How I came to know Jesus – Annabel Nixey
“When my parents bought a house in Sydney in the early 80s, in God’s kindness, it was down the road from a church which loved Jesus and taught the Bible. It meant that I got to grow up hearing about Jesus the King.
My mum, in particular, modelled to me how to follow Jesus and the significance of prayer and Bible study. Even as a child I knew that her ‘quiet time’, reading the Bible in our front sitting room, was a treasured and protected time in her day.…”
– At The Australian Church Record, Annabel Nixey shares how she came to know the Lord Jesus.
Get to know Kara Hartley — Archdeacon for Women
“By God’s grace a neighbour invited me to youth group when I was in late high school.
Arriving at that youth group I encountered people I already had connections with from primary school. That kept me there. Over the course of two years, I think God slowly warmed my heart to the gospel. …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Simon Manchester shares an encouraging interview with Archdeacon Kara Hartley. (Also in the October 2021 Southern Cross.)
How I came to know Jesus – Jane Tooher
“A friend of mine named Helene became a Christian the year before I met her. Her sister took her to a Billy Graham Crusade, and she responded to the gospel. I met Helene at the beginning of high school, and she invited me to the lunchtime Christian group, ISCF. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Jane Tooher shares how she came to know Jesus.
Statement from the GAFCON Chairman on Michael Nazir-Ali
Gafcon Chairman Archbishop Foley Beach has released this statement –
“To the Gafcon faithful,
I am writing to you today to share the news that Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has joined The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. We are deeply grateful for Bishop Michael’s ministry over the years on behalf of the Gafcon movement. He is a stalwart defender of Christian orthodoxy, and my own faith has been enriched and encouraged by his witness and teaching.
Michael is a gift to the global Church, and he has shared with me his willingness to continue to assist the Gafcon movement in any way that might be suitable. While we are still exploring what this might look like, in the near term we look forward to continuing to partner with him in support of the suffering church. Please continue to keep Gafcon, the Nazir-Alis, and the whole Church in your prayers.
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Chairman, Global Anglican Future Conference
Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church in North America.”
Source: GAFCON.
Michael Nazir-Ali converts to Roman Catholicism
“Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester and one of the best-known Anglican clerics, could be ordained as a Catholic priest as early as next month.
The conversion of such a high-profile intellectual would be an enormous boost for the Catholic Ordinariate, set up by Pope Benedict XVI to receive Anglicans into the Roman church. …”
– via Damian Thompson at The Spectator.
More:
“Bishop Nazir Ali was received into the Catholic faith on September 29, the feast of St Michael and All Angels by Monsignor Keith Newton, the former Anglican who now leads the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham…”
Michael Nazir Ali received into the full communion of the Catholic Church – Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Heroes of the Faith: Apolo Kivebulaya
“Some heroes of the faith are forgotten and deserve rediscovery. One of these being Apolo Kivebulaya, a remarkable church worker in Africa for 40 years and a reminder of the way so many African Christians have spread Christianity on that continent.
Apolo was born into a peasant family in 1864 in Kampala in what is now Uganda…”
– Canon J. John writes of Apolo Kivebulaya in his series on Heroes of the Faith.
Many in Uganda and DR Congo still give thanks for Apolo Kivebulaya.
Also published at Christian Today. (Photo: via J. John.)
Iron sharpening iron
“One of the real privileges of studying at Moore College is the theological formation that takes place as you live and learn in a community. Studying with other men and women of different ages, from different backgrounds, and with experience in different ministries is invaluable to a robust preparation for ministry. Of course, learning takes place in classroom discussions, the reading of Scripture, and various other theological writings. However, the development and constructive critiquing of lived behaviour and ministry conduct is honed by going through the ebbs and flows of the mundane. …”
– Ben George at Moore College writes about the importance of living in community – and provides some links if you are able to assist the College in that aim.
Also at the College website is the sad news that Dr Will Timmins has resigned due to ill health. (Prayer point.)
How I came to know Jesus – Lionel Windsor
At The Australian Church Record, Lionel Windsor shares how he came to know Jesus.
Hint: A Scripture teacher was a part of the story!
How I came to know Jesus – Mike Leite
“The story of God’s grace and mercy in bringing me to faith in Jesus is very ordinary. Ordinary in the sense that mine is not a spectacular conversion story. God used ordinary means. He used ordinary people. And thus, mine is an ordinary story. …”
– More encouraging stories from The Australian Church Record.
John Chapman on the Anglican Church League
The late great John Chapman (“Chappo”) was interviewed by Phillip Jensen in 2012.
During the interview, he spoke about the importance of the Anglican Church League and its activities for the gospel in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and beyond.
The interview was on 19 June 2012 at Port Hacking. Chappo was called home just six months later, in November 2012.
Watch the three minute excerpt here.
The full interview can be seen here, and is also well worth your time (and is good for the heart). The segments excerpted start at 33:20, but enjoy the whole thing. Part 2 can be seen here.
Video courtesy Audio Advice.
See also: About us.
Community supports beloved bookseller
“It was a message that Karl Grice hoped never to write.
The unexpected and severe impact of Sydney’s second major lockdown, which is still ongoing, meant that just as things were starting to look up for the event-based Christian bookseller, everything came to a stop once more. …”
– SydneyAnglicans.net reports on The Wandering Bookseller and how you can support them.
And here’s The Wandering Bookseller’s website.
John Shelby Spong dies at 90
“Retired Newark Bishop John Shelby Spong, a bestselling author and cleric known for his progressive theology and his support of LGBTQ+ clergy in The Episcopal Church, has died. He was 90. …
Spong’s more than two decades as bishop coincided with a prolonged period of decline in The Episcopal Church. Conservatives criticized the kind of liberal theology promoted by Spong, who denied Christian doctrines like the virgin birth or the resurrection of Jesus.”
– Report from The Episcopal News Service. (Photo: ENS.)
How I came to know Jesus – Kirsten McKinlay
“Although I knew a lot of Bible stories, it wasn’t until a specific moment as a teenager that the overarching theme of the Bible, and the centre point of Christianity itself, made sense to me.
Until that moment, I was sure that being a nice and considerate person had earned me God’s favour. …”
– In another encouraging story from the ACR, Kirsten McKinlay shares how she came to Christ.
SparkLit Awards Author Interviews
The SparkLit Awards Night was held last week, with Stephen McAlpine winning the Australian Christian Book of the Year Award for his book “Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World that Says You Shouldn’t” (available from The Wandering Bookseller and other Christian bookshops).
SparkLit has now released video interviews with shortlisted authors, including Professor Graeme Clark AC (pictured), inventor of the “bionic ear”.
On the SparkLit YouTube channel.
How I came to know Jesus — Scott Newling
“I do not know when God called me to salvation, and I am content with that because, whenever it was, my election has always been certain and sure. So the when of my calling is not so important to me: the fact of it is everything. Nevertheless, in God’s providence, the people of St John’s Asquith were instrumental in the path that led to my salvation, which I’ll always cherish and for which I’ll always be thankful. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Scott Newling shares the story of how he was saved. Thanks be to God.
See also:
How I came to know Jesus – Pip Taylor.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…