Sydney supports Bishop Duncan
The standing committee of the Diocese of Sydney has expressed its strong support for Bishop Robert Duncan of the American diocese of Pittsburgh, saying it is ‘deeply distressed’ that he has been deposed by the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Duncan, who has been negotiating to withdraw his diocese from the Episcopal Church because of revisionist teaching, was the subject of a deposition vote by the US House of Bishops and with 15 bishops missing, including Texans because of Hurricane Ike, the vote passed 88 to 35. Read more
St Clair Anglican celebrates 25 years
St. Clair Anglican Church has come a long way since its first service was held in the lounge room of its minister’s home on September 25, 1983.
The Archbishop of Sydney, Reverend Dr Peter Jensen, will be among the guests who will celebrate the church’s 25th anniversary this coming Sunday, September 21. …
– Report from the St. Mary’s – Mt. Druitt Star.
See also the church website. (Photo: St Clair Anglican.)
Peter Jensen confounding expectations
“Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, has an image problem.
His reputation among many secular Australians – those who have heard of him at all – is of a stuffy, hidebound old churchman. Among self-styled progressives, including some from our more liberal churches, his name is synonymous with reactionary religious cant.
These lazy and unfair misconceptions say much more about 21st-century Australia than about Jensen. But for public figures, image is important. I must confess that in 2005 I paid insufficient attention to Jensen’s Boyer Lectures, which have been republished here with ‘minor updates and adaptations’.
The Future of Jesus is not the book I expected it to be.…”
– Roy Williams reviewed Archbishop Peter Jensen’s The Future of Jesus in Saturday’s Australian.
(The book is available from Matthias Media.)
Ian Cox new Archdeacon
It’s been announced that Ian Cox, currently the Rector of Brighton/Rockdale, will become the new Archdeacon of Liverpool in the Georges River region of Sydney Diocese from December 1st.
Please pray for Ian as he prepares to take on this new role.
SydneyAnglicans.net has the story.
Archbishop Peter Jensen on Lambeth 2008
Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen
4th August 2008
“We have been praying for the Lambeth conference and now that it has ended we look forward to talking with those who were there.
It seems it has fulfilled the desires of the Archbishop of Canterbury and we also look forward to hearing from him.
Our absence focussed minds on the problems within the communion and spoke louder than our presence would have. However, the issues which have caused such division are still before us and require decisive action so that the mission of the church will not be further impaired.”
Sydney Standing Committee endorses Jerusalem Declaration
The Standing committee of the Diocese of Sydney has overwhelmingly endorsed the Jerusalem Declaration from GAFCON, with the Bishop of North Sydney calling it a “great moment in defining Anglicanism”. …
– Report by Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Sydney makes it clear: no split
The Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, has welcomed statements by the Primate, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, that the GAFCON movement is not aimed at breaking away from Anglicanism.
Numerous press reports have described GAFCON as a ‘split’ and have questioned its effects on Australia.
Archbishop Peter Jensen last week made it clear he didn’t expect the Australian church to change as a result of GAFCON as events were being played out ‘on the world stage’. …
– Read the full story from SydneyAnglicans.net. (Photo: Russell Powell.)
The battle for hearts and souls
Peter Jensen describes the past two weeks as among the most spiritually invigorating of his life. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney is the talk of Anglicans worldwide… Not everyone is a fan. …
– Story from The Sydney Morning Herald.
See also “Archbishop ‘deluded’, says local bishop” in Melbourne’s The Age –
“[Philip Huggins, Assistant Bishop in Melbourne] told The Age that Dr Jensen had breached protocol by publishing an opinion piece in another diocese without talking to his colleagues there…”.
(Note: That opinion piece was published in The Sydney Morning Herald. As commonly happens, it was also picked up by The Age.) GAFCON photo: Joy Gwaltney.
‘Figure behind Anglican schism is a puritan who sees no room for compromise’
Until a few weeks ago few people outside the city where he preaches would have been familiar with Peter Jensen. …
The 64-year-old cleric, one of the architects of the Global Anglican Future Conference, Gafcon, the new power bloc that rejects a liberal stance towards homosexual clergy and same-sex unions and which plans to “reassert the authority of the Bible”, has been a thorn in the side of Australian Anglicans for years. …
– Story by Barbara McMahon in Sydney for The Guardian.
(These excerpts give a feel for the story – “puritanism, power bloc, thorn in the side, limited parish experience, inner circle, said to rule the diocese with an iron hand, churns out hardline evangelicals, fundamentalism, narrow, almost worshipped, a threat, bullies, culture of fear”.) Photo: Joy Gwaltney.
The pointy end of GAFCON
“As GAFCON makes its exciting, inspiring and exhausting way into its second half, the question of ‘What next?’ is becoming more and more urgent. So many are looking for so much from this conference. We are facing a danger of unrealistic expectations.
And yet, as GAFCON has already, from my point of view at least, achieved so much more than a realist would expect, then just maybe the crucial final statement will do the job.
There are at least four distinct groups of delegates here, all with different approaches to GAFCON. …”
– Bishop Robert Forsyth writes from GAFCON at SydneyAnglicans.net. So does Dr Karin Sowada. (Photo: Russell Powell.)
GAFCON Slideshow Day 4
Here’s a slideshow of photos taken at GAFCON on Day 4 – Wednesday. Includes photos of Australians at GAFCON.
You can also see our slideshow of Day 3.
– and Monday’s photos from the Mount of Olives.
The Australian team at GAFCON
The Australian contingent – at the Ophel Gardens service.
At left: The Western Australian contingent – including the small team from the largest (by area) Anglican diocese in the world, North West Australla.
Martin Foord, Bishop David and Maureen Mulready (NWA), Lachlan and Bec Edwards, Kanishka Raffel
Photos: Russell Powell.
Chancellor Peter Grogan resigns
Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen
June 16, 2008.
“The Chancellor of the Diocese of Sydney, His Honour Acting Judge Peter Grogan has presented his resignation to me due to health problems, and on the advice of his doctor, I have accepted his resignation with regret.
Judge Grogan was appointed Chancellor at a difficult time, following the death of the former Chancellor. He has filled the office with distinction, and has worked tirelessly. He has always provided advice which is wise, considered and godly. I know you will join with me in assuring Judge Grogan and his wife Val of our sincere appreciation and our prayers.
With my imminent departure overseas for GAFCON, I considered it important to ensure that the office of Chancellor was filled. I have therefore asked Mr Robert Tong to take on the role of Acting Chancellor. Mr Tong has long and extensive experience of the Diocese and of church law. I am grateful that he has agreed to act in this way, while I give consideration to the future.”
– Media release from Sydney Diocese. (Photo: Judge Grogan. Sorry for the late posting.)
Reclaiming Orthodoxy
Archbishop Peter Jensen interviewed for Christianity Today:
“… Evangelicals find themselves in all sorts of different denominations. The convulsions which are striking [Anglicans], if they have not reached your mainstream denomination, will do so without a doubt. Evangelicals will then have to decide whether their denomination comes first or whether their adherence to the gospel comes first.”
Christianity Today features an interview with Archbishop Peter Jensen.
From the Files: The Limits of Fellowship
Dean Phillip Jensen’s paper, The Limits of Fellowship, was delivered at the Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, on Friday 14th March 2008.
With whom can, and should, we have Christian fellowship? And when should we withdraw fellowship? These are important questions for turbulent times in the Anglican Communion.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…