Dr Robert Tong thanked for 45 years of service on the Board of Moore College

From Moore Theological College:

“Dr Robert Tong was acknowledged for 45 years of faithful service on the College Board this month.

Robert has served under 6 Archbishops and 4 Principals and has always been motivated by his devotion to Christ and his gospel. We are greatly indebted to this gifted and faithful governor.”

Photo: Robert Tong with three College Principals – Mark Thompson, John Woodhouse and Peter Jensen.

– More photos here.

On a related note, The Anglican Church League is also grateful to the Lord for Robert’s long and faithful service as the Chairman of the ACL. He retired from that position at our Annual General Meeting last month. The ACL is immensely grateful for Robert’s wisdom and generosity over many years.

Kara Hartley appointed Faculty Member of Moore College

From Moore Theological College –

“The Moore College Governing Board has accepted the Principal’s nomination of Archdeacon Kara Hartley to join the College Faculty in January 2027 in a part-time capacity.

Kara is a graduate of the College (BD 2007, MA(Theol) 2019), has continued her involvement with it in many ways, and has extensive ministry experience, both lay and ordained, in the Diocese of Sydney. …”

– Read the full story from the College website.

Photo: Kara Hartley with Moore College Principal Mark Thompson.

Jono Squire to be Bishop of Wollongong

From SydneyAnglicans.net –

“A church planter from the greenfield suburbs of south-west Sydney has been appointed as the next Bishop of the Wollongong Region.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has announced the Reverend Jonathan Squire will follow Peter Hayward who has given significant service as Bishop of Wollongong since 2010. As is required, Mr Squire’s appointment was approved by Standing Committee.

Describing the Bishop-designate as a ‘capable and effective minister of the gospel, and a godly and able pastor and teacher’, Archbishop Raffel pointed to his work as rector of the Parish of Camden Valley, a region he has served for 20 years. …”

– See Russell Powell’s full story.

The Sydney Family Album 4 — William Macquarie Cowper

In 2011, Mark Thompson, now Principal of Moore College, published a series of posts, entitled “The Sydney Family Album”, for his website, Theological Theology.

We felt they merit wider distribution, so, with Mark’s kind permission, we are re-posting them on the ACL website, at the rate of one a week.

Here’s the fourth, a guest post by Peter Bolt on William Cowper.

If you’ve ever been confused about who the two William Cowpers were, this will help!

“Together, the two William Cowpers were largely responsible for the strength and vitality of Evangelicalism in Sydney.”

Other posts in the The Sydney Family Album series (as we add them) are in our Resources section.

The Sydney Family Album 3 — William Cowper

In 2011, Mark Thompson, now Principal of Moore College, published a series of posts entitled “The Sydney Family Album”, for his website, Theological Theology.

We felt they merit wider distribution, so, with Mark’s kind permission, we are re-posting them on the ACL website, at the rate of one a week.

Here’s the third, a guest post by Peter Bolt on William Cowper.

Other posts in the The Sydney Family Album series (as we add them) are in our Resources section.

J. Gresham Machen: Where he died Is important

Michael Horton shares this insight into the life of J. Gresham Machen –

“Already frail in health, J. Gresham Machen kept his appointment to preach in North Dakota. For someone reared in Machen’s world, the Presbyterian Church was far from being a ‘little flock,’ as Jesus described his church (Luke 12:32). It was powerful in every area of civil and social life.

From a family of Baltimore elites, Machen, born in 1881, had a Harvard Law School–trained Episcopalian father (Arthur Webster Machen) and a Presbyterian mother, Mary Jones Gresham. It was his mother who had the greater influence on his life, teaching her son Greek, Latin, and the classics as well as piano. He enjoyed regular Sunday dinners with Woodrow Wilson and his family after the morning service at Princeton’s Nassau Presbyterian Church. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition.

The Sydney Family Album 2 — Samuel Marsden

In 2011, Mark Thompson, now Principal of Moore College, penned a series of posts entitled The Sydney Family Album, for his website, Theological Theology.

We felt they merit wider distribution, so, with Mark’s kind permission, we are re-posting them on the ACL website, at the rate of one a week.

Here’s the second, a guest post by David Pettett on Samuel Marsden.

