Presbyterian Church of Australia

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Appreciation of Defence Chaplains

Every now and then I am surprised to receive an expression of appreciation for the work of our Church. Following the dreadful bushfires of 2019-20, the Australian Defence Force commended the Presbyterian Church of Australia “for releasing your ADF Reserve Chaplains for service in support of Operation Bushfire Assist 2019/20.” The Certificate of Appreciation went on to say, “The operation, conducted during the period from November 2019 to March 2020, required the assistance of Chaplains of the ADF as part of a whole of Government response to enhance the operations of the police, emergency and community services in meeting the challenges of the bushfire emergency and recovery. The ADF and its Chaplaincy Services thank you and express appreciation of your on-going support.”

The fact that COVID kept me from coming to the GAA office for 12 months doesn’t change the significance of the ADF’s thanks. It just means we get to appreciate them a little later.

As a whole Church, we do well to note the work of all our defence chaplains and to pray for them in their vital work. In relation to Operation Bushfire Assist we particularly thank Chaplains Josh Bouzanquet, Bruce Hammonds and David Hassan (Army); Garry Hooper (Air Force); and Richard Quadrio and Max Walker (Navy).

(PS – don’t be alarmed that the Clerk’s might not have received any mail for 12 months. This was the only thing that wasn’t forwarded to me, because of its size and because it was deemed non-urgent.)

Bruce Meller

2020 05 Certificate of Appreciation Bushfire Assistance

Important Request from the The Women’s Ministry Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Australia

To all ministers, elders, staff workers, ministry leaders and congregation members,

The Women’s Ministry Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Australia is attempting to gain a snapshot of women’s ministry in the PCA and what it looks like for men and women to work together in our churches. To this end, we are asking as many people as possible in our PCA churches to fill in the below survey (see link). The snapshot that we get from this data will inform the report on Women’s Ministry in the PCA that the committee has been asked to write for the General Assembly of the PCA in 2022. Getting an accurate picture of how men and women serve together in the church is vital for us continuing to become a place where men and women together reach their full potential to serve the Lord well.

We would appreciate it if all those who receive this email could fill it in themselves as soon as possible and also share it with their church members in an appropriate fashion (via email, a church social media page, etc) We are looking to hear from men and women of all ages so distributing this to the broadest base you have (including youths over 16) would be really helpful. It takes about 15 minutes to complete the survey.

Thank you for your assistance in continuing to make the PCA a place where men and women are equipped to serve the Lord well together.

Click Here to view Survey

Rev. James Snare
Convener of the Women’s Ministry Committee of the PCA

History and the Human Heart

Moderator's Comments - Posted 12 July 2021

Heresies do not appear as mushrooms overnight. The Presbyterian Church in America – a body whom we would regard as a sister Church – has gone through a few disturbances, especially since the Revoice conference of 2018 which appeared to remove same-sex attraction from the Christian list of sins. Yet it may be that we ought to look at what has happened in the Presbyterian Church of Canada. In 1925 the United Church of Canada was formed of a union consisting of three bodies: the Methodist Church, Canada; the Congregational Union of Canada; and about 70% of the Presbyterian Church of Canada.

Silver and Gold have I None

Moderator's Comments - Posted 8 June 2021

Those who know the Scriptures – or Scripture in Song – will recognise the heading as coming from Peter’s words to the lame man who had been lying by the Beautiful Gate, as part of the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 3:6). Not possessing any money, the apostle could not help him in the way the lame man was hoping for, but, being an apostle, Paul was used to perform a Messianic miracle whereby the man was sent on his way, walking and leaping and praising God. The episode is certainly a reminder that the New Testament Church was not driven by finances and high-powered administration.

There should be no intention of making a virtue out of necessity, but this is something to draw on in these days when the legal entity of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland has been given over to court-appointed receivers. Major troubles in the Church’s aged-care sector proved to be the trigger for the present troubles. Details will emerge over the next few months, and no doubt there will be repercussions for many years.

The danger for me is to offer some platitudes which may not help much. Others have been reflecting deeply on the situation, and sought to take God’s people more into the mind of Christ at such a time. So this is offered not in any belief that it is an exhaustive and comprehensive statement which says all that needs to be said.

First, we need to resist the temptation to blame others. That Adam was so quick to blame Eve in the Garden was an indication of his fallenness, not his sense of justice (Gen.3:12). The prophets did not call on Israel to blame the Assyrians and later the Babylonians but to search themselves and recognise that God was afflicting His own covenant people for good reason. Lessons will need to be learned, but they will have to be approached with what Paul calls a ‘sober judgment’ (Rom.12:3). It is no coincidence that in the period of the early Church the two most significant splits – the Novatianists and later the Donatists – emerged amidst accusations of blame during the persecutions of Decius and Diocletian. We are called upon not only to get it right, but to get it right in the right spirit.

Secondly, it is important that all Presbyterians be realistic. The ‘what ifs’ of history may be stimulating to the historian, but they do not necessarily help those going through troubles. There can be a kind of useless self-castigation which will drain us of energy. Anchored in the ‘what ifs’ of the past, we lose heart for the future. Before we go much further, it is time to dust ourselves off, and remember the biblical injunction: ‘And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up’ (Gal.6:9). There is an elephant in the room. Face the elephant, but God is greater than any elephant.

Nostalgia can be pointless: 'Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this’ (Eccles.7:10). God has made both the day of prosperity and the day of adversity (Eccles.7:13-14). Let us all glean what lessons we can, but let us recognise that what is done is done.

Finally, days of prosperity carry with them spiritual dangers (see Deut.8:11-14). A time when our cage is rattled may well prove to be an opportunity for deeper prayer, a firmer grasp of truth, renewed gratitude for grace, and for a more selfless exercise of love. We may see more from the hut than from the palace. The Psalmist found this out: ‘When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul’ (Ps.94:19). Legal entities come and go, but those redeemed by the blood of Christ are forever.

Receivership should not be viewed from the perspective of Armageddon. Go through Psalm 94. The Psalmist knew far more troubles and threats than we have so far faced, but he also knew of that which could cheer his soul. The lame man by the Beautiful Gate was initially disappointed, but ended out with far more than he could have hoped or thought. So might we.

With warm regards in Christ,

Peter Barnes

Rev. Dr Peter Barnes,
Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia

Wrong Paradigm, Wrong Diagnosis, Wrong Solution

Moderator's Comments - Posted 16 April 2021

Our response to the world needs to embrace more than lament, but a deep malaise has descended upon contemporary Western society. There is a hardness of heart, but a softness in the head; a trivialisation of life, yet a lack of humour; and a coarsened culture but a distorted sensitivity concerning giving offence. Any example would do as an illustration, but the recent moral outrage at the sexual misbehaviour of parliamentary staffers in Canberra is clear enough.