‘Jesus saves, but shattered Anglicans regret not having that luxury’
“The shaken Anglican Archbishop of Sydney admits he has wondered whether God had decided to punish his diocese.
Peter Jensen confessed yesterday to being grief-stricken by the size of the diocese’s $160 million financial loss and called on his faithful not be panicked or paralysed by the money crisis but to turn to God in ‘active faith’…”
– Linda Morris reports for The Sydney Morning Herald.
To see just what the Archbishop said, and how he said it, stay tuned for the audio and video of his Presidential Address to Sydney Synod. The text of his address is available here as a PDF file and includes a great deal of encouragement about Connect09.
And see also Archbishop gets personal by Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Diocese of North West Australia prayer notes
Keeping the people of North West Australia in your prayers? These prayer notes and letter from Bishop David Mulready will help – 630kb PDF file.
Missionary Diocese
“In Tasmania in 2000, the question was asked, ‘Bishop, what would you like from the diocese as you commence your episcopate?’ – The answer, ‘A website for the diocese.’ The diocese obliged. A new openness to change was evident. However, the much deeper challenge came when the bishop shared the vision of ‘Every Tasmanian committed to Jesus Christ’, declared that the diocese be known as ‘The Missionary Diocese of Tasmania’, and challenged every Anglican to live as a ‘missionary disciple’.
Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower has made available a chapter he wrote (PDF, Word) for the book “Facing the Future: Bishops Imagine a Different Church”, edited by Stephen Hale and Andrew Curnow.
“In Tasmania in 2000, the question was asked, ‘Bishop, what would you like from the diocese as you commence your episcopate?’ – The answer, ‘A website for the diocese.’ The diocese obliged. A new openness to change was evident. However, the much deeper challenge came when the bishop shared the vision of ‘Every Tasmanian committed to Jesus Christ’, declared that the diocese be known as ‘The Missionary Diocese of Tasmania’, and challenged every Anglican to live as a ‘missionary disciple’.
These strong statements of missional intent highlighted the commencement of intentional deep change in the Anglican Church in Tasmania…”
(h/t and photo: Diocese of Tasmania.)
Anglicans: Sydney Style
With Sydney’s Synod starting on Monday, ABC TV’s Compass is looking at the diocese on Sunday night at 9:55pm. Might be worth checking out.
“Sydney is home to a third of Australia’s Anglicans. The Diocese is well known for being staunchly evangelical, for opposing the ordination of women and for its emphasis on the Biblical and personal conversion. This programs looks at the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, its spiritual battle against modernising trends and the evangelical ministry at the heart of its identity.”
Newcastle Synod this weekend
The Synod of the Diocese of Newcastle meets this weekend and will discuss the first ever Strategic Plan for the diocese –
Bishop Brian Farran said, “With more than 500 people across the Diocese involved in the development of the Diocesan Strategic Plan it is worthy of celebration. The consultation process has been broad and judicious. The Diocesan Strategic Plan provides us with a language with which to express our hopes and dreams to be a missional church.”
– from the Diocese of Newcastle website. PDF file. Doubtless, members of the Synod would appreciate prayer for their meeting.
Oct 2009 Australian Church Record online
The latest edition of The Australian Church Record is now online and is available as a free PDF download, thanks to the people at ACR.
What does it mean to be Anglican?
Mark Thompson, ACL President, has been writing about this question at his blog –
“To many, perhaps too many, the answer to this question is probably ‘Who cares?’ In a post-denominational age, Anglican identity might be an interesting historical question but it hardly has relevance for contemporary Christian living. What is more, fearing denominationalism, some would prefer to abandon all talk of Anglicanism. Denominations can become idols, can’t they?…”
What does it mean to be Anglican? I
What does it mean to be Anglican? II
See also Mark’s recent talk on The 39 Articles and Global Anglicanism from the Confess or Die Conference.
Melbourne Diocese Synod Charge 2009
“My charge to you tonight is a call to a deeper relationship with Christ, a call to faithful Christian ministry both as clergy and lay Christians, a call to Christian witness in our daily lives, a call to prayer, a call to love one another and a call to share in the creation of a vision for the Diocese of Melbourne for the next five years and beyond.”
– from Archbishop Philip Freier’s address to the Melbourne Synod on Thursday night (PDF file).
Related: Press release from Anglican Media Melbourne.
Conservative worshippers prepare for their exodus
“The people of St. Luke’s Anglican Church have called their La Crescenta parish home for 85 years. Generations of families have grown up within its historic stone walls.
On Sunday, the Rev. Rob Holman will deliver his final sermon there, an epitaph to a bruising legal fight the congregation waged and lost to practice its conservative brand of Christian theology and hold on to the church.
On Monday, St. Luke’s leaders will hand over its keys to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. …”
– Story from The Los Angeles Times. (Graphic: St. Luke’s Crescenta Valley.)
Plan for women C of E bishops put on hold
“Plans to consecrate women bishops in the Church of England have been delayed by at least four years in an attempt to avoid mass defections by opponents of women’s ordination. Church legislators have backtracked on a decision made by the General Synod, the Church’s governing body, last year to consecrate women bishops with minimal concessions to opponents.”
– report from Times Online.
(Photo: Australian women bishops Barbara Darling and Kay Goldsworthy – by Janine Eastlake / Anglican Media Melbourne.).
If life has meaning, death is an outrage
“It has been a good couple of months for the celebrating of life at memorial services. First, there was the celebration of Michael Jackson’s life and then there was Ted Kennedy, enfant terrible turned elder statesman. Both men, in their different ways, were proof positive that, in modern America, you only need to love your own kids and then at some point die in order to atone for any sins you may have committed against other people’s beloved sons and daughters…”
– Carl Trueman’s latest commentary at Reformation21 is well worth reading. How might reflection on these things help our conversations? (Photo: Westminster Seminary.)
David Letterman and cosmic captivity
“The Scripture says that Satan’s reign over this present order is by holding us captive through the slavery of the ‘fear of death’ (Heb 2:15). And why are all humans afraid of death? Because, like Letterman’s letter in the back of the car, our conscience is pointing us to judgment, with a ‘black box’ of evidence of our guilt (Rom 2:15-16).”
– Russell Moore at SBTS writes on ‘What David Letterman can teach us about the Gospel’. (h/t Tim Challies.)
“In human terms we lost” — Bp Bob Duncan
“We lost. In human terms we lost. Bishop and Standing Committee, together with Board of Trustees, thought we understood the document that was signed on our behalf in 2005 that ended the first phase of the Calvary lawsuit. But yesterday, the judge found against us on the basis of that document. …
We will take a time for further counsel and prayer, seeking God’s guidance on whether to file an appeal. …
The gospel for this Sunday is Mark 10:17-31, the rich young man. In the passage Jesus promises that those who are willing to leave everything to follow him “will receive back a hundredfold.” Jesus is speaking to us and to our situation. Now is the moment we are called to trust Him at His word. I am willing. Your leadership is willing. Are you?”
– from Bishop Robert Duncan’s Pastoral Letter on this week’s court ruling against the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican).
Diocese told to surrender assets
“An Allegheny County court awarded the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh more than $15 million in endowments, bank accounts and other assets that a secessionist diocese had sought to retain…”
– Latest on the moves by TEC to retain property claimed by the (Anglican) Diocese of Pittsburgh headed by Bishop Bob Dunbcan.
Story from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Engaging with our culture
The BeThinking.org website, run by the UCCF, has been around for a while. It contains a wide range of helpful talks Christians “understand, defend and communicate the Christian faith”.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…