Archbishop Peter Jensen and the five regional bishops of the Diocese of Sydney have released a statement on the 'crisis in the Anglican Communion'. They refer to the appointment of a gay activist to be Bishop of Reading in the UK, the blessing of same sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster, Canada, and the election of the Rev Gene Robinson, a clergyman living in a homosexual relationship, to be a bishop in New Hampshire Diocese, USA.

Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney and the Regional Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney on developments in the Anglican Communion

I know that, as Christian people, we have all been very concerned about the drought that has gripped so much of NSW, and the special needs of those who work on the land. This concern is reflected in the warm response to the Archbishop’s Appeal in February this year.

We didn't believe our own teachings I think. In two respects. First of all, our own teachings say to us that human nature is sinful and we do wrong things. And we were too inclined to, sort of, believe the best.

We are often deeply troubled by the absence of the so-called ‘blue collar workers’ in our churches. I am not sure whether such a term is a very adequate description of the social make-up of the community, but it seems to me to be somewhat misleading as we think about the reality of modern Australia.

Voluntary euthanasia is the unfinished business of the moral revolution of the mid-20th century. In the name of individual freedom, censorship of pornography was rejected; abortion on demand was instituted; and the nature of marriage was changed.

You would probably be aware from your reading of Southern Cross and the daily newspapers, that the use of the common cup at Holy Communion has been raised again. You would know that this matter was looked at in 1992, at which time the Synod report indicated that there was no ceremonial or doctrinal significance attached to the cup, be it common or individual. It suggested that the common cup ought to remain the norm, but that as individual cups are not in breach of the law of the church or inconsistent with the teaching of Jesus, there are pastoral grounds for permitting the use of individual cups as alternatives to be used alongside the common cup.

How do we evangelise when the reputation of the Church is in disarray and the Bible’s message is dismissed as irrelevant?

The outbreak of war in Iraq constitutes a solemn moment, with many dangers and threats and potential for great human suffering. There are strongly held differences of opinion about our participation in this war. For my own part I remain unpersuaded that we ought to have committed our military forces, but I recognise the limitations of my judgment and the sincerity of those who differ.

Voluntary euthanasia is the unfinished business of the moral revolution of the mid-20th century. (An address given at Westmead Hospital.)

Archbishop Jensen’s talks shock some, but enthuse many.

In a world facing instability and risk, Christians have an opportunity to bear witness to the sovereign power of God.

We are not dealing here with a fable, but with a true man, a man with hands and feet and a body and ligaments and teeth and nerve-endings and a head and a face and a mother, and with real events. I want us to notice his head and his face and his body and his hands and his feet, to underline the reality of who and what we are dealing with. These are not old tales intended to give us consolation in the face of trouble: Christianity is not a philosophy of life. If the cross really is an event in history, and if at the cross we see both the singular death of a singular man, and also the crucifixion of the Son of God, then this singular event is history’s culminating moment, and everything before and since has to be judged in relation to it. Is this what we did to the Son of God? Then that changes everything for ever.

Anglican evangelicals are authentic confessional Anglicans, but they are also evangelicals, and this means that they – like charismatics and like Anglo-Catholics and like liberals for that matter – will cross cultural boundaries where necessary. They will do it to see the gospel preached and the churches nourished. The business of mission politics is to make sure that the boundaries can be crossed with minimum disruption or dismay.

In my first talk I argued that evangelicalism has every right to be regarded as authentically Anglican. But there is another question equally as pressing for many. Should evangelicals stay in the Anglican church? We may have a legitimate place within it from the point of view of history, but does contemporary Anglicanism, in practice and in ideology, so compromise the gospel that it is impossible to stay?

Neil Armstrong’s voyage to the moon was not as difficult, or dangerous, or desperate as that made by the first settlers in the Antipodes. As both guardians and villains made their way to the mysterious south, they could never have imagined that they were going to contribute to the birth of two famous, largely Christian nations. How significant, then, that the very first Christian sermon preached in Australia was delivered by an Evangelical clergyman of the Church of England, named Richard Johnson, and that the very first Christian sermon preached in New Zealand was delivered by an Evangelical clergyman of the Church of England, named Samuel Marsden.

As planning for mission takes place, prayer and obedience to God’s word must continue to be our top priorities.

What sort of world do you believe in? Do you have the sadness of inhabiting a world where no really new thing may happen, where no great miracle can occur, where there is nothing but the inexorable law of cause and effect? Do you console yourself with your grim philosophy by saying that it is at least real, and not fairy story? Do you pride yourself at looking reality straight in the face and saying that stories of Santa and Jesus and in the end the same, that there is no other reality, that we are deluding ourselves to think that there is? Do you smile at Mary’s story of a virginal conception and quote he words of Mandy Rice Davies: ‘well she would say that wouldn’t she?’

In tonight’s consecration of Ivan Lee as a bishop, we do not rob him of one ministry in order to give him another. He remains what he now is: a servant and a presbyter in the church of God. If titles matter, he could scarcely be given a more elevated rank or a more heavy responsibility than the one he has already exercised. He must continue to fulfil that ministry of word and sacrament which he undertook 21 years ago in 1981.

Christmas is often presented as a picture of happiness – with Australians enjoying their family, friends and the best this country has to offer. But it’s a two-dimensional picture. More image than reality. Behind the scenes there are plenty of people who hate Christmas or find it difficult – and for good reason.

What are the factors behind the increasing irregular church-attendance of committed Christians?

We live in a society which appears to have lost its nerve. It no longer believes in its own identity. It refuses to acknowledge how much it owes to the Christian faith. The loss is going to be a desperate one. How else can we explain the puzzling tendency to deliberately cut Christ out of Christmas. We hear of nativity scenes being banned from shopping malls, of schools becoming hesitant about carol singing, of the growth of the ugly euphemism 'festive season' to hide the fact that it is the birth of Jesus Christ which has caused the festivity in the first place.

Sermon at the Commissioning of Rev Narelle Jarrett and the women’s Ministry Team at St Andrew’s Cathedral (15th November 2002)

In a significant decision, parish representatives overwhelmingly endorsed the Mission. The decision will only be historic if we act.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, has expressed his disappointment at the passing of the Research on Human Embryos Bill through the lower house of Federal Parliament.