“Don We Now Our Gay Apparel”

“Is the decline in Christianity among Anglican clergy moving pari passu with the decline in Western civilisation? Good question. Indubitably, is the answer. …

Mosques are crowded, churches are emptying. To have any chance of turning the tide, Christianity needs biblically-based priests. Priests like Glenn Davies; Bishop of the breakaway Diocese of the Southern Cross and former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.”

– In an opinion-piece at Quadrant Online, contributor Peter Smith takes a hard look at what is happening in many parts of the Anglican Church. His article is supplemented by an excerpt from a well-known episode of “Yes, Prime Minister”.

Image from the website of the Anglican Church of Australia.

Kanishka Raffel: We must not lose sight of this simple Christmas message

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has written this editorial which was published in The Daily Telegraph today.

What can we say when people come face to face with evil? How can we make sense of this desperate world? We need a word from God, which is exactly what Christmas is. God has spoken through his Son, Jesus.

Full text below:

The beginning of this year seemed to offer a ‘fresh start’ as we came out of COVID. Yet, as 2023 unfolded, the cost of living rose beyond the means of many, we witnessed with grief and horror, man-made calamity in war and conflict, as well as natural disasters, tragic accidents, and terrible crimes.

We in Australia were not isolated from the international conflicts. Many have family and friends in war-torn areas and watch helpless as the television news brings the horrors into our lounge rooms. In Gaza, Israeli hostages are held by the terrorists while civilians have been tragically killed or displaced. The salt in mothers’ tears is the same, whether they are in Ukraine, Sudan or the Middle East. In far too many places around the world, children suffer in wars and conflicts not of their own making.

Neither have we been insulated from rising inflation and the consequent effect on interest rates. The price of grocery items soared as home-owners were hit by five increases in interest rates this year. According to the research by Anglicare in its Rental Affordability Snapshot, the crisis in housing security has deepened for those in low-income households and the most vulnerable family groups. Basic affordable housing is beyond the reach of single parents, or single people, on any of the various welfare payments. The crisis in affordability has been made worse by rental availability plunging to levels not seen for more than a decade.

During COVID, there was a rise in domestic violence and we continue to see cases resulting in the death of women of all ages. I am told that younger women, between the ages of 18 to 34 years, are at greatest risk. These are terrible statistics and I commend the work of services such as 1800 Respect (1800 737 732). No women should have to suffer any form of abuse or coercive control. This is not God’s way for our families.

The introduction, last month, of the Voluntary Assisted Dying laws is a backward step for our society. Although introduced with what many consider to be the strictest protocols, I believe this will create pressure on already under resourced palliative care and diminish our commitment to protecting and valuing every human life.

We have seen this play out in Canada, a country not unlike our own. While euthanasia was introduced in 2016, initially only for the terminally ill, it now accounts for 4 percent of all deaths in that country. New measures next year will extend the availability of assisted suicide in Canada to situations where a person’s sole medical condition is a mental illness.

The idea that all human life is inherently precious was not generally affirmed in the world into which Jesus Christ was born (although it was a tenet of Judaism). It spread with the growth of early Christianity and finds expression today in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Laws create culture. Practices shape values and community expectations. For two thousand years, Christian teaching has asserted the inestimable value of the individual created in the image of God and precious by virtue of life’s sanctity, not merely life’s utility or quality. We abandon that principle at our peril.

The horrors we see overseas, reach deep into our society too, as the Middle East conflict has brought a rise in anti-semitic sentiment. Flag burnings and aggressive verbal incitements to violence against Jewish people have shocked and repulsed our city. The sin of antisemitism has a long and shameful history. It must be repudiated in the strongest terms, so in October, I joined other faith leaders in calling for national unity and harmony so that our multi-cultural, multi-faith community may continue to thrive without hate or violence.

What can we say when people come face to face with evil? How can we make sense of this desperate world? We need a word from God, which is exactly what Christmas is. God has spoken through his Son, Jesus. The Bible describes Jesus as the Word of God – he is God’s word to us in good times and in bad.

