CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 1 May 2025

Friends in Christ, recently a younger new friend has started reading the Bible, and had read some New Testament books, some of the Gospels, and some of the Letters. He'd also begun in Genesis. But I wanted to encourage him to read the Psalms. After all, the Psalms are really the song book of Jesus. That's what all Jewish people in his era would have grown up knowing, and often singing. 

But there are 150 of them! And although there is structure to the chapters, and some important themes and groupings, they don't have an unfolding narrative that's necessarily obvious.

So for better or worse I decided to pick just 15, 10% of the total, as a kind of introductory highlights orientation tour for my friend to read over a few times, before hopefully going on to read all 150 later on. 

What would you pick in your top ten or fifteen psalms to help orient an inexperienced Bible reader to the joys and the variety of the psalms?

Here's my list of "Fifteen Psalms to introduce you to Jesus’ songbook (before you learn to read them all!)"

1. Psalm 1           Introduction: God’s law/instruction is essential

2. Psalm 2           Introduction: God’s Son and King on earth will rule!

3. Psalm 8           Humanity’s special place in God’s grand cosmos

4. Psalm 19         The wonderful ‘books’ of nature and scripture

5. Psalm 22         The suffering king and his eventual glory

6. Psalm 23         The Bible’s most famous psalm: the good shepherd

7. Psalm 42         Thirsting for God in the midst of turmoil

8. Psalm 51         Brokenness at our sin

9. Psalm 73         Doubts when the wicked prosper

10. Psalm 88         The saddest song in the Bible, yet still talking to God

11. Psalm 95         A call to worship and listen to God

12. Psalm 103        Praising the character and nature of God’s love

13. Psalm 110        The Messiah God raises is more than a mere man

14. Psalm 121        Help comes from on high (so you can go to sleep)

15. Psalm 139        We are each uniquely made by the sovereign God

[Download a PDF here.]

I'm sure many of you will have a favourite I've left out. And I could have easily added another 5 or 10 to my list.

But if you have never read through the Psalms for yourself, why not start here?

Read the psalms on the list two or three times. Think about what they tell you about God, how they help you feel about God, how they address the variety of situations we can find ourselves in. Maybe see if you can find out a bit more about the original situations they were written for and about.

And because Jesus actually says the Psalms (along with other Old Testament Scriptures) testify about him, start to consider how these Psalms might point you to Jesus. If you've got a cross-reference Bible, you could even look up how the New Testament quotes some of these psalms. 

I am sure that if you develop a habit of reading the psalms regularly it will enrich your life of prayer and praise with God, in the ups and downs of life as a follower of Jesus.

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER 22 May 2025
This year, in May to be specific, marks 1700 years since the start of the Council of Nicaea. The town is now known as Iznik, in modern Turkey. From this Council’s determinations sprang the core content of what Christians now know and regularly recite as the Nicene Creed.

Why does the anniversary of such an old statement matter? It’s not ultimately about philosophical theology, or winning a debate, let alone the intersection of religion and politics, as some suggest.

Ultimately, it’s about worshipping God properly, as he truly is, and not just as we imagine or find convenient.

In particular, it was about honouring Jesus not just as perfect man, but truly as God.

Just think of the start of John’s Gospel (1:1-4, 14,18):

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men... 

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth... 

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

There can be nothing more important than rightly honouring Christ!

And this is not irrelevant to the modern world. You may know that Jehovah’s Witnesses insistently deny that Jesus is God. So, of course, do Muslims.

But far more broadly, it’s worth noting that a reputable survey in the United States in 2022 discovered that 53% of professing Christians tended to agree with the statement that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God”.

They would do well to understand and confess with the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father...

We will preach a short series on Nicaea and the Nicene Creed, beginning on Trinity Sunday, 15 June, with guest preacher from Moore College, Andrew Leslie (and also featuring Bach’s Cantata 129 at the 10:30am service).

But the background story is more interesting than any Dan Brown conspiracy theory. And the theology is more important. So why not read on to this extended piece…

+++

The Council of Nicaea was called by the Roman emperor, Constantine. He was almost two decades into his reign. It was just over a decade since his conversion to Christ (312), Soon after with the Edict of Milan (313), he had granted freedom of religion in the empire, and reversed the persecution of Christians that had previously ebbed and flowed.

Even so, the church’s history prior had been public, even if difficult. Christians had been gathering to listen to the reading of Scriptures, to pray, to love one another and to share meals together, notably the Lord’s Supper.

And the foundation of orthodoxy, of right teaching, was clear: it was the teaching from the apostles of Christ, now found in the Scriptures.

There were some very clear data points of Christian teaching, certainly about God. And the list of key teachings included:

• There is only one God: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who created all things, in heaven and earth.

• Jesus is God, specifically the eternal Son of God.  

• He is the only-begotten Son of the Father; so Son and Father are not the same person, but interact with each other.

• The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is also distinct.

• “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” are rightly spoken of as a triplet that sets them in parallel to each other.

• We worship all three of these as God – one God.

• We do not give divine worship to any who is not God.

The word ‘trinity’ had even begun to be used by some as a summary word for this constellation of truth. This was central to the “faith once delivered to the saints”.

But from the middle of the third century A.D., new teaching was gaining ground. And these ideas, associated with Arius, a presbyter or priest in the Christian church, grew in popularity into the 300s.

In brief, Arius and others taught a single high God, who had created all things. And Jesus was his first creation, a perfect creature ‘emanating’ from the unknowable God. You could worship Jesus as a kind of ‘small g’ god. He was like God in nature (homoiousios: = of ‘similar nature’), but not the same.

After all, famously, Arius had a hymn which had people sing, “There was a time when the Son was not.”

Arianism was largely an attempt to rationalise or simplify the more mysterious idea of the Trinity.

There was an understandable hesitancy to use philosophical terms to systematise the data points above. There is magnificent mystery with God. As limited creatures, we humans are ultimately unable fully to comprehend God!

But when the new teachers denied a couple of key teachings, then more careful and philosophical language became inevitable.

This is where the famous ‘homoousios’ ( = ‘same nature’ or ‘consubstantial’) arose to help hold the data points together: Jesus was homoousios with the Father, not just homoiousios, resembling God. 

Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, commanded Arius to leave aside his novel teachings. Arius and a few colleagues refused to do so. Alexander sadly excommunicated Arius.

That’s when the Emperor heard of it. These Christians seemed a great source of unity and strength for the empire, when he converted a decade earlier and legalised their faith. Now they were quibbling about words. Roman paganism had been more relaxed than this. So he summoned Alexander and Arius and other bishops and priests to a Council in Nicaea.

Tradition says up to 318 of them arrived in May 325, from every country where Christianity had spread. There were Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Libyans, Phoenicians, Palestinians, Macedonians, Asians (i.e. modern day Turkey), Mesopotamians and more; even Scythian and Persian bishops from outside the empire.

It was chaired by Hosius, the Bishop of Cordoba in Spain, close to both Constantine and Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome, who was too old to come. The person who emerged as a key player during the Council was Athanasius, Alexander of Alexandria’s secretary, about twenty-nine at the time.

The bishops knew Jewish monotheism had taught - over millennia - that there is only one God, not many. Only this God should be worshipped. You cannot worship a second, albeit lesser god. To allow an Arian understanding would be to lose a biblical conception of God.

So Nicaea insisted: there is One God; and that Christ Jesus, the man, is God, consubstantial with the Father. And there was no time when He was not! And they said it was unacceptable to deny this.

