Letters that touched my heart

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel shares –

“In October of last year Cailey and I had the great privilege of visiting the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Although it is called a ‘library’, it is what we would usually call a museum – although that is too tame a description for the 14 galleries recording the remarkable ways in which the Lord used William Franklin Graham Jnr (known to the world as Billy Graham) to preach the gospel to more people in more places across the globe than anyone else before or since.

Attached to the Billy Graham Library is a research archive, which houses an enormous collection of papers, recordings, journals, campaign and other materials from Billy Graham’s more than 60 years of public ministry. …”

– Read it at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Also published in the current edition of Southern Cross magazine.

Faithful service recognised in King’s Birthday Honours list

“A prominent educator and a husband and wife from the Northern Beaches are among Sydney Anglicans honoured in the King’s Birthday Honours list. …”

– Russell Powell has the story at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Moore College Principal to retire at end of 2027

Announcement from SydneyAnglicans.net –

“The Principal of Moore College, Dr Mark Thompson, has announced he will retire at the end of 2027.

The announcement was made at Moore College on Friday, June 5, as Dr Thompson told staff and students.

‘After discussions with the Archbishop and the Governing Board, we have decided that 2027 will be the last year that I serve as the 13th Principal of Moore College,’ Dr Thompson said. ‘No doubt there will be much more that will be said and written over the next eighteen months. But I wanted to let you know at this point, so that you won’t be surprised when advertisements for the position begin to appear in the second half of this year, and so that you might pray as the process of choosing the 14th Principal unfolds.’…”

– Read it all here. It would be really good to pray for Mark and Kathryn, for the College, and for whoever will be appointed the 14th Principal.

Also announced through the College website:

Retirement announced.

Two to remember

“It was 1856, and the new Reformed Evangelical bishop, Frederic Barker, had arrived in Sydney with his wife Jane the year before.

The bishop was responsible for most of NSW – a huge burden. He and his wife immediately saw three great needs and took action to meet them.…”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Peter Jensen commends a soon-to-be-published book on Bishop Barker by Dr. Grant Maple.

He reminds us that it is “so easy to forget our history and that impoverishes us”.

“This bill should unite Parliament” — Archbishop of Sydney Public Statement

Here’s a Public Statement, released today, from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel –

Public Statement
“This bill should unite Parliament”

I have written to the Premier, the Honourable Chris Minns, and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, the Honourable Penny Sharpe, to express support for a bill to prevent sex-selective abortions due to be brought before Parliament shortly.

The Anglican Church in Sydney has consistently opposed legislation that has the effect of expanding access to abortion. We hold that abortion is not a neutral moral choice but involves the loss of defenceless human life. Nevertheless, we grieve for mothers who see no other option, affirming that in our loving God, there is forgiveness and boundless goodness and mercy.

But regardless of the broader debates about abortion itself, this Bill should unite Parliament against sex-selective abortion, which disproportionately targets unborn girls.

A recent study undertaken by Edith Cowan University and Curtin University found that sex-selective abortion is widespread in New South Wales.

In my letter, I appealed to the government with these words: “My hope is that those who have in-principle support for abortion rights, on whatever ground, would nevertheless see merit in supporting this bill to safeguard our shared commitment to the dignity and equality of girl children. Far from empowering women, sex selective abortion reflects deeply entrenched cultural prejudice and belongs to crude discriminatory paradigms that contemporary and civilised societies have long sought to leave behind.”

For Christians, this concern is grounded in our commitment to the sanctity of human life and the inherent equality of men and women. Scripture affirms that both male and female are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), a conviction that underpins our commitment to the dignity of every human.

I urge Sydney Anglicans to join me in praying that the government will lead the Parliament in taking the small but vital step of supporting this bill.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

28 May 2026.

– Source: SydneyAnglicans.net.

The importance of a special relationship in a crisis

From The Australian Church Record, an encouraging and enlightening contribution by Robin Sydserff of The Proclamation Trust –

“At the celebration of Dick Lucas’ 100th birthday on 14 September 2025, the overseas contribution was a series of recorded video messages from past and present Christian leaders in Australia, testifying to a special relationship. The relationship, first between conservative evangelicals in the Church of England and Sydney Anglicans, has enlarged over the last fifty years and more to embrace a much wider constituency.

In a special relationship there are times when strong things need to be said. ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend’ (Prov 27:6). …”

– What is the crisis? Who are the friends? How have they been a blessing to each other? Do take the time to read it all.

First published in the ACR’s Easter 2026 Journal.

Image from an interview with Robin Sydserff and David Cook on The Pastor’s Heart, August 2025.

From Glebe to Gallipoli: Indigenous voices into Sydney Anglican history

From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net –

 “Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has decried the ‘deeply repugnant’ treatment of Aboriginal Elder Uncle Ray Minniecon at an Anzac Day service, as the Diocese prepares to hear the ‘untold stories’ of Indigenous Anglicans. …”

– Read here. And there’s a media release.

Archdeacon Kara Hartley to step down — A legacy of gospel partnership

From SydneyAnglicans.net –

“After 14 years of dedicated service to the women of the Sydney Diocese, Archdeacon Kara Hartley has announced she will step down at the conclusion of 2026.

While Archdeacon Hartley originally envisioned a seven-year commitment as Archdeacon for Women’s Ministry, her tenure spanned double that time. …”

– Russell Powell has the story.

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.

Next Page →