What if Colin Buchanan was Archbishop?

Posted on February 8, 2023 
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“Christian kids musician and entertainer Colin Buchanan joins Dominic Steele on The Pastor’s Heart, to answer questions submitted over the last few weeks plus a few questions that Colin wrote himself.

Plus Colin premiers a new song ‘If you have ever made a mess, say yes!’”

– Hilarious, encouraging and thoughtful – this week on The Pastor’s Heart.

Don’t miss the duet.

Men Meeting the Challenge Conference 2023

Posted on February 8, 2023 
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This year’s Men Meeting the Challenge Conference will be held at Arndell Anglican College, Oakville, on Saturday 25th March.

All the details are available at the conference website.

The Church of England faces a huge week

Posted on February 7, 2023 
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars, Opinion Comments Off on The Church of England faces a huge week

“One thing worse than Sam Smith’s performance at the Grammys is the revisionist Bishops in the Church of England who are this week gaslighting both the sheep under their care and deceiving the general public.

Presumably, Sam Smith thinks that dressing up in a satan costume and performing a song called ‘unholy’ is making some kind of loud and shocking creative statement. Perhaps someone could tell him, he’s doing nothing more than copying a longish line of musicians. It is all rather boorish, except that mimicking the very personification of evil isn’t a particularly bright idea.

Over in old England land, ecclesiastical leaders have taken up that ancient inquisition of the Devil, by suggesting, ‘Did God really say?”…”

– Murray Campbell in Melbourne summarises what’s happening in the Church of England and argues it has lessons for Australian churches.

Michael Calder appointed as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Wishart

Posted on February 7, 2023 
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From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page comes the news that the Rev. Michael Calder, who has been serving as Assistant at St Bart’s Toowoomba, has been appointed as as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Wishart in Brisbane.

Do pray for Michael and his wife Rachel and the St. John’s congregation, as well as for Peter Judge-Mears and his family and members of the church who formed Southern Cross Anglican Church, Southside late last year.

All Souls Langham Place Letter to the Bishop of London

Posted on February 7, 2023 
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Anglican Ink has published a letter from the PCC of All Souls’ Langham Place to the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly.

Here is the text.

“Friday 3rd February 2023

Dear Bishop Sarah,

We are writing to you as the PCC of All Souls, Langham Place to express our concern and sadness at the response that has been presented by the House of Bishops as the outcome of Living in Love and Faith.

Both the response and the draft prayers abandon confidence in the goodness and authority of God’s Word and in doing so they move the Church of England away from her historic formularies, which are foundational to our life together in London, England and as part of the global Anglican Communion. While the response states that there is to be no change in the Biblical doctrine of marriage, in practice they are that.

At a very practical level these materials undermine the Biblical call to discipleship: a call to put aside one’s self in a desire to live in response to all that our Lord Jesus has done for us. This is particularly true for many in our church family who have chosen to abstain from sex outside marriage, regardless of their sexuality. We are deeply saddened that these prayers devalue the difficult road they have travelled by communicating that sex outside of marriage is not sinful but actually something they can receive a blessing for. This is wrong.

We particularly grieve for those members of our congregation and the wider Church who are same sex attracted and whose Biblical convictions mean they are single and abstinent against a culture that encourages them to be otherwise. Their daily battle of faithfulness is intense yet their voice is absent from the Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith. This is incredibly sad.

We share in the Bishops’ apology expressed in the pastoral letter for homophobia in the Church and acknowledge that we have not loved LGBTQI+ individuals always in the ways that we should have.

Church has too often been a place where people feel unable even to say they are same sex attracted or struggling with their gender identity and we need to work harder so that is no longer the case. But church has also been a place where people find freedom through finding their identity in Christ, joy in knowing unconditional love and peace in the forgiveness of Jesus. All of us are fallen and sinful and we all are called to repent before the Lord Jesus. As drafted, the prayers of Love and Faith now teach every sexually active unmarried couple that repentance is not needed. If believed, this denies people the joy of stepping away from those things God has called sinful into new life in him. We cannot participate in such a departure from Biblical Christianity.

These proposals leave us in a very difficult position with regard to episcopal oversight. This is a further point of particular sadness – we have greatly valued your ministry to us, your support and your commitment to mutual flourishing. We would like to be clear that we will continue to maintain the strong partnership we have with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

In considering our position, we are also mindful of our partnership with the global Anglican church and also with smaller orthodox churches within the London diocese and across England and our desire to stand with them in upholding historic Anglican theology.