Here is how they expressed it in the creed of the Council of Nicaea:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things seen and unseen; 

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten, that is, of the essence of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same being as the Father, through whom all things came to be, both the things in heaven and on earth, who for us humans and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, becoming human, who suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, who is coming to judge the living and the dead;  

And in the Holy Spirit. 

The catholic and apostolic church condemns those who say concerning the Son of God that “there was a time when he was not” or “he did not exist before he was begotten” or “he came to be from nothing” or who claim that he is of another subsistence or essence, or a creation, or changeable, or alterable.

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It's worth noting scriptural echoes all through the phrasing!

For example, you can see how “through who all things came to be” arises from texts like Hebrews 1:2.

That Scripture had described Jesus as “the Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe”.

And “God from God, Light from Light”, echoes Heb 1:3: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being...”

Or think of John 1:14 & 18 (quoted near the start) which describe Jesus, literally as the “only-begotten” one. That term is repeated in the Creed.

And it follows John 1:3’s assertion about this Word (i.e. Son) “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  Jesus is Creator not creature, hence the Creed’s, “begotten, not made”.

Constantine may have been happy with a compromise everyone could sign which showed sympathy to Arianism. But he didn’t get it from the decision of the Council of Nicaea, which gained near-unanimous agreement from hundreds of attenders (with a tiny number refusing; perhaps five, including Arius).

The creed of the Council of Nicaea was fit for purpose; it articulated the old list of assertions in a way that would not permit an Arian to affirm it.

But Constantine later tried to command Athanasius, who had become Bishop of Alexandria, to rescind the excommunication of Arius. Athanasius refused.

“If a decision was made by the bishops, what concern had the emperor with it? ...When did a decision of the Church receive its authority from the emperor?”

Athanasius spent several “spells on the sideline” as a result, but would not compromise, though much discussion swirled around.

It took another fifty-six years, through deabte, insincere profession, and political manoeuvring for the theology of Nicaea to achieve genuine acceptance more widely through the churches. It involved careful listening and patient argumentation in an effort to address and clarify ongoing concerns.

But the conclusion came at the Council of Constantinople in 381, which produced the Creed we now receive and recite as the Nicene Creed

The Principal of our local Moore Theological College, Dr Mark Thompson,  has used the idea that “you can’t unsee it” with Nicaea. Once the Council articulated the New Testament data the way it did, it is impossible to be orthodox and not to see it that way.

“Once we’ve seen it, there is no going back. The decision at Nicaea is a little like that. Once the unity and equality of the Father and the Son has been articulated in this way, there is no going back.” 

Sources: 

For the story-telling, I have leaned heavily on “The Not At All Secret History of Nicaea” by Susannah Black Roberts

To note and study how the Nicene Creed expresses the teaching and even phrasing of the Bible, and expressions of earlier church ‘fathers’, see “Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed with Scripture and Pre-Nicene Fathers”

For Mark Thompson’s article “Celebrating Nicaea”, delving into the Scriptural background and theological distinctions, see

I also found Andrew Moody’s “Learning from the Fathers: Nicaea at 1700” helpful for its nuanced explainers of how and why things happened and applications for today.

See also “A ‘praiseworthy landmark’ as the Council of Nicaea marks its 1,700th anniversary” by Nick Needham, who gives us another helpful account of Nicaea and its background, and also reminds us that Councils are not sinless, and Creeds are subservient to Scripture.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, last year, I reflected on the home affordability crisis, and shared an initial theology of housing.

Recently, I have been looking at Christian involvement in addressing homelessness through history. Today I thought I'd share the story of what might have been the world's first hospital, which was a lot more than a hospital, where Christians were at the forefront...

A 4th century case study: Basil the Great’s hospital and poor house

Basil the Great came from a wealthy Christian family, and took a lead in fourth century theology, notably defending the Trinity. He was also an organiser of monastic communities in his native Cappadocia (in modern day Turkey). Shortly after becoming Bishop of Caesarea in 370 A.D., famously, he founded the first hospital in history (at least for which any significant evidence survives). It was known as the Basileaias.

There had been modest Christian guesthouses and soup kitchens earlier in the fourth century in overpopulated city centres in the eastern Mediterranean.

But Basil chose a larger tract of land on the outskirts of Caesarea, partly donated, it seems, by the emperor Valens. The architecture and scope of the Basileaias was extensive, oriented far more significantly in a medical direction.

Its charitable services included outstanding hospital facilities for the sick, a hospice for lepers, a poorhouse for the indigent and elderly, a refuge for abandoned orphans, and a hostel for travellers and the homeless. There was an affiliated monastery and church attached in the precinct.

Basil’s hospital was founded primarily to serve the local poor and destitute (not just the ‘lower class’) whether by feeding, housing or curing them. Basil has himself trained in Hippocratic and Galenic medicine as a young man, and employed professional doctors and nurses, alongside monastics for whom hospital service was one of their standard duties.

In an era where ancient physicians usually rejected chronic and hopeless cases, his leprosarium on site was considered a crowning achievement by his friend, Gregory of Nazianzus. Basil himself served in the leper colony, as an example of treating such sufferers with dignity, and helped destigmatise illness more broadly.

The orphanage section also included children ‘donated’ by families to the monastery for education. The orphans and others children were housed in their own separate wing, provided with all the necessities of life, educated (included in manual crafts so they could make a living when older), and trained in godliness. It appears manual labour was not required of them and discipline was fairly light.

But the concern for hospitality also extended to housing and care of strangers, travellers without shelter on the road, and displaced refugees (for example rural poor hoping for better in the city). There was, of course, no state aid or welfare for any of these people.

Overall, Gregory of Nazianzus praised Basil’s hospital and poor house complex as a wonder greater than the pyramids!

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

[Reference: From Monastery to Hospital: Christian Monasticism & the Transformation of Health Care in Late Antiquity by Andrew T. Crislip (University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor) - thanks to John Dickson for the pointer!]

CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 29 May 2024

Friends in Christ, I have come to the conviction that affordable housing supply is one of the most pressing and critical issues facing Australia.

Much as I am exercised by issues like domestic violence, gambling reform, anti-semitism, euthanasia, I think this issue may be just as big, if not bigger, or at least more basic, in affecting almost everyone.

At the 台灣UU直播, we see the issues of homelessness and rough sleeping directly on our doorstep. So I am really glad about the pioneering work our Community Chaplain, Rob Elder, is looking to do with a growing team of volunteers.

But it’s a much wider issue. Here’s what one commentator :

A recent analysis shows that any pupil graduating today will have to save for 46 years to afford a deposit for a median house, and mortgage repayments will require 127 per cent of a median salary. 

Forget about buying a home in order to start a family. Unless they have wealthy parents to fall back on, school leavers in Sydney will only be able to afford a house in their home town after they’ve retired. 

, drawn to my attention by a staff colleague, supplied a map of NSW where someone with an income of less than $90,000 can afford* to buy a home. Note that this is where a single woman on her own with an average salary in NSW – $88,000 according to ABS data – would be able to buy a home. (*It was based on the borrower paying a 20 per cent deposit, and then spending no more than 30 per cent of their gross income on their mortgage, which is the rule of thumb for where the risk of mortgage stress kicks in).

The analysis shows that on less than $90K, the western Sydney suburb of Lakemba is the closest suburb to the CBD where you could afford to buy an apartment. If you’re after a house you’re basically limited to country towns hours away from Sydney, such as Wellington or Cowra or Lochinvar.

