New start at Parkes
“The Anglican Parish of Parkes and Peak Hill has welcomed and embraced the Reverend Ben Mackay and his family who moved to Parkes in early January.
Ben’s formal welcome and commissioning will be held at St George’s Parkes tomorrow, 12th March, at 10am. The Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst, Mark Calder will conduct the service …”
– News from The Parkes Phoenix.
Bathurst Anglican e-News — March 2022
The Diocese of Bathurst’s e-News for March 2022 is now up on their website.
It’s a “newsletter for the Anglican Church in Central & Western NSW”, but will be of interest to many who are praying for the eternal good of men and women across that diocese.
In this issue Bishop Mark Calder writes –
Encouraging signs of growth
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind towards each other that Christ Jesus had so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the same mind towards each other that Christ Jesus had; a humility of servanthood and of sacrifice, so that with one voice and one mind we may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:5-6)
I’ve been sharing those verses with you since before I began here and I think that under God we are slowly seeing our prayers answered in that regard. …
Read it all on page 2 – and download the whole issue here. (3.7MB PDF file.)
In an e-mail to newsletter recipients Bishop Calder writes:
“Please give thanks with us for the grace of God at work among us and pray that the Lord will raise up more gospel workers for our 16/29 parishes without clergy.”
Diocese of the Northern Territory Prayer Cycle for 2022
From the Diocese of the Northern Territory –
“We covet your prayers for the work of the Gospel in the Diocese of the Northern Territory.
Please keep praying that God will raise up the next generation of leaders in all the parishes here in the Northern Territory, for additional resources for our urban and remote parishes and that we will use the resources that God has given wisely.”
– Download the Prayer Cycle for 2002 here.
A word from Bishop Gary Nelson
Bishop of North West Australia, Gary Nelson, writes –
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” [ESV, 2 Tim 47]
Paul writes these words to Timothy as he nears the end of his life and ministry. They certainly encourage us all to finish well, to remain faithful to our Lord.
Friends, as I write, it’s only a few months before I conclude my ministry in the North West on May 15. For Christine and I, it has been, and still is, a wonderful privilege to serve the Lord in this part of remote Australia. It seems only yesterday we were leaving Sydney to drive across the continent to Geraldton. Now, we find ourselves preparing to do the reverse trip, 10 years later. We find it hard to believe our time in the North West is rapidly drawing to a close. So, Christine and I, want to thank you, whether family, friends or supporters [across Australia, and overseas, especially in America], for your constant prayer, generous giving and continued encouragement to press on. Read more
Numbulwar Restoration Project
From the Diocese of the Northern Territory:
“The Diocese is seeking financial support for the restoration of the church building and rectory in the remote community of Numbulwar.
We hope to continue to enable culturally appropriate worship activities in the region by improving its facilities. For further information, please review the project presentation or contact Lee Walton at the Diocesan Office…”
Numbulwar is a remote community on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Pastoral video from Bishop Mark Calder on the floods and Ukraine
Yesterday Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder released this pastoral video.
Please use it as an encouragement to turn to the Lord in prayer.
Archbishop of Perth Responds to Concerns over Ordination
“The Archbishop of Perth has today released a statement in response to growing concerns about tonight’s ordination and the appointment of a new precentor at the Cathedral. The statement is reproduced below …
davidould.net understands that conservatives in the diocese are not placated by this message…”
– Read the latest at davidould.net.
Archbishop of Perth Set to Proceed with Ordination that will “Split the Diocese”
“The Archbishop of Perth, Kay Goldsworthy, is set to proceed with an ordination later this week that, according to sources in the diocese, is set to ‘split the diocese’.
On the evening of Thursday 24 February 2022 Archbishop Goldsworthy will preside over the ordination at St George’s Cathedral where four candidates will be made deacon. …”
Photo: Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy, courtesy Diocese of Perth.
From around the Anglican Church of Australia
A few items of interest from around the Anglican Church of Australia –
The Idea of Duty – Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn, Mark Short.
“As I write this column people across the world are preparing to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne. My only encounter with royalty came at a distance. Our family were in England during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and she came to our city as part of the celebrations. The day of her visit I lined up in on the footpath with our younger son on my shoulders. From that vantage point he saw her: I did but see her lemon-yellow hat passing by. …”
Sesquicentenary of St Stephen’s Fitzgerald’s Valley – Blayney Chronicle.
“Sitting atop a hill in the picturesque Fitzgerald’s Valley between Blayney and Bathurst is an Anglican Church that is unique in the Bathurst parish.
Built in 1871 by the settlers who moved into the valley in the 1800s, St Stephen’s Anglican Church is an operating church that commands one of the best views in the central west. …”
Rod Bower, author of politically charged church billboard, leaves Central Coast – ABC News.
