The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Today marks 70 years since Queen Elizabeth II acceeded to the throne, on the death of her father King George VI.
Her Majesty has gone on to reign longer than any other British Monarch in history, and to become a beloved figure around the world – one who is unashamed to speak of the Lord Jesus.
Whatever your view of the British Monarchy, do be encouraged to pray for her, and to give thanks for her long, stable reign. As the Apostle Paul exhorts us,
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-6.
Photo:
Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with Bishop Jack Dain outside St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, on 13 March 1977. Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane is at the Queen’s side, and Bishop John Reid is at centre. At right, Dean of the Cathedral, Lance Shilton, stands with Prince Philip. Photo courtesy Ramon Williams.
In his biography of Archbishop Loane, “From Strength to Strength”, ACL Emeritus Vice-President Allan M. Blanch writes, on page 317,
At a special cathedral service on 13 March, the Archbishop preached from Revelation 21 about the City of God. He referred to Augustine of North Africa who, in the fifth century, ‘with the destroyers rapidly approaching the city … gave himself to contemplation of the City of God’.
Loane spoke of the citizens of that heavenly city: ‘They will suffer neither from poverty nor misery, from pain nor vice, from sorrow nor crying … There will be no room for a permissive society, or an alternate culture, or a wealthy elite, or a down-trodden minority; there will be no place for political intrigue, or public wrangling, or partisan interests, or power struggles’.
He concluded by saying, ‘Therefore let us pray that the Silver Jubilee of an earthly reign will enlarge our vision of all that lies beyond the frontiers of earth and time, and will strengthen our resolve to live our lives for the glory of Jesus Himself who reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords for ever and ever. Amen.’ [Emphasis added.]
St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney is marking the anniversary at its services today.
Australia Day Honours 2022
“The foundation headmaster of Penrith Anglican College and the former Principal of St Luke’s Grammar School are among Sydney Anglicans recognised in the list of Australia Day honours. …”
– Australia Day news from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Please pray for 2022 Ordinands
A Media Release from the Diocese of Sydney names those who are scheduled to be ordained on Saturday 19th February.
Growing My Faith in the Face of Death
“I have spent a good part of my life talking with people about the role of faith in the face of imminent death. Since I became an ordained Presbyterian minister in 1975, I have sat at countless bedsides, and occasionally even watched someone take their final breath.
I recently wrote a small book, On Death, relating a lot of what I say to people in such times. But when, a little more than a month after that book was published, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I was still caught unprepared. …”
– Tim Keller, who in December shared that his cancer has progressed to ‘stage IV’, recently relinked to this article which he wrote for The Atlantic in March 2021.
And please do uphold Tim and his family in prayer.
See also:
Pastoring the city – Tim Keller on coming to Christ and learning to love the city – Part 1 of a December 2021 Q&A with Tim Keller by World Magazine.
“To make a long story very short, reading C.S. Lewis on pride helped me finally understand the depth of my sin as something that was not simply a matter of wrong behavior, but something profoundly wrong with my heart, identity, and outlook—and most of all, it was alienation from God. Underneath all the religiosity, I saw I was actually hostile to God. For the first time, I recognized the need for salvation by sheer grace. …”
Handling a hostile culture – Assessing how the Church is responding to shifting cultural pressures – Part 2 of December 2021 Q&A with Tim Keller by World Magazine.
“Every Sunday I preached, every meeting I taught, I took unpopular stands that went against the grain of center-city dwellers. I faced weekly—sometimes daily—opposition and hostility.
Redeemer Presbyterian Church is a conservative, evangelical church in secular, liberal Manhattan. Every single week I was telling people things that most considered absolutely outrageous, if not dangerous—Jesus is the only way to salvation; without believing in Him you are lost and going to hell; the Bible is true in every word and you must submit to it whether it fits your opinions or not; sex is only for a man and a woman in marriage; you should be radically generous with your money, and, if you are prosperous, you should adopt a modest lifestyle. And so on! …”
More good news from the Diocese of Bathurst
Good news for Parkes and Peak Hill – from the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:
“With great thankfulness to God, we share the news that Ben Mackay, following his ordination on 12th February, will be appointed Deacon-in-Charge of the parish of Parkes and Peak Hill. We are also thankful that the Rev’d Natalie Quince will continue to serve in the parish as Assistant Priest. (Ben pictured here with is wife Bron, and three children, Ella, James and Elijah.)”
– Please continue to pray that the Lord will raise up men and women to share the good news of Jesus in the cities and towns of the Diocese of Bathurst, and pray for Bishop Mark Calder in this key work.
The impact and ministry of the Archbishops wives
“The Archbishop’s wife is a key person in our Diocese, providing her own leadership and gifts in the service of the Lord Jesus, church members, her family and her husband.
