2023 ACL Synod Dinner Address — Archdeacon Simon Flinders on The Importance of the Local Church
Posted on September 11, 2023
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Archdeacon Simon Flinders gave the address at tonight’s ACL Synod Dinner in Sydney.
His topic? The Importance of the Local Church.
Take the time to listen to his most encouraging address:
or download the audio by right-clicking here.
The transcript is available as a PDF file.
This would be great to share with members of your church.
Related:
The Robinson-Knox view of Church — Interview with Chase Kuhn.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s vision for Sydney Anglicans
Posted on September 11, 2023
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“I am bringing before the Synod a statement of purpose and priorities for the diocesan fellowship,” said Archbishop Raffel as he opened the Sydney Synod for 2023. …
In a wide-ranging speech taking in church networks, organisations and institutions, the Archbishop said that “under God we seek to see God multiply believers in Christ, multiply churches and multiply workers for the harvest field.” This, he said, was a work of God. “We need the work of God in us, so that we long for the welfare of our neighbours and friends and fellow Sydneysiders with the longing of Jesus who wept over Jerusalem, though it was hardened against him.”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell has details of this afternoon’s Presidential Address by Archbishop Kanishka Raffel on the first day of Synod for 2023.
You can also watch or hear the Archbishop’s address.
Scams… and how to avoid the worst sort
Posted on September 11, 2023
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“Have you ever received an SMS telling you to urgently pay a toll?
An email informing you of an incredible investment opportunity?
An unsolicited telephone call apparently from a reputable organisation asking for your personal details?
Or a Facebook friend request from someone whose name you don’t know and whose somewhat provocative profile photo you suspect is probably not a photo of them at all?
If so, you have almost definitely been the target of a scam. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition of Australia, Stephen Liggins wants Christians to avoid the most dangerous scams of all.
Resources for Sydney Synod members 2023
Posted on September 11, 2023
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Sydney Synod meets this month. Here are three resources from the Anglican Church League for Synod members. The updated Synod Survival Guide will be especially helpful for new Synod members.
- The Synod Survival Guide by Dr Robert Tong, updated – free download.
- The ACL Synod Dinner – Hear Simon Flinders’ encouraging address.
- The ACL Synod Briefing Podcast – now online!
Latest posts below.
Two new Assistant Bishops for Perth
Posted on September 10, 2023
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“Since January this year the Diocese has been prayerfully supporting the Episcopal Office, especially Bishop Kate and myself, in the life and ministry of the Diocese of Perth as we have been considering our mission and ministry needs moving forward.
Your prayers have been appreciated and I have been deeply aware of being held through some long hours and complex situations over these past eight months. The great and exciting news of the appointment of two new Assistant Bishops of Perth was announced on 10 August 2023.
The Venerable David Bassett from the Diocese of Adelaide. David is the Assistant to the Primate and Archdeacon of Adelaide and the Port. David is married to Susan, and they have two adult children, a daughter and a son. David was ordained in the Diocese of North West Australia. He has served in schools and parishes there and in Melbourne and Adelaide. …
– Read the full announcement here from the Archbishop of Perth, Kay Goldsworthy
Also published in the September 2023 issue of Anglican Messenger.
Senate committee rejects call for inquiry into hospital takeover
Posted on September 10, 2023
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“A Senate bill to force the ACT Legislative Assembly to conduct an inquiry into the takeover of the former Calvary Public Hospital Bruce should not pass, a committee has concluded. Source: Canberra Times.
The Labor-led legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee has said the bill “would undermine the independence” of the territory’s legislature.
But opposition members have dissented from the committee’s recommendations and have recommended the bill should pass. …
The opposition members accused the committee of not adequately engaging with concerns raised in 65 submissions and 7000 letters received by the committee in regard to the bill.”
– Report from CathNews with links to other news stories.
Photo: Calvary Hospital, Bruce, in Canberra’s north via Calvary Hospital website.
Encouragement from Cobar
Posted on September 10, 2023
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“James & Brittany Daymond have been in Cobar for eight months now, building upon the foundations laid before them. They are excited to see how Cobar can be reached for Christ. …”
– Fuel for your prayers from the Bush Church Aid Society.
(Photo: Diocese of Bathurst. James and Brittany with Dr Warwick Baines, Registrar of the Diocese of Bathurst.)
Preaching the Doctrine of the Church
Posted on September 9, 2023
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“In April 1979 I attended the Pastors’ Conference held at St Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney, which coincided with the Billy Graham Crusade being held at Randwick racecourse at that time.
One of the speakers was John Stott, and I remember him saying that if he were going into ministry at that time he would spend the first year preaching on the doctrine of the church.
Much has changed since, but the vital relevance of that doctrine has become more apparent. Post Covid, our people have become more used to staying away from the Sunday gathering and following church online, either our services or someone else’s…”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook argues that understanding the nature of the Church is vital – and, very helpfully, he suggests a series you could use or adapt.
