Assisted suicide opposed

“Anglicans in New South Wales and Victoria have been urged to contact their MPs to oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation.

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia, which met in Queensland, passed a motion opposing the legalisation of ‘assisted dying’. …”

– Report from SydneyAnglicans.net.

Related:

Dr Megan Best’s Synod speech on the Euthanasia motion – from Sydney Synod 2010.

Albert Mohler’s The Briefing, 08 September 2017, from 9’40”.

General Synod news – 7 September 2017

Stories from SydneyAnglicans.net –

Domestic violence ‘first priority’

“The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has condemned domestic and family violence in all its forms, saying churches are committed to being safe places for all people, especially children and vulnerable adults.

In a motion moved by Melbourne’s Bishop Stephen Hale and seconded by Sydney’s Archdeacon Kara Hartley, Synod described domestic violence as sin, saying Scripture should never be twisted to justify or excuse any abuse. …”

Scots ‘impair’ communion with Australia

“The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has acknowledged that relationship with the Scottish Episcopal Church has been impaired by the SEC removing gender from its marriage canon.

In June, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted in favour of altering the church’s Canon on Marriage to remove the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman allow same-sex couples to marry in church.…”

On the vote concerning the Scottish Episcopal Church:

Read Dean Raffel’s speech (PDF file):

“Across the Anglican communion churches are trying to work out how best to love people of diverse sexual orientation.

This is important because all people are made in God’s image; and God hates nothing that he has made.

It is important because all people are to be valued honoured and loved not only because they are created in God’s image but because of Christ’s costly redeeming love for them.

It is important because Christians have often failed to love same sex attracted people, making it difficult or impossible for them to hear and experience the welcome and power of Jesus in their lives.

And it is important because same sex attracted people are our friends, our family members, our colleagues, members of our churches, and we might assume, members of this Synod. …”

Bishop Richard Condie’s speech (via David Ould).

“We want to express a deep welcome to homosexual people in our church. We should treat all people with love and respect. We shun actions and words that demean and marginalise; we reject discrimination, and especially grieve the way people who identify as homosexual have been treated in our society and churches.

While the SEC’s action is ostensibly about the inclusion of homosexual people in the church, it actually undermines the Biblical witness to the ultimate trajectory of salvation, our union with Christ. We must not fall for the world’s view that holding to the teaching of Christ on marriage means we can’t be welcoming to homosexual people in the church. …”

General Synod Day 3 – More bills, less lunch, less Jesus

“As the afternoon kicked in we turned to considering issues surrounding future ministry, particularly two related debates around future structures and what are being called “pioneer ministries”. …

As we heard about the need to being doing ministry beyond the Sunday service it seemed like some people were, for the first time, grappling with what many of us simply call “evangelism”. But even then the struggle to actually be clear on the overall aim was soon going to manifest itself. …

I moved the following amendment:

after the words “The General Synod”, add:

“, captivated by the declaration of Christ that repentance for the forgiveness of sins be preached in his name to all nations”

Readers will recognise the language as being a direct citation from Jesus’ final charge to his disciples in Luke 24.47. Not controversial, surely?…”

– David Ould reports on the third day of General Synod, meeting in Maroochydore. Tragically, it seems the gospel of the Lord Jesus was narrowly voted down.

General Synod passes National child protection measures

“Binding rules on all clergy and church workers have been passed during a debate on child protection at the Anglican Church of Australia Synod, meeting this week in Queensland. …”

— News from SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photo courtesy Anglican Media Melbourne.

Fallout in Australia over Lines consecration

Interesting developments ahead of next week’s General Synod meeting in Maroochydore:

“The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia has asked the church’s Appellate Tribunal to offer a ruling as to whether its bishops may participate in the consecration of bishops who are not members of the Anglican Communion.

On 16 August 2017, the Most Rev. Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne, wrote to the registrar of the tribunal stating he had received a request from the Bishop of Bendigo, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Curnow, supported by four other bishops that raised objections to the consecration of the Rt. Rev. Andrew Lines of the Anglican Church in North America by the Archbishop of Sydney and Bishops of Tasmania and Northwest Australia. …

Bishop Curnow, joined by the Rt. Rev. John Stead of Willochra, the Rt. Rev. Kay Goldsworthy of Gippsland, the Rt. Rev. William Ray of North Queensland, and the Rt. Rev. Allan Ewing of Bunbury, asked the Tribunal to address three issues …

While Drs Davies and Condie had kept the primate, Dr. Freier, fully informed of their plans and had had communicated with him before they acted, Bishop Curnow and his colleagues had not shown the same courtesy to Drs. Davies and Condie.”

– Report from Anglican Ink.

Related:

Bathurst schools bombshell: Scots buys All Saints’ College

“The Presbyterian Church of Australia in NSW – owner of The Scots School, Bathurst – has been confirmed as the new owner of All Saints’ College. …”

– Report from The Western Advocate.

