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.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey will visit the 10:30am service this Sunday, October 21 at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.

Archbishop Jensen and Sydney’s five assistant bishops have written a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury explaining why they have not replied to their Lambeth 2008 invitations.

A Sydney father of three who grew up in Curl Curl has confessed he is still in a state of shock at being elected bishop of North West Australia, the largest diocese in geographic size in the Anglican Communion.

Some of Sydney’s key players in migrant and refugee settlement were treated to an extraordinary tribute to the care churches provide new migrants at the opening of the $1.7 million joint Anglicare and Cabramatta Anglican Church facility on July 31. Just four weeks off the plane from the Congo, the Malula family, including three of ten children, presented a song of praise to Jesus in gratitude to the welcome they have received in Australia. In his keynote speech, Dr Jensen argued that the challenge for Australians is ‘not to be hostile to these precious newcomers’ or even ‘indifferent’ but ‘to be genuinely welcoming’, adding that the local church was the best place for that to happen.

Australia is one of the world’s great migrant communities. Sometimes, this is resented, as though those of us who arrived in the first wave of European migration have the right to keep the place to ourselves. In fact, the successive waves of migrants have been to our great benefit, and the Australia that we are all building is truly wonderful place. The challenge for us is not to be hostile to these precious newcomers, not to be indifferent, but to be genuinely welcoming. How can we achieve that?

Bishop Peter Tasker, Bishop of Liverpool in the Diocese of Sydney, has issued a statement expressing the grave concern of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney over the decision of the Uniting Church Assembly, which today voted to permit the Church’s presbyteries to accept and ordain practising homosexuals for ministry in their congregations. Bishop Tasker spoke on behalf of the Diocese of Sydney in the absence of Archbishop Peter Jensen who is overseas until the end of the month.

Churches need to change lives if they are to regain trust said Australian Treasurer Peter Costello at Anglicare’s ‘A Winter’s Tale’, charity luncheon today. Church organisations need to change lives if they are to regain trust asserted the Treasurer Peter Costello at a luncheon to raise money for Anglicare, the social welfare arm of the Anglican Church.

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

News stories that have appeared with suggestions that the Diocese of Sydney is about to commence the practice of lay and diaconal presidency are incorrect. A Committee report will be debated at the June meeting of the diocesan Standing Committee. The report contains the suggestion that a process of consultation with the bishops of the Anglican Communion be set in train later this year before the matter is fully debated by the Sydney Synod in October 2004.

After all the twists and turns of the Hollingworth saga will anyone ever again want to be the Governor–General of Australia? From now on we can expect a close scrutiny of the previous career path, professional decisions and personal relationships of any proposed incumbent for the office.

The great nineteenth century English Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, was once asked to defend the Bible against various charges. “Defend the Bible?” he retorted, “I’d rather defend a lion! The Bible doesn’t need defending. It can defend itself.” But the title of my talk tonight certainly suggests such a defence. My subtitle asks, “Is the Good Book still good for a watching world?” (By ‘a watching world’ I mean people outside the Church. Of course, they are not ‘watching’ Christians all the time, as if they followed us around and scrutinised our every move. Such people might even be offended if we imagined that about them. However, many people do remain aware of us; and when our leaders face various accusations or say something difficult, it certainly seems that there remains a high level of interest in Christians and their communities.)

In the wake of the Diocese of New Westminster’s decision last year to bless same-sex unions, debate over which one of two Canadian bishops will have episcopal oversight of conservative parishes in the Diocese represents the latest round in the ongoing controversy.

The 2003 Federal Budget is a missed opportunity to address rising child poverty in Australia according to Anglicare Australia.

This is a difficult topic to talk upon honestly. Simple superficial platitudes are easy to give, but as soon as we talk honestly and say what Bible says, we tread on peoples sensitivities in an area where many of us have hurts, disappointments, frustrations, anger, and guilt. Some have recently lost their mothers. Some are struggling to become mothers. Some are still struggling to forgive their mothers.

If religion goes wrong, then it is not unique in that sense because there are other basic aspects of the human condition which also go wrong. The love between people – that can go wrong. Many of us have experience of that. Patriotism. I arrived in Australia on ANZAC Day, I think it was, I mean it is a wonderful display of patriotism but we all know how patriotism / love of ones nation can become excessive and excluding. So that can go wrong. Even entrepreneurial flair, dare I say in the presence of Opportunity International, can go wrong and result in the exploitation of people rather than in a good stewardship of creation. So religion is not alone in terms of human activities, if it does go wrong from time to time.

The Bishops of the Anglican Church have called for Australians to show great openness and generosity of spirit to heightened tensions related to the Gulf War.

Already widely recognised as a notable and even controversial preacher, Phillip Jensen, the new Anglican Dean of Sydney, and a self-confessed lover of Sydney, is planning to use his pulpit over the Easter weekend to bring to the city’s residents the real meaning of Easter. Over the Easter period he will be presenting a series of sermons “Jensen on Jesus” at St Andrew’s Cathedral, located in George Street Sydney above Town Hall Train Station.

The Anglican Diocese of Sydney asks church members to pray that tensions in our city may ease, after a student protest held in Sydney Square yesterday degenerated into violence.

The Christian response to war is prayer. Prayer is the most natural supernatural activity. But is it of any use other than making us feel good? What are God’s plans for the world and where does war fit into His plans? And where does this war fit in? And what should we be praying for - hoping for - expecting to happen? Is God on our side?

Those of you who read the Australian newspaper may have been surprised to see in the edition, 13 March, 2003, the statement that ‘the Archbishop leaves decisions about the remarriage of divorcees to the local clergy. In the past, all such cases had to get a Bishop’s approval’.

My first sermon from this pulpit - this sermon tonight - is a plea for prayer. It is a self centred plea - a plea for prayer for me. But yet it is also a plea for prayer for all of us who would stand in this wonderful city and call upon it to repent.