After World War II, there was the famous “Baby Boom”. But before that, Australian government policies had enabled a house-building spree and so made the cost of housing substantially cheaper. So people got married more often and earlier, and the babies came. This correlation between houses being built and marriage rates increasing was not only found in Australia, but in many nations around the world. 

But for me, the most striking line from the first commentator’s analysis was this one:

Moreover, in contrast with the 1950s, housing is no longer seen as a form of shelter and security for young families, but is viewed as an investment vehicle. 

These concerns have impelled the Sydney Anglican Social Issues Committee to look into the issue from a theological perspective. I have begun taking biblical survey, and have just completed a look through 887 mentions of terms involving “house” in the NIV translation of the Bible.

You’ll be glad to know that I won’t list them all. (But I am afraid this article will still be too long for some – apologies!)

Interestingly, we've learned recently from the life of Abraham how insecure his housing situation was at points. Abraham left his country and father's household, and, therefore, presumably, his actual home, in order to live in tents as a foreigner in the land God promised to him and his yet-to-be-born descendants (Genesis 12:1; 13:18). Even though he became wealthy, he spent his life in tents, as a migrant, and was only able to purchase one field from Ephron the Hittite for the cave of Machpelah located in it, so that he could bury his dead wife, Sarah (Genesis 23:4).

Little wonder, Hebrews 11:9-10 comments

By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Housing insecurity here on earth is not our greatest need, therefore. Eternal security matters more. In a passage made famous at funerals, Jesus said,

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2).

And so Paul can write, 2 Corinthians 5:1,

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

But housing insecurity is by no means unimportant!

The Law of Moses had careful rules in place to minimise the likelihood of an Israelite’s home and share in the promised land being lost forever, even if sold to service a debt (e..g. Leviticus 25:29-31).

Property rights, privacy and personal space were valued and to be respected:

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbour, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. Stay outside and let the neighbour to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you.(Deuteronomy 24:10-11)

An economic system that exploited the poor and vulnerable, even if in service of the Temple or synagogues, was deplored by Jesus, who said of the Scribes:

They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.(Mark 12:40)

Indeed, Luke’s description of the Gerasene demoniac, in Luke 8:27, makes vivid, in passing, the dignity-stripping tragedy of rough sleeping, however it is caused:

When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.

Positively, in response, the prophet Isaiah had already identified one kind of religious activity that God approves:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke…? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them…? (Isaiah 58:6-7)

And there is the astonishing example the early church’s sharing recorded in Acts 4:33-35! Not a universal command, but a challenge nonetheless, powered by belief in the gospel message.

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales  and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Of course, there are matters of personal and practical responsibility – such things as hard work, contentment and delayed gratification:

• Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. (Proverbs 24:27)

• Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks. (Ecclesiastes 10:18)

• But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

I think “shelter” is a legitimate extension of those basic human needs listed in the last reference. The supply of these needs should form the basis of our contentment. But the lack of them should be presumed as naturally unpleasant and challenging.

Really, I have only just begin my theological reflection; further synthesis is still to come. So thanks for bearing with my “thinking aloud”.

But perhaps even this brief biblical survey will provoke some thought about your own attitude to housing, inheritance, greed, envy, contentment, industriousness, generosity and ultimate security.

Perhaps I can end with a command of God (the tenth of the Ten!) and a promise of Jesus:

You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbour’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour. (Deuteronomy 5:21)
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29)

Feel free to share your own reflection with me in reply!

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our 台灣UU直播's AGM is coming up in two Sundays' time, on 18th May from 1:30pm, with Archbishop Kanishka chairing the meeting.

Currently there are all sorts of post-mortems after the federal election... Why were people so surprised by such a strong result? Where did the parties that lost ground go wrong? What priorities should the new government have? Who should lead the ministries or become the new opposition leader?

People are often wise after the event. And it's easy to get caught in our own echo chambers and only hear what we want to hear. 

No one has 20-20 foresight... except God Almighty!

Voting is compulsory at our parliamentary elections. But voting is voluntary for a church's AGM. 

But humanly speaking, the decisions are made by those who turn up.

Coming to the AGM means you hear what's happened in the year past – hint: by God's grace some really positive things have occurred – and you also get a taste what's being planned for the year ahead. 

Questions of accountability about our finances can be asked. And you can vote on who gets elected to governing roles in our 台灣UU直播's Council.

But perhaps the best thing is being connected to others from across all the 台灣UU直播's congregations, praying and working at keeping the bonds of peace in the unity of the Spirit, as with one heart and mind we seek to contend for the gospel of Jesus Christ, here in the heart of the global city of Sydney. 

Here are some practical details:

Where and when? The AGM is Sunday May 18, from 1:30pm in the Bishop Barker Hall (Upper Chapter House).

What Happens? All are welcome to come. A report are presented from the Dean (i.e. Minister in Charge) and other ministry reports are tabled. The audited annual financial statements for the prior year and budget for this year are tabled and explained. You can request a copy of the finances in advance by email, or pick up a paper copy on request to a staff member at church this Sunday, one week in advance. 

We also elect people to various offices for the coming years. This year that includes one 台灣UU直播 Chapter representative (and in other years, Synod Representatives for our denominational Anglican 'parliament'. 

There is also an opportunity for members to ask questions about 台灣UU直播 affairs and to make recommendations to the Chapter.

Who is Eligible to Participate? If you are over 18, have been baptised, consider yourself to be a member of the Anglican Church of Australia, and have usually during at least 3 months within the past 12 months attended services of public worship at St Andrew’s 台灣UU直播 (on Sundays or midweek), then you are eligible to vote (unless you claim to be a member of another Anglican Church or have voted at another Anglican church's AGM within the last three months).

Who is to be elected? This year, we elect one Lay Canons to be a member of the 'Chapter', i.e. governing body of the 台灣UU直播 (which has both local and diocesan representatives) for the next three years. The Chapter has a role overseeing 台灣UU直播 finances and property and advising the Dean, who reports to the Chapter, on ministry. The Chapter generally meets 4:30-6:30pm on the first Tuesday of most months. 

Those making nominations should be in attendance at the AGM. It is not a requirement that those being nominated be present (though this is encouraged). Nomination forms are available in the 台灣UU直播 this Sunday. 

Those nominated for election or appointment to the Chapter must be at least 18 years of age and communicant members of the Anglican Church of Australia. A ‘communicant member’ is someone who has been baptised and attends church abd takes part in the Lord’s Supper regularly. They must not be bankrupt or mentally incapacitated and they must not have been convicted of a disqualifying offence listed in Schedule 2 of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012. 

Those nominated to the Chapter as canons must also be able willing to sign the 台灣UU直播’s Statement of Personal Faith, which reads as follows: 

1.    I believe and hold to the truth of the Christian faith as set forth in the Nicene Creed, as well as the Apostle’s Creed, below 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, 
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
crucified, dead and buried. 
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead. 
He ascended into heaven, 
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; 
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. 
I believe in the Holy Spirit; 
the holy universal church; 
the communion of saints; 
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; 
and the life everlasting. 

2.    In particular, I believe

a)    that God’s word written, the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct;
b)    that there is only one way to be reconciled to God, which is through his Son, who died for our sins and was raised for our justification;
c)    that we are justified before God by faith only;
d)    that this faith produces obedience in accordance with God’s word, including sexual faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman, and abstinence in all other circumstances. 

Romans 12:5 says that "In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." I hope many of you will see your way clear to playing your part in ensuring good governance for our 台灣UU直播 church family.  