Related:

Sunday sermons shed light on pioneer – SydneyAnglicans.net, December 2016.

In the Library: Books and Reading with Peter Adam

The Gospel Coalition Australia has republished this 2016 interview with Peter Adam on reading and Christian books –

“I remember my first day at Sunday School at the age of 11. The teacher told us that God did not like new clean Bibles: he much preferred Bibles which looked well-used. So when I got home I got out my new Bible, scribbled in the margins, and loosened some pages. Surely God would approve! …”

– Read it here.

Mark Earngey’s New Book

From Moore College –

“A recent book by Moore College faculty member, Dr Mark Earngey, offers a major new study of John Ponet (1516-1556), one of the most significant yet often overlooked figures of the early English Reformation.

John Ponet (1516-1556): Scholar, Bishop, Insurgent (Brill) draws on newly discovered archival material and a reconstructed catalogue of Ponet’s personal library to provide the most comprehensive account of his life and thought to date.

Earngey first encountered Ponet while undertaking postgraduate research at Oxford into the life and theology of Thomas Cranmer.

‘I realised that the little-known but prodigious Ponet was patronised by Cranmer and became his right-hand theologian,’ he says. ‘When I began work on Ponet an avalanche of new manuscript material came to light, and the project in recovering his story began!’

The book presents Ponet as a leading scholar, bishop and reformer whose influence extended across theology, church leadership and political thought. Earngey traces Ponet’s role in advancing evangelical reform during the reigns of Henry VIII (as Cranmer’s chaplain) and Edward VI (as Cranmer’s theological advisor) and examines his later writings during the reign of Mary I, in which he became one of the earliest English Reformation voices to argue for a limited monarchy and resistance to tyranny.

The research also uncovered a number of significant discoveries about Ponet and his influence.…”

– Read the full article here.

William Tyndale: The most important Englishman in history?

“William Tyndale was the first person to translate the New Testament into English from Greek, and this was the first NT printed in English. It had an immense impact on the English-speaking world, which reverberates down into our own time. …”

– Tony Watkins at Tyndale House in Cambridge has this sketch of the life and importance of William Tyndale.

“In 2026, Tyndale House [celebrates] the 500th anniversary of the Tyndale New Testament (1526).

This anniversary marks a turning point in the history of the English Bible and an enduring reminder of why William Tyndale matters today: he placed the word of God into the hands of ordinary people, doing so with attention to the original languages and giving his life for this mission.”

Click this link for more.

Anglican Heroes: Katherine Brandon — Church Society podcast

From Church Society –

“Clare Heath-Whyte tells the story of Katherine Brandon’s life through 16th century England and Europe.

Born Katherine Willoughby, she first married Charles Brandon, one of Henry VIII’s closest friends, and later Richard Bertie, her Master of the Horse.”

– Listen here.

See a portrait by Hans Holding the Younger.

Ben Kwashi appointed Bishop of Chad

“The Most Rev. Benjamin Argak Kwashi, the retired Archbishop of Jos and former General Secretary of GAFCON, has been installed as Area Bishop for Chad in the Diocese of North Africa in the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ashley Null, Bishop of North Africa, told Anglican.Ink that Archbishop Kwashi was installed on 6 June 2026 ‘at my request of the Archbishop and the Province’ to serve as his Area Bishop for Chad. ‘So yes, Ben is my suffragan,’ Bishop Null said.

The installation was held in Cameroon, rather than Chad, at the invitation of Bishop Dibo Elango. Bishop Null said the venue was chosen because American clergy in the diocese, including the bishop, are not presently able to enter Chad, while Chadian clergy can face difficulty obtaining visas for other countries in the diocese. …”

– Report by George Conger at Anglican.Ink.

Photo: Anglican.ink.

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.

John Lennox interviewed on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett

Oxford mathematician and Christian apologist John Lennox in a brilliant interview –

“A powerful conversation on AI, God, hell, truth, and more.

John Lennox sat down with Steven Bartlett to discuss his life, his faith and his insights on what it means to be human in the age of AI on one of the biggest podcasts in the world.”

– Posted last week, and already seen by two million viewers, this interview with John Lennox is very much worth your time.

It’s 86 minutes long, so set aside the time. (Direct link on YouTube.)

Consider how you might share it with others – whether Christian or not.

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.

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