Alternative Anglican Ordinations: seven South African deacons
Law and Religion UK introduces a guest post on recent events in London:
“Seven lay ministers from dioceses across the Church of England were ordained in May 2025 by a visiting Anglican bishop from South Africa.
In this guest post, Andrew Atherstone provides the first report of this event, based on interviews with several of the leading participants.
‘On Wednesday 21 May 2025, the Archbishop of York received notification from the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH SA) of their plans to ordain “missionary clergy” for ministry in England.
“A group of churches from various Church of England dioceses”, declared Bishop Martin Morrison from Gauteng, “have approached us with a request: that we consider ordaining a number of emerging leaders, all of whom are appropriately selected and theologically trained.” Following the commendation of the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) in December 2023 by the Church of England’s House of Bishops, these young leaders found themselves unable “in good conscience” to pursue ordination through the normal channels, and their congregations were deeply concerned that “no clear or lasting pastoral provision has yet been made”, especially in terms of “legal and permanent structural protections or future ministry pathways”.
Therefore, Bishop Morrison explained to the Archbishop, REACH SA had decided to accede to their request for ordination. He emphasised: “This decision has been made with the aim of sustaining and advancing faithful Anglican evangelical witness and to ensure we do not lose a generation of gifted gospel workers to ordained ministry.”
Morrison’s letter was copied to the Bishop of London (in the absence of an Archbishop of Canterbury) and to the Bishop of Leicester (lead bishop of the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) project until his sudden resignation in early June). …’ ”
– Read the full report here. (Paragraph breaks added for clarity.)
Welsh Primate resigns in Cathedral leadership ccandal
“The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev. Andrew John, has announced his immediate resignation following a motion of no confidence passed by the Church in Wales’ Representative Body – the province’s trustee group. He has served as primate since 2021. …”
– Story from The Living Church.
Image from the News item on the Church in Wales website.
Bishop of Bathurst’s Newsletter — HOPE25 Report edition
From the Bishop of Bathurst.
– Read it here.
17,000 turn out for Franklin Graham event in London
“Thousands of people turned up for a free Franklin Graham event in London on Saturday night, exceeding the venue’s capacity.
Some 15,000 people joined the event inside, filling the ExCel Centre to capacity…”
– Report from Christian Today.
Photo: Franklin Graham, via the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
NSW Budget Pathetic on Pokies Harm
“It’s time to put airbags on pokies!
Today’s NSW Budget is pathetically weak on gambling harm.
In fact, NSW tax revenue from pokies in pubs and clubs will reach a record level – $2.6 billion in the next financial year! That’s rising by 6% per annum – faster than the inflation rate.
This comes off the back of NSW residents who lose over $24 million every day on poker machines — more than $1 million an hour! …”
– Here’s this week’s media release from the Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant.
Photo: Wesley Mission’s Stuart Cameron and Anglican Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant in 2022, courtesy SydneyAnglicans.net.
The Bible’s guide to time travel
“Time is a funny thing. It goes too fast. Then too slow. We want it to stand still and then wish it didn’t. We love losing track of it but incessantly strive to find it. There are few things more frustrating and difficult than running out of time or wasting it. We just can’t seem to get it right!
Why does time so often feel out of joint? …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Annabel Nixey begins a short series for time travellers.
New church for the Costa Blanca in Spain
From The Anglican Convocation in Europe:
“At the recent ACE Conference at the beginning of June, Bishop Andy Lines welcomed Bishop Josep Rosello to the diocese with a view to planting a new congregation in Benissa on the Costa Blanca in Spain.
Married to Patrice, with a daughter Natalia, Bennisa is +Josep’s home town, at the centre of ten towns without an evangelical church and few opportunities to hear the great good news of Jesus Christ. …”
– Read here.
Double the number of reformed evangelicals in Australia over twenty years
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“In a bold move, a meeting of movement leaders from across Australian Reformed Evangelicalism has resolved to work together to see their numbers double over twenty years, through seeing sinners saved.
Leaders gathered for a mini summit organised by The Gospel Coalition Australia at Sydney’s Moore Theological College last week.
Gospel Coalition Australia Chair Rory Shiner says given the unparalleled theological and missional unity between the different organisations there’s a significant window of opportunity to work productively together for God’s glory.
They agreed to work towards an effective target of growing five percent per year through conversion growth. …”
– Rory Shiner, Sarah Kuswadi, Andrew Heard and Gary Millar join Dominic Steele.
In uncertain times – the message of Hope everyone needs to hear
“Here’s 3 minutes from this weekend’s message. Given the USA’s intervention in the Israel–Iran conflict, I suspect some will find this helpful to hear today. A reminder that even in global uncertainty, Christ remains supreme — and our hope is secure in him.”
– Bishop of Bathurst Diocese, Mark Calder, shares this excerpt from the coming weekend’s message.
Whatever your views about aspects of the current conflict, and whatever might have happened by the time you see this, Bishop Calder brings us back to what is the most important message of all.
See it on Facebook – or watch the full message here.
The Animals — How Genesis helps us get the relationship right.
From Phillip Jensen:
“Humans have always enjoyed living with the animals of God’s creation. But what is our relationship with the animals, and how should we care for them?
Today we move from the abuse of animals to the worship of animals as we think about the Bible’s teaching on animals.”
– Here’s the latest episode of the Two Ways News podcast, where Peter and Phillip Jensen reveal why the lady next door complained.