In Sydney we have been blessed by a succession of godly and able women, whose contribution has been sometimes underappreciated but always invaluable.”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Simon Manchester asks Pam Goodhew, Christine Jensen, Di Davies and Cailey Raffel about their roles and experiences in working alongside their Archbishop husbands.
Bringing Jesus to a needy city
“It may have been a stormy night under COVID restrictions, but masks could not hide the enthusiasm as Canon Andrew (Sandy) Grant was installed as the new Dean of Sydney. …”
– Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net has this report on the Installation of Dean Sandy Grant.
Watch the entire service here.
Perseverance of gospel hearts
“It is always encouraging to be a part of College reunions, but even more so whilst being stuck at home during Covid lockdown.
Sitting at my kitchen bench, I was able to listen, absorb and learn from the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime of ministry experiences. The common denominator of all who were able to share online, was the perseverance of their gospel hearts.”
– At the Moore College website, Paula Darwin shares some stories from a recent online 50 year alumni reunion.
New ANiC Bishop Co-Adjutor Elect Announced
“The Anglican Network in Canada is pleased to announce the election at Synod 2021 of the Venerable Daniel Gifford as our Co-Adjutor Bishop.
Archdeacon Dan was elected by our Diocesan Synod on Thursday, November 18, 2021. …
Dan is currently the vicar of St John’s Vancouver Anglican church, serving with David Short who is rector of that parish.”
– From the Anglican Church in North America.
Now a different kind of pilot
“It’s been a different kind of journey in service.
From 2005, Flight Lieutenant Stephen Gibbins served in the Royal Australian Air Force as a C-17A Globemaster III pilot. Now Stephen has taken the final step to become a Chaplain. …”
– Great news from Defence Anglicans, and fuel for prayer.
Galeas off to Dubai
“It might have begun as a small group and grown into a multisite, disciple-making, church-planting parish, but one thing has never changed about Multicultural Bible Ministry – the desire to see lives transformed through Jesus Christ to the glory of God.
From March 1991 in a Blacktown loungeroom until now, in a purpose-built church at Rooty Hill, MBM has been led by the Rev Ray Galea and his wife Sandy. But almost 31 years to the day after they started the (then) Maltese Bible Ministry, the Galeas will leave the church they began …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Judy Adamson has news of a significant change for Ray and Sandy Galea.
(Image: Ray and Sandy share the news with their church last weekend.)
Peter Jensen gives thanks for Melvin Tinker
From GAFCON:
After learning of the death of Melvin Tinker, who went to be with his Lord on 23 November 2021, Archbishop Peter Jensen paid tribute to Melvin saying,
“Melvin spoke powerfully at Gafcon 2018 in Jerusalem. He had a gift for analysing the culture from the perspective of the gospel and calling on his listeners to live for Christ alone. He was very courageous and made it clear that loyalty to Jesus was the chief commitment we should all make, even if it means leaving our denomination. For him, the word of God was the light by which we should live. His testimony remains to inspire us.”
Melvin contributed to the Lift Up Your Hearts series of devotions in April this year and an interview ahead of that series can be heard here: Melvin Tinker Everyday Global Anglicans Interview.
Continue to uphold Melvin’s family at this time.
Melvin Tinker
Unwelcome news from Anglican Mainstream in the UK –
“We are sorry to report the death of Melvin Tinker early this morning, from a particularly virulent form of cancer.
Melvin was Vicar of St John’s Newland, Hull, for many years, and known more widely as a speaker and author.
In recent years he developed a unique prophetic analysis of Western secularism, saw its influence on the church, and expressed the urgent need for renewed faithfulness and commitment to biblical truth. This led to him leading his congregation out of the Church of England, into a new Anglican jurisdiction under Gafcon.
I also knew him as a warm hearted friend with a great sense of humour. He will be sadly missed, especially by his wife Heather and his children and grandchildren.
Further tributes will follow shortly.”
Melvin contributed the Lift Up Your Hearts devotions for GAFCON in April 2021.
His book That Hideous Strength: A Deeper Look at How the West was Lost has been a great help to many.
Update: Julian Mann at Christian Today has more.
Ordained for far and wide
“It’s a very great joy to be settting aside these men and women for this ministry,” said Archbishop Kanishka Raffel as he took his first ordination service as Archbishop. “I am reminded of my own deaconing service in St Andrew’s cathedral and I’m so grateful to God for his faithfulness.”
The Archbishop spoke as ordinands prepared to embark to ministries as wide afield as suburban Sydney to Darwin, Norfolk Island and the Seychelles. …
– Encouraging story from Russell Powell about the latest ordinations at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
New CEO for Anglicare Sydney announced
“This morning the chairman of Anglicare Sydney’s board, Greg Hammond, announced that the organisation’s new CEO is business consultant Simon Miller.
Mr Miller is managing director and senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group, and has many years’ experience advising company boards, executives and CEOs on everything from strategy to artificial intelligence. …
In addition, Mr Miller has been executive officer for the Sydney Diocese’s Social Issues Committee.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…