Weddings and Marriage

“I am currently part of a diocesan committee looking into the issues of marriage, divorce and remarriage. …

Flowing out of these meetings, I have been struck by something.

In some ways it’s a relatively minor point, but I wonder if it reveals more than we realise. What dawned on me was the great disparity nowadays between how we prepare for a wedding, and how we prepare for marriage. …”

– Jay Behan, Bishop of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa NZ, writes in his current e-mail newsletter.

Photo: Jay speaking at the ACL Synod Dinner in 2019.

Gospel ministry in winter

Bishop Jay Behan writes in the latest Ministry Matters of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa NZ –

“Back in late 1996, my wife Jaimee and I moved to London for me to study. We had only been married a few months, so arriving in England was a time of great change in our lives. We had only been there a short time, and autumn was just starting to change to winter, when we found ourselves listening to a radio programme which described something else that was new to me: Seasonal Affective Disorder, with perhaps the most appropriate acronym of all time—SAD!

What was described was a significant change in mood and behaviour brought about by the change of season, particularly the change to winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder apparently caused “winter depression”, marked by low energy and generally feeling down as a lack of sunlight and increased time indoors took effect. I remember listening to the programme and not only completely rejecting this thing called ‘SAD’, but also ridiculing the English for making up things and not being able to cope with the cold and dark.

Needless to say, a few weeks into the English winter and after many days of no sunshine, not only did I believe in SAD; I was convinced it was the root of all the problems people living in the UK experienced!

As I write this, we in Aotearoa have arrived in winter, which seems an appropriate time to consider the way the winter season can affect life and ministry. …”

– Read the full newsletter here.

“ Winter may seem like a time to batten down the hatches, but it’s also a season ripe with evangelistic opportunities. As always this requires thought, intentionality, courage and clear-mindedness. But the best day for gospelling is today. God will give us opportunities we did not have yesterday and may not have tomorrow.”

Update on the Worldwide Anglican Communion from Bp Jay Behan

“The upcoming Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) meeting in Cairo is being held from 11-15 June, and I will attend.

Its purpose is to gather orthodox Anglican leaders from around the world who are committed to a new covenantal structure to unite Anglicans worldwide in mission and ministry. …”

– In a recent e-mail update from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa NZ, Bishop Jay Behan commends Archbishop Laurent Mbanda’s GAFCON Response to the Primates meeting in Rome, and explains why he will attend the GSFA meeting in Cairo.

‘Indefinitely mothballed’: Quake-hit cathedral’s dire future unless $30m found by August

“The Christ Church Cathedral rebuild has a funding gap of $114 million – and if $30m isn’t secured by August this year, the project will be indefinitely mothballed, it has been announced.

And the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited said a ‘mothballed scenario’ would ‘be hidden from view, and people will not be able to visit it, or preserve it, because it will remain a construction site in suspension’.

The iconic building had lain in ruin for many years after the Canterbury earthquakes. …”

– Report from NewstalkZB, New Zealand.

Photo: Christ Church Cathedral in 1978.

Food, glorious food for the soul

“We live in a busy age where the temptation is more and more to be disconnected as we live our lives. Look around eating establishments outside the home and it is very common to see headphones cutting off conversation, and to see eyes glued to screens even among people seated at the same table.

The same kind of thing can creep into the family mealtime. What’s more, with the kind of schedules many of us have, the mealtime can be inconvenient, rushed and detached. Many spend their meal times around screens (common or individual) with very little opportunity for the kind of fellowship that sharing a meal can and should provide. …”

– The latest Ministry Matters newsletter from CCAANZ (the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand) is all about food.

Bishop Jay Behan (pictured) writes on “Breaking bread together – The power of the family table”.

There’s also an article on how CCAANZ churches are using food to share the gospel.

‘The peace we often forfeit’ — Encouragement from New Zealand to Pray

“Among the hymns that formed part of the background noise of my upbringing, one of my favourites was ‘What A Friend We Have In Jesus’.

Just look at the title – what message could be more uplifting for a child? The opening words ooze with warmth:

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.

But the second half of the opening stanza offers something of a sting in the tail:

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

What seemed heart-warming to a child who could only absorb a title now strikes me as a rebuke whenever I sing it. I don’t know what was in Joseph Scriven’s mind as he wrote the poem that became this hymn (thanks, Wikipedia). But I wonder whether he was reflecting on James’ words: ‘You do not have, because you do not ask’ (Jas 4:2)…”

– The latest edition (September 2023) of Ministry Matters from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand, is packed with encouragement to pray.

Do take the time to read, and then pray – including praying for Bishop Jay Behan and the churches of CCAANZ and the preaching of Christ in New Zealand.

Bishop Jay Behan gives thanks for GAFCON

“I rejoice at our relationship with Gafcon. We at CCA owe so much to our Gafcon family.

