William Taylor: The Bishops have chosen to walk apart – but others stand with us

William Taylor, Rector of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, has made an important announcement – and he speaks with the support of Anglican bishops worldwide including

Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney;
Foley Beach, Primate of North America and GAFCON Primates Council Chairman;
Jay Behan, Bishop of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand;
Glenn Lyons, Presiding Bishop of REACH South Africa.

– See William Taylor’s announcement and the messages of support from these Anglican leaders.

Ordinations in Armidale — February 2023

From The Diocese of Armidale:

“Some good news for your encouragement.

On Saturday 18th February, ordinations were held at St Peter’s Cathedral, Armidale. Matthew Hearne, Angus Martin and Jeremy Lin were made Deacons; Matthew Stones, David Thompson and Philip van’t Spyker were made Presbyters.

This is the largest group ordained for some years and is a wonderful blessing for our Diocese. It was also great to see so many clergy and lay people from around our Diocese come to support and encourage the six men.

Give thanks to God for those he has called to be shepherds of His church and that the clergy team in our Diocese is growing. Pray also for the ministry of each of the men who were ordained.”

(Click the image for a larger version.)

Twenty-two new Deacons ordained in Sydney

“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel described the day as a ‘truly wonderful occasion of solemn joy of celebration and dedication, as we set aside these dear men and women, brothers and sisters who have been well prepared for service of the Lord Jesus and his church.’…”

– Read the full report by Tara Sing on the ordination at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney on Saturday 18th February 2023 at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Click on the photo (courtesy Anglican Media Sydney) for a full res version.

New start at Cobar — Commissioning Saturday morning 11:00am

James Daymond will be commissioned to minister in Cobar on Saturday 18th February 2023 at 11:00am.

It’s been more than 20 years since there was a resident Anglican minister in Cobar. (According to the diocesan Facebook page, James’ great uncle was once the minister there.)

Please pray for James and Brittany Daymond and for the church in Cobar, that this will be for the eternal good of many people, and for the glory of Christ.

Here James and Brittany are pictured with Dr Warwick Baines, business manager and registrar of the Diocese of Bathurst.

You can watch the livestream here.

Darrell Parker to be installed as Bishop of North West Australia — Wednesday 9.00pm AEDT

Darrell Parker will be installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of North West Australia at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Geraldton tonight, Wednesday 15th February, at 6:00pm AWST (9:00pm AEDT).

We understand the service will be live-streamed – available via the Geraldton Cathedral website or on the Cathedral Youtube channel.

Photo: Darrell and Elizabeth Parker.

New start in West Wyalong

From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page – news from Saturday 11th February –

“A joy to see Steven and Caitlin Klouth warmly welcomed in West Wyalong as the Rev’d Steven Klouth was commissioned this morning as Priest-in-Charge.

This full time appointment would not be possible without the generous partnership of the Bush Church Aid Society.

NSW director of BCA, Paul Sampson joined us, as did CFO Greg Bridge and Chair of council, Fred Chilton and his wife Jill.”

– Food for your prayers.

Sydney Diocese response to the Church of England General Synod’s decision

Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney
Media Statement
UK Synod rejects the clear teaching of the Bible

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, has described the decision of the Church of England General Synod to offer prayers of blessing to couples in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships as a rejection of biblical teaching.

“In adopting these proposals, the UK General Synod has rejected the clear teaching of Scripture that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and that sexual activity outside the context of marriage is sin.” the Archbishop said.

Archbishop Raffel cited the Global Anglican Fellowship (Gafcon) and the Global South Fellowship, two international groups which he said, “not only represent the vast majority of the world’s Anglicans, but also the historic, universal and apostolic teaching of the bible.”

“Last year, when the 24 diocesan bishops of the Australian General Synod failed to affirm the bible’s teaching on marriage and sexuality, I said that they had left the Australian Anglican Church in a ‘perilous’ state. Today, statements from both Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans have made the same assessment of the impact of the Church of England’s decision on the Anglican Communion. I agree with that assessment.”

“Nevertheless, it is reason for thanksgiving that where some Anglican provinces have departed from Scripture’s teaching in these matters, faithful brothers and sisters have stood for the trustworthiness, goodness and authority of Scripture. This was certainly true in the UK General Synod debate.”

“It is the opposite of loving care for people to deny, distort or downplay the life-giving truth of Scripture on matters of vital importance to understanding ourselves and God’s good plans for our lives, including matters of human sexuality and marriage. We must lament the decision of the Church of England General Synod.”

“God’s people are called to honour all people, and humbly, prayerfully and faithfully to hold out to all, the teaching of Jesus as words of eternal life. With God’s help, we will continue to do so.”

Kanishka Raffel
Archbishop of Sydney
February 10, 2023

Source: Diocese of Sydney.

