The richness of Sydney’s global engagement

“The Anglican Communion, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, is not a global hierarchical administrative structure emanating from the pastoral, doctrinal and legal authority of one man – the Pope – but rather, a voluntary fellowship based on mutual recognition of shared life in Christ and a common heritage of biblical convictions, liturgical forms, a missional and pastoral church life, as well as synodical government and episcopal leadership.

Sydney’s fellowship with Anglicans around the world has long been expressed in partnerships with many of our Anglican organisations, including CMS, Moore College, Youthworks, the Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid and since 2008, Gafcon.

These partnerships are based on a shared commitment to the authority of the Scriptures, and the reformed understanding of the faith as expressed in the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty Nine Articles. …”

–Written in January, and before G26 in Abuja, Archbishop Kanishka Raffel reminds us of the many and wide gospel links between Sydney and partners around the world.

Photo thanks to SydneyAnglicans.net: Archbishop Raffel at a tree-planting ceremony in rural Tanzania in 2023.

Southern Cross March-April 2026

Anglican Media Sydney has published Southern Cross magazine for March-April 2026.

Grab a copy at your local church – or download/read online here.

Explainer: Anglican re-ordering and Gafcon in Abuja

From SydneyAnglicans.net, a very helpful article to read and share –

“In early March 2026, headlines lit up around the world about the re-ordering of what’s known as the Anglican Communion – the grouping of Anglican churches around the world which emerged from the English missionary efforts of the 18th and 19th centuries and later.

The Global Anglican Future Conference, which has drawn together the majority of the largest churches in the communion, held a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.

Here are the answers to some key questions …”

These are the questions asked and answered –

What happened in Abuja?

What are the issues?

What does this mean for my local parish?

I’m concerned about talk of schism and division – why can’t we all just get along?

What happens to the Archbishop of Canterbury?

What does this mean for Sydney Anglicans and the Archbishop of Canterbury?

What does this mean for Sydney Anglicans and the Anglican Church of Australia?

– Read it all here.

Public Lecture on Padre Hugh Gough

Mark Earngey, Head of Church History at Moore College, is giving a free online public lecture for the Evangelical History Association –

“In the 1950s, Hugh Gough emerged as a rising star among British evangelicals. His involvement with the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU) and his courage in publicly supporting Billy Graham at a time of ecclesiastical controversy won him admiration across the evangelical world. Nowhere was this more evident than in Sydney, where he was elected Archbishop and served from 1959 to 1965. Yet Gough’s relatively brief episcopate, combined with the scarcity of accessible primary sources, has meant that he remains less well known than his predecessor Howard Mowll and his successor Marcus Loane.

Recent archival discoveries, however, have begun to illuminate neglected dimensions of Gough’s life and ministry. Among the most significant is a substantial body of material from his service as an army chaplain during the Second World War, including battlefield photographs from North Africa and personal correspondence written from the front. These sources open a crucial window onto Gough’s formative years as a padre.

This paper traces his wartime ministry from Jerusalem to El Alamein and into Italy, revealing how these experiences shaped the convictions and character of one of twentieth-century evangelicalism’s most significant yet understudied leaders.”

– On Wednesday, 18 March 2026 at 8:00pm AEDT. Free registration to watch online.

Photo: Padre Hugh Gough in North Africa – thanks to Mark Earngey.

Castle Hill’s historic Lober House celebrates a century

An interesting bit of history –

“An historic house in Sydney’s north-west, which went on to become Australia’s first retirement home, is celebrating 100 years.

Lober House, now the social heart of Anglicare’s Castle Hill villages, was built in the 1920s as a private residence by Robert and Eva Dixson and originally known as Elwatan.

Purchased by the Anglican Church in 1958 and opened the following year, it was the launchpad for a new model of retirement living shaped by two influential women — Dorothy Mowll and Dame Pattie Menzies — who pushed for aged care that supported retirees to live independently. …”

– This article at Australian Seniors News has some background on the key building at Anglicare’s retirement villages – otherwise known as Mowll Village – at Castle Hill.

Image: Paintings of Dorothy Mowll (artist unknown), Archbishop Howard Mowll (by Alfred G Reynolds, 1958) – both at one time on display in Lober House – and the plaque commemorating their vision – also at Lober House.

