Bishop of Ballarat declares support for same-sex marriage, despite Bible’s teaching – report
“Ballarat’s Anglican Bishop Garry Weatherill has declared his support for same-sex marriage and said he opposed the Federal Government’s proposed plebiscite on the issue. …
Bishop Weatherill told the ABC he supported ‘marriage equality’.
‘The local position of this particular bishop is for marriage equality,’ he said.
‘The Bible teaches marriage is for man and woman, that is pretty clear and that is our standard position.
‘But it is saying marriage is good for people and society, and I think whether or not we approve of same gender relationships, we want people to be in strong, monogamous and sustainable relationships that give harmony to their lives and to the community.’…”
– ABC News report, 15 September 2016. Emphasis added.
Northwest Network September 2016
The latest issue of Northwest Network – the newsletter of the Diocese of North West Australia – is now available.
Download the 1.3MB PDF file, and use it to fuel your prayers for the people and churches of NW Australia.
New Vicar for St Jude’s in Melbourne
St. Jude’s Carlton in Melbourne has announced that John Forsyth is to be the new Vicar, with his Induction at the end of January 2017.
John is currently Assistant Minister at St. Swithun’s Pymble, in Sydney. (Richard Condie, who had been Vicar of St. Jude’s, was elected Bishop of Tasmania and began his ministry there in March.)
Announcement here. Photo: St. Swithun’s.
Pastoral Letter to Clergy, Parishioners and Friends of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn from Bishop Stuart Robinson
“Beloved in Christ,
I am writing, with a heavy heart, in response to concerns expressed by parishioners and people in our wider communities around the reports of sexual abuse in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. Like me, you will be appalled at what has been alleged and what has taken place…”
– Stuart Robinson, Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn, has published this pastoral letter.
Newcastle Bishop shares a message on the eve of the Royal Commission
From the Diocese of Newcastle:
“The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is holding a public hearing into the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle at Newcastle from Tuesday, 2 August 2016.
Bishop Greg Thompson shares a message with the Diocesan community about working together through what will be a confronting time as we face the past to help build a healthy future.”
Watch Bishop Thompson’s message here. And please pray for all concerned.
Diocese of the Northern Territory position vacant
The Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory is seeking a full time Executive Assistant for the Diocesan Office located in Darwin.
Interested? Know someone who might be?
Details from the NT Anglican website.
Budget Considerations
“With an election in the offing it is never surprising that the political rhetoric around the Budget indulges self-interest. While we might expect that, and while we are critiquing the Budget, should we not critique our self-interest and how we became so addicted to ourselves? Budget time seems like a great opportunity to consider our hedonistic materialism…”
– Bishop of Armidale Rick Lewers asks if we should ‘budget God back into our economy’.
‘The Bathurst Diocese decision and legal personality of churches’
“Today at the Law and Religion Scholars Network (LARSN) Annual Conference (5 & 6 May, 2016) at the Cardiff University School of Law and Politics, Cardiff, Wales I presented a paper discussing a recent Australian case on the ‘legal personality’ of churches and how they are held accountable for debts. …
The abstract is as follows:
In the NSW Supreme Court decision of Anglican Development Fund Diocese of Bathurst v Palmer [2015] NSWSC 1856 (10 Dec 2015) (the Bathurst Diocese case), a single judge of the Court held that a large amount of money which had been lent to institutions in the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst, and guaranteed by a “Letter of Comfort” issued by the then Bishop of the Diocese, had to be repaid by the Bishop-in-Council, including if necessary by that body “promoting an ordinance to levy the necessary funds from the parishes”.
The lengthy judgment contains a number of interesting comments on the legal personality of church entities and may have long-term implications for unincorporated, mainstream denominations and their contractual and tortious liability to meet orders for payment of damages. The paper discusses the decision and some of those implications.”
Read Neil Foster’s post, and download the linked files, at Law & Religion Australia.
Northwest Network April 2016
The latest issue of Northwest Network has been released by the Diocese of North West Australia.
Download your copy (PDF file) to help you pray for the people of North West Australia.
All Saints’ College on market to pay diocese’s bank debt
“All Saints’ College is to be sold to help the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst repay a multi-million dollar debt to the Commonwealth Bank.
