Archbishop Glenn Davies’ Presidential Address, 2018 Synod
Watch Archbishop Glenn Davies deliver his address at the beginning of the 2018 Sydney Synod – Monday 15th October 2018. (Video courtesy SydneyAnglicans.net.)
Read the full text. (PDF file – may download to your device.)
See also:
“Archbishop Glenn Davies has rejected what he called the mischievous misrepresentation of the Ruddock Report and given a clear statement that Sydney Anglican Schools do not expel students for being gay. He also promised support for Prime Minister Morrison’s reported legislation, if it were deemed necessary.
Reports of recommendations of the Ruddock Report, leaked last week, were used to accuse church schools of wanting to expel gay students. …”
– Archbishop rejects ‘mischief making’ over Ruddock Report – SydneyAnglicans.net (emphasis added.)
Sydney helps Bathurst
“The Synod of the Diocese of Sydney has voted in favour of a six-year plan to help fund the infrastructure of the Diocese of Bathurst, to ensure the continuation of Christian witness in Central Western New South Wales.
The Diocese has been beset with financial problems for the past decade and with shrinking congregations, is approaching the point where it cannot support the office of the Bishop and the Registry, vital to the oversight of ministry in the region. …”
– Encouraging news of partnership from Sydney Synod. (SydneyAnglicans.net.)
The authority & responsibilities of a senior leader — with Peter Jensen
In this week’s The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele spoke with former Archbishop of Sydney Dr. Peter Jensen.
“In this revealing and frank discussion with Dominic Steele he discusses the particular responsibilities of senior leaders and the pressures that senior leaders are under.
Also … Dr Jensen outlines the ripples in world Anglicanism from the important GAFCON 2018 event and its Letter to the Churches and ponders what happens next.”
Melbourne’s third woman bishop – and other news from the dioceses
“When Kate Prowd is consecrated a bishop in Melbourne on Saturday, it will create Anglican history: she will be half of the first brother and sister pair to be bishops, both in the same diocese. …”
– News from the diocese of Melbourne.
Also from around other dioceses in the Anglican Church of Australia:
Bendigo:
“It takes passion to persevere in professional sport. Even the best players need to be so in love with what they do that the training and sacrifice pales into insignificance. Perseverance in faith is enabled by setting our affection on God. How do you remind yourself how beautiful, sufficient, good, capable and praiseworthy God is? As Thomas Cranmer (the architect of Anglicanism) said, what the heart desires, the mind justifies and the will enacts. How does your affection for God then influence everything else?”
– Bishop of Bendigo, Matt Brain, writing in the October 2018 edition of The Spirit. (PDF)
Newcastle:
Blessing of our furry and feathered friends – at Christ Church Cathedral.
Tasmania:
“Saturday 22 September saw over 400 Anglicans from across the state gathering together for the 3rd annual Bishop’s Training Event, with a sense of excitement and expectation. …”
– Bishop’s Training Event 2018 – Making Disciples Every Day.
Northern Territory:
“There are many ways gardening is like Christian ministry. It takes time and we have to be patient. It is nearly three years since I planted the pineapple tops (they might have fruited faster without the Carpentaria palms). We might have conversations over a long period with someone before we see a new stage of Christian growth or a big step forward in understanding what it means to follow Jesus. …”
– Bishop Greg Anderson writes in the current issue of Top Centre. (PDF)
Tune in to the ACL’s Synod Briefing Podcast
The ACL’s Synod Briefing Podcast for 2018 is now online.
It’s produced as a service to Sydney Synod members, but is also relevant for anyone who wants to see the Lord Jesus honoured and churches strengthened through decisions of the Sydney Synod.
If you can’t be at Synod, and want to follow along with all the action, you can subscribe to our Daily Synod Updates.
They will be posted on our Facebook page, or you can sign up to receive them direct to your inbox.
The Synod Survival Guide — free download
If you are new to Synod, download a copy of the ACL’s Synod Survival Guide by Dr. Robert Tong.
First published by the ACL in 1996, and now in its 5th edition, it is an essential guide to Sydney Synod, and includes lots of very useful end notes and a glossary.
Diocese of Armidale Presidential Address Synod 2018
The Diocese of Armidale has published the Presidential Address by Bishop Rick Lewers to their 2018 Synod.
Well worth reading, and a reminder to pray for our brothers and sisters in that diocese.
Prayers encouraged for Police Remembrance Day
Archbishop Glenn Davies has written a Prayer for National Police Remembrance Day – held on Day 29th September 2018.
You may wish to use it in church on Sunday 30th September, or in your own prayers.
“Our heavenly Father, we thank you for your providential care of our world and the peace and security that we enjoy in our land. We especially thank you for the Police Force of New South Wales. Despite the corruption of the human heart and the prevalence of lawlessness and sin, we thank you for these guardians of justice in our society.
We pray for the members of our Police Force as they maintain law and order in our state. Give them the courage to expose unrighteousness, wherever it is found, to pursue justice for the common good, to deal with all without fear or favour, and to act with wisdom and compassion in all their work. Protect them from danger in their duties, shield them from temptation, and enable them to be role models for all whom they serve.
