Sydney Synod on the Scottish Episcopal Church decision

At the last night of Sydney Synod this motion, proposed by the Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, was passed with strong support. It is the same motion he brought to the General Synod. It was passed there with some amendments.

Here is the text passed by Sydney Synod on 17 October 2017:

Synod –

a. notes with regret that the Scottish Episcopal Church has amended their Canon on Marriage to change the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman by adding a new section that allows clergy to solemnise marriage between same-sex couples as well as couples of the opposite sex,

b. declares that this step is contrary to the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of our Church, and therefore inconsistent with the Fundamental Declarations of our Churches,

c. notes with sadness that the Scottish Episcopal Church has thereby put itself out of fellowship with the wider Anglican Communion,

d. expresses our support for those Anglicans who have left or will need to leave the Scottish Episcopal Church because of its redefinition of marriage, or who struggle to remain in good conscience, and

e. prays that the Scottish Episcopal Church will return to the doctrine of Christ in this matter and be restored to communion with faithful Anglicans around the world.

Sydney Synod 2017

Resources and news relating to Sydney Synod 2017:

Archbishop of Sydney’s Letter to churches

The Diocese of Sydney has published the text of the letter (dated Wednesday October 11, 2017) from Archbishop Glenn Davies to Sydney Anglican Churches. It was also read at Synod.

We reproduce it here for your convenience. It is also available from SydneyAnglicans.net, and as a PDF download.   Read more

Policy on responding to Domestic abuse passed by Sydney Synod

“A policy on responding to domestic abuse in churches has been passed overwhelmingly by Synod, following years of work by a Diocesan task force.

However, the chair of the taskforce, Canon Sandy Grant, has asked that it be passed provisionally, to allow for feedback on the policy, guidelines and resources from churches and abuse victims. …”

– Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.

(Photo: Archdeacon Kara Hartley, Deputy Chair of the Task Force.)

Sydney diocese donates $1m to no campaign

“The Sydney Anglican diocese has made a $1m donation to the no campaign in Australia’s postal survey on same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Glenn Davies announced the donation on Monday in his address to the 51st synod of the diocese of Sydney, telling the church that ‘removing gender from the marriage construct’ would have ‘irreparable consequences’ for society.

‘Brothers and sisters, the stakes are high and the cost is high,’ Davies said. …”

– Story from The Guardian.

(Archbishop Davies’ Presidential Address can be read via this link – PDF file.)

ACL Synod Dinner 2017 report

Each year the ACL hosts a dinner for Synod members on the first night of Synod.

This year the speaker was Paul Harrington, Rector at Trinity City, Adelaide. He spoke to a full house on the topic: ‘Being hated for the right reasons’. Speaking from his perspective of being an evangelical in the Adelaide Diocese, and being hated, by some, for his gospel conviction, he challenged us not to seek the approval of men.

He encouraged us from the words of Paul in Philippians 1: “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I will rejoice.”

–  ACL Council member Kate Haggar reports on last night’s ACL Synod Dinner at the Chapter House of St. Andrew’s Cathedral.

Timeless gospel meets changing world

“Archbishop Glenn Davies has used his Presidential Address, delivered within days of the 500 year anniversary of the start of the Reformation, as a rallying call to stand firm in proclaiming the gospel. (download full address in PDF) …”

– Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.

From the Archbishop’s address:

“Brothers and sisters, as the penetration of the gospel diminishes in our society, we find ourselves being moved in a more libertarian direction under the influence of those who want to abandon the mores of the past. Yet at the same time these permissive forces who espouse the virtue of ‘tolerance’ are seeking to impose restrictions upon those who wish to maintain the values on which our nation has been founded.

This has become nowhere more apparent than in the current debate surrounding the postal survey on same-sex marriage.

While the advocates of the ‘Yes’ campaign have been unrelenting in their attempts to redefine marriage, they have also been virulent in their opposition to those who hold a contrary view.

The innocent inclusion of drinking Coopers beer in the Bible Society’s promotion of an informed and civilised debate between two politicians, each holding opposing views on same-sex marriage, is a case in point. It resulted in an uncivilised, unwarranted and malicious campaign through social media to boycott Coopers Breweries.

Similarly, a Christian doctor who appeared in an advertisement opposing same-sex marriage was subject to a campaign to have her medical registration withdrawn.

Witness also the ludicrous attempt to rename Margaret Court Arena, merely because Margaret Court, one of our greatest Australian athletes, went public on her opposition to same-sex marriage. …”

Read it all.

Christ amongst the crayons – reaching out through a multicultural, multigenerational kids ministry

“In September 2016 my husband and I planted a new multicultural service at Chester Hill Anglican. We started with 8 kids under 4 (not all ours!). Now we regularly have 30-40 kids on Sunday and many more at mid-week activities. Our kids come from very diverse ethnic backgrounds, many are refugees. My role in the church plant was to establish and grow this kids ministry. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Beth Webb shares from encouraging news from the parish of Chester Hill.

Service for Las Vegas

“A special service will be held at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney on Thursday, October 5, in commemoration of those affected by the Las Vegas massacre at the weekend. …“

– Details from SydneyAnglicans.net.

Developing Rectors Program at Moore College

“In March, Moore College’s Centre for Ministry Development (CMD) launched the Developing Rectors Program – a program to equip new Rectors across the Diocese…”

– Read about the program at the Moore College website.

Moore College Open Day on Saturday October 28

The next Moore College Open Day is set for Saturday October 28.

“The day includes a sample lecture from one of our faculty, a campus tour and plenty of opportunities for questions. You are welcome to drop in at any point during the day, lunch is provided at 12 noon.”

– Details from Moore College.

Lisa, Bruce & Co @ Parramatta

“What does complementarian ministry look like?

We chat to Lisa Boyd & Bruce Morrison of St John’s Cathedral, Parramatta about the ins-and-outs, ups-and-downs of working as a team. …”

– new from The Australian Church Record.

Praying together this Sunday

“Archbishop Glenn Davies has urged churches to set aside this Sunday as a day of Praying together for Marriage.

The Archbishop foreshadowed the initiative in this month’s edition of the Diocesan magazine, Southern Cross, which includes a prayer Dr Davies wrote for the day.

The Australian newspaper last week reported the initiative, set down for this Sunday, September 17th. …”

– Read the story from SydneyAnglicans.net, and please be encouraged to pray.

Related: Archbishop Davies’ prayer.

Archbishop Davies to Sydney Anglicans: Enrol to have your say in the postal plebiscite

Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Glenn Davies, has recorded a brief video message, and has written to Sydney Anglicans with an encouragement to participate in the postal plebiscite.

His letter may be downloaded from this link (PDF file). We have reproduced the text below:  Read more

New Head for Anglican EdComm

“Anglican EdComm, the Education Commission of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney has announced the appointment of Stephen Kinsella as its next Executive Director.

Mr Kinsella, who is currently Headmaster of The Illawarra Grammar School will take up his new appointment in early 2018.”

– Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
(Photo: The Illawarra Grammar School.)

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