Essentials

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Written by: Chris Appleby

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Written by: Chris Appleby

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Written by: Chris Appleby

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Written by: Wei-Han Kwan

Facing the Future: bishops imagine a different church,
edited by Stephen Hale and Andrew Curnow (Acorn, 2009)

Here is a timely, interesting, easily-digestible and provoking book by a twenty-two strong flock of Australian Anglican bishops. (Is 'flock' the right collective term? Corrections and suggestions welcome!) Their brief was provide their vision for the future of the Anglican Church of Australia, and several chapters do exactly this. Others read more as reflections on ministry areas or themes central to their particular roles. What emerges is a helpful wide-ranging overview of the diversity of the Australian Anglican scene, with a focus on the challenges of mission and change.

Andrew Curnow's opening chapter sets the scene of a declining Anglican church facing these two challenges. Stephen Hale, in his closing reflection, is struck by four commonalities across the contributions: they each contain a sense of urgency; a note of optimism about the Church; an imperative to change; and a clear focus on mission. Of course given the theological diversity of the writers, there is no agreed definition of mission. Many EFAC members will naturally chime in with National Chairman Glenn Davies' chapter on the Gospel; but Phillip Aspinall, Roger Herft, and Kay Goldsworthy will give readers an insight into different Anglican emphases.

Like any edited volume, this book's strength is in the range of opinions and ideas, and the breadth of perspective it contains. You should not expect to agree with everything in it. The chapters are relatively short, and are stimulating rather than thorough. There are gems of wisdom here and there, and interesting case studies. However, the book's real value is in helping us to understand just a little more about the diversity of ministries undertaken in the name of the Anglican Church of Australia across the country.

Read more: Facing the Future: bishops imagine a different church,

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Written by: David Mulready

LENTEN STUDIES: a useful tool for a local Church.

For the uninitiated, “Lenten Studies” sound like Studies which have been borrowed rather than purchased! For the initiated, “Lenten Studies” may never have been a feature in our Christian life or Ministry. We may even think of them as belonging to a by-gone 'Churchy' era.

For many years, some Anglican Churches have made a great deal of the six weeks leading up to Easter, as a time of personal reflection and preparation for the celebration of Easter. “Lenten Studies” have been prepared by all sorts of people to be used during this period.

“Lenten Studies” have been produced by the Media Department (now YouthWorks) of the Diocese of Sydney for many years, always written by a Bishop of the Australian Church. In recent years, contributors have been Evangelical Bishops including Stephen Hale, Harry Goodhew, Tony Nichols, Peter Brain, Ray Smith and yours truly. The books usually consist of forty daily Studies for personal use and sets of discussion questions for use by small groups. Sometimes, Parish Ministers base their sermons for the six weeks on the theme or book of Scripture being studied.

In 1993, I became the Senior Minister of Penrith Anglican Church at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Never having done it before, I decided to experiment with the introduction of “Lenten Studies”. About 100 Church members bought copies and began to use them through the week. Then on each Wednesday evening, they came together for an 'overview' of the week and a time for questions on the material they'd been looking at privately.

Read more: Lenten Studies