Photo: David Cook preaching to a live congregation at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, August 2022.
GSFA Chairman’s Letter September 2023
Posted on September 9, 2023
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“The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) is a covenantal fellowship of orthodox Anglican provinces, dioceses and network of churches. We praise God for our history since Limuru, Kenya in 1994 which led to our re-formation under a new Covenantal Structure in October 2019. To date, eleven provinces have already joined GSFA as full members, with others considering to do so. Our Fellowship is world-wide in composition while remaining rooted in the traditional Global South provinces.
GSFA is committed to guarding , living out and propagating the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, so we are deeply saddened by the growing revisionism in our Communion …”
– The Most Rev Dr Justin Badi Arama, Chairman of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches Steering Committee, has released this letter for September 2023.
Pride will destroy you, your ministry, and people around you
Posted on September 7, 2023
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“You may be familiar with this famous saying, ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall’. It comes from the Bible, Proverbs 16:18.
We have mixed feelings about pride in Australia. On the one hand, we like to run over any tall poppy with the lawnmower. And yet pride is splashed across Instagram and Facebook pages all the time: pride in achievement and success, pride in people, pride about identity. Pride has become an idea or slogan to embrace and celebrate. …”
– The Australian Church Record has republished a sobering article by Murray Campbell.
Can we redeem Halloween?
Posted on September 7, 2023
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From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How should Christians respond to customs, traditions, and stories that have associations with false religions, demonic powers, and evil?
Could a church building be covered in cobwebs and used as an invitation to come inside?
Would you run a Halloween event for the kids of your church so they don’t feel like they are missing out? Or would you run something as an outreach to connect to the neighborhood?
Is it about the occult and to be avoided at all costs and denounced – or is it kids in funny outfits and junk food?
To talk Halloween, kids and churches our guests are:
Craig Roberts, CEO of Sydney’s Anglican Youthworks and former minister of Neutral Bay Anglican Church.
Kristen Young, Director of student and community care at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.”
Songs for Today – Doubt
Posted on September 7, 2023
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“One of the things I love about the Bible is its earthy realism. It understands the world we live in – the good and the bad, the grief and the joys. It also understands how we feel about life’s injustices especially when we see people who mock the notion of God, enjoying success. Nothing ever seems to go wrong for them.
And as well as the unfairness we often feel, there are the realities of droughts and famines, floods and fires, earthquakes and ruthless autocratic rulers. Why doesn’t God step in? It seems so out of character, if he is all-powerful and truly good. …”
– In his latest Word on Wednesday reflection at the Anglican Connection, John Mason looks at Doubt.
The ACL’s Synod Podcast now online
Posted on September 6, 2023
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Hear the ACL’s 2023 Synod Briefing Podcast.
Our 2023 Pre-Synod Briefing Podcast aims to serve members of the Sydney Synod by highlighting the likely substantive issues and main debate points.
It’s also relevant for anyone who wants to stay informed and pray for the Lord Jesus to be honoured and churches strengthened through the decisions of the Synod.
Listen here:
or right-click on this link to download your copy.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction to the Podcast
2:36 – Introduction to Synod and Order of Business
5:25 – Discussion of Elections
7:30 – M4 (Purpose and Priorities)
10:40 – M6, B5 & B6 (Money Bills)
23:00 – B8 (Ministry Standards Ordinance)
24:45 – B1-B3 (General Synod Ordinances)
27:50 – M12 (Review of Governance Policy)
32:35 – B4, M16, M17 (Pastoral Supervision)
36:38 – 13.4, 13.5, and M20 (Discussion on The Voice)
And here are some relevant links:
Sydney Synod 2023 – with reports and business papers.
The Synod Survival Guide, by Dr. Robert Tong.
About the Anglican Church League.
How to join the Anglican Church League.
Children of believers belong to God’s family
Posted on September 5, 2023
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“May our children never know a day apart from the saving grace of Jesus.
I work as a chaplain at a theological college, and I have the joy of hearing dozens of testimonies. One of the things I’ve found really encouraging is hearing the stories of how the students came to faith.
I grew up in a non-Christian family, but the majority of the students have come from believing homes. Most of them can’t pinpoint an exact day, or even a year, when they turned to Christ. The students’ stories have highlighted to me the way that God has been pleased to use the consistent faithfulness of their parents to grow them up into their faith. It brings to mind the pattern Paul mentions in 2 Timothy …”
– Jocelyn Loane shares encouragement for parents – at The Australian Church Record.
The Bishop of Bathurst on the Referendum
Posted on September 5, 2023
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From Bishop Mark Calder on the referendum:
“I do not think it is the role of bishops or church bodies to encourage people to vote one way or the other, either in general elections or the upcoming referendum.
