How free is your religion?
Posted on October 24, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on How free is your religion?
Dr Andrew Cameron, chairman of the (Sydney) Diocesan Social Issues Executive –
“The ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief Project’ is an initiative of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC, formerly HREOC), the government’s main advisory body on human rights.
Researchers for the AHRC want to study the state of religious freedom in Australia. Their research will cover a variety of areas, and they will produce a report to the Federal government in 2010 which will probably recommend legislative changes…
The project could be a good thing if it brings to light any inappropriate limitations on the freedom of religion and belief. Or, it may be unhelpful if it recommends changes that damage the delicate balance of religion freedoms that have developed in Australian life. We don’t know yet. But this is an important enough project that some of us want to do our part to be actively involved as citizens.”
Dr Cameron, is presenting a seminar on the project next Thursday –
‘Freedom of Religion and Belief Project’ Information Hour
A seminar presented by Andrew Cameron,
chairman, Diocesan Social Issues Executive
Thursday 30th October 2008
5.30pm-6.30pm
Chapter House, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney Square.
No RSVP necessary.
Only a limited number of copies of the relevant Australian Human Rights Commission discussion paper will be available. You can download your own copy here before the seminar. It might help to skim pp. 8-11 of that paper before the meeting.
For further background, see Social Issues briefing #079 (PDF file, direct link).
For more information from the AHRC, see
Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century and
Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Right to Death
Posted on October 24, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Right to Death
Writing in The Guardian [London], Simon Jenkins argues that the right to end one’s life on one’s own terms is basic to humanity, and that only “religious primitivism” stands in the way of cultural acceptance and legal approved for assisted suicide…
– Al Mohler writes about the growing Culture of Death.
Bp John Broadhurst – strong words on Lambeth
Posted on October 24, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Bp John Broadhurst – strong words on Lambeth
At the UK Forward in Faith National Assembly two weeks ago, Bishop John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham within the Diocese of London and Chairman of Forward in Faith, spoke about the betrayal of Anglicanism he felt at Lambeth and from the UK General Synod.
The 21MB mp3 file (direct link) runs for 22 minutes.
Related: Forward in Faith UK reacts to C of E vote (July 8, 2008.)
Q & A from the Covenant Design Group
Posted on October 23, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Q & A from the Covenant Design Group
A Lambeth Commentary: The Reflections on the St Andrew’s Draft for an Anglican Covenant by the bishops gathered at the 2008 Lambeth Conference together with responses from the Covenant Design Group has now been made available from the Anglican Communion Office.
It’s a 200kb PDF download (direct link).
Bishop John Harrower reports on Lambeth
Posted on October 23, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Bishop John Harrower reports on Lambeth
Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, shares his experience of the Lambeth Conference –
“One of the saddest moments of the Conference for me personally occurred in our Indaba when a bishop spoke earnestly of his views on same sex issues with a brief and solemn conclusion.
Some minutes after I saw him surreptitiously pass a sheaf of the TEC briefing notes to the TEC bishop seated in front of him. He had parroted one of the ‘sample narratives’. I wanted to shout and to cry. Any idea of transparency and trust through Indaba had been tragically thrown in our face. Set piece parroting surreptitiously orchestrated was poisoning our communion. God have mercy on us!…”
– Read Bishop Harrower’s full report on the Diocese of Tasmania website.
(Photo of Bishop John and Mrs Gayelene Harrower: Samuel Dow.)
Top Ten ways to write bad worship songs
Posted on October 23, 2008
Filed under Resources Comments Off on Top Ten ways to write bad worship songs
In my eleven years as director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries, I’ve reviewed hundreds of worship songs and written a few of my own. Not all of them have been stellar. Actually, very few of them have been.
I’ve noticed recurring tendencies that keep weak songs from becoming good or great songs. I’m intimately acquainted with those tendencies in my own songs and I’ve listed my top ten below. While these thoughts are meant for songwriters, most of them apply to leading worship as well.…
– Bob Kauflin writes at Worship Matters. (Number 10 is especially true.)
Anglican Church of Canada slashes budget
Posted on October 23, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Anglican Church of Canada slashes budget
Directors at the General Synod office have been asked to slash $1.3 million from the 2009 budget, a move designed to break a recurring pattern in recent years of huge budget deficits. …
Archbishop Hiltz … cautioned against looking at the situation negatively, saying, “The ship is not sinking; rather it’s moving in another direction…”
– Report from The Anglican Journal of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Preach what’s True and Precious
Posted on October 23, 2008
Filed under Theology Comments Off on Preach what’s True and Precious
“A word to preachers. Truth and falsehood is a good pair of categories to use when deciding what to preach. Speak truth not falsehood.
But there is another crucial pair of categories. God tells Jeremiah that he must use this pair if he would be faithful…”
– Brief advice to preachers from John Piper.
The Seinfeld Conference: A Reflection on Lambeth 2008
Posted on October 22, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on The Seinfeld Conference: A Reflection on Lambeth 2008
“Lambeth 2008 was about nothing, said nothing, and achieved nothing, and by its inaction, the Anglican Communion was left in a worse place than if it had never taken place at all, Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda said…”
– George Conger writes for the Institute on Religion & Democracy. (Photo: Lambeth Conference media.)
Tibetan monks at Louisville cathedral
Posted on October 22, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Tibetan monks at Louisville cathedral
“Visiting Tibetan Buddhist Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in South India are once again at Christ Church Cathedral to create a Sacred Sand Mandala for Compassion and World Peace…”
– from the Diocese of Kentucky.
(Hat tip to Greg Griffith at Stand Firm.)
The Oxford Movement
Posted on October 22, 2008
Filed under History Comments Off on The Oxford Movement
“It is likely that we will see a growing interest in the Oxford Movement in the wake of proposals by Roman Catholics to declare one of its founders a saint…”
– David Phillips, General Secretary of Church Society, points out that “many of the practices that were opposed by our evangelical forebears are common within the Church of England” today.
Read his article from Crossway as a PDF file at Church Society.
The Jerusalem Declaration: Available for download
Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed under Resources Comments Off on The Jerusalem Declaration: Available for download
Last night, Sydney Synod enthusiastically endorsed GAFCON’s Jerusalem Declaration.
During the debate, it was suggested that the Declaration could be made available for churches – either to give copies to members or to display one in your church.
For your convenience, you can now download the Declaration as a PDF file – it’s formatted to fit two A4 pages – an 80kb download.
Create Conference to help churches communicate
Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed under Resources Comments Off on Create Conference to help churches communicate
Learn about the Create Conference being held in Sydney on November 15 – to help churches in effectively communicating with our culture.
Website at createconference.org.au
Dr Martin Dudley responds
Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Dr Martin Dudley responds
The Rector of The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, the Rev Dr Martin Dudley, has responded to the statement, made last week, by members of the Diocese of London Deanery. Read it at Anglican Mainstream.
And then read a critque of his response – “Martin Dudley mishandles Donatism” – by Peter Ould:
Is he arguing that we should simply ignore sin in the church? Or is he arguing that we shouldn’t discipline him, “because we’re all sinners”?
(Photo: Church of St Bartholomew the Great.)
Sydney Synod overwhelmingly endorses GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration
Posted on October 20, 2008
Filed under News Comments Off on Sydney Synod overwhelmingly endorses GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration
Tonight a packed meeting of the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney very strongly supported the Jerusalem Declaration.
Read the Media Release by Russell Powell. See also this story.
Related: The Jerusalem Declaration.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…