At a time when we had left the old structure in New Zealand (ACANZP) and had lost buildings, monies, status and structure, and when we were feeling pretty small and isolated, it was Gafcon who said to us: ‘We recognise you as authentically Anglican. We stand alongside you. Please know you are part of a global Anglican family.’

They did that in word, in decision (as the Gafcon Primates formally recognised the establishment of CCA), and in action as many of the global Gafcon leaders came to New Zealand for my consecration in 2019. …

It makes us part of a global family. It allows us to be in gospel partnership with brothers and sisters around the planet, and it requires us to care about and be involved in ministry outside of our own context.”

– In the latest edition (19 June 2023) of Ministry Matters from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand, Bishop Jay Behan gives thanks for Gafcon.

Other encouraging articles in thus issue, edited by Geoff Robson.

Tomorrow (25 June 2023) is Gafcon Sunday!

“Not Just Us – Not Just Now” – Lessons from New Zealand

“As faithful Anglicans in the Church of England consider how best to respond to the proposed Prayers of Love and Faith, there is much to learn from brothers and sisters in New Zealand. Not least because it was the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (ACANZP) that was, according to the answer to Q177 at the February 2023 General Synod, “The example that [CofE] bishops considered in some more depth during their residential meetings.”

In a letter to his diocese, Bishop Jay Behan, of the Church of Confessing Anglicans, Aotearoa, New Zealand (CCAANZ), wrote recently …”

– Read the excerpts from Jay Behan’s letter, and his calls to prayer, at Anglican Futures.

Photo: Bishop Behan addresses the congregation at his service of consecration in Christchurch in October 2019.

A visit to Grace Presbyterian Assembly in NZ

“As Moderator during the covid pandemic, I visited a few places in person – notably Hurstville for the ordination of two elders and New Dunesk for its opening as the centre of the work of the Presbyterian Inland Mission. Then there were the Zoom meetings.

But from 3-7 October 2022 I was able to visit the Grace Presbyterian Assembly in Auckland. …”

– We are so thankful for the formation of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand (CCAANZ) in response to the liberal trajectory of the Anglican Church in NZ.

Peter Barnes, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Australia briefly reports on another response to liberal theology in NZ – this one by faithful Presbyterians.

Hope amid Hardship

“… after a 634-day delay, God willing, by the time you read these words we will have arrived in New Zealand to partner with the saints in Hamilton in sharing the hope of Jesus.

So, what have we learned about hope in our time of hardship that will serve us well in Hamilton, and how does it connect to the hope of Easter?…”

– The Rev Mike Turner and his family have been waiting to travel to New Zealand to serve in Hamilton.

Mike reflects on the Easter hope in the April 2022 Ministry Matters from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand.

New Zealand Assisted Dying Bill comes into force on November 7

“In a salutary piece of information recently, I learned that doctors assisting the death of pertinent patients in New Zealand would receive the sum of $1087.20 … to bring about the death of these people. I was shocked…”

– Charles Tyrell, former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson, writes to The Church Times (copy via Anglican Mainstream).

Faith vs Reason

“A lot of people assume that faith and reason are irrevocably opposed. Reason is seen as the ability to think, understand and form conclusions logically. Faith is seen as belief in things based on conviction rather than proof. So, we find people very nervous of the merits of either faith or reason. …”

– In the latest (July 2021) Ministry Matters from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand, Bishop Jay Behan writes about the relationship between Faith and Reason.

Also in this edition, there’s encouraging news from South Auckland, “Gifts from God – the Formation of South Auckland Anglican Mission”, and “The Call to New Zealand” from Mike & Maddy Turner waiting to go to West Hamilton Community Church.

Fuel for your prayers.

Easter Message from Bishop Jay Behan, CCAANZ

Bishop Jay Behan, from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand, shares his Easter  2021 message.

Bishop Jay Behan’s ACL Dinner Address

“On 19 October 2019, Jay Behan was consecrated Bishop of CCAANZ in Christchurch, New Zealand.

ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach and Chairman of GAFCON Primates Council presided, former Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen preached, and various others, such as Dean Kanishka Raffel of Sydney were involved in this important occasion.”

Earlier that week, the then Rev Behan was in Sydney and addressed the ACL’s Synod Dinner.

Thanks to the Australian Church Record, you can read the text of his address – or you can listen to our audio recording.

Evangelical Anglicans on the Fault Line in New Zealand

“I have been privileged to visit New Zealand twice this year. On my first visit in May I had time to explore a little of this beautiful land from alpine mountains to the lush forests bordering restless volcanic lakes, but I am still haunted by the sight of the ruined Christchurch Cathedral, its west end still open to the elements after the spire collapsed in the 2011 earthquake.

My second visit in mid-October was for the consecration of the Revd Jay Behan as the first bishop of the new Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa, New Zealand …”

– GAFCON’s Charles Raven reflects on what’s happening in New Zealand.

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