The plaque reads –

“THIS VILLAGE IS ESTABLISHED AS A
DIOCESAN TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE AND WORK
OF
HOWARD WEST KILVINTON MOWLL
C.M.G., DD.

BORN 2nd FEBRUARY, 1890       DIED 24th OCTOBER, 1958

ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY
METROPOLITAN OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW SOUTH WALES
1933-1958

PRIMATE OF AUSTRALIA
1947-1958

AND OF HIS WIFE
DOROTHY ANNE MOWLL
O.B.E., F.R.G.S.

BORN 18th JUNE, 1890       DIED 23rd DECEMBER, 1957

“Workers together with Him”
2 Cor. 6:1

THE MAIN HOUSE WAS OPENED AND DEDICATED
BY

THE MOST REV. HUGH ROWLANDS GOUGH
O.B.E., D.D
ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY
ON
24th OCTOBER, 1959.”

Archbishop of Sydney’s Statement on The Abuja Affirmation, Nigeria, 2026

Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel has released this statement –

Archbishop’s Statement on The Abuja Affirmation, Nigeria, 2026

I have been enormously encouraged by the breadth and vitality of global Anglicanism displayed at the ‘G26’ meeting in Abuja Nigeria and I wholeheartedly welcome the shared commitment of majority-world Anglican provinces to accept the stewardship of the Anglican Communion.

The Abuja Affirmation charts a path forward for global Anglicans faithful to the Lord and his mission and committed to the primacy, sufficiency and trustworthiness of God’s word.

Recognising that our existing structures have failed to uphold Anglican doctrine and discipline, the task of re-ordering the Communion around the Scriptures, begun in Jerusalem in 2008, continues with the formation of the Global Anglican Council.

True to our history, the Council brings together every part of the Church – clergy and laity alongside bishops and senior advisors. We share this stewardship, and we go forward together in prayerful dependence on the Lord.

The Global Anglican Communion is determined to focus on the building of Christ’s church, rather than managing cultural capitulation or accommodating unbiblical beliefs.

I invite all Anglicans, in our own diocese and across the world, to reflect on the landmark Abuja Affirmation, produced by delegates through the collaborative process that has long characterised Gafcon gatherings.

As the statement declares: “At Abuja, we rejoiced in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ – the good news that God, in his great love for sinners, gave his Son so that, through his death and resurrection, sinners might be forgiven and adopted through the Spirit and live as God’s beloved children forever. Without this gospel, the Church dies.”

This gospel is our precious and powerful message, our task for the future, and our one hope.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
8 March 2026.

Source: SydneyAnglicans.net. (PDF file.)

Image: Archbishop Kanishka Raffel interviewed in Abuja by The Pastor’s Heart.

No such thing as an ordinary ordination!

Tara Sing reports on this morning’s ordinations at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.

“In some ways, this year’s ordination was delightfully routine. It was another very warm February morning, there were a bunch of eager (and slightly nervous) ordinands preparing to make lifelong promises to the Lord, and the pews were, once again, filled to the brim with family, friends and church communities ready to pray with them and cheer them on.

However, there is nothing ordinary or mundane about an ordination ceremony! …

This year’s ordination also saw the Rev Robert Nichols ordained for ministry into a diocese outside of Sydney. The Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, also stood alongside Sydney’s Archbishop and bishops to lay hands and pray for the new deacon.

‘He will be serving in the parish of Cudal-Molong,’ said Mr Calder. …”

– See the full post at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photos thanks to the Diocese of Bathurst.

Archbishop of Sydney: “We must reject hateful words and threats of violence”

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has today issued this Public Statement:

“Public Statement
“We must reject hateful words and threats of violence”

Recent remarks by Senator Pauline Hanson that there are ‘no good Muslims’ are foolish and dangerously divisive. They have been roundly and rightly rejected by leaders across the political spectrum.

Moreover, threats of violence against the Lakemba mosque are grotesque and must be rejected by all Australians of good will.

Christians believe that all people fall short of God’s good standard. The Bible says:

‘There is no one righteous, not even one; … there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away…there is no one who does good, not even one.’ (Romans 3:10-12)

It is a devastating diagnosis of the desperate state of all humankind apart from the merciful intervention of God to rescue and redeem us. Christians believe that God’s rescue comes through Jesus Christ, the unique and only Saviour of the world.

Christians, Muslims and Jews disagree about the nature of God, the person of Jesus and the way of salvation. We disagree about things that we think of as being of first importance.