When God came into the world he came in the vulnerability of childhood. He was born, amidst whispers of scandal, to an unwed mother. His parents searched fruitlessly for a place to stay. The secular power of the day sought his death and propelled his family to flee their home. He was born, unmistakeably, into this world with all its threats and insecurities, especially for children and the poor.

Yet, Jesus came to bring a word from God. To those who received him he gave the right to become children of God, St John says in the majestic opening to his Gospel. To a world wearied by war, human wickedness, death and decay – Jesus speaks a word of life, light, hope and adoption into God’s family.

Rising costs may have forced a stripped-down Christmas this year yet when you strip away the tinsel you have the simple message of Christmas, so simple a child can believe and yet so substantial that its wonders and glories can fill our hearts and sustain us through life’s challenges. At its heart the message of Christmas is nothing other than Jesus, and nothing better than Jesus.

May I wish you and those you love a very happy Christmas.

____________________________

– See also the Archbishop’s shorter Christmas video.

(With thanks to Russell Powell for the text. Image: SydneyAnglicans.net)

A word from God to a desperate world

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has released his Christmas video for 2023.

Great to share.

Posted, with some background, at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Diocese of Bathurst Bishops’ Newsletter — Christmas 2023 edition

The Christmas 2023 edition of the Bishop of Bathurst’s newsletter is now available.

Download your copy (PDF file) to be better informed, so you pray for – and seek to encourage – those who hold out the word of Life in this vast area of NSW.

Southern Cross magazine Dec 2023 — Jan 2024

The latest issues of Southern Cross magazine from the Diocese of Sydney is out now.

Copies should be available in churches, and it can also be viewed online or downloaded.

Do take the time to read your copy. Much encouragement.

Is this the man the church needs to stay relevant?

From The Australian:

“The new Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane is wearing black jeans and desert boots, a harbinger of the informal style he plans to bring to the role. Jeremy Greaves may be just the man the churches need to stay relevant in an increasingly challenging world.

Or he could be an agent of their destruction …

Greaves is the personification of a progressive church leader. If asked, he will allow Anglican priests in the sprawling Brisbane Diocese to perform same-sex marriage blessings and he’s in favour of ordaining gay priests.”

– Read here (subscription).

Alternatives:

Churches of the Diocese of the Southern Cross.

Bathurst Christmas Reflection – Bishop Mark Calder on Finding Permanence in a World of Change

Bishop Mark Calder’s Christmas message for 2023:

“In a world where everything bears the label ‘temporary,’ the Christmas season invites us to discover the enduring permanence found in Jesus Christ.

Imagine labelling the items in your life – microwaves, cars, homes – as either ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent.’ The result is confronting: almost everything is temporary, except for Jesus.

As we celebrate his birth, we’re not just commemorating God stepping into our world as one of us; we’re affirming the timeless reign of a permanent King. Jesus is the exception in a world of transience, offering reliability, dependability, and lasting hope.

This Christmas, amidst the chaos of life, run to Jesus. In him, find not only help but a source of unwavering hope, strength, and inner transformation. Amidst the temporary, Jesus stands as the permanent promise of a Kingdom that never ends.

May this Christmas be a reminder that, in Jesus, we discover hope and help and strength in the face of our world – and our lives – which are often confusing and uncertain.

Bishop Mark Calder
Anglican Diocese of Bathurst, covering central and western NSW.”

See the video version here.

Moore College farewells The Rev Dr Chase Kuhn

“Moore College’s much-loved lecturer in Christian ethics and theology, The Rev Dr Chase Kuhn, has accepted the Archbishop’s invitation to become the Rector of St Matthias Centennial Park in Sydney. Dr Kuhn’s long-standing love of church-based pastoral ministry means that this move has not surprised any who know him.

While we will be very sad to see him go, we are so glad that he is able to use his very considerable gifts in the service of this community of God’s people. We share the joy of this opportunity with Chase, Amy and the family. …”

– News from Moore College.

The how and why of Bible reading – and why we should do it more

“According to the recent National Church Life Survey, 47 per cent of Sydney Anglicans say they read their Bible every day and 75 per cent of them a few times a week. This is a very encouraging statistic!