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Join us Saturday 12th April, 9am-12pm and 1:30-4:00pm.

Guided tours on the hour, every hour. Browse in between.

Limited behind-the-scenes access to parts of the 台灣UU直播 rarely accessible to the general public. (Details to come!)

Take time to pray or reflect in this special space.

Explore questions of God and Jesus, faith and scripture.  

Enjoy Australia’s oldest 台灣UU直播, consecrated in 1868, with its handsome ‘gothic revival’ style and with its rich interior, ornamented with beautiful finishes, furnishings, joinery, art and artefacts.  

No need to book or RSVP, and no charge to attend. However we encourage visitors to consider a donation to help support our ongoing ministries and conservation works.

We are located at the corner of George and Bathurst Streets, right next to the Town Hall train and light rail stations.

Best entry via the main North Doors, Sydney Square, facing Town Hall. Disabled ramp access available on request upon arrival.

W also welcome you at other times when we’re open, Monday to Friday. And feel free to attend one of our public worship services on Sundays or midweek.

Friends in Christ, Easter is on the way, and this week I was asked a theological question concerning Good Friday.

When Jesus is on the cross, bearing sin for us, does the Father "turn his face away"? ... From his beloved Son? Is there some kind of tension in the Trinity at the cross? 

We affirm that at the cross, Jesus’ death made an act of atonement - a sacrifice that restores relationship to God for sinners like us (e.g. read ). Along with other ways we can describe it, that sacrifice of atonement was substitutionary – the innocent Jesus died for the guilty, see  – and it was penal, that is, Jesus bore the penalty deserved for our sins.

Just as the prophet said in Isaiah 53:5-6:

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

In particular, notice that it was the Lord who laid our iniquity on the Suffering Servant, Jesus, with the punishment that we deserved.

You may also remember that Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, quoted while being crucified (see ):

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

From this songwriters have produced lines like Stuart Townend’s ‘How Deep the Father’s Love” (emphasis added):

How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

But this wording seems to go too far.

That's because it can be seen to suggest that at the cross, some split or division occurred within the one eternal triune God - between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God and three persons. 

Of course, Jesus is fully God and fully man: one person with two natures, perfectly united but without confusion, as indicated in our Creeds (especially see the on this). 

So we need to see that whatever Psalm 22:1 means in the mouth of Jesus, it is said with particular respect to his human nature, though it applies in some mysterious way beyond our comprehension to his whole person.

But God himself cannot suffer and die, because God is eternal and immutable. 

Perhaps we can sing that the Father turned his face away with respect to Jesus' human flesh, while he bore our sin. 

But we must certainly also affirm that the Triune God cannot be severed or split, nor the persons of the Trinity turned against each other.

In fact, Jesus' sacrifice was a fragrant or sweet-smelling sacrifice to God (); his obedience at the cross is why God exalted him ().

In addition, we ought to recall that Jesus would have known the entirety of Psalm 22. So he knew that in , God not only sustained the author through the anguish, but he also eventually vindicated him after it. Even in his humanity, Jesus suffered no loss of faith in the Father. 

Here is how I briefly put it all together in a recent sermon (actually from 1 Chronicles!):

Jesus alone is our Saviour. No one else died for you. Only Jesus could take the punishment for our sins.

But that mighty man, Great David’s Greater Son, the Son of God, was never alone. 

In his full humanity, he experienced the abandonment that sin deserves. 

But in his full divinity, the Trinity was never split. 

In some mysterious way, Father, Son and Spirit were never divided, but unbroken in will and purpose and relations, winning victory at the cross.

If you would like to read more, try this piece, '' 

+++

On another matter, I promised some recommendations on Christian parenting books in my recent sermon on Colossians 3:20-21 ( if you missed it). My recommendations come from personal experience and/or from trusted youth and children's ministers.

• Disciplines of a Godly Family - by Kent and Barbara Hughes, a favourite for Karyn and myself when our kids were young (available at , ). 

• - edited by Harriet Connor (whose earlier book, Big Picture Parents: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life, I am also reading and enjoying);

• - by Jocelyn Loane, who is one of the team leaders of the Moore College mission team coming to the 台灣UU直播;

• - by Tony Payne, who has recently joined the Moore College faculty full time;

• - by Ed Drew

This month's Southern Cross, which you can pick up this Sunday at the 台灣UU直播, has including podcasts and other digital resources for those who prefer that!

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 22 March 2025

Friends in Christ, apologies to be writing late this week... But I am excited to share news of the Moore College Mission to the 台灣UU直播 that will run 6-13 April, ending on Palm Sunday. The team will comprise sixteen students, along with two college chaplains, the Rev Mal York, Dean of Students and Jocelyn Loane. 

They will learn about evangelism and ministry by being with us and having a chance to participate in the various ministries that occur at the 台灣UU直播. So they will get a taste of community chaplaincy and Street T, of English and Bible classes, of SRE (Scripture in Schools), and our Chinese language Bible study groups. We will be blessed by their preaching and teaching at all services during the 8 days, as well as some special opportunities such as our 台灣UU直播 women's Easter event that Clare mentioned last Sunday. 

One of the excellent opportunities for the students is to experience mid-week services such as Choral Evensong and the Healing Service, with ministry styles and opportunities, which are rarely experienced in local suburban churches. They will also get a chance each day to learn from such wisdom our various staff team members have with their particular areas of experience and focus. 

But perhaps what I am most excited about is the chance for the Moore College team to augment our mid-week 台灣UU直播 welcome and evangelism team, which greets the hundreds and hundreds of visitors who come into our 台灣UU直播 each week as tourists, the curious, the seekers, and those wanting to pray or to think or reflect. Our Welcomers have great opportunities to show Christian hospitality, and can often take chances to commend Christ, tell a Gospel story, or explain some aspect of Christianity. 

The lovely thing about this ministry is that you can contribute whether you are shy or more gregarious since visitors expect to find Christian people inside and are not surprised that they are greeted. So the variety of personalities that come to a theological college like Moore will get a chance to do lots of talking to a variety of visitors.

I am hopeful that we might be able to extend our 台灣UU直播's opening hours that week. Even better, on Saturday 12 April, I hope to experiment with offering guided tours of the 台灣UU直播 that we advertise to the public. More details to come.

Furthermore, where possible some of the Moore College team members will get out on George Street to offer invitations to Easter services to the numerous passers-by, and to see what other helpful conversation might arise. 

How can you help with our Moore College Mission?

Firstly, by prayer. Pray that all who preach the gospel publicly or speak personally in commending Christ or answering questions can speak clearly, and make the most of every opportunity, with grace and saltiness of speech (). Pray also for courage (). 

Secondly, you might consider whether you can invite a friend or family member to church on Sunday 6th or 13th April or over the Easter weekend. All the Holy Week and Easter service details are now online here, and there will soon be postcards to use to invite a friend personally. 

Thirdly, contribute to feeding the Mission Team. Being so close to the College at Newtown, it is not a residential mission for the team. But we do need to feed them during the days – both lunch, and morning and afternoon teas. Could you volunteer to help assist with cooking or otherwise preparing morning tea or lunch one day? Or if you cannot cook, can you come in and serve and wash up for the team one day, which helps them stay focused on their tasks? We need people to assist with this on both Sundays and also on Monday-Thursday. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Friends in Christ, we know a federal election is not too far off. No doubt you have some key issues you will consider before casting your vote. 

