Anglicans warn of lonely heart at the centre of glittering city

“If Sydney were a person, she would have a loud laugh but a lonely heart.

The city’s Anglican archbishop, Peter Jensen, says ‘our glittering city contains so much loneliness’, and he is so concerned he has made it the theme of his Easter message…”

– from The Sydney Morning Herald. (Related: ‘Christians urged to reach out at Easter’.)

See the Archbishop’s message – and video files – here.

Daylight Saving ends Easter morning

In 2010, NSW Daylight Saving ends on Easter morning, April 4th.

Reserve Bank Governor uses ‘God given capabilities’

“Glenn Stevens used a charity breakfast in Sydney this morning to say he was using his god-given talents to do the job of managing the economy.…

Mr Stevens also responded to a direct question about his belief in God. ‘I would say that, despite claims to the contrary, there is a God. This is worth checking out and the critical issue people have to deal with is, was Jesus Christ who he claimed to be? If he wasn’t then you can forget about it, and if he wasn’t then I am living in a fool’s world…'”

– report from ABC News. (Photo: Reserve Bank.)

‘Easter Show bans Jesus’

“It’s a curious thing that an event bearing the name “Easter” has disallowed anything to do with the very thing Easter is all about – the death and resurrection of Jesus,”  – CEO of Bible Society NSW, Daniel Willis. Report from Eternity newspaper.

‘Calvinism is back’

“New Calvinism draws legions to the sermons of preachers like John Piper of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.

Here at CHBC, the pews and even rooms in the basement are filled each Sunday, mostly with young professionals. Since senior pastor Mark Dever brought Calvinist preaching here 16 years ago, the church has grown sevenfold. Today it is bursting at the stained-glass windows…”

– The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at the ‘New Calvinism’ – via Capitol Hill Baptist Church. (h/t Justin Taylor. Photo: Mary Knox Merrill / Christian Science Monitor.)

South Carolina defiant

At the 219th Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina yesterday, Bishop Mark Lawrence didn’t mince his words:

“It would be insufferable to see this great Diocese of South Carolina come under the sway of the same false gospel that has decked so much of The Episcopal Church with decorative destruction and dreadful decline.

Like those in the Church at Corinth with whom St. Paul was confronted, many within the leadership of The Episcopal Church have grown willful. They will have their way though it is contrary to the received teaching of God’s Holy Word, the trustworthy traditions of the Christian Faith, and the expressed will of the Anglican Communion—that rich multicultural body of almost 80 million Christians around the world, from many tribes, languages, peoples, and nations.…”

– and that was just the warm-up. Worth reading in full.

See also the text of key resolutions approved – including this one –

RESOLVED, That this 219th Convention acknowledges that for more than three centuries this Diocese has represented the Anglican expression of the faith once for all delivered to the saints; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that we declare to all that we understand ourselves to be a gospel diocese, called to proclaim an evangelical faith, embodied in a catholic order, and empowered and transformed through the Holy Spirit; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we promise under God not to swerve in our belief that above all Jesus came into the world to save the lost, that those who do not know Christ need to be brought into a personal and saving relationship with him, and that those who do know Christ need to be taught by the Holy Scriptures faithfully to follow him all the days of their lives to the Glory of God the Father.

(Photo of Bishop Mark Lawrence: Diocese of South Carolina.)

Installation of Archbishop Okoh

“The service lasted just under four hours and was worth every minute! Had it been on a weekend, there would have been ‘an explosion of numbers’ a bishop sitting next to me said…”

– Canon Chris Sugden writes from Abuja for Anglican Mainstream. He also provides a summary of the new Nigerian Primate’s sermon.

(Photo: Anglican Mainstream. Bishop Peter Tasker was present from Sydney.)

New Nigerian Primate from today

“The new Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), His Eminence, Most Reverend Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh will be installed today in Abuja. He becomes the fourth Primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.

He takes over from the Most Rev Peter Akinola who vacates his office today…”

– from This Day (Nigeria).

Pray for Moore College Mission 2010

Moore College missions start this weekend – and this is where to get help in praying for them.

Pray that Christ will be exalted.

Religious Education loses out in Ethics trial

“A pilot program introducing ethics classes at 10 different NSW public primary schools as an alternative to the current 30 minute weekly religious education classes begins next month. But less than four weeks before implementation, the scheme is already causing consternation and concern.

Rather than being complementary to primary schools’ religious education (SRE) classes as promised, ethics classes seem to be in direct competition and in their grab for students, are not restricting enrolment to those who have no religious affiliation and spend the weekly half-hour of religious instruction with supervised study and homework. …”

– see the full article from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

Related: An ethical dilemma – from The Spectator.

Where is the outrage?

“The evil, despicable massacre in Nigeria of some 500 Christian men, women and children has excited remarkably little international comment…”

– Andrew Carey’s article in the Church of England Newspaper has been republished by Anglican Mainstream.

Have an iPhone? Get the ESV

“For the first time, read the ESV Bible on your iPhone or iPod Touch, with or without an internet connection — for free. Record your own notes, highlight verses, save favourites, and share with friends.”

– from the ESV blog. Certainly worth a look.
(h/t Justin Taylor.)

“Another decisive moment”: Archbishop Peter Jensen on TEC Episcopal Election

The American Episcopal Election
Media Statement 18th March 2010

With the election of the Reverend Mary Glasspool, a partnered lesbian, as a Bishop in Los Angeles in The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion reaches another decisive moment. It is now absolutely clear to all that the national Church itself has formally committed itself to a pattern of life which is contrary to Scripture. The election of Bishop Robinson in 2003 was not an aberration to be corrected in due course. It was a true indication of the heart of the Church and the direction of its affairs.

There have been various responses to the actions of TEC over the years. Some have been dramatic and decisive, such as the creation of the Anglican Church of North America, an ecclesiastical body recognized by the GAFCON Primates as genuinely Anglican. For others, however, the counsels of patience have prevailed and they have sought a change of heart and waited patiently for it to occur. Those who have sought a middle course may be found both inside and outside the American Church.

This is a decisive moment for this ‘middle’ group. Their patience has been gentle and praiseworthy. But to wait longer would not be patience – it would be obstinacy or even an unworthy anxiety. Two things need to be made clear. First, that they are unambiguously opposed to a development which sanctifies sin and which is an abrogation of the word of the living God. Second, that they will take sufficient action to distance themselves from those who have chosen to walk in the path of disobedience.

Peter F. Jensen,
Archbishop of Sydney

Archbishop welcomes Papal Visit

The Archbishop of Canterbury today welcomed the official announcement that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI is to visit the UK in September at the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen:

“The Pope’s visit will be an opportunity to cement ties not only between the Holy See and the United Kingdom but also the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian churches in Scotland, England and Wales. I look forward particularly to welcoming Pope Benedict to Lambeth Palace on behalf of the Church of England.”

– Source.

Easter Theobabble

“Along with the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Presiding Bishop (in her role as Chief Pastor of the Episcopal Church [USA]) issues an annual “Easter message.” They have been remarkable, to say the least, by way of contrast with those which issue from Rome and Canterbury.

This latest product has to be one of the most alien messages ever imparted at Eastertide — since the very first Easter marked the commencement of the Christian church…”

– Read Alex Haley’s commentary on the TEC Presiding Bishop’s ‘Easter Message’.
Then read 1 Corinthians 15: 1–18.

← Previous Page — Next Page →