Southern Cross December 2024 – January 2025
The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine is now available from the Diocese of Sydney.
Surfing and serving
Summer prayer diary
Baptism testimonies
Teachers and preachers
Grandparents
Faithfulness
Movies and summer reading
PLUS: news, views, reviews and more.
You can be Certain — Luke 1.26-38
“What do we do with Mary? We don’t pray to her or worship her, or claim she remained a virgin – for the very same reason we believe the virgin birth… because we trust the Bible to tell us what is true and real… and if it’s not here – in the orderly account – we don’t claim it or teach it or embrace it! But we ARE moved by her beautiful submission and surrender… and we endeavour to live with her level of trust: ‘I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to be me fulfilled.’ ”
– Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder continues his Advent series.
Also from the Diocese of Bathurst:
“This morning Bishop Calder announced the appointment of lay stipendiary ministers for an initial period of 6 months to the parish of Nyngan – praise God for the generous sacrifices involved for Philip and Deanne Gerber.”
Bathurst Diocese Advent 2024 Newsletter
The Bathurst Diocese Advent 2024 Newsletter is now available to download for your encouragement and prayers. (PDF file.)
Antisemitic attacks — Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney
Here is a Media release from the Diocese of Sydney:
Anglican Diocese of Sydney
Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney
Antisemitic attacks
The latest attack on the Jewish community in Sydney is egregious, cowardly and despicable.
All people of good will, faith or none, will condemn this outrage. It follows the terrorist attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, and more than a year of increasing hostility and intimidation of the Australian Jewish community in multiple, grotesque ways.
This is totally unacceptable.
The Jewish community in Sydney is resilient and peace-loving, contributing to the welfare and harmony of our city in myriad ways. Jewish people arrived in Sydney with the First Fleet. Sydney is the home we all share.
I urge all political, community and religious leaders to unite and I offer the support of Sydney Anglicans as together we stand against hate.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
11 December 2024.
Source: SydneyAnglicans.net.
Raising the Next Generation of Leaders
“I was privileged last month to spend an afternoon watching our prayers being answered.
It is a constant prayer point of our Diocese to ask the Lord to raise up workers for the harvest field.
In my recent Synod address (see SC, Sept-Oct), I said that if we were to succeed in establishing one new church for every 30,000 people in greenfields areas, we would need far more men and women training for ministry than are currently in our system.
I asked for every parish to be intentionally prayerful about sending or supporting at least one suitable person to train for full-time ministry at Moore College or Youthworks College in the next three years. …”
– Archbishop Kanishka Raffel writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.
He also reveals that a diocesan Day of Prayer for Mission has been called for May 4, 2025.
Precious opportunities await!
A reminder, from the Diocese of Bathurst, of precious opportunities for gospel service in these parishes –
“1. Condobolin
2. Trundle
3. Warren
4. Coolah-Dunedoo
5. Nyngan
6. Bourke-Brewarrina
7. Gilgandra
8. Coonamble
9. West Wyalong
10. Wellington
11. Coonabarabran
12. Cumnock
13. Canowindra
14. Cudal-Molong.”
– From the diocesan Facebook page.
You can be certain — Luke 1:1-4
Bishop Mark Calder begins his Advent/Christmas series for the Diocese of Bathurst: You can be certain
December 01 ADVENT 1 Why? Luke 1:1-4
December 08 ADVENT 2 John the Baptist prepared the way. Luke 1:5-25
December 15 ADVENT 3 Jesus was miraculously conceived. Luke 1:26-38
December 22 ADVENT 4 God’s eternal promises were being fulfilled. Luke 1:39-56
December 25 CHRISTMAS A Saviour was born – Messiah and Lord! Luke 2:1-21.
Watch the first talk at this link.
Encouragement for church members, and great to share.
Nexus 25 registration open
The Nexus25 conference is coming up on Monday 17th March at Village Church Annandale:
“Nexus25 is about how we can reach our city with the life-giving gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Our conviction as a Nexus network is that the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his imminent return, means that our lives and churches must be driven by the urgent proclamation of our Saviour and Lord. And yet if we’re honest with ourselves, this conviction often wanes and does not flow into concerted, effective action in our churches. We believe that God is not done with Sydney. Christ still has many people in this city—people who have not yet heard and believed the gospel of Christ—and we long to see them saved and gathered around his throne.