We ask that you encourage the London bishops to clarify their personal position shortly by stating whether they intend to endorse or otherwise use the Prayers of Love and Faith. We presume that your proposing of the motion at General Synod is an endorsement of the prayers and signals your intention to authorise them for use within the diocese – please correct us if that assumption is wrong. Clarity on this will help our PCC discussions over the coming months as we seek to work out what this means for our relationship with the London diocese.

Given the current proposals, the PCC voted this week to pause all Common Fund payments until we know the outcome of General Synod and have taken the time necessary to work through the implications of any decisions coming from it. Please know that this decision was not taken lightly or with any joy but is a reflection of the degree of concern we have with the response and draft text that have been presented by the House of Bishops.

We will of course continue to pray for you and for the Church of England as a whole.

Your sincerely,

The All Souls Langham Place PCC.”

See it here.

Image: All Souls Langham Place.

Church Society Podcast: This week at General Synod

Posted on February 6, 2023 
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The latest Church Society podcast:

“General Synod is meeting from 6th – 9th February 2023 to discuss, amongst other things, the bishops’ proposals for blessing same-sex relationships and covenanted friendships in church.

In this episode of the podcast, Ros Clarke explains to Lee Gatiss what will be happening on each day of the Synod and how you can pray for those who will be participating.”

– A bit of background to this week’s Church of England General Synod.

British Muslims express ‘Deep Concern’ over Church of England ‘Gay Blessing’ proposals – and ‘Identity Politics’ in Church Schools

Posted on February 6, 2023 
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“Muslim leaders have expressed their “deep concern” that their convictions that marriage can only be between one man and one woman, and over ‘identity politics’ in CofE schools were not sought by Church of England bishops ahead of next week’s General Synod crunch debate on ‘gay blessings’ in the ‘Established church’.

The leader of the oldest representative group of British Muslims has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury expressing frustration that the proposals have not been discussed with leaders of the other main faiths in Britain – despite many joint meetings of faith leaders on other topics at Lambeth Palace these past six years – when the church has been considering changes to marriage and sexual ethics via the Living in Love & Faith (LLF) project. …”

– News via Anglican Mainstream.

MPs plan to put pressure on the C of E after Welby’s disestablishment remarks

Posted on February 5, 2023 
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“Lambeth Palace has expressed dismay at reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury told MPs that he would rather see the Church of England disestablished than split the Anglican Communion over the issue of same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Welby made the remarks in a private meeting with parliamentarians on Monday. …”

– Full story at The Church Times.

A Call to Pray for the Church of England General Synod

Posted on February 5, 2023 
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Please pray for the crucial Church of England’s General Synod meeting Monday to Thursday (6th – 9th February) this week.

A key issue facing the Synod will be the blessing of same-sex unions.

A pre-synod statement issued by the Church of England House of Bishops, while claiming to leave the Church’s doctrine of marriage intact, has recommended a decisive move towards the blessing of same-sex unions.

This is of serious concern for all those seeking to follow the teaching of Scripture.

Please pray:

Related news on the Church of England is available here on our website.

See also:

General Synod web page.

Sessions will be streamed live here.

 

For your own further edification, or if you are discussing these issues with friends or fellow believers, you may be helped by several chapters in our book The Line in the Sand – available for free download.

This book was produced last year by the Anglican Church League in partnership with the Australian Church Record.

Our aims were:

Of particular relevance are the following chapters:

To download the book and to hear or read the author interviews, please visit this link.

Top image: Church of England General Synod.

Posted on February 4, 2023 
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At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on the consecration – for the Diocese of North West Australia – of Bishop Darrell Parker:

“They came from all parts of Australia to see Bishop Darrell Parker consecrated as a bishop to serve the Diocese of North West Australia. But it was his former boss, the Bishop of Armidale Rod Chiswell, who summed up his task.

After a sermon from Titus chapter one, where the Apostle Paul exhorts Titus to appoint elders to the churches on Crete, Bishop Chiswell estimated there might be a similar number of churches in the Diocese of the North West.

He reminded the new Bishop of the sign over the doorway of the Armidale Diocese office which reads ‘Jesus is Lord’. ‘For people to have the certain hope of eternal life, we must keep speaking this truth in love,’ Bishop Chiswell (below) said. …”

– Read it all here.

Image of Mrs Elizabeth and Bishop Darrell Parker from the St. Andrew’s Cathedral lifestream.

Faithful [C of E general] synod member reported by bishop for ‘hate crime’

Posted on February 3, 2023 
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“A faithful member of the Church of England’s General Synod was reported by his bishop to the police for allegedly causing ‘offence’ over promoting a Biblical view of sex and gender.