The Quiet Judgement on the UK
“And so, it has happened. It came – not as a bolt of lightning. Not as a flash of thunder. Not with a mighty roar like an earthquake. It did not come in the form of war, plague and famine. It came as the pale horse whose rider was named Death (Revelation 6:8).
The judgement of God has finally come upon the United Kingdom. Quietly. Silently. Like a thief in the night. It came in the form of an irrational, emotive and Godless parliament who this week voted to permit the killing of babies in the womb up until birth, and has now introduced the National Suicide Service, with its vote to permit assisted suicide. God has given us what we voted for. …”
– Published on Saturday at The Wee Flea, David Robertson laments what is happening in the United Kingdom.
Discussing Christian Unity and the Nicene Creed
From the “Dead Presbyterians Society” podcast:
“Leonardo De Chirico and Mark Gilbert join the program to discuss the enduring significance of the Nicene Creed as it marks its 1700th anniversary.
Drawing from their recent edited volume, The Nicene Creed: The Nature of Christian Unity and the Meaning of Gospel Words (Matthias Media), the guests explore how shared credal language can mask deep theological differences, particularly between evangelical and Roman Catholic traditions.”
– Watch here.
The book is, of course, available from Matthias Media.
Statement from the Bishops of the Anglican Network in Europe following the passing of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill
“This week (June 16th-20th 2025) the Westminster Parliament has voted effectively to permit babies to be killed in the womb without restriction or time limit. It has also voted to permit health professionals to end the lives of adults in certain circumstances. The vote on abortion took place with very little debate or scrutiny; the debate on ‘assisted dying’ went through a long process where many eminent voices in committee and on the floor of the House raised concerns about safeguards and warned about the damaging implications of passing the Leadbeater bill. Yet in both cases a majority of MP’s saw fit to ignore and override the warnings, and vote for the removal of restrictions which have for decades and even centuries protected the most vulnerable in society: the unborn and the very infirm.
These votes show that while we live in a democracy and respect it, many of those elected to positions of the highest power can no longer be trusted to carry out their responsibilities with wisdom. Sadly, but not surprisingly, leaders from the established church who have influence in government have for the most part been reticent to speak God’s word; to call the faithful to pray in these dark and uncertain times, and to call godless rulers to repentance and faith in Christ.
We cannot say that this is a ‘political’ matter, that it is none of our business as Christians, that it somehow belongs to the realm of secular activity while the church should concentrate on ‘the gospel’. As Bishops of the Anglican Network in Europe we urge all faithful believers in Christ to consider and lament what Parliament has done this week. May we repent of sin personally and corporately as churches, plead with the Lord to have mercy on the nations which are affected by this and similar rulings, and re-commit to the urgent proclamation of the life-affirming and saving gospel of Jesus in the face of the culture of death.”
– Source: Anglican Network in Europe.
New mobile game ‘Serpent and the Seed’ is Biblical and beautiful
“Bible-inspired computer games aren’t a new concept. The Christian gaming genre has been around for a long time. But arguably, no game has matched the artistry and narrative brilliance of The Serpent and the Seed, a new mobile game free to download in Apple’s App Store or on Google Play.
The game is the brainchild of London-based developer Andy Geers, who attends Euston Church (an offshoot of Dick Lucas’ St. Helen’s Bishopsgate). I’ve spent time exploring the game, which includes gorgeous animation and original music by Poor Bishop Hooper.
If you’re looking for an edifying, theologically solid new game for your kids (or yourself), this is a solid option. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition, Brett McCracken introduces The Serpent and the Seed – developed by Andy Geers, the man behind PrayerMate.
A Prayer based around Philippians 1:18-2:11
Here’s a prayer based around Philippians 1:18-2:11 –
Our dear loving heavenly Father,
We come to you with much thankfulness today.
In Philippians, we are amazed to hear again of the lengths to which you have gone to secure our salvation – even though it is totally undeserved – in any way – by us.
Your beloved Son, who – from eternity past – enjoyed glorious fellowship with you and the Holy Spirit, stepped down from his place in heaven.
We thank you that he came as a servant – he took upon himself human flesh and became one of us.
Yet – amazing as that was – he did not stop there.
We thank and praise you that he humbled himself in his obedience to you – even to the point of death – death on a cross – so that we could be saved.
Please help us to be like Jesus – living in humility – putting others first, so that they can hear the gospel.
Please unify us in that great cause of seeing men and women come to Christ.
May our manner of life be worthy of the gospel.
After the Lord Jesus died and rose again, you highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name that is above every name.
We thank you that one day soon – every knee will bow before him and every person will acknowledge that he is Lord, to your honour and glory.
But our heart’s desire is that men and women everywhere would bow the knee to Jesus in this time, before the judgment day, honouring him as Lord and Saviour – for we know that will bring you even greater glory.
In that light today, we pray for the 90 million people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We certainly pray for peace – and for wisdom for the world leaders as they make decisions in these days.
Yet, while many are focussed on the international conflict, we know that there is a deeper spiritual battle taking place in Iran, for the eternal destiny of men and women.
And so we pray for the small but growing number of followers of the Lord Jesus in that country – and for the underground house churches.
Please help them – in the midst of danger and uncertainly and much persecution – to lovingly speak of Jesus without fear.
And please give their hearers open ears and hearts.
And right here in Australia, please help us to likewise speak, so that many of our friends and relatives will glorify you as they willingly and joyfully acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.
And we ask all these things in his mighty name. Amen.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…