However, it is appropriate for me to urge us all to engage in the process carefully and prayerfully, seek out accurate and helpful information and then trust our wise sovereign Lord for the outcome.
To this end, I distribute a reflection from the Rev’d Neville Naden who many of you will know. And I share again, a statement arising from the national Anglican bishops’ meeting in March. I trust both these brief pieces are helpful and I commend the coming weeks and the outcome to your prayers.”
– Bishop Calder’s statement, and the two documents he mentions, can be found on the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page.
For ease of reading, the Rev Neville Naden’s short reflection is reproduced below –
A short reflection on ‘The Voice’, by the Rev’d Neville Naden
Not long after the last election the Prime Minister of our country announced that he would commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
This statement involved a three-pronged approach to addressing the issues of First Nations People in our country. The first being a voice, then treaty and finally truth.
It was not long after this that I received an email asking the question, ‘Is a voice to parliament a part of God’s will for this country?’ to which I replied, ‘nothing happens outside of God’s will!’
Friends, as a follower of Jesus, and as I reflect on my Christian response to the proposed voice to parliament, two things are vitally important as I reflect in this space.
Firstly, I need a healthy understanding of the sovereignty of God. That is to say that nothing in all of history happens outside His will. God either ordains things to happen or he allows it. (More on this a little latter)
Secondly, the very thing that underpins ‘The Voice to Parliament’ is a desire that people living in this country would reconcile with First Nations People.
Reconciliation
As I reflect in this space, I too want to see reconciliation. Reconciliation is a good thing. However, is such a thing ever possible? If conciliation never existed between Fist Nations people and the wider community, how can we have reconciliation?
Many of my people have asked the question, ‘How can we have reconciliation when unity has never existed in the first place?’ To have reconciliation there needs to be some kind of conciliation to start with. This then beckons the question, ‘Is reconciliation possible where unity never existed?’ The obvious answer is no. Certainly not outside the church at least.
God is the only source of a reconciliation that works. This reconciliation is possible because God has initiated it.
In 2 Cor 5:17, we have that well known verse that says, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here’ Note the very next verse, ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation’.
True reconciliation is only possible because God makes it possible. He makes it possible by sending his Son into the world to give his life a ransom for many.
It is this reconciliation that says, it is not what you do for me or what I do for you that brings about oneness unity. It is what Christ has done for both of us. It removes the human element.
The reconciliation that this country is trying to achieve will never be realised outside the church. Conciliation is the only possible outcome. The reconciliation that this country is working towards says, ‘If you do something for me and I do something for you, we can have a relationship.’ However, this is not biblical reconciliation.
Friends, we are called to a biblical model of reconciliation. The model that says, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. A reconciliation that says, its not what you do for me or what I do for you, it’s what Christ has done for both of us.
Sovereignty
But what about sovereignty? Why is a healthy understanding of the sovereignty of God important in this space?
The Bible declares that God is the only sovereign and he never gives His sovereignty to anyone. He only gives stewardship and custodianship of His creation to His created humanity.
Someone once asked the question, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ Friends there are no good people. The only one (Jesus) who was good was crucified, buried, and risen. We are all deserving of God’s wrath. However, He chooses to have mercy on some and not others.
When we read the Old Testament, we find in the narrative section many events whereby God is exercising his sovereignty.
For example, Joshua 1:1-5, God says to Joshua, to get ready to go in and occupy the land that he promised to Moses. Note what He says, verse three I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.’ Here the Creator is exercising his sovereignty over his creation. The promises that he made to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3; Isaac, Genesis 26:1-5; and Jacob, Genesis 28:10- 22, are continuing to be rolled out. Here we see God causing people to be displaced from their lands because of His plan for his created humanity.
As we look back on the events in the Old Testament, we can see God’s footprint and handiwork all over the narrative. Once we get to the New Testament and we get to the end of the book of Acts we tend to think that God is finished with his creation. My friends, this is not the case. God is still rolling out his plan for his creation. We might not see it as clearly looking forward as we do looking back, but he is continuing to roll out His plan even when we cannot see it, nor understand it.
Did God ordain Australia to be colonised by the British? Absolutely! If He didn’t, it would not have happened. This is not a popular thought, and I will probably get push back on this from many who cannot see God would ever allow that to happen nevertheless ordain it to happen.
As was mentioned earlier, nothing, and I mean nothing, happens outside of God’s will. For if it did, God would not be in control nor sovereign.
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming referendum, we can be assured that God’s will, will be done and regardless of which side of the debate we sit, we need to be OK with that.
It is my prayer that we, the church, will not become embroiled in such activities. We need to stay the course when it comes to our core business, that of proclaiming Christ and a reconciliation that works.
The Rev’d Neville Naden,
Bishop’s nominated representative for Bathurst Diocese on NATSAIC
Indigenous Ministry Officer, BCA
02 September 2023
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What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…