Remembering C S Lewis 60 years on

Sixty years ago today (22nd November 1963) C S Lewis died.

Also on that day, US President John F Kennedy was assassinated.

Albert Mohler devotes his The Briefing for 22 November 2023 to remembering JFK.

Image: Christianity Today.

Thanksgiving for Alistair and Susan Begg’s 40 years of gospel service at Parkside Church

On the weekend, members of Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, gave thanks for 40 years of gospel service by Alistair and Susan Begg.

A special service was held, memories were shared, thanks were given to the Lord, and messages were received from friends around the world (including John Woodhouse and Dick Lucas).

– Watch here.

A unique memorial: The John Francis Cash Memorial Chapel at Moore College

This Remembrance Day, learn a little about the John Francis Cash Memorial Chapel at Moore Theological College –

“John Francis Cash was the first Sydney civilian to volunteer for the RAAF after the outbreak of World War 2, and the chapel built in his memory may be considered to honour the memory of all the young Australian men killed in that conflict but have no grave or other memorial. …”

– in 2020, Erin Mollenhauer, Senior Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Moore College’s Donald Robinson Library, penned this introduction.

(Click the image for a larger version, courtesy of Moore College.)

John Newton’s 1767 Diary

“Some authors wait a long time to see their work reach publication. In Newton’s case, the wait for this one has been 256 years!

Rhys Bezzant, Dean of the Anglican Institute at Ridley College, comments: ‘1767 was a remarkable year in the life of John Newton, not least because he travelled extensively and subsequently moved into a new rectory. In his Diary of this year we learn about his aching soul, his busy schedule, his pastoral heart, and his prodigious correspondence. Here we meet no detached preacher elevated above his congregation, but someone who wrestled with the meaning of a text and engaged honestly with his parishioners concerning his own future in Olney…’

In 1767 John Newton kept a small pocket diary of the sort we might buy today, with one page for recording the week’s events and the opposite page for keeping a record of accounts. You would be excused for thinking that the transcript would be brief, but somehow this has morphed into an illustrated 72-page A4 edition, augmented with illustrations and illuminating footnotes, published by The John Newton Project. …”

– Marylynn Rouse at the John Newton Project in the UK has been working to open windows into the life and thinking of someone who has had a huge influence worldwide.

Read about it at AP, the national journal of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.

The Diary for 1767 is available from johnnewton.org/shop.

See also:

Lord hast thou not a time for these poor benighted souls? – John Newton’s prayer for ‘poor benighted souls’ on the other side of the world.

Howard Guinness and the beginnings of evangelical university ministry in Australia

At an event at Moore College on 1st November, Dr Ruth Lukabyo spoke on the legacy of Dr Howard Guinness –

“Dr Howard Guinness, of the well-known Irish brewing family, was sent to Australia in 1930 by Inter-Varsity Fellowship to develop Christian student groups on university campuses. His visit was the catalyst for the establishment of Sydney University and Melbourne University Evangelical Unions on the basis of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

During his later parish ministry in Broadway and Vaucluse, his ongoing involvement in EU missions has left a lasting legacy in university campus ministry.”

– The video is now available to watch. (At time of posting, the event begins 37 minutes and 30 seconds into the video, though the video might later be edited.)

At the end of Dr Lukabyo’s presentation, Mary Jones, Howard’s daughter, shares recollections of her father.

Related:

Remembering Howard Guinness.

Howard and Dorothy Mowll – Global Anglican Pioneers

Published recently by Latimer Publications in the UK, “Howard and Dorothy Mowll – Global Anglican Pioneers” is sure to be of interest to many.

From the Latimer Trust website:

“God’s blessing upon the Diocese of Sydney in the election of Howard Mowll as its sixth Diocesan Bishop in 1933 is clearly evident in these pages.

Despite the inadvertent loss of his personal papers, the authors of this fine anthology provide an insightful and informative account of the ministry of Archbishop Mowll across four continents. These scholarly chapters provide a rich tapestry of the outstanding leadership of Mowll not only in the Diocese of Sydney but throughout Australia and beyond. His zeal for a robust theological education, energetic evangelism and a vision for youth ministry made a formidable impact on Evangelical Anglicanism in Sydney.

This book is long overdue in celebrating the legacy of Howard Mowll, arguably the most significant and effective Archbishop of Sydney of the twentieth century.

Glenn N Davies, Archbishop of Sydney 2013-2021.”