“A lose-lose position for everyone in the Church of England” — CEEC statement

“We are deeply saddened and profoundly grieved that General Synod has given a ‘green light’ to the proposals put forward by the House of Bishops. The Church of England now appears set on a course of action that rejects our historic and biblical understanding of sex and marriage, by departing from the apostolic faith we are called to uphold. This decision will be extremely distressing for evangelicals in this country today, as they consider the impact of the decision on their ministry and as they continue to contend for Jesus in their local contexts. 

This seems to us to be a lose-lose position for everyone in the Church of England. Those who wanted more change will continue to ask and push for greater change. Those of us who have been trying to uphold the historic and biblical understanding of marriage and singleness say change has gone too far. This decision has settled nothing and has only served to deepen divisions and cause deeper hurt. 

We will continue to work alongside evangelicals across the country, who today share our sense of great sadness and dismay, to contend for biblical faithfulness and to live lives that Jesus has called us to. We are grateful that several speakers noted the need for some kind of settlement, though this would need to be without theological compromise.  We believe that putting in place new imaginative structures, ‘good differentiation’, is the only way we are going to be able to reach a settled outcome, that maintains the highest degree of unity possible within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.”

– Source.

Anglican Aid launches Syria Earthquake Relief fund

“With your help, Anglican Aid is meeting the needs of vulnerable Syrians who are experiencing distress as a result of the 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake. …”

– Read the details at Anglican Aid in Sydney.

There’s also a Prayer for Syria and Turkey you may wish to use at home or in church.

Image: US Geological Survey.

Men Meeting the Challenge Conference 2023

This year’s Men Meeting the Challenge Conference will be held at Arndell Anglican College, Oakville, on Saturday 25th March.

All the details are available at the conference website.

Michael Calder appointed as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Wishart

From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page comes the news that the Rev. Michael Calder, who has been serving as Assistant at St Bart’s Toowoomba, has been appointed as as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Wishart in Brisbane.

Do pray for Michael and his wife Rachel and the St. John’s congregation, as well as for Peter Judge-Mears and his family and members of the church who formed Southern Cross Anglican Church, Southside late last year.

At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on the consecration – for the Diocese of North West Australia – of Bishop Darrell Parker:

“They came from all parts of Australia to see Bishop Darrell Parker consecrated as a bishop to serve the Diocese of North West Australia. But it was his former boss, the Bishop of Armidale Rod Chiswell, who summed up his task.

After a sermon from Titus chapter one, where the Apostle Paul exhorts Titus to appoint elders to the churches on Crete, Bishop Chiswell estimated there might be a similar number of churches in the Diocese of the North West.

He reminded the new Bishop of the sign over the doorway of the Armidale Diocese office which reads ‘Jesus is Lord’. ‘For people to have the certain hope of eternal life, we must keep speaking this truth in love,’ Bishop Chiswell (below) said. …”

– Read it all here.

Image of Mrs Elizabeth and Bishop Darrell Parker from the St. Andrew’s Cathedral lifestream.

‘LGBTQIA+ Anglicans [in Melbourne] standing proud amid same-sex marriage debate’

“LGBTQIA+ Anglicans in Melbourne are celebrating during the city’s annual Midsumma Festival amid news Church of England bishops have continued to prohibit same-sex marriages within the church.

The Midsumma Festival, which runs in January and February each year, is a month-long event showcasing LGBTQIA+ arts and culture. The festival was first held in 1988.

Churches and religious organisations have been involved with the festival for years. …”

– Story from The Melbourne Anglican.

(Photo: St. Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne as the backdrop for an evangelist’s sign on Princes Bridge.)

How do I pray for central west NSW?

Here’s a brief video from The Bush Church Aid Society’s National Director, the Rev Greg Harris.

Please pray for 2023 Sydney ordinands

From SydneyAnglicans.net:

Please pray for these candidates as they prepare for ordination on February 18, 2023 and for taking up positions at the following parishes:

Brian Barker,              Hurstville Grove
Kingsley Box,              Yagoona & Condell Park
Brodie Cutmore,         Engadine
Cathy Dell,                  Lalor Park
Russell Denten,          St Luke’s Miranda
Joshua Goscombe,    Gladesville
Ed Hannah,                St Luke’s Liverpool
Alex Hitchcock,          Annandale
Jaison Jacob,             St John’s Paramatta
Sarah Kinstead,         Anglicare Hospital Chaplain
Benjamin Ko,             Northmead Anglican
Braydon Lucas,         Gladesville
Andrew Marrett,        St James, Turramurra
Lachlan Orr,               Naremburn/ Cammeray
Matt Shannon,           Wollongong Cathedral
Netane Siuhengalu,   West Ryde
Jeremy Smith,            Stanhope Gardens
Miles Stepniewski,     Riverstone
Ned Teuben,              Artarmon
Simon Wang,             St John’s Campsie
Scott Williams,           Picton/Wilton
Nick Wood,                Kirribilli and Neutral Bay.

Photo: SydneyAnglicans.net

You can watch the service live at 10:00am on Saturday 18th February (or afterwards) on YouTube.

← Previous Page — Next Page →