During the pandemic, newspapers reported something of a revival in personal “spiritual practices”, including reading “holy texts”, prayer and meditation. No doubt many Christians also found that being forced to stay at home lent itself to reviving personal Bible reading and time with God in a more disciplined way.

The Scriptures emphasise both the importance and also the sheer joy and privilege of meeting God in his word …”

– Archbishop Kanishka Raffel encourages us to continue to hear and respond to God’s word. He writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.

This remote town feels like heaven to some, but it has a great gospel need

“Photographs of Exmouth show endless clear blue-water beaches, with expansive horizons.

The nearby Ningaloo Coast is world heritage listed. It is known for its reef, for whale sharks, sea turtles, rays, humpback whales, and a network of underground caves.

The town is gateway to the reef, where people dive and swim.

It’s in a 6504 square kilometre municipality, but most people live in Exmouth itself, a town of 2800.

Its population swells in winter, as people visit during the cooler months. Many people in town spend their spare time fishing, or just enjoying the environment.

Exmouth residents, the Venerable Simon Roberts and Alison Roberts, can see much lostness, just as anywhere. Some people are escaping difficulties, others just living for the enjoyment of life, a hedonistic lifestyle in a beautiful location.

Mr and Mrs Roberts are there for neither. Instead, they hope to bring people something that will satisfy more deeply than either escape or enjoyment: a relationship with God.

They moved to Exmouth around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, Mr Roberts is rector of Exmouth and Onslow Anglican Church and archdeacon of the Pilbara. …”

– The Melbourne Anglican has this story on Simon and Alison Roberts and the churches in Exmouth and Onslow. Food for prayer.

Map: Diocese of North West Australia. Exmouth and Onslow circled.

Archbishop of Perth set to push on with controversial Ordination

From David Ould:

“The Archbishop of Perth, Kay Goldsworthy, will proceed with the ordination to the priesthood of a man who is openly living in a relationship with another man on Thursday evening despite a large growing protest in the Diocese.

I understand that more than 700 signatories have been received on a letter of protest. These 700 signatories represent close to 15% of regular church attendance in the Diocese and do not include members from one large church, St Matthew’s Shenton Park, which is organising its own response and will effectively double the number protesting. This leaves easily one quarter of regular church goers in the Diocese now protesting against an ordination. …”

– Read here.

Photo: Diocese of Perth.

Bathurst Diocese Advent Newsletter 2023

The Bathurst Diocese Newsletter for Advent 2023 is now available here as a PDF file.

Great to use to pray for the churches of the diocese and the people they seek to serve with the gospel.

Bishop Mark Calder writes:

Dear friends,

My guess is that most of us are well and truly getting into Christmas planning and shopping.

Some of you may have purchased an Advent calendar which are increasingly popular. However, the secular version seems to be all about helping kids countdown to Christmas. That is not actually what Advent is about!

Advent is about preparing for Christ’s second coming! In Advent we look forward to Christ’s second coming and then celebrate his first coming at Christmas because it marks the beginning of God’s plans to save the world through his Son Jesus.

My Advent sermon series this year is called “On that Day” and arises from a song by CityAlight.

We will be reminded that when Jesus returns, we will rise; we will see him; we will know him, and we will keep on singing!

The season of Advent is meant to lift our eyes from all the disaster which surrounds us – to see the glorious nature of the future which awaits. To see that there will one day, be an end to the mess. To understand that that Jesus has conquered all evil and even death! We’re reminded that Christians are people of hope and expectation. We are people who know that on that day – when Jesus returns – we will rise as Jesus rose!

May Advent be a time of recapturing our Christian Hope and rejoicing in all that is yet to come!

Mark.

Resources to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

From SydneyAnglicans.net:

“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has commended the work of Anglicare as the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls on November 25. …”

– See the details here.

Image: Anglicare resources website.

Calling recently-retired clergy

From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:

“Bishop David Robinson has graciously been helping in Coonamble as a locum. Such a blessing to that church.

If you’re recently retired and keen to serve in the Diocese this way next year, very flexible terms and conditions can be discussed. (eg;. Bishop David has served two weeks on, two weeks off, just 2.5 days a week each visit.) Please contact Bishop Mark Calder.”