At it’s annual synod, meeting this last weekend, the Diocese of Perth has approved changes to Faithfulness in Service (the Anglican Church of Australia’s national code of conduct) that remove the expectation for clergy and church workers to refrain from sex outside marriage. The amended text provided to synod, showing the effect of the change, […]
Ridley College in Melbourne have issued a statement in the form of an open letter affirming the Biblical doctrine of marriage. The statement marks a significant contribution to the current Australian Anglican conversation on marriage brought about by the unilateral decision of Wangaratta Diocese to approve a liturgy for the blessing of persons in a […]
The same-sex marriage blessing liturgy presented to the Wangaratta synod for their approval (and due to be presented to the upcoming Newcastle synod) is not a new piece of work but, rather, heavily dependent upon other similar liturgies first developed more than 20 years ago in the 1990s and earlier. Students of this topic will be aware of […]
St John’s Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane has ended an extensive engagement with the city’s “Pride” festival with their annual “Pride Evensong”. The event, typically attracting a congregation of around 40, included a sermon by Rev. Steve McMahon of St Paul’s Ipswich. In his sermon for St Michael and All Angels, entitled “Why is celebrating Pride […]
In The Moon is Always Round Jonathan Gibson has given us a fine gift – the tragedy of the stillbirth of his daughter turned into a book to help children process suffering. Illustrated beautifully by Joe Hox, Gibson takes us through the story of that loss through the eyes of his son Ben, using the […]
davidould.net has obtained the order of service for the service of Morning Prayer on 14 September during which the marriage of John Davis and Robert Whalley was affirmed. There is no mention in the order of service of a blessing for Davis and Whalley and yet it is clear from photographs and the comments of […]
The Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Peter Stuart, has written to his diocese outlining plans for the upcoming synod including a bill for a liturgy for the blessing of persons in same-sex marriages. Bishop Stuart notes the ongoing tensions in the Anglican Church of Australia over this issue and also reminds the diocese that the matter […]
update 18 September 2019: St John’s Toorak has removed both the offer of blessings for same-sex marriages and their statement of “deep regret” from their website’s “Weddings FAQ” page. Whether the parish is still offering such blessings is unclear. The quote below of the original offer of such blessings includes a link to a screen […]
A keen-eyed reader of davidould.net has pointed out something very interesting that happened in the middle of the growing crisis arising out of the Wangaratta same-sex wedding. The wedding of self-proclaimed “poster-boys” for same-sex marriage in the Anglican Church of Australia, Archdeacon-emeritus John Davis and Robert Whalley, was not a simple non-religious occasion. It contained […]
The Bendigo Advertiser is reporting that Rev Noel Richards, a priest on the staff of St Paul’s Cathedral Bendigo, is to enter into a same-sex marriage in October. When Drew Reid proposed to Father Noel Richards, it was an evening like any other for the Bendigo couple. … Drew and Father Noel, who have been […]