Together under God, let’s think about what we need to do in our churches as we strive to reach this city for Christ.
Dave Jensen and Phil Colgan are going to help us think about how we can help everyone in our churches be on board with the mission that drives us. What are the convictions we need to sharpen in ourselves and encourage in others if we are going to be evangelistically effective? Are there things holding our churches back? Are there better ways to do things that flow more truly from our convictions? Those are the sorts of questions we’re going to consider.
Of course, along with this, we’re going to do what we always do at Nexus – come together for encouragement, fellowship and prayer, to spur one another on to persevere in the noble task of serving God’s people as pastors, teachers and evangelists.”
– Learn more, and register, at the Nexus25 website.
Women in the Anglican Diocese of Armidale
From the Diocese of Armidale:
“At the recent Synod (September 2024), the Bishop presented a position paper on the Role of Women in the Anglican Diocese of Armidale.
In the paper he seeks ‘to explore the way Christian men and women can partner together in ministry, to grow and build Christ’s church in accordance with the Scriptures’ (Bishop’s synod address, p9).
This was in preparation for employing a Diocesan Deacon for Women. Everything is now ready for the role to begin in January 2025 – the new Deacon for Women will be announced in December…”
– This page has links to Bishop Rod Chiswell’s Position Paper here and his Synod Address.
Image: The Synod of the Diocese of Armidale.
Sydney and Tanzania Celebrate Over a Century of Mission Work
“This year Synod celebrated 130 years of partnership between the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and the Anglican Church of Tanzania, a fellowship that dates back to 1893. ‘We have sent about 400 missionaries to Tanzania,’ said the Rev Canon Peter Sholl, international director of the Church Missionary Society Australia, adding: ‘About 250 of those have been from NSW.’ …”
– A cause for thanksgiving – story from Tara Sing at SydneyAnglicans.net.
‘A wound that can’t heal’: Church calls for recognition of genocide
“The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne has joined calls for the 1915–1923 Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides to be recognised by the state government.
More than 3 million Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac and Greek Orthodox Christians suffered from the systematic mass murder, expulsion and forced conversion beginning on 24 April 1915.
This population continues to be one of the most persecuted, dispossessed and scattered in the world. …”
– Report from The Melbourne Anglican.
Holy Imposter Syndrome
“The term might not be familiar to you, but the concept behind it most likely is – imposter syndrome. It’s the feeling, often experienced in professional or academic contexts, that you can’t do what everyone believes you can and expects of you. You feel like an imposter. Any success you seem to have experienced up until this point was a fluke. You’re a fraud, and any moment now everyone is going to realize it. It’s only a matter of time. …”
– Sam Allberry helps put it all in perspective. At The Gospel Coalition.
Armidale’s “The Link” – November 2024
The latest edition (November 2024) of The Link, the magazine of the Diocese of Armidale, is now online.
Download a copy for your edification and your prayers.
A reminder of the need for gospel ministry in the country
This was posted on the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:
“Molong? Gilgandra? Canowindra? Bathurst? (assistant role at the Cathedral). Where might you come and experience the blessings of regional ministry? Or perhaps somewhere a little further away? West Wyalong? Coonabarabran?
Keen to talk to men and women open to exploring ministry in central and western NSW.
(Also: Coonamble, Condobolin, Bourke-Brewarrina, Nyngan, Warren, Coolah-Dunedoo, Cumnock, Trundle.)”
– see also the Diocesan website.
From the Archives: Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane remembers the beginnings of the SUEU
From our archives:
In 1980, Archbishop of Sydney Sir Marcus Loane (1912 – 2009), addressed the Sydney University Evangelical Union’s End of Term Service.
In his 19 minute address, Sir Marcus recalls the beginnings of the Evangelical Union, fifty years previously.
Photo: Marcus Loane as Vice Principal of Moore College, 1950.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…