We also pray for police chaplains as they minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of our Police Force members. May they act with compassion, wisdom and love as they support police officers in their line of duty.
We offer our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, who alone brings order to the human heart, peace to a troubled world and the hope of eternal life for all who put their trust in him. Amen.”
Related: In April 2018, Keith Garner spoke with Anglicare’s NSW Police Chaplain, Rev Sarah Plummer for Wesley Impact! TV. Watch here.
Image: NSW Police Legacy.
‘Men Praying for Moore’ Breakfast – Saturday 22 September 2018
Here’s an opportunity for men to come together, and to share in breakfast and in prayer. As well, Dr Peter O’Brien, will lead a devotional.
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God..”
D.W.B. Robinson and the puzzle of Sydney Anglicanism
“Donald Willian Bradley Robinson, AO (1922-2018), Bishop in Parramatta (1973-1982), Anglican Archbishop of Sydney (1982-1993), could appear to observers as something of a puzzle.
Not that he was complex or difficult personally. On the contrary, Robinson was famously measured and straightforward in his dealings with people – able to play the ball and not the player to an almost superhuman degree. Rather, his life and work puzzled observers by holding together a suite of commitments and values often assumed to be at odds. This is true of Sydney Anglicanism itself, which is more complex and more interesting that either its distractors or its partisans tend to realise.
To crack this puzzle is to understand one of the most profound developers of religious thought in Australia. And it is, in turn, to understand something important about the diocese of Sydney. …”
– The ABC has published this piece by Rory Shiner, who also supplied the photo. Read it all here.
GAFCON Chairman’s Letter September 2018
GAFCON Primates Council Chairman Archbishop Nicholas Okoh turns to the situation in New Zealand in his latest pastoral letter:
“This realignment of the Anglican Communion will undoubtedly continue. Compromise leads to more compromise, but can there be a better way forward than the aggressive legalism practised in the Americas?
New Zealand will be a test. Following the decision in May by the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (ACANZP) to allow for the blessing of same sex relationships, contrary to Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, a number of parishes in New Zealand have announced that they can no longer in conscience remain part of the Province, but Gafcon is proposing a fresh approach in order to minimise conflict.”
A man of words and a man of his word – Bishop Donald Robinson
“The ninth Archbishop of Sydney, Donald William Bradley Robinson, has been laid to rest after a funeral service in St Andrew’s Cathedral which he helped write 40 years earlier.
Bishop Robinson died early on Friday morning, 7th September. He was 95.
A renowned New Testament scholar, Bishop Robinson was a lecturer and Vice-Principal at Moore College, before becoming Bishop in Parramatta and later Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales from 1982 to 1993.
Among his achievements was the production of An Australian Prayer Book (AAPB), highlighted in the eulogy by his daughter Anne. …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on today’s funeral service for a dearly loved and respected Christian leader.
See also:
Servant of the Church of God: Donald William Bradley Robinson, 1922–2018 – by Rory Shiner at Shenton Park, who recently completed a PhD on the life and work of Donald Robinson.
Remembering Donald Robinson – The Gospel Coalition Australia has assembled a number tributes.
The Rev. Peter Robinson spoke about his father’s legacy on 2nd September 2018, as part of the Australian Legacy series at Holy Trinity Wentworth Falls.
(Photo courtesy Ramon Williams.)
Funeral service for Bishop Donald Robinson Tuesday 11:00am
The funeral service for Bishop Donald Robinson will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, September 11, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.
A Drought Reflection
“I teared up! The farmer’s dozer was broken down, the diesel mechanic had returned to town for parts and the farmer’s chainsaw filled the bush with noise as he brought down branches suitable for his sheep to eat.
Over a sandwich we talked of assistance but the response was like that of others, ‘There are people a lot worse off than us!’ Five thousand dollars a week I am told to keep his sheep alive but his wife made clear that they’d take no help. …”
– Bishop of Armidale Rick Lewers writes with a plea to the farming communities and those who would seek to help them.
Donald William Bradley Robinson (1922-2018)
“We at Moore College rejoice today that our dear brother and father in the faith, Archbishop Donald William Bradley Robinson AO, has been called home to be with Christ, ‘which is better by far’.
The debt we owe to this faithful disciple and Bible teacher is truly incalculable. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, many of whom do not even know his name, have been shaped in their reading of the Bible by the approach to biblical theology that he pioneered at Moore College in the 1950s and 1960s. Graeme Goldsworthy’s Gospel and Kingdom and Vaughan Roberts’ God’s Big Picture have taken that approach around the world.
Donald William Bradley Robinson was born on 9 November 1922, the son of a clergyman in the Diocese of Sydney. He studied classics at Sydney University, graduating in 1946, and theology at Queen’s College, Cambridge, graduating in 1950. …”
– Moore College Principal Dr. Mark Thompson adds his tribute to Bishop Donald Robinson.
Read it all at Theological Theology. (Also published at the Moore College website.)