The book has its origin in the 2021 Moore College Library Day and is edited by Erin Mollenhauer, Senior Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Moore College’s Donald Robinson Library.

It’s available direct from Latimer Trust – and also via these booksellers.

Tribute to Roger Beckwith

“Latimer House’s warden from 1962 was an up-and-coming evangelical theologian, James I. Packer. His deputy from 1963 as Latimer House librarian was Roger Beckwith, a young church historian and liturgist.

An Oxford graduate, Beckwith had served his first curacy at St Peter’s, Harold Wood, in east London, a parish with a long evangelical history, followed by four years as tutor at Tyndale Hall, Bristol…”

– For the Latimer Trust, Andrew Atherstone has written this tribute to Roger Beckwith, who was called home last Saturday.

David Short shares his Journey of Faith; Leadership and Surviving a Split in the Anglican Church of Canada

“The tectonic plates of global Anglicanism have shifted and are realigning around the theology of Scripture and the gospel.

The shifting surfaced first in our diocese which was strongly theologically liberal. When the bishop announced he would proceed with the blessing of same sex unions, we walked out of Synod and appealed for alternative episcopal oversight from the Canadian house of bishops. The bishop brought charges against us and we then entered years of processes from the national and international church – all under the hostility and threats of the diocese.

It was our view that we had not left anything, but it was in fact the diocese which had abandoned biblical historical orthodoxy. …”

– David Virtue speaks with David Short, Moore College graduate who continues to serve Christ in Vancouver.

Related:

The Good Fight of Faith – Links to a 2022 interview with David and Bronwyn Short by Simon Manchester for Southern Cross magazine – and other relevant pages.

Many other posts on this website.

Image: David during a GAFCON online tribute to J I Packer in 2020.

Canberra & Goulburn Diocese gives thanks for Professor John White

“John White was a longtime parishioner of St John’s, Reid, and former Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at ANU. He is widely known in the scientific community for his work on neutron scattering, was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford.

John was Chairman of the Oxford-Australia Scholarships Committee and held a number of other significant roles during his long and accomplished life.

John was passionately interested in the relationship between Christianity and Science. He was a founder and former President of ISCAST (Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology), and a member of the Council Wycliffe Hall (Oxford) and St Mark’s National Theological College (Canberra). …”

– The latest issue of Anglican News from the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn includes a tribute to Professor John White. See pages 12-14 of the Sept / Oct 2023 edition (PDF file).

New appointments in Bathurst Diocese

News from earlier this week –

“With great thanks to God, Bishop Mark Calder has announced today the appointment of the Rev’d Andrew Thornhill as Rector of Dubbo from February 2024, and the Rev’d Tim St Quintin as Rector of Cudgegong Valley from April 2024. (This parish includes Mudgee, Gulgong, Rylstone and Kandos.)

Please remember Andrew and Kath and Tim and Sarah in your prayers, along with their families, as well their current parishes (Coonabarabran and Cremorne respectively) as they adjust to this news.”

– Via the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page.

Photo: Andrew Thornhill with Bishop Mark Calder, and Tim & Sarah St Quintin.

John Anderson in conversation with Glen Scrivener

From JohnAnderson.net.au:

“In this interview, John sits down with author, minister and director of Speak Life, Glen Scrivener for a conversation on how the Christian worldview has shaped our society.

Glen does a fantastic job communicating how thoroughly the Christian ethic has shaped and still continues to shape our culture today. Most remarkably, Glen highlights how even many of Christianity’s biggest detractors’ arguments are based on presuppositions that are fundamentally Christian in nature.”

– Fascinating and worth watching. This would be a very helpful video to share with anyone who wants to know that Christians believe.

At JohnAnderson.net.au – or see YouTube for a version with time markers to jump topics discussed.

See also:

Want to Reach the World? Evangelize the Church — Glen Scrivener at The Gospel Coalition.

Speak Life.

Howard Guinness and the beginnings of evangelical university ministry in Australia

Coming up at Moore College on Wednesday 1st November –

“Dr Howard Guinness, of the well-known Irish brewing family, was sent to Australia in 1930 by Inter-Varsity Fellowship to develop Christian student groups on university campuses. His visit was the catalyst for the establishment of Sydney University and Melbourne University Evangelical Unions on the basis of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

During his later parish ministry in Broadway and Vaucluse, his ongoing involvement in EU missions has left a lasting legacy in university campus ministry.

Dr Ruth Lukabyo will examine Dr Guinness’ work and legacy in this free event.”