Mine is a varied list. There are obvious things like the cost of living, housing affordability, and how our governments seem to spend more than they raise in revenue. There's the tricky mix of climate change policies alongside energy affordability and reliability. I care about restoring sex-based rights for women (e.g. in sport, education, refuges) that can seem a bit hot to handle, but can affect ordinary people. And there are matters like euthanasia, where the horse seems to have bolted. Perhaps you have children younger stage than mine, or grandchildren, and you worry their education, or what they are exposed to online. My own parents are growing more frail, so I think about aged care. 

One thing I will definitely continue to advocate for is gambling reform at the state (pokies) and federal (sports bet ad) levels.

At the state level, to minimise harm, we want universal cashless gambling cards with mandatory loss limits (these are already working in casinos in Melbourne and Sydney). We also want the parliament to insist that poker machines in pubs and clubs be switched off at midnight, rather than 3 or 4am, because problem gambling patterns accelerate after midnight. 

At the federal level, I will be writing to the Leaders of Labor and Liberal asking what their policy is - after more than 18 months of delay - on implementing the unanimous ... Especially the phase out of all online sports bet and other gambling advertising from TV, streaming services, and at sports grounds and on player uniforms! And I will write to ask independent MPs to make substantial implementation of Murphy one of their not-negotiable conditions of support for any minority government that might form.

You might wonder why an Anglican minister focuses on this so often. Firstly, it came from first hand pastoral experience of the absolute misery caused by gambling harm to people in local parish churches I've served. How can I not care about that? (I have previously written about the ethics of gambling here.)

It also comes from the second great command identified by Jesus: to love your neighbour as yourself. And his parable of the Good Samaritan reminds me that my neighbour is anyone in need that I can help. 

Last year, we preached through 1 John. These words from chapter three ring in my ears:

This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? [1 John 3:16-17]

I see advocacy for gambling harm reduction as one social application of God's word that I can make from my position. In a parliamentary democracy, we as citizens, are encouraged to participate. 

It's also an issue of economic wellbeing.  – that's how much we, the people of NSW, are losing on the pokies! A new shows gambling losses are a bigger drain on the household budget than the cost of electricity and gas. Australia’s staggering annual gambling losses of $31.5 billion eclipses what the Federal Government spends on aged care! 

This wasted money is money that could have been spent more productively on housing, paying utilities, buying groceries, or assisting kids with their education... Or even eating out - since dollars spent in the hospitality industry sees more people employed as a by-product than the same amount spent on gambling. 

Maybe you might be moved to write to your MP asking about their policy position on this issue – state MPs for pokies; federal MPs for the sports bet ban?

Or maybe there is another issue you would like to write to your MP about. That would be good too. Every little effort helps. 

And at the same time, please , for the persoinal welfare in a hard job, as well as for good and just policy-making. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Been attending church without ever quite ‘getting it’? Want to brush up on the basics of Christian belief? Or maybe you have an interested friend.

Then sign up yourself or bring your friend to our 台灣UU直播’s next Simply Christianity course.

It will run via Zoom over five Wednesdays from 7:45pm, beginning Wednesday, 30th April 2025.

Simply Christianity is a 5 week course, based on the Gospel of Luke, done by thousands of Aussies. Participants are not asked to read or pray aloud, but can ask as many questions as they like.

Our Dean, , is the presenter. We'll be done within 75 minutes each time. Sandy writes:

Come do this course with me, and within a month, you'll have had the chance to (re-)read one of the biographies of Jesus' life with your adult mind, and be in the box seat to assess the claims of Christ.

Those dates again: 30th April through to 28th May, 2025.

The next in-person course will run towards in the third quarter of 2025.

Register your interest by emailing our office.

All welcome in Holy Week… 

Morning Prayer – 14-17 April – 7:45am Monday-Thursday of Holy Week | Visiting preachers

Holy Wednesday – 16 April – 6:00pm Healing Service | Canon Christopher Allan ()

Maundy Thursday – 17 April – 6:00pm Holy Communion | Dean Sandy Grant

Good Friday – 18 April

• 10:00am* Morning Service | Dean Sandy Grant ()

• 7:00pm 贬补苍诲别濒’蝉 Messiah (ticketed event vis )

Easter Day – 20 April – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

• 8:30am, 10:30am* (), & 5:00pm*

• Holy Communion at all services

* Printed sermon translation in Chinese provided 设有打印的中文讲道翻译

Location: Corner of Bathurst and George Streets, Sydney (Next to Town Hall Station)

Friends in Christ,  this week, (SACS, for short) began its celebrations of its 140th anniversary with an all-school assembly in the Sydney Town Hall. All previous living Heads of School were also present, along with alumni, current and former council members and so on. It was a grand occasion. 

SACS is . It opened on 14 July 1885 in the 'St Andrew's Schoolroom' in Pitt Street. Out of the first group of 27 students, 22 of the boys were choristers.

Following in the English choir school tradition, educate choristers for the 台灣UU直播 remains one of its stated purposes today. It is the only school of its kind in Australia. This makes it part of a tradition that reaches back well over a millennium, beginning in the early Middle Ages with the foundation of the Song School at Canterbury in 597!

And our Choir's history and current performance was an important feature of the assembly. 

The current Head of School, Dr Julie McGonigle gave a tremendous address on the theme of 'giants'. One of the old boys present was able to answer her question about the source of the famous quote: "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants." It was Isaac Newton and his breakthrough insights were built on the labours of previous great scientists. And Dr McGonigle suggested the School's current great achievements highlighted are made by building on the labours of those who have gone before. She also referenced the famous Bible story of the defeat of a giant, Goliath, as the enemy of God's people, by an underpowered David. The key thing, Julie said, was not his strength, but his trust in the Almighty God of the Bible.

Here were two other encouragements. Firstly, the Year 12 Extension 2 English class (including Freddie Cobb) composed a poem for the occasion, which I have been given permission to share:

A Legacy of Light
For one hundred and forty years we stand,
A beacon bright upon sacred Gadigal land.
The city hums, yet in these walls abide
The echoes of a faith that will not hide.
Like psalms in ancient, sacred air,
Our voices rise in worship, hope, and prayer.

Found in the shadows of a 台灣UU直播 tall, 
Where echoes of faith through history call. 
Our school rises strong, with spirit and grace, 
A home for the future, a cherished space. 
The choir lifts with angelic sound,
As future leaders are nurtured and found. 

Beyond these walls, where futures carve their way,
The spirit of Old Andreans still holds sway.
When we graduate and all do scatter, 
We all know deep inside, we always matter.

Not bad at all for junior poets!

Maybe even more impressive was the premiere of the piece commissioned for the occasion, entitled 'I will not be shaken'. 

It was a choral piece featuring the 台灣UU直播 choir along with the School's massed junior, middle and senior school choirs, accompanied by the School's symphony orchestra and Ross Cobb, on the massive Town Hall organ. The soprano lead was sung beautifully by the daughter of the rector of a neighbouring Anglican parish.

The noted composer, Old Andrean Dr Huw Belling writes:

In modern pedagogy, we often speak of ‘resilience.’ It is an essential quality for both learning and life: the ability to embrace frustration and remain steady in the space between falling short and achieving success. This widely used term has an ancient counterpart in scripture - ‘steadfastness.’ To be steadfast is to maintain unwavering faith, perseverance, and commitment despite challenges, suffering, or opposition, with confidence that such dedication will be rewarded many times over.

