on the website of the DNWA.

Bishop of Bathurst’s Newsletter — HOPE25 Report edition

From the Bishop of Bathurst.

– Read it here.

In uncertain times – the message of Hope everyone needs to hear

“Here’s 3 minutes from this weekend’s message. Given the USA’s intervention in the Israel–Iran conflict, I suspect some will find this helpful to hear today. A reminder that even in global uncertainty, Christ remains supreme — and our hope is secure in him.”

– Bishop of Bathurst Diocese, Mark Calder, shares this excerpt from the coming weekend’s message.

Whatever your views about aspects of the current conflict, and whatever might have happened by the time you see this, Bishop Calder brings us back to what is the most important message of all.

See it on Facebook – or watch the full message here.

Southern Cross June-July 2025

The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine from the Diocese of Sydney is now available online – and printed copies are arriving in churches.

Among the articles is “Our mission opportunity“ – from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel –

“The most recent Census tells us that, for the first time since statistics have been collected, less than half of all Australians identify as Christian (43.9 per cent). The next largest group in Australia is those who say they have no religion (38.9 per cent). Islam is the second-largest religion in the country, at just over 3 per cent of the population.

So, the very high number of people who say they have no religion is a huge mission opportunity. I can tell you that as I travel around the Diocese every single church has people visiting for the first time, or people who have joined in the past year. Sometimes they have had no contact with a church before; sometimes they’ve been away from church for a long time – maybe even decades. …”

– Read it all at SydneyAnglicans.net.

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