– Details and booking from the College.

For more background see:

Remembering Howard Guinness – including Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane’s sermon at the funeral of Dr. Guinness in 1979.

Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane remembers the beginnings of the SUEU – audio recording from 1980.

Global Encouragement for Wales

In this media release from the Anglican Convocation in Europe, Bishop Stuart Bell writes about last week’s visit of Archbishop Ben Kwashi to Wales –

“Archbishop Ben was the guest of the Evangelical Fellowship of the Church in Wales meeting with Anglican leaders for 24 hours (28-29 September) at the Hookses, the retreat of the late John Stott in Dale, Pembrokeshire.  In one session he spoke of what God is doing more widely in the Anglican communion and in another he gave encouragement from the Scriptures and from his own experience that we should stand firm.  ‘We have nothing in Nigeria’, he said, ‘so if we give up Christ then we would have less than nothing; whereas if you in the west were to give up Christ you still would have your comfortable lifestyle.’

‘The church has delegated the care of persecuted Christians to other organisations.’ It seems so wrong that the church should pass motions about climate change and human sexuality but at the same time seem to ignore the suffering of fellow Christians who are being persecuted around the world.

During the following 24 hours (29-30 September) he spoke at the Wales Leadership forum.  On the Friday evening he was interviewed about his own Christian experience and then he responded to questions from the floor.  On the Saturday morning he spoke on the theme of hope in a bruised and broken world.  He based his address on the concluding words of Habakkuk inviting us to rejoice however difficult our circumstances might be.  Those comments come from a man who has lived through the killings of more than 50,000 Christians in Nigeria and the burnings of hundreds of churches in his own diocese.  ‘If we embrace homosexuality,’ he said, ‘then that would give the Muslims one more reason to kill us’.

Not only has Archbishop Ben faced death by the hands of murderous opponents, but more recently he has faced death from stage four cancer on two separate occasions.  He retired from his ministry in Jos on 30th September whilst he was with us, only to continue his ministry as General Secretary of Gafcon but now moving to a new compound where his wife will be caring for 400 orphans.  That’s fruitful living!”

– Received via e-mail.

The Legacy of Charles Christopher Godden – A Testament to Faith

Mark Earngey, Head of Church History at Moore College, shares the story of Moore College graduate Charles Christopher Godden 1876-1906.

For more on C. C. Godden, see

“Let there be peace”: the spiritual legacy of C.C. Godden – Moore College.

A unique memorial: the John Francis Cash Memorial Chapel after 70 years – Moore College.

Images: Moore College.

New book on the Peter Cameron Presbyterian “Heresy trial”

Many Sydney Anglicans will remember the so-called ‘heresy trial’ of Presbyterian minister Dr Peter Cameron.

It began in 1992 when Dr Cameron, the Principal of St Andrew’s College at the University of Sydney, spoke at a centenary women’s event at Ashfield where he referred to the Bible as ‘sub-Christian’. In response to the apostle Paul teaching about women, he replied, ‘So what?’.

The disciplinary proceedings came about not because Dr Cameron was in favour of women’s ordination (even though most media reports claimed that was the case), but because he dismissed the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture (not just in that sermon, but on other occasions).

The Presbyterian Church had to make a crucial decision. Would they accommodate theological liberalism as did the Uniting Church which they had declined to join fifteen years earlier?

Now, thirty years on, Paul Cooper and David Burke have edited a series of essays exploring what happened and why –

From the back cover of the book:

“In 1992, the Presbyterian Church of Australia through its disciplinary procedures convicted one of its ministers, the Rev Dr Peter Cameron, Principal of St Andrew’s College, of what the newspapers of the time called ‘heresy’. The secular media and commentary were strongly supportive of Cameron and highly critical of the Church.

Cameron, in 1994, published ‘Heretic’ which told the story from his point of view.

This book, Principle & Principal, invites the reader to consider the other side of the Cameron Case. It reflects a different bias to that propagated by Cameron and his supporters. It tells why the Presbyterian Church took this action knowing that it would result in an avalanche of criticism. While over thirty years have passed since the finalisation of the Cameron Case, and the ranks of those involved have thinned, many of the chapters in this book are written by people who participated in these events.”

Campbell Markham at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Hobart has written this review for AP.

– Details and ordering information from Eider Books.

Related:

The Crisis of ’77 – personal reflections by the Rev Bob Thomas on the decision of Presbyterians to ‘continue Presbyterian’.

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