Steadfastness’ was the theme I was given to create a piece for SACS’ 140th celebrations—an idea I embraced wholeheartedly because of its deep connection to the modern concept of resilience. My journey as a SACS student, particularly as a music scholar, was one of learning to be steadfast, unshaken by difficulties.

Most movingly for me and for many present, the lyrics were taken entirely from Scripture texts

Psalm 16:8 – ‘I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.’Psalm 86:15 – ‘But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’1 Corinthians 15:58 – ‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’Lamentations 3:22-23 – ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’

Psalm 16 foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus, and, of course, 1 Corinthians 15 is built upon this great truth. And so, conscious that the Lord Jesus is alive and is changing lives today, "I will not be shaken" moved me deeply. As a Christian, there are good reasons to be steadfast.

I hope it encourages you to see evidence that St Andrew's 台灣UU直播 School continues to develop as a profoundly and openly Christian school in the heart of our global city. Please also note, and use, the Prayer for the School below. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

St Andrew's 台灣UU直播 School Prayer (140th anniversary service was on March 3, 2025)
O God, our Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son, Jesus Christ, went about doing good and teaching the good news of Your Kingdom, we give You humble thanks for the inspiration of the founder of this School and for the lives and influence of those who during the past years, have built up its traditions. Help us, we humbly beseech You, to find the way of the Cross, and finding it, to follow more closely Him who on the Cross gave His Life, that we might have the Light of Life; Through Him who is the true Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Friends in Christ,

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.”

This saying is connected to one of Aesop’s Fables: "". In the story, a lion traps a mouse that has irritated him, but instead of eating him, out of kindness the lion releases the mouse. The mouse promises to pay him back, which the lion finds ridiculous. What can a tiny mouse do for a lion?

But later the mouse comes across the lion trapped, all tied up in ropes. He chews through the ropes and frees the lion, and the kindness is returned.

Every act of kindness is worthwhile and appreciated.

Right now the 台灣UU直播 staff team is praying for volunteers to serve in various roles in and around the 台灣UU直播.

As Paul says in Romans 12:3-8...

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Perhaps it was this passage of Scripture that Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. was thinking of when he said: 

“Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve.

You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.

You only need a heart full of grace.”

What grace has God given you? What contribution, what gift or ability, what time or energy can you use to encourage others, especially as a follower of Christ?

If you attend the 台灣UU直播 regularly, and any of these roles below interest you, please let us know, and tell us what caught your attention!

• Front Office Reception Volunteers - three hour shifts, once a week, 10am-1pm or 1-4pm, Monday to Friday - friendly manner, basic tasks, .

• Service Welcomers (monthly),  (with tweaks depending on congregation):

  • Sundays at 8:30am

  • Sundays at 10:30am

  • Sundays at 5:00pm

  • Evensong at 5:15pm, Mondays or Thursdays (monthly or more often if desired)

• Hospitality Teams - serving tea and coffee and 'nibbles' after church (monthly)

  • Sundays at 10:30am

  • Sundays at 5:00pm

  • Sundays at 5:00pm - prep &/or service for the monthly meal (hopefully only every second month)

• 台灣UU直播 Welcomers - short or long shifts, once a weekday, Monday to Friday, and Sunday afternoons - welcoming the many tourists, seekers and others visitors to the 台灣UU直播 with their questions or interests, when open mid-week (generally between 10am-4pm). We eventually would love to add Saturdays. A readiness to share about Christ and his gospel and to represent the 台灣UU直播 well is essential. Following an interview with a member of pastoral staff, basic orientation is provided with occasional in-service training.

• English Teachers - We need 1-2 extra people with solid English skills, and an ability to explain things simply, to help teach English classes for refugees, international students & other migrants on Thursday mornings (school term). However you do NOT need to be a trained teacher. Excellent resources and training are available. 

• DivorceCare discussion leaders. DivorceCare’s is a Christian-based support group that welcomes and guide people on the path of recovery after separation or divorce, with professionally produced video-input. Our Community Chaplain, Rob Elder, is looking for course co-leaders: mature Christian person with an experience of divorce; able to help facilitate a discussion following a teaching session. Expressions of possible interest will be gladly received and carefully considered for such a sensitive ministry. 

If there is something else you are interested in, please ask, but these are the areas of greatest current need.

Lastly, since some of you are not in a position to volunteer for any of these particular opportunities, may I ask you all to pray that God will raise up and motivate those who can help at this present time.

Prayer about the healthy functioning of the body of Christ is an act of kindness that would never be wasted. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Friends in Christ, today I am going to repeat the basics! 

When the Apostle Paul summarises the central gospel truths he preached, he writes of what he... 

“...passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

It is what you should hear of again and again at any decent church – in our preaching, in our songs, in our confessions, creeds and prayers: 

• of the cross, and its meaning (atonement “for our sins”), and

• of the resurrection and its meaning (forgiveness, hope and the resurrection of the body, which he unpacks in the rest of 1 Corinthians 15). 

Leon Morris was one of Australia's greatest Bible scholar of the last centurry and served as Principal of Ridley College in Melbourne. He ably defended the evangelical view of the cross as legitimate in university theology circles when it was unfashionable to do so. 

Here’s a classic Morris quote, and one I hope moves you as you reflect on it. It’s from his book, The Cross in the New Testament.

 “To put it bluntly and plainly, if Christ is not my Substitute, I still occupy the place of a condemned sinner. If my sins and my guilt are not transferred to Him, if He did not take them upon Himself, then surely they remain with me. If He did not deal with my sins, I must face their consequences. If my penalty was not borne by Him, it still hangs over me. There is no other possibility.”

Nor should we forget the resurrection.

Sometimes we misunderstand Paul when he says (in ) that he “resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The contrast here is to the demands for displaying superior human wisdom and eloquence, not to other aspects of gospel doctrine. We saw that above by the way Paul devoted chapter 15 of the same Corinthian letter to the resurrection. 

Sometimes when the gospel is preached, only the cross is mentioned. The resurrection can be ignored or assumed.

It often surprises people that by contrast, the examples of preaching in the book of Acts emphasise Jesus’ resurrection. And it’s his death that is assumed and its meaning not so often explained.

Clearly the Apostles thought the resurrection was crucial for demonstrating Jesus’ status as Lord, and as Messiah, and as Judge. It’s certainly what tells me that Jesus is alive today! And it gives me hope after the grave!

Just as there is no more important person for our lives than Jesus, there are no more important events than his death and resurrection.

Romans 4:25 says

“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Here is something always to remember and always to rejoice in.

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 13 February 2025

Friends in Christ, here are some words I would like you to consider learning off by heart:

"But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you." [Luke 6:27-28]

These are the words of the Lord Jesus. He spoke them particularly to his disciples, but also in the hearing of the large crowds who were following him. 

And these are words for our times, our very divided and uncertain times, where hatred and fear seem to fester away so seriously, from the Middle East to the streets of Sydney, right into NSW Hospitals, though thankfully not to the vast majority of health professionals. 

Will you try to learn them off by heart? "...Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you."

Last weekend I attended a function in honour and support of a community whose homeland has been invaded and attacked. Many of you may know which group that was. But a number of communities from around the globe would fit my description.

I was asked to open in prayer. And I spent most of my petition praying for the return of peace and safety to the country under attack by name, for healing and recovery for victims there, for the overthrow or repentance of those who use aggression against neighbours, and so forth. But I also prayed for "ordinary" people from the invading country, which I also named, "who also suffer through war" (generally not of their own choosing), along as for the peace of several other nations - including some on opposite sides - who are affected by war and civil strife. 

