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From the Bishop's blog
Click here to catch up on
Bishop John's blog.
Here are some recent posts...
- Why Pray? – #1
- Lenten sincerity or ’spin’?
- ‘Tasmanian Anglican’ – February
- Prayer Pilgrimage – working draft
- POWR: Exploring possibility of friendship
- World Vision reports on 2009
- Opposing assisted suicide –‘religious’ push?
- Facebook, Facebook, on the wall
- Gum leaves poison water?
- Lent: Tiger Woods and Mary MacKillop
- Lent is about God not iPods
- Clergy: God’s call?
- God’s Valentine
Bible Study & Preaching Material
Stressed out with no time to write bible studies? Try ‘Growing Disciples of Jesus’, our new Lectionary-based study outlines for home and church-based study groups and personal study; will also help preachers. To have a look, click here: http://www.anglicantas.org.au/lec_based_study/
Preaching Resources
This resource is provided to help guide, encourage and resource the preachers in our diocese, be they new or experienced. It’s new and evolving, so we recommend that you drop in from time to time.
A PRAYER FOR transformingLIFE
Transforming God,
as we meet together
fill us with your wisdom.
Give us the capacity
to work boldly
and with humility,
embracing the challenge of mission.
Use us to bring transforming life
to our Christian communities and
all Tasmanians
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Download the transformingLIFE document
Will the Imagine Project change your life?
CMS: This study is a gift
While Andrew & Pam Lake visited over 24 parishes in the Diocese before heading to the posting in Damascus, Andrew had been busy on another project. He has released this short book called Christian Mission for Tasmanians. This is a very personal approach from Andrew on this important topic of Mission written for the Missionary Diocese of Tasmania. Andrew says of the book,
"My hope and prayer is that this study will help put mission front and centre of the church’s agenda. I make no claim to infallibility and will have achieved my aim if this has helped start some fruitful conversations about mission."
We offer our thanks to Andrew, having served in the Diocese as an Archdeacon and Mission Support Officer. But now we offer our thanks for this impressive gift to the church in Tasmania.
Of particular interest to you, dear reader, is the freely available nature of this book. In fact, you can click here to read it right now. So is it free? Andrew explains in his Forward:
"This study is a gift to the Tasmanian church. It is freely available on the diocesan website but I invite you when you use it for personal or group study to make a donation of $10 per person to the Church Missionary Society of Tasmania."
Have you heard of Kiddliwinks?
Archive of Home Page: 2010 February
Click here to return to archive listing.
February 2010
Lent: Tiger Woods and Mary MacKillop
[tue 23.feb.10 rob] Bishop John has been reflecting on Lent. Yesterday, he wrote about Tiger Woods and his apology, and Mary MacKillop.
"There has been much comment about Tiger Woods’ apology for his adultery: is the apology sincere or hype or hoping to regain sponsors? Whatever your conclusion of his motive, and surely we must be generous in attributing the highest motive – genuine reconciliation, the words of the apology are profound."
To find this and more of the Bishop's comments, go to his blog by clicking here.
Collision! The Movie
[tue 23.feb.10 rob] On the 13th March, St George's Anglican Church in Battery Point will be holding the first public screening of Collision, an American documentary about a series of debates between commentator Christopher Hitchens and pastor Douglas Wilson.
Saturday 13th March at 2pm and 7:30pm
St George's Anglican Church in Battery Point
with light refreshments afterwards.
The screenings are held in partnership with the University Fellowship of Christians and made possible by a Vision100 grant. The film offers a fantastic evangelistic opportunity, where Christianity and Atheism are clearly and passionately debated in a balanced and entertaining format. The timing of this screening is also provocative, weeks before Easter and the middle of a global Atheism convention being held this March in Melbourne.
For more information about the film itself check out the Collision website, to find out about pastor Doug Wilson, check out his blog and for Christopher Hitchens check out some of his recent books.
St George's have bought a license to screen the film publicly, which comes with free use of promotional images, so feel free to use the above image in any way to publicize the event.
"Outrage over graphic T-shirts prompts pornography row"
[thu 18.feb.10 rob] On January 24, 2010 The Age newspaper used this headline for an article on the range of T-shirts which have been entering stores for sale and leaving anti-exploitation advocates up in arms.
Here is the site of Melinda Tankard-Reist. Bishop John has previously mentioned her recent book on this topic and the problems our society is facing due to the exploitation of women in ways like this. Of great concern to Tankard-Reist is the focus drifting to young girls for items of clothing like those referred to in the article.
Click here to view the website of Melinda Tankard-Reist
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the picture in The Age article, it has not been included in this post.
President Bishop Mouneer Anis resigns from SCAC
[thu 18.feb.10 rob] On the 30th January 2010, the Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer H. Anis of Jerusalem and the Middle East, a Primate in the Anglican Communion, has resigned from the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.
Bishop Anis' decision was announced in a public letter on January 30 which he sent to the communion's primates and moderators as well as the other Standing Committee members.
Click here to learn more about the Anglican province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
Click here for President Bishop Mouneer Anis letter of resignation.
Reports in the media:
Click here to read the Diocese of Egypt's report.
Click here to read Rev. Will Brigg's blog comments.
Click here to read a report from ECUSA's EpiscopalLife Online.
Click here for AnglicanMainstream's report.
Media Release: Montgomery Park Sale
[fri 12.feb.10 rob] Released yesterday, click here to read the Diocesan Media Release with regard to the sale of Montgomery Park.
Diversity of Styles of Worship
[wed 03.feb.10 rob] On Sunday January 24, a Tasmanian newspaper ran a front page story about the Anglican church in Hobart. It seeme quite one-sided and certainly left me wondering what my bishop really thought. On Sunday January 31, Bishop John expressed his own opinion on the matter in a letter to the editor.
I am writing to provide balance to the one-sided story published on the front page last Sunday (“Bishop’s ‘happy clappers’ anger old guard”, Sunday Tasmanian, January 24).
The story highlighted unsubstantiated claims from a small minority without testing those claims. The article also promoted untrue and unhealthy stereotypes.
In Hobart you can find a number of traditional and contemporary Anglican church services every Sunday. You won’t find any “frothing at the mouth”. You will find happy people in all styles of service, and some may even clap occasionally!
The Anglican church promotes a diversity of styles of worship, in the same way that our radio stations promote a variety of music. We are interested in reaching out to all people in our society, not any one particular group at the exclusion of others.
I would invite readers to attend an Anglican service and see for themselves, rather than rely on emotive reporting.
Bishop John Harrower
He has published the letter on his blog, with further comment, which you can read by clicking here.
The best of last month
The best of last month
The best of last month
The best of last month
Circular Head Celebrates Growth
[mon 25.jan.10 rob] An update on all the great news from Smithton on Bishop John's blog:
"Yesterday’s dedication of the extensions to the St Stephen’s Smithton church building was a fantastic celebration of God’s goodness and the fruition of the dreams and labour of God’s people. As I have said so often, Good facilities facilitate good ministry."
Click here to go to Bishop John's blog and read more!
To view archives of front page news, click here.
AnglicanTas frontpage editor: Rob Stanley