In a move that can only serve to push the Anglican Church of Australia into much deeper crisis, the Bishop of Newcastle Peter Stuart has written a Pastoral Letter where he signals his approval of clergy conducting a blessing of couples married in a same-sex marriage. In his familiar style, Stuart does not explicitly state […]
The Bishop of Newcastle, Peter Stuart, has written a “pastoral letter” to his diocese which, while very verbose, has been understood to indicate that he now gives permission for “Wangaratta” blessings to occur in his diocese. In his letter, Bishop Stuart states that, Our church allows for the possibility of the blessing of same-sex marriages […]
The synod of the Diocese of Newcastle which met this past weekend has taken a decision that will only further exacerbate the already very high tensions in the national church. As we reported last week, the synod was due to consider 2 controversial pieces of legislation. The first is an ordinance to remove the possibility […]
The synod of the Diocese of Newcastle meets today and tomorrow. The revised business paper is available online [pdf]. Most notably the synod will be asked to approve 2 private bills. The first (12.1), proposed by the Dean of the Cathedral, removes any disciplinary consequences for clergy in a same-sex marriage . The second (12.2) […]
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 […]
The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, Peter Stuart, has today issued a Pastoral Letter that seeks to chart a course forward for the diocese on the vexed question of marriage. In his letter, issued to leaders across the diocese, he draws attention to the current tensions in the Anglican Church of Australia over the debate, noting […]
The Appellate Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia has today issued an opinion on a series of questions put to it by the Diocese of Newcastle about the Diocese of Sydney‘s Affiliated Churches Ordinance [pdf]. The Ordinance allows for non-Anglican churches to affiliate with the Diocese of Sydney and so obtain a number of administrative and […]
This past weekend saw synods in the metropolitan dioceses of Melbourne and Adelaide here in Australia. We’ve previously reported on the proposed motions there (Melbourne, Adelaide) to provide for blessings of same-sex marriages contracted by civil celebrants. As is becoming clear, these motions are part of a coordinated campaign across the whole country. In both […]
davidould.net has learned that there are at least three potential candidates for the position of Bishop of Newcastle (the position being vacant since the early retirement of Bishop Greg Thompson). Readers will be seeking some analysis of the candidates. While, no doubt, in days to come various comments will be made we make the following […]
I’ve wondered if you’ve noticed the same thing as me? When it comes to big difficult topics of discussion there’s a tendency to do one of two things. First, if something is very clear then those who don’t want it to be clear can be tempted to suggest that things are a lot more complicated […]