The Bishop of Coventry capitulated to pressure from LGBT campaigners by reporting lay member of Synod, Sam Margrave, to the police for an alleged ‘hate crime’ after Mr Margrave campaigned online against Queer Theory and the sexualisation and grooming of children.

It is believed to be the first time that such action has been taken against a general synod member for activity on their Twitter account. …”

– Story from Christian Concern in the UK.

Photo: Christian Concern.

‘LGBTQIA+ Anglicans [in Melbourne] standing proud amid same-sex marriage debate’

Posted on February 3, 2023 
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“LGBTQIA+ Anglicans in Melbourne are celebrating during the city’s annual Midsumma Festival amid news Church of England bishops have continued to prohibit same-sex marriages within the church.

The Midsumma Festival, which runs in January and February each year, is a month-long event showcasing LGBTQIA+ arts and culture. The festival was first held in 1988.

Churches and religious organisations have been involved with the festival for years. …”

– Story from The Melbourne Anglican.

(Photo: St. Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne as the backdrop for an evangelist’s sign on Princes Bridge.)

How do I pray for central west NSW?

Posted on February 3, 2023 
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Here’s a brief video from The Bush Church Aid Society’s National Director, the Rev Greg Harris.

Freedom for Faith NSW Election Candidate Forums

Posted on February 2, 2023 
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From Freedom for Faith:

“Freedom for Faith is collaborating with churches across NSW to help them host forums for major candidates of the NSW Election on March 25.

At each event, some set questions will be asked about religious freedom and other issues of concern to most Christians, and questions will be taken from the floor.

The following events are in the process of being planned in electorates across NSW. With over 50 events planned, most electorates have an event, or have one nearby. …”

– See the details here.

See also:

Faith, democracy and the election – Bishop Michael Stead at SydneyAnglicans.net.

“The NSW state election will be held on March 25. This provides an opportunity for Christians to exercise their democratic rights as citizens of this state to engage with those we elect to govern us for the next four years. …”

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate Letter to the Bishop of London

Posted on February 1, 2023 
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St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has sent this letter to the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly –

“In light of St Helen’s prior letters and discussions, it will not surprise you that we regard both the House of Bishops’ Report and the Draft Worship Resources as unbiblical, contrary to the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England, and therefore entirely inappropriate.”

Here is the full text:

Monday 30 January 2023
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullaly DBE
The Old Deanery
Dean’s Court
London EC4V 5AA

By email and post

Dear Bishop Sarah,

Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith

As the members of the PCC’s standing committee, we are writing on behalf of the St Helen Bishopsgate PCC, and our various congregations, to express our grave disappointment and concern at the House of Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith.

In light of St Helen’s prior letters and discussions, it will not surprise you that we regard both the House of Bishops’ Report and the Draft Worship Resources as unbiblical, contrary to the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England, and therefore entirely inappropriate.

Three aspects cause us particular concern.

First, as you know, for many years the St Helen’s Church family has been a safe place for a significant number who live with same sex attraction, but who seek to live a celibate life in accordance with God’s commands. They are greatly encouraged by knowing that they are loved and included within the body of Christ at St Helen’s. The pastoral damage from the House of Bishops decisions for these members of Christ’s flock is very significant. We have been hearing since the announcement about how they are being affected personally by it.

Secondly, we find the House of Bishops’ Report to be disingenuous. It pays lip service to the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage, while commending a means by which, in practical terms, the doctrine of marriage may be circumvented and undermined. It is a pretence to suggest that these prayers neither equate with the blessing of same sex marriage, nor contravene the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage. Even within the press conference last Friday, the bishops on the panel, including yourself, contradicted many of the claims made in the Report.

Thirdly, the autocratic nature of the process appears to have bypassed the elected clergy and laity of the General Synod.

We find it deeply disturbing that, as the diocesan bishop, you made clear in your answers to questions that you expect that same sex, sexual, relationships will be blessed by clergy in the Church of England.

We wrote to you prior to the completion of this process to indicate that steps such as you have taken will inevitably further affect our already broken partnership with the House of Bishops. We shall await the conclusion of the General Synod in February before seeking a conversation about the provision which will be necessary for those forced by your decision into having no acceptable episcopal oversight.

Whilst we await developments and give prayerful consideration to our response, the PCC has asked us to pause our current contributions to Common Fund.

Yours sincerely,

Revd William Taylor, pp Jeremy Anderson CBE, pp Andrew Ross, pp Paul Simpkin, pp Andrew Wales.

Source: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.

Photo of Bishop Sarah Mullaly: Bishop of London’s website.

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