In the supper break, an elderly lady berated me for praying for people from her nation's enemy. "I did not come hear for that!"

No matter what I said to explain, it was simply unacceptable to her to pray for her enemies. I should not pray even just those ordinary people in the neighbouring country, even though I suspect plenty of them hate this war as much as she does. Apparently all the people from that country were bad and beyond prayer. 

I can understand her anger. Her compatriots, including many civilians, have suffered awfully by brutal and terrifying military action. 

That's why I do not name any one group in today's letter. Because many groups have suffered and find it so hard.  

At the conclusion, the organisers has asked me to pray again. Before I did so, I invited people, who did not have a church of their own, to come to the 台灣UU直播 – where they would be taught to love God, and to love their neighbour.

And I felt compelled to add that you would also be taught the most difficult but important challenge Jesus gave: to forgive others their sins, as we ask God to forgive us. 

The nation's ambassador asked me if I was upset with his own words. And I said I understood them, and told him my sadness at the woman's unwillingness to pray for enemies.

Then I said that he had a responsibility. Even if his nation was successful in defending itself, they also needed to ensure their people were not consumed with bitterness and unresolved anger. He said, "That will be a job for our grandchildren."

"No, Ambassador", I replied. "It needs to start with leaders like you." 

There was a pause. And I asked him if he remembered Christ's words from the cross when they were executing him so brutally and unjustly. And I recited:

‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’  [Luke 23:34]

And the Ambassador nodded.

We agreed that the forgiving spirit does not prevent people speaking truth to power. It does not prevent a nation defending itself in a just war.

It need not prevent the Police and the justice system from punishing criminals. And where there is no repentance for serious sin, it may not be safe for a relationship with an abuser or an attacker to go on like normal, if at all. 

Yet when I said to my critic that we would always pray for peace at the 台灣UU直播, even if it meant praying for our enemies, she simply said of her refusal, "I am a Christian". 

It is not for me to judge her. I can sympathise with her anger. Forgiveness is so difficult. But I fear for her welfare. 

As I said in introducing last year...

The Lord Jesus taught his followers: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

He put that line right in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer.

It says (1) we need God’s forgiveness.

And (2), we need to forgive others.

And Jesus clearly thinks we need to always keep praying about those two things.

The way of Jesus is different from the protests and aggro we see on the news. It's different from so much social media discourse. It is different from how politics is often done. It is different from how some families function too.

It's easy to love those who are usually nice to us. But God loved us while we were weak, while we were sinners, while we acted like enemies towards him... And he demonstrated it by Christ going to the cross for our forgiveness. ().

You know this. It is repeatedly preached from our pulpit. So will you join me in learning Luke 6:27-28 off by heart and attempting to put it into practice?

Jesus said: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you."

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Friends in Christ, last week we formally marked the commencement of ministries for the year. That includes our many musical ministries and other activities. 

Today I wish to highlight Choral Evensong, which returns for the first time tonight, Thursday 6 February at 5:15pm. Here's how I describe it for the unfamiliar:

Choral Evensong is a little spiritual oasis mid-week here at the 台灣UU直播 (during school terms).

It occurs on Mondays and Thursdays at 5:15pm. The words, spoken, and sung (mainly) by our Choir, are drawn almost entirely from the Bible. 

For a brief time (under an hour), with Evensong you step into a stream of repentance and faith, prayer and worship that has been going on for centuries (so the language from the 1600s, may be a little harder to understand at first listen).

Its primary purpose is to proclaim the wonderful works of God in history, most of all in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Last year, we worked hard at including a range of visiting preachers across the year, who would deliver the brief 'homily' (sermon) on Scripture. Some were members of the Archbishop's team, some from parishes near the CBD, some from Moore College, some were honorary canons of the 台灣UU直播.   

This year, we are working towards providing continuity of Choral Evensong in school holidays on Thursdays as well. And Jonathan Adams has prepared our own 'local lectionary' to rovide continuity of Bible readings across Mondays and Thursdays for those who can attend regularly. 

But whether its occasional or regularly, we are delighted when those who attend other services at St Andrew's are able to join this particular ministry of prayer and word of a midweek evening. 

By the way, people sometimes ask whether we livestream Choral Evensong. This is my answer: No, the 台灣UU直播 provides regular live-streaming only of its (with choir during term), and of the mid-week Wednesday evening at 6pm. This is for several reasons.

Firstly, cost. Secondly, limited availability of technical skills.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, we primarily want to encourage people to attend in person wherever possible. (See and reflect on !)

This is particularly significant with Choral Evensong which is a quieter, more intimate and reflective service.

However, for former members, and those otherwise in need of online ministry, who cannot attend in person, we are very committed to providing the live-streams twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays.

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The 台灣UU直播 also hosts a variety of other musical events, in recognition that music in general is a gift of God, and to encourage bridge-building into various parts of our community. 

Today at lunchtime, our bi-monthly and long-running organ recital series recommenced for 2025, with one of the 台灣UU直播's Assistant Organists, Sam Giddy, playing pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Bartók. But I appreciated Sam sharing his musical gifts with us, in both bold and gentler tones. (These cost $10/head to recover costs, especially for the organist.)

And I am looking forward to opening Saturday's Sounds of Hope Ukrainian Music Concert in prayer for peace. It is part of the International Festival of Ukrainian Organ Music concert. Admission is free, but booking is required . The concert commences at 5pm, and I would try to arrive early.

Lastly on music, we are delighted to host free band concerts on many Wednesdays (from 12:30pm) by the NSW Police Band, Royal Australian Navy Band and Australian Army Band. I can attest that the musical qiuality is very high. You may enjoy listening on the occasional lunch hour, or perhaps it's a chance to invite a friend to visit and become familiar with the 台灣UU直播 for the first time in a non-threatening way. This can sometimes make it easier to invite them later to a special service, such as at Easter or Anzac Day or Christmas. 

The schedule of band concerts for 2025 can be found here. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Friends in Christ, as I mentioned in church last Sunday, we use the first Sunday in February annually to mark the formal commencement of ministries for the year, given that most regular 台灣UU直播 activities start in the week that follows.

In addition, we welcome new Student Ministers, Ben and Abby Vanmidde, and Ben Gibson. And we will welcome Clare Gibson (nee Smeallie) back from her honeymoon with Ben, as she takes up her new role as Assistant Minister. We will also pray especially for Peter Au, as our new Coordinator of 台灣UU直播 Welcomers. 

Over all, we are seeking to encourage each other that, as the Apostle says, "whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Colossians 3:17).

That is, we take serving Jesus seriously, not casually. 

So I thought it might be helpful for people to have a chance to read the commitments we ask each other to make in advance.

The first section applies especially to those who have some kind of formal teaching ministry. The second section really applies to all true Christians, who want to live for Christ. So I stress that it applies not just to those who have a formal serving ministry of some kind, but also to those who may not be on a roster at the 台灣UU直播, but seek to serve Christ and encourage others in their daily lives.

This also means that those who watch online or who simply subscribe to receive this Newsletter could also consider these commitments and make a similar commitment to God at home in their own contexts. 

Here's the wording that will appear in Sunday's printed Order of Service.

COMMENCEMENT OF MINISTRY
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:4-8)

Dean: It is fitting and proper that those responsible for the progress of the Lord's work at our 台灣UU直播 and in our city be commissioned for the task.