See also: Presbyterian Church agrees to buy All Saints’ College – Diocese of Bathurst.

Image: All Saints’ College.

Kay Goldsworthy elected Archbishop of Perth

An announcement from the Diocese of Perth:

“I write to share with you the highly anticipated announcement of the election of the eighth Archbishop of Perth.   Read more

Newcastle nominations close next Monday

From the Diocese of Newcastle:

“Please continue to pray for a new Bishop to the Diocese as we seek to listen for God’s call amongst those being nominated.

Synod members are reminded that any member of Synod may nominate a person to the Board for further discernment work. NOMINATIONS CLOSE ON MONDAY AUGUST 28.”

Relationship building between city and country with spirit levels and spiritual support

“For many years, Stewart Cuddy has been a Sydney lawyer attending an Anglican parish in one of Sydney’s most affluent suburbs. But this week he is a labourer, on the end of a chainsaw or power drill, working with a church in remote the remote New South Wales town of Walgett.

Mr Cuddy is part of a group of volunteers who head west every year on a grey nomad trip with a difference…”

– Story about St Peter’s Walgett and St James’ Turramurra from ABC News.

Northwest Network July 2017

The latest issue of the Diocese of North West Australia’s newsletter is now out.

A great way to discover what is happening in the North West, so you can pray.

A 1.2MB PDF file.

‘Becoming more truly who I am: a transgender female priest’

In an Ad Clerum (a letter to the clergy) dated 22 July 2017, Archbishop of Brisbane Dr Phillip Aspinall writes:

“Recently the Reverend Dr Jonathan Inkpin shared with me a deeply personal journey involving a life-time struggle with gender issues and personal identity. That journey has now culminated in a decision to transition gender and a formal request to be known by the wider diocesan family as Josephine or Jo.

Jo has written a letter which tells of that journey and asked me to distribute it to you all in the hope that you are properly informed and that unhelpful speculation might be avoided.”

Dr Inkpin is a member of the faculty of St Francis Theological College in Brisbane, and posts the full text of the letter. (Photo via St. Frances’ College.)

Orange East welcomes new Rector

“Bishop Ian Palmer commissioned the Reverend Bob Cameron as Rector of the parish of Orange East in a service in St Barnabas’ Church on Saturday morning, July 15.”

– News from the Diocese of Bathurst.

Top Centre news July 2017

The July 2017 edition of Top Centre, the newsletter of the Diocese of the Northern Territory, is available on their website.

Fuel for prayer.

A Tale of Two Communions

“Whenever a church leader makes an important decision, takes a strong stand and then explains their action, they not only reveal their own priorities and convictions but also, more significantly, shape the future of the church they serve and represent. For good reason, such steps are often called ‘defining moments’ and, with the passing of time, are frequently shown to be, what might be called, ‘determining moments’. A series of such moments seems to have taken place in recent days.

On June 30, 2017, Canon Andy Lines was consecrated as the Missionary Bishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) to provide spiritual oversight to Anglican churches in Europe that exist outside the current Anglican structures.

As well as the principal consecrator, The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach (Archbishop of the ACNA), 11 Primates, 3 Archbishops, and 13 other GAFCON-linked Anglican bishops were involved in Lines’ consecration. …”

– Here’s a must read article from Rob Smith, in which he examines allegations made by the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia concerning participation in the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines. See it at The Australian Church Record.

Key recent posts — 6 July 2017

Here are some key posts which may be of interest from the last week or so –

Archbishop Glenn Davies speaks from Andy Lines’ consecration in Wheaton, Illinois:

“This is not ‘a border-crossing enterprise’, that’s a misunderstanding of the ministry. …

Anyone who proclaims Christ is where I want to be, and to have my support.”

Earlier, the Archbishop wrote to Australian bishops explaining his decision to take part in the consecration:

“I believe that my participation is an act of solidarity with those who contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”

Archbishop of Melbourne and Primate of Australia Philip Freier wrote to Australian bishops:

“I have deep concerns that the participation by our Episcopal colleagues in the consecration of Canon Lines, with or without the support of their respective dioceses, is contrary to the spirit of the canons of the Council of Nicaea and, most importantly, outside of the authority of our National Constitution.”

‘Loose Canons? Andy Lines and the Canons of Nicaea’ – Dr Mark Smith at Church Society:

“the claim is made that the consecration of Andy Lines, and the episcopal ministry he would exercise, would be contrary to Canons 15 and 16 of the Council of Nicaea.”

President of the Anglican Church League, the Rev. Andrew Bruce, issued this statement on behalf of the ACL’s Council:

“While an Australian Primate is always free to give advice within the bonds of Christian fellowship, there is no constitutional provision for formal advice, nor is there any sense of hierarchy in the position of the Australian primate in relation to the other 22 diocesan bishops. No Australian diocesan bishop is obligated to follow the ‘advice’ of a primate.”

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