But Christians will reject hateful words about entire communities of Australians on the basis of their religion or culture.

As Sydney Anglicans, we champion the freedom of all communities to practice their faith (or lack of faith) free from threat and intimidation – even when as Christians, we conscientiously differ in our beliefs.

‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23), so Christians gratefully rejoice in the ‘free gift of God’ and will offer hope in Jesus to all people, ‘with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15).

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

20 February 2026”

– Source: SydneyAnglicans.net.

Authentic Anglicanism: Interview with Ed Loane

From The Australian Church Record, here’s an interview with Ed Loane first published in their Synod 2025 Journal:

“ACR: Ed, thanks for chatting with the ACR in your role as a member of the Sydney Diocesan Doctrine Commission.

In his presidential address to the Brisbane Synod on the 25 June 2022, Archbishop Philip Aspinall made comments that caused the Sydney Diocesan Standing Committee some concern. What were these comments?

EL: The Archbishop spent a large section of his speech focused on the Diocese of Sydney, and particularly its advocacy of the traditional Christian position in relation to human sexuality. He sought to downplay the seriousness of fundamental differences in theology by portraying them as simply typical of Anglicanism throughout its history. …”

– What’s authentic Anglicanism, and how is it different from “comprehensive” Anglicanism?

“Supercharging” faith for 20 years

“As Year 13 celebrates its 20th birthday this year, there is rejoicing at the number of students who have taken a gap year to get equipped for life and strengthen their spiritual foundations.

Since beginning with 16 students in 2006, over 1200 young people have been through the program.…”

– A most encouraging report from Tara Sing at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Anglicans honoured in larger Australia Day awards

“A number of Sydney Anglicans have been acknowledged for their contributions to church and community in the Australia Day honours list, which expanded by 200 places this year.

Among the 2026 honourees was Emeritus Professor Christopher Bellenger, who was made a Member of the Order of Australia. …”

– Russell Powell reports at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Recognition on Australia Day 2026

Spotted in today’s Australia Day Honours List:

Appointed as Officers of the Order of Australia (AO) –

“Mrs Jocelyn Kathleen Edna ELLIOTT
WA
For distinguished service to international relations through humanitarian medical care in remote regions of Burkina Faso.

Dr Kenneth Arthur ELLIOTT
WA
For distinguished service to international relations through humanitarian medical care in remote regions of Burkina Faso.”

You will remember that ten years ago, after serving in Burkina Faso since 1972, Christian medical missionaries Dr. Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn, were kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists. (Previous posts here.)

Related:

How Ken Elliott survived seven years in the desert as a prisoner of Al Qaeda – ABC News, 29 August 2024.

Meeting Dr Ken and Jocelyn Elliott – Government House, Western Australia, 18 November 2024.

And, appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in today’s honours list –

“Emeritus Professor Christopher Raymond BELLENGER
NSW
For significant service to veterinary science, to tertiary education, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.”

In addition to Professor Bellenger’s much-valued service in the Diocese of Sydney, he has had a long association with university student Christian ministry in Australia and internationally.

– Full list (PDF file).

Southern Cross February – March 2026

Anglican Media Sydney has posted the February – March 2026 edition of Southern Cross magazine online. (Printed editions will also appear in parishes.)

Get a digital copy here.

Many encouraging stories, including this one about new studios for Global Recordings Network Australia –

You may be familiar with GRN as the producers of the wonderful 5fish resource with the Story of Jesus in 7,000 languages and dialects – 5fish website – app download.

Learn more about the new studios on the Global Recordings Network Australia website – via this video – and in this radio interview on Vision Radio.

Please pray for 2026 Ordinands

SydneyAnglicans.net has published a list of those to be ordained next month –

“Please pray for these candidates as they prepare for ordination on February 21, 2026 and for taking up positions at the following parishes …”

– See the list here.

Anglican Aid’s 2026 Prayer Diary

Anglican Aid’s Prayer Diary for 2026 is now available for download.

Tim Swan, CEO of Anglican Aid, writes,

“Our 2026 Prayer Diary includes 31 days of prayers and prayer points for a range of partners providing emergency aid and relief, ministry training, food security, clean water, education, and more.”

– Read his full letter, and download the Prayer Diary, at Anglican Aid’s website. There’s also an option to request printed copies.

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