Plans to sell the school were confirmed on Saturday during the first day of a local synod meeting. Nine other unidentified church properties across the diocese have also been earmarked for sale to repay the debt…”
– Story from The Western Advocate. (Photo: Bishop Ian Palmer.)
Archbishop of Adelaide announces intention to retire
“Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide Jeffrey Driver is to retire after almost 11 years in the pivotal role.
In an unexpected move, Archbishop Driver, 65, advised parishioners at this morning’s services of his intention to step down as the spiritual leader of SA’s Anglican community in August…”
– Report from The Adelaide Advertiser. (Photo: Diocese of Adelaide.)
Two new bishops for Melbourne
“Archbishop Philip Freier has announced the appointment of the Revd Dr Paul Anthony Barker and the Revd Dr Bradly Scott Billings as Assistant Bishops in the Diocese of Melbourne…”
– Story at The Melbourne Anglican.
‘Bathurst Anglican church forced to sell property to meet contested CBA debt’
“The Anglican diocese of Bathurst is being forced to sell church property following a NSW Supreme Court order to settle an outstanding debt of up to $25 million to Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
The diocese, which covers one-third of the area of NSW, is likely next month to approve the first sale of properties at a synod, or governing council, after losing a lengthy battle in which it argued it did not have the authority to sell property it held under trust structures…”
– Report from The Australian Financial Review.
Bishop Greg Anderson’s Easter Message 2016
“Political commentator Mungo MacCallum recently described Malcolm Turnbull’s performance in the top job as ‘a hugely disappointing resurrection’. Maybe it is good that the word resurrection still has some place in today’s media. But the first resurrection sets the benchmark. All other so-called resurrections, including the PM’s, are inevitably hugely disappointing. They all, in the end, run out…”
– Bishop of the Northern Territory, Greg Anderson, shares his Easter message for 2016.
Easter messages 2016
Easter is a wonderful opportunity to speak with clarity about the meaning of the Lord Jesus’ death, and the implications of his Resurrection.
Please pray that church leaders will communicate that message as they should, that Christ will be honoured, and that men and women will turn to him in repentance and faith.
Here are some of the messages we’ve spotted so far.
Will our messages to the world this Easter be as simple and clear as the sign in the photo? –
Diocese of the Northern Territory, Bishop Greg Anderson –
“Political commentator Mungo MacCallum recently described Malcolm Turnbull’s performance in the top job as ‘a hugely disappointing resurrection’.
Maybe it is good that the word resurrection still has some place in today’s media. But the first resurrection sets the benchmark. All other so-called resurrections, including the PM’s, are inevitably hugely disappointing. They all, in the end, run out…”
Diocese of Armidale, Bishop Rick Lewers –
“What is surprising about Easter is that the death of Jesus on the cross is all about clemency. Not His, but ours. It is where God would take upon himself the sins of the whole world, accepting the blame for what we have done in preference to leaving us stranded in our blameworthiness with no hope of forgiveness…”
Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook –
“Toplady’s hymn expresses it well:
‘Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked turn to you for dress;
Helpless look to you for grace;
Foul I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.’
By dying on that cross, Jesus won our salvation…”
Diocese of Melbourne, Archbishop Philip Freier –
“What is the resurrection promise of Easter Day? – God’s love will endure and continue, no matter what. Christians look to Jesus’ rising from the dead as not just an historic action but as the promise of his presence with us today – even in the worst of circumstances…”
Australian Baptist Ministries, National Ministries Director Keith Jobberns –
“The Easter celebration is a reminder that humans have been given a second chance. The Easter narrative records that in Jesus, and through relationship with Him we can find freedom from the shackles of fear, acceptance despite our faults and the opportunity to begin anew with God and our fellow humans…”
Diocese of North Queensland, Bishop Bill Ray (PDF)–
“Yes, Christians believe that ‘on the third day Jesus rose from the dead’, but Christianity is more than just believing, it is living this new life in Christ and bringing it to others…”
(Photo: Bicycle bearing a gospel message, in Federation Square, Melbourne, with St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in the background, 19th March 2016.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…