Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

The first full translation of the Bible into an Australian Indigenous language, was launched at the Katherine Christian Convention 5-6 May 2007.

The project, 27 years in the making, has united both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians, with the translation of the Bible into Kriol. The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, supported the translation project.

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Two hundred years ago the British Parliament passed laws that brought an end of the transatlantic slave trade. This trade in human flesh is a dark stain on human history.

Some time ago I read a collection of letters written by the 18th century Christian, John Newton, the writer of the well-known song ‘Amazing Grace’. He was for many years a slave trader himself, so his letters described in vivid and authentic detail the sufferings of the slaves and the appalling nature of the trade.

I was horrified at his description of the inhumanity and cruelty of the traders; I was outraged that they treated other people – men, women and children just like you and me, - as though they were commodities to be bought and sold.

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St Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral, in George Street will see another very large ordination tomorrow, Saturday 3rd February, commencing at 10.00am.

This is, once again, the largest ordination service to be held in the Anglican Church of Australia this year, and indeed in other Christian denominations.

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'Finding the Heartlands of Anglicanism' - Trinity Theological College, Melbourne

Sisters and brothers in Christ, it is a great pleasure to be with you this morning.  Thank you for this invitation.

In 1832 Thomas Arnold, then head of Rugby School said 'The Church of England as it now stands, no human power can save.'

Well, over a hundred and seventy years later, the Church of England, and the Anglican Communion, are still standing.  But once again, we might be tempted to look at our situation and say no human power can save us.

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To the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition

The following is the text of a letter which I have sent to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition:

'I do not believe an Australian citizen can morally vote for a party at the forthcoming Federal election which does not have a comprehensive Climate Change Policy.

This is the most serious issue facing global humanity.  The debate is over.  Serious science is no longer in dispute.  The only matter that can be debated is the seriousness and the speed of the consequences.

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With what seems like immense power the cultural situation continues in many ways  to be unfavourable to the faith. This is so in the general community. It  has  also  impacted  the  church  community.  Mr Peter Young sent me an account  of  his  recent  visit  to  a  famous Chapel in Britain: 'A female layperson  conducted  a  brief  prayer  service.  She  was doing this in an Anglican  Church. She commenced by ringing a Buddhist bell three times. She concluded  with  a  prayer,  'May  the  god  who  is God in your judgement, according  to  whatever  faith you hold, give you peace.' He continues, 'I immediately  thought "How often has Peter or his brother (Phillip, the Dean of  Sydney)  expressed  this very prayer in his cathedral?" I'm sure I know the answer!'

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Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen will deliver his Presidential Address to the Sydney Anglican Synod at 4.00pm today. The Synod, which commences at 3.15pm will be meeting in the Wesley Theatre, 220 Pitt, Sydney.

The theme of Dr Jensen's Address is leadership and change in the Church. This theme is the main focus he pursues throughout the address. He suggests that to fulfil the Church's Mission there must be leaders who bring creative and innovative change. He also speaks of the difficulties of leadership especially in the secularist environment of the contemporary Australian community.

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More to Reach than meets the eye

Anglicare's new social enterprise, Reach Technology, is designed to bridge the digital divide between people who can afford to access information technology and people who can't.

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What sort of a bishop cancels his inaugural service to be with a grieving family? Bishop Philip Freier, who missed his inaugural service in 1999 after becoming Bishop of Northern Territory, to offer comfort to one of his flock, was elected last night as the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Melbourne. He is a man equally at ease in remote rural communities and engaging in world-wide church issues.

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The General Synod Working Party on Refugees has expressed deep concern in relation to the proposed changes by the Federal Government to the laws governing asylum seekers.

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The Anglican Church in Sydney will launch a cinema advertising campaign this month aimed at challenging the claims made by the Da Vinci Code that Jesus was not God, did not die on the cross and that he married Mary Magdelene and had a family.

The cinema advert will screen on 250 screens across Sydney for 4 weeks from May 11.

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The Most Revd Dr Phillip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane's tribute to the Rt Revd David Hand

We join with our brothers and sisters in Papua New Guinea in mourning the death of the Rt Revd Sir David Hand and we join them in celebrating his remarkable contribution to the people of Papua New Guinea, both within the Anglican Church, and widely in the community.

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The world read reports and saw graphic pictures when Cyclone Larry struck Innisfail, (1629km north of Brisbane - 88 km south of Cairns - with a population of 9,000), early Monday morning, March 20, but what happened to the churches, their buildings and their members can now be told.

Power poles leaning at 75 degrees; smashed banana plantations and bruised cane fields indicate something of the velocity of the Cyclone that has separated buildings but drawn people together. Teams of road workers - working together even though from different locations - assisted by members of the Defence Forces, contributing manual assistance, are obvious everywhere. Not so obvious is the unity and combined resources of the churches as they too work together in this aftermath.

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Commonwealth Service at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney 13th March, 2006

Matthew 8:14-17

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses, Prime Minister and Mrs Howard, Secretary General and Ms De Lore, Premier and Mrs Iemma, distinguished guests: as Archbishop of Sydney, I add my warm welcome to that of the Dean.

The theme of this Commonwealth Day Service is Health and Healing. This focus includes health, peace and wellbeing not only for individuals, but for all.  At this point in our service we have appropriately turned to what God is saying to us about this subject in his word.

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Community Violence in Sydney: "look to the root causes of social disharmony"

The events that occurred at Cronulla, Brighton-le-Sands and Maroubra yesterday are of substantial concern to all Australians, whatever their faith or ethnicity. There is no place in our free, democratic and civil society for racist and mob violence.

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Sydney Anglicans have agreed that a loose network rather than any formal structure is the best way to meet the pleas of independent evangelical churches for assistance.

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When she speaks, they listen - Jenni Woodhouse along with Lisa Watts handing out essential advice to Sydney ministry workers on how to keep children safe from the perpetrators of sexual abuse.

As chaplain of the Archbishop's Professional Standards Unit (PSU), Jenni Woodhouse has already spoken to almost all of Sydney's Anglican clergy at meetings across the diocese, including the one held at St James', Croydon yesterday.

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The matter of proposed changes to workplace relations in our nation can neither be disregarded nor taken lightly. For they affect the lives and income of a major section of the community, both individuals and families.

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The Diocese of Gippsland, Australia, has completed the first stage of a community development project in its companion diocese of Gahini, Rwanda.

With Rwanda still recovering from the effects of genocide a little more than ten years ago, Gippsland Anglicans were looking for a practical and sustainable project to help their brothers and sisters in what is still one of Africa's very poor countries.

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In 2000, Melbourne University student Matthew Albert, and his friend Anna Grace Hopkins, answered a request on a noticeboard at All Saints Church in Footscray to help a Sudanese family who had recently arrived in Australia. A few weeks later that first family invited their cousins along, and five years later, Matthew now heads 250 volunteers at the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning (SAIL) Program, a non-profit organisation operating out of three Anglican Churches that aims to meet the needs of the single fastest growing ethnic community in Victoria.

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