Last week’s Mission Sunday was very encouraging, from the insights into Anglicare’s prison chaplaincy, to Stephen’s message that we must speak to God about people and speak to people about God, to our tasty gatherings afterwards and seeing people leaving with lovely items from the craft stall. Above all, I hope we have left with a renewed enthusiasm to support and pray for God’s mission in His world, including through chaplaincy in prisons.
From Sunday until Friday, I will be away in Melbourne at the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. This is where representatives of all 23 Dioceses gather for mutual encouragement and discussion of a range of matters pertinent to the national church. As with the UN(!), its decisions are not binding until adopted by individual Dioceses. Its value lies in the sense of shared mission, to the extent that unity is achieved. There are, of course, significant differences of opinion within Australian Anglicanism, but the aim from my viewpoint is to keep tracking toward a unity under Christ and his word. You might pray that God uses the synod for that purpose, and me to contribute to it in some small way.
Our Colossians series wraps up this Sunday with interesting details of the names and places involved in Paul’s ministry network circa AD 61. Next Sunday, 16th August, we are picking up the Genesis series that we left off way back in 2024. To get into the zone, try reading the first 25 chapters of Genesis! We resume at chapters 26-27.