Now is a good time to ask what plans your church has for next year. Regular prayer is a good place to start.

‘Who lives here?’ asked my taxi driver outside the gates of Bishopscourt. Born just over 50 years ago in mainland China, a Buddhist, a graduate in engineering from a University in Beijing, he has lived in Australia since the 1980s, and his son is studying in the medical faculty at the University of Sydney. ‘The Archbishop of Sydney,’ I replied modestly. Without hesitation he gave his verdict: ‘He must be a very old man’. ‘On the contrary,’ I assured him, ‘he is exactly the same age as I am!’

The Diocesan Mission - To glorify God by proclaiming our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ in prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit, so that everyone will hear his call to repent, trust and serve Christ in love, and be established in the fellowship of his disciples while they await his return.

The clear desire of the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney for lay administration provokes puzzlement, dismay and rejection in some other parts of the Anglican Communion. Sometimes it is seen as a sort of “pay back” for the ordination of women. Often it is regarded as thoroughly un-Anglican, almost a betrayal of the Anglican theology of sacraments and ministry. Frequently it is used as evidence that Sydney is extremist and totally unlike any other Anglicans anywhere. Sometimes, with more sympathy, the question is raised why such a development would be needed in an urban setting such as Sydney and in a Church with hundreds of priests available for Eucharistic ministry.

There are differing sacramental theologies in contemporary Anglicanism, which express themselves in quite different ways of conducting the Eucharist. The clearest distinction is between more ‘Reformed’ and more ‘Catholic’ emphases, and it would be naïve to suggest that these do not represent significant and even competing theological commitments. What is sometimes forgotten is that a number of the practices and ornaments to be found in the contemporary Anglican Church were illegal when they were introduced (often in the 19th century), and were certainly regarded as ‘unanglican’. Catholic innovation has now become very ‘establishment’ – but there has always existed a Reformed and Evangelical tradition in the church. This may now seem strange and, for the historically uninformed, even innovative itself. But at heart it goes back beyond the 19th century.

Every religion, sporting movement and club has plans for recruitment of new members. Especially in today’s world, where individualism is everything and membership is not valued, recruitment has to be intentional. Churches are no different. Even the large denominations are beginning to look into this question. All sorts of schemes and plans are launched to help attract new members. The trip overseas to see how it is done elsewhere is a favoured – and often useful – strategy.

While mutual affection can be strained, our main hope at General Synod is to be united by the gospel.

The Bible teaches us that God is intimately involved with his world. Not only did he plan and create it, he superintends all aspects of its ongoing life. We refer to this as God’s sovereignty because we see him as sovereign Lord of the universe. Not only that, the Bible teaches us that because God is righteous, he remains deeply committed to the righteous behaviour of his human creatures. This expresses itself in his fixed determination to judge the world.

We should be thankful for the democratic blessings we enjoy, but we should not take them for granted.

'True Bonding': Archbishop Peter Jensen's address at the Sydney Parliamentary Prayer Lunch, Parliament House - 25/05/04

'Contributing to the Nation': Archbishop Peter Jensen's address at the Conference for Christian School Executives, Parliament House, Canberra on May 12th, 2004.

Last month I attended a very moving and inspiring event in the Chapter House of St Andrew’s Cathedral. It was the occasion of the launch of Bishop John Reid’s biography of Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane – an interesting book about a great and distinguished churchman and Australian. The NSW Premier, Bob Carr paid Sir Marcus and Bishop Reid the singular compliment of attending and launching the book.

Our world today seems to be regularly experiencing the untimely, senseless deaths of many people, going about their own business in normal day-to-day activity. In a club on a Saturday night in Bali for example, or on a train trip to work in suburban Madrid.

The church will go nowhere but into oblivion if it ministers to children only as a survival strategy.

Children are a precious gift from God. The greatest privilege and most awesome responsibility for any person is to be a parent. It brings the heights of joy, happiness and pleasure, but sometimes disappointment, pain and frustration. But always there is still parental pride, love and hope for the future – that’s my kid!

The Place and Importance of Women in the Mission of Sydney. You do not usually go to the Diocesan Synod to get a spiritual high. But I had one last year. It was the single most important moment in the Synod in living memory. We were challenged by the idea of a Diocesan Mission.

So great have been the technological changes of the last decades that many church buildings have had to undergo radical alterations. The result are frequently incoherent and messy.

I ought to explain, I guess, that as a preacher I do not have a free hand to say whatever I want. A sermon is not like a speech day address where we may pass on bits of advice to the young from whatever stock of advice we please, ‘the casting of false pearls before true swine’, as we might cynically say.

The division often drawn between evangelism and social welfare is an unhelpful one. There is a proper order with evangelism coming first, but there is no disjunction between the two.

Unless there is repentance and Jesus is our Lord, God’s promise of inclusion does not apply to us.

Quite a few years ago, the Principal of Mary Andrews College, Narelle Jarrett, took an initiative which I was very doubtful about. She opened up the possibility of diploma level study in a part-time way at centres around the Diocese, especially geared to women students.

I love the Diocese of Sydney, though I do not imagine that we should call it ‘the church’, or the bride of Christ. Rather it is a network of churches and Christian organisations intended to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ and to support the churches. Because we belong to each other, we impact on one another; my good name belongs to you; my concerns are your concerns; we are well fitted to extend the reach of the gospel by engaging in joint actions, such as the Diocesan Mission. How will our Synod advance the cause of the church, the bride of Christ? I think that it is time to abandon the idea that we are the parliament of the church. Often we have behaved as though that is exactly what we are, and tedious and inefficient has been the result. Certainly elections, ordinances and the distribution of money are key elements of our life together; they make our association work. But the true framework is not parliamentary.

We have reached this day a moment of decision for us as a Diocese, as a community of Anglican Christians: to help us make the decision, I believe we are going to need above all the perspective of the cross. At the Synod last year (2001) I explained the Mission Statement and goal that had been commended to us by the Diocesan Executive Board and the Standing Committee. I warned members that the call to mission is ‘a call for sacrifice, for change, for unremitting effort, in dependence on God’s Spirit… If we are going to take the challenge of this mission statement seriously, we must be ready to commit ourselves to it by this time next year’. I went on to say this: ‘In effect, it gives us the next year to analyse, to consult, to plan, to pray before we come back to Synod and decide not merely on the budget, but on the mission. I am proposing that at the Synod in 2002 we deliberate on both these connected issues. October 2002 is when we decide to enter the race and respond to the starter’s gun - or we decide that this is not the race we want to enter.’

The Atonement – the Heart of our Message Archbishop Peter Jensen’s address at NEAC4, September 2003