“Father Bower is moving onto his new role as Director of Mission for the Diocese of Newcastle, based at Lake Macquarie, where he will shape and ‘pass the baton of social justice”’ onto the next generation of priests. …”
Five ordained as Deacons at Bathurst Cathedral
“The Anglican Diocese of Bathurst ordained five new deacons at a special service at the All Saints Anglican Cathedral on Saturday.
Mark Calder, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst, was on hand to ordain Ben Mackay, Roger and Sally Phelps, Bec Choi and James Daymond into the church. …
Bishop Calder said the ordination service is one of the largest in recent times.
‘It’s one of the largest ordinations in recent times but the other significant thing is that they’re younger then people who have typical been ordained in recent years’…”
– Encouraging news from The Central Western Daily – and a great reminder to pray for the continued progress of the saving news of Jesus in the Diocese of Bathurst.
Pastoral video from the Bishop of Bathurst, 5th February 2022
The Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has today released this Pastoral Video.
The planned diocesan Synod has not been able to take place, due to COVID, so this partly replaces what Bishop Calder had hoped to say at the meeting, however it will be of wider interest and encouragement.
The video includes an interview with Archbishop Kanishka Raffel who was to have spoken at the Bathurst Synod – plus lots of great news from around the Diocese of Bathurst.
Anglican Revisionists Keep Pushing their Agenda
“It’s 2022 so about time for an Anglican update. What’s new in the Anglican Church in Australia?
Well, not much. The situation can be characterised as revisionists now effectively ignoring the moratorium we were going to have before General Synod.
Action has been happening in 2 places in particular …”
– David Ould shares the latest moves in Wangaratta and Perth.
Image: The Crest of the Anglican Church of Australia and those of its members dioceses.
Related:
Sydney Diocese Response to actions in the Diocese of Wangaratta – December 10 2020.
‘Same-sex couple have marriage blessed in Albury Anglican church after two-year battle’
“It’s just before nine o’clock on Sunday morning and the bells are ringing out loudly at St Matthew’s church in Albury.
It’s already 25 degrees Celsius and the sun is beating hot and bright onto a small knot of people milling around outside. Among them are two men with matching cream linen jackets and nervous smiles. …
The two men have driven 10 hours from their hometown in the north of New South Wales after their own parish would not recognise their relationship. …
Albury priest Peter MacLeod-Miller, a long-time advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, tells Sunday’s congregation that ‘we are celebrating a better, kinder world, and also a real change’.
He reads a letter from Bishop Clarence Bester, head of the Wangaratta diocese of which St Matthew’s is a part and which adopted a resolution to offer blessings for same-sex marriages in August 2019.”
– Report from the ABC. Base map: Anglican Church of Australia.
Earlier:
Sydney Diocese Response to actions in the Diocese of Wangaratta – December 10 2020.
“It would be naïve to think that mutually contradictory views on same-sex marriage can co-exist within our national Church. Pronouncing God’s blessing on a same-sex marriage is contrary to the teaching of Christ. It is therefore untenable to have some members of the Church purporting to declare God’s blessing in such circumstances. To pursue this course will not bring healing but will only lead to a collapse in the fellowship that binds us together.”
More good news from the Diocese of Bathurst
Good news for Parkes and Peak Hill – from the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:
“With great thankfulness to God, we share the news that Ben Mackay, following his ordination on 12th February, will be appointed Deacon-in-Charge of the parish of Parkes and Peak Hill. We are also thankful that the Rev’d Natalie Quince will continue to serve in the parish as Assistant Priest. (Ben pictured here with is wife Bron, and three children, Ella, James and Elijah.)”
– Please continue to pray that the Lord will raise up men and women to share the good news of Jesus in the cities and towns of the Diocese of Bathurst, and pray for Bishop Mark Calder in this key work.
Christmas message — Bishop Mark Calder
The Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has released this terrific message for Christmas 2021.
Here’s the text:
Will Christmas celebrations offer any reprieve from the anxiety and uncertainties we face through COVID-19 at the present time, especially with omicron?
About a month ago, it looked as though we could plan for a pretty much normal Christmas. Hotel quarantine for international travellers has been scrapped. Requirements of wearing masks and checking in through the QR codes had been relaxed and we were able to plan family reunions and Christmas holidays.
Now all of that is up in the air as NSW case numbers are blown out of the water. Some of your friends may have now been deemed as close contacts of a COVID case and you’re not able to meet with them. Christmas holidays have had to be put on hold for many people. Some planning to travel to Queensland are now no longer able to get there simply because they haven’t got their test results back in time.
I think anxiety levels are now higher than they at any time during the lockdowns that we’ve known.
Yet into all of this, Christmas will surely come, and it is the message of Christmas that can give us some hope, some comfort, and some perspective.
Perhaps you’ve been singing some of the ancient carols, where we sing words such as:
“He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all”.
“So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n”
“Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”
By turning up here on earth in the historic person of Jesus Christ, God reached out to us in love, and the invitation is there this Christmas and always, to reach back to him and find some hope, strength, perspective, calm, peace, and even joy, in the midst of our mess.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…