Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St. Andrew’s Cathedral for Easter Sunday
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were guests at the Easter Sunday service at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney yesterday. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife, Margie, were also present.
The service was a carefully planned reminder of the wonder of the cross and resurrection. It was as normal an Easter Sunday service as possible, given the circumstances, with the regular congregational members of the Cathedral in attendance.
The Cathedral Kids sang Colin Buchanan’s ‘He died upon the Cross’ and a long-serving choir member was farewelled.
The Cathedral was full, and Sydney Square was packed with people vying to get a glimpse of the couple.
The Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, led the service. Archbishop Glenn Davies preached on the resurrection of Lazarus and how it differs from the resurrection of Jesus.
All the elements of the gathering worked together so that the importance and meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection were clearly proclaimed.
Both couples, the Duke and Duchess and the Prime Minister and his wife, engaged fully in the service and appeared to appreciate the occasion.
In addition, the service was a major test for the Cathedral’s new sound system, which performed brilliantly.
Photo: Ramon Wiliams.
Story and photos at SydneyAnglicans.net, The Herald Sun (with a very nice News Corp photo) and Eternity Newspaper.
New Bishop for Rockhampton
The Rev. David Robinson (pictured here with his wife, Jan) has been elected the twelfth Bishop of the Diocese of Rockhampton. He is presently Ministry Formation Coordinator at St Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra.
News from Canberra & Goulburn.
Duke and Duchess to sign Australia’s first Bible on Easter Sunday
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are attending church this Easter, joining the congregation at Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral.
The royal couple will sign the First Fleet Bible and Prayer Book as they leave the church on Easter Day. The books were originally the personal Bible and prayer book of Australia’s first chaplain, Richard Johnson…”
– Story from Eternity Newspaper.
Archbishop Glenn Davies’ Easter Message 2014
Click here for the full text and PDF download. Read more
Easter messages from Around Oz — 2014
We’ll add Easter messages from around Australia as we spot them. Please pray that Christian leaders will speak clearly of Christ and the hope he offers.
Paul writes: “pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” – Colossians 4:3-4.
Canberra & Goulburn – Bishop Stuart Robinson:
Text: “On Good Friday, Jesus took our worst so that on Easter morning we could be reconciled with him…”
Plus a video message.
Newcastle – Bishop Greg Thompson:
“The dying and rising of Jesus provides us with an overarching vision for working for justice in our country…”
Melbourne – Archbishop Philip Freier:
“The crucifixion was God’s great act of solidarity with all those who suffer…”
Tasmania – Bishop John Harrower:
“It is a great comfort to know that there is victory over death. Therefore we can live with the complexities and cruelties of life in the sure hope of eternal life…”
Professor Ian Harper writes for The Australian Financial Review –
“There’s nothing like the death of a close friend to remind you of what really matters. Last week, on successive days, I attended the funerals of an old friend and a young colleague, and gave the eulogy at one of them. Death seems so final; such a full stop at the end of life’s sentence…”
Sydney – Archbishop Glenn Davies:
“…only Jesus can perform the heart operation that brings eternal life, for only he has conquered death on the Cross, once and for all.”
Remembering Archbishop Marcus Loane
Today marks the 5th anniversary of the death of Sir Marcus Loane, Archbishop of Sydney from 1966 to 1982 and Primate of Australian 1979 to 1982. (Thanks to Greg Blaxland for the reminder.)
Perhaps it’s a good time to pause to give thanks for him and his legacy in Sydney and beyond.
Here are a few articles from the archives –
- Statement from Archbishop Peter Jensen – 14 April 2009
- Dean Phillip Jensen’s tribute – 17 April 2009.
- Archbishop Marcus Loane photo gallery.
- Remembering with gratitude Sir Marcus Loane, on the Centenary of his birth – 14 October 2011.
- Sydney Synod gives thanks for Marcus Loane – 18 October 2011.
- The Marcus I Knew and Loved – an appreciation by Greg Blaxland.
‘Australia’s Anglican Archbishops express ‘profound disquiet’ about children held in detention this Easter’
Here’s a media release issued this afternoon –
The Anglican Archbishops in Australia will commence Holy Week with a call for more humane treatment of refugees, particularly children in detention.
The Archbishops have released the following statement deploring the fact that recent figures suggest that around a thousand children will spend Easter in Australian sponsored detention.
“As leaders of the Anglican Church of Australia we wish to put on record our profound disquiet that at the end of February this year there were more than 950 children in detention facilities and alternative places of detention in Australia, and a further 177 children in offshore detention in Nauru. The average time people spend in detention is more than eight months. …”
The Day Death Died — Cathedral Easter Convention 2014
This year’s Easter Convention at the Cathedral is a very worthwhile way to spend Good Friday afternoon.
Phillip Jensen and Mark Thompson are the speakers. Good Friday, 2:00 – 5:00pm. Early Bird Rate $15. ($20 after 13th April.)
See the promo video and book in here.
Leon Morris and the Cross of Christ — Ridley lecture
The Rev. Neil Bach, who is writing a biography of Leon Morris, delivered this lecture at Ridley College Melbourne to mark the Centenary of Morris’ birth.
See also Peter Adam’s words of thanksgiving.
‘Singing in the Rain’
“The dying and rising of Jesus provides us with an overarching vision for working for justice in our country…”
– The struggle for justice is the theme of Bishop Greg Thompson’s first Easter message as Bishop of Newcastle.
Canberra & Goulburn celebrates Sesquicentenary
“The crowd of nearly 300 marchers were ebullient as they walked to St Saviour’s Cathedral, retracing the footsteps of its first bishop, Mesac Thomas… With parish banners fluttering and some members in period costume, it was a fitting climax to the diocese’s 150th anniversary celebrations. …”
New Bishop for Riverina
The Rev. 
Rob Gillion from London has been elected the Bishop of Riverina.
Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Chris Edwards consecrated Bishop of North Sydney
Bishop Chris Edwards was today consecrated as Bishop of North Sydney. He is pictured here with Archbishop Glenn Davies.
Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net has the story.
World Vision USA reverses decision
“…we failed to be consistent with World Vision U.S.’s commitment to the traditional understanding of Biblical marriage and our own Statement of Faith, which says, ‘We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.’…”
– report from Christianity Today.
Dr. Mark Thompson writes,
“The end result of this weeks statement and then reversal will no doubt be quite costly for the leadership of World Vision US. No doubt they will face more concentrated opposition from homosexual lobby groups in the US and elsewhere than they had ever experienced before they publicly abandoned their longstanding employment policy a few days ago. … It will be important in the next few days for us all to pray for Richard Stearns and the senior management of World Vision US.” Read it all here.
The connection between George Whitefield College and Moore College
Mark Dickson, Principal of George Whitefield College, was invited to speak at Moore College Graduation 2014.
In this video he speaks about the vision of George Whitefield College and its connection with Moore College. Most encouraging.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…