To Pastoral Staff, Bible Study Leaders, ‘台灣UU直播 Kids’ and SRE Teachers, and ‘Bible & English’ Teachers
Dean: To those who teach God’s Word: Under God, will you do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Teachers (standing, together): I will, the Lord being my helper.
Dean: Will you set an example for the believers in speech, in life in love, in faith and in purity? (1 Timothy 4:12)
Teachers: I will, the Lord being my helper.

(All sitting) To all those who count themselves as active members of St Andrew’s (including Welcome Team members, Street T volunteers, or those who in any way serve at the 台灣UU直播.)
Dean: As Jesus’ disciples in Sydney, will you seek to shine as lights in our city, both sharing the gospel of Jesus boldly, and honouring it by your lifestyle? (Matthew 5:3-16, Philippians 2:15-16)
All: I will, the Lord being my helper.
Dean: Will you devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful? (Colossians 4:2)
All: I will, the Lord being my helper.
Dean: Wherever you serve, will you do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ? (1 Peter 4:11)
All: I will, the Lord being my helper.

The prayers (laying hands on any key new appointments as appropriate).
Dean: Let us pray:
Loving Father, send your heavenly blessing upon these your servants, Clare and Ben, Peter, Ben and Abby. Fill them with courage and humility, faith and zeal. Make them diligent in the study of your Word, and dependent upon you in prayer, for the glory of the Name of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

To the Dean.
Lay Canon*: Do you give yourself to leading this work of word, prayer and example at our 台灣UU直播, as  Dean of Sydney?  (*or an ‘elder’ of the congregation)
Dean: I recommit to this task, the Lord being my helper.

Dean: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: The Maker of heaven and earth.
Dean: May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us.
All: And establish the work of our hands for us.
Dean: Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
All: but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
(from Psalm 124:8; Psalm 90:17; Psalm 115:1)

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the 台灣UU直播 this Sunday, and to hearing you re-commit to serving Jesus in 2025. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

On Saturday, February 8, 2025, at 5:00 PM, St Andrew's 台灣UU直播 will host an extraordinary event – the first-ever Ukrainian organ music concert in Sydney and Australia, titled “Sounds of Hope.”

This remarkable charity concert, held at St Andrew’s 台灣UU直播 (Corner of George and Bathurst Streets), offers free admission with an opportunity for a voluntary donation to the St Andrew’s 台灣UU直播 Organ Appeal.

Part of the International Festival of Ukrainian Organ Music, this concert features six renowned Sydney organists Ross Cobb, Titus Grenyer, Fiona Loader, Philip Reichardt, Lana Bailey, and Alexandra Sidorenko, who will perform compositions by celebrated Ukrainian composers including Mykola Kolessa, Mikhail Shukh, Viktor Goncharenko, Svyatoslav Lunyov, Vyacheslav Nazarov, Lesia Dychko, Svitlana Ostrova, and Sergii Leontiev. Many of these pieces will be presented for the first time in Australia.

Highlights of the evening include:

- Sparkling duets and organ improvisations that push the boundaries of the instrument.

- Contrasting performances featuring organ, piano and saxophone.

- A soul-stirring Ukrainian folk song sung by Larysa Kovalchuk, a star of The Voice Australia, accompanied by a traditional bandura.

- The emotive sounds of Paul Burjan’s saxophone in duet with young talented saxophonist Illia Kyrychenko.

Beyond the music, the evening will offer a rich cultural experience, with Ukrainian art and food available before, after and during the concert’s interval.

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind cultural and musical event. Book your free ticket

Friends in Christ, on Monday as I left the 台灣UU直播 to go home, my exit was impeded by a Muslim man praying right outside our office door on the landing. I had to excuse myself and step over and around him. But something, presumably the Holy Spirit, then prompted me to pause and pray for his salvation for as long as it took him to finish his set prayers. 

I then explained that he should not pray so as to block a doorway. It could impede people in an emergency. He did apologise but his excuse was to say it was a house of God. I said, it was a Christian house of God. He then claimed we all worship the same God. 

However as we talked a little further, it emerged that we disagreed over whether Jesus died on the cross. He asserted that this was most definitely not the case, based on the Qu’ran 4:157, which includes these words (translated into English) which he quoted at me:

And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them.

Occasionally you hear a variation from people claiming Jesus only ‘swooned’ and revived in the tomb and exited, thus explaining the empty tomb in a way that removes the need for resurrection. It’s not a theory generally pursued much today, although it was raised by Joe Rogan in the podcast I mentioned last Sunday. But more often these days, the claim Jesus never died on the cross is asserted strongly by Muslim conversation partners as above.

In this case, I simply apply the law of non-contradiction. That is, Jesus was either crucified, as the Bible says, or he was not, as the Qu’ran says. (There is a third possibility: that both claims are wrong, for example, if he never existed, which I have .)

How do we assess such a claim? One might simply accept the claim of a particular source of revelation and authority. So for other reasons, you may have come to trust (i.e. exercise faith) in the claims of the Bible or the Qu’ran on this matter.

However in the public arena, I proceed by making an historical argument. And historical judgments are based on the balance of probabilities, rather than certainties. Since we have no direct access to the past, that is one way we can proceed.

On that basis, let me summarise why Jesus’ execution by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate can be considered such a secure fact of ancient history.

MULTIPLE ATTESTATION
Firstly, Jesus’ death by crucifixion is multiply attested, by a fair number of ancient sources, both Christian and non-Christian alike.

In regards to Christian sources which mention his death, I list from the first century AD material from all four canonical Gospels, Acts, Paul’s Epistles, all within the Bible; then Ignatius’ Epistles (dating around 110 AD, for example, Letter to the Symrnaeans 1-2). Many, if not all, of these sources are independent.

Here’s one example from Mark (usually dated as the earliest Gospel). The narrative in makes it clear Jesus really was dead.

The history books record that men who were crucified sometimes took two or three days to die. A more rapid death was unusual. So in this case, the governor Pilate gets the executioner to confirm the death certificate! The observation that Roman centurions were professional soldiers and didn’t make mistakes is well taken. So satisfied, Pilate permitted the body of Jesus to be buried.

By the way, there was a very low probability of surviving execution by crucifixion. Apparently there is only one extant account (in Josephus) of one person surviving crucifixion out of the hundreds reported in ancient literature. (And that case was only when excellent medical care was immediately provided by the Romans, and even so, only one out of three who were so rescued actually survived!)

CRITERION OF EMBARRASSMENT
Mark also stresses that it was women who witnessed the events: death, burial and empty tomb. And each time, verbs of seeing are emphasized. And each time, some of them are named. says that when Jesus has just died, at least three women are there. Two of these same women witnessed the burial (). And in , all three women are again mentioned as arriving back at the tomb on resurrection Sunday. The appeal to these women’s role as eyewitnesses couldn’t be clearer.

And notice how Mark reports only two of the three are at the burial? Presumably because that’s how it was. Mark wasn’t going to exaggerate. This precision shows a real concern for accuracy.

And presumably these people are mentioned by name in the Gospels, because they were well-known in early church times for their testimony to these crucial events in the origins of Christianity. It’s an accepted method of ancient historiography: the appeal to witnesses, many of whom could be cross-examined. It would have been hard to write, if there were not real people around to back up these claims.

NON-CHRISTIAN SOURCES
In regards to non-Christian sources, I note Josephus (Antiquities 18:3, writing c. 93 AD, citing Jesus’ name, the method of crucifixion, and the governor who ordered it, Pilate), Tacitus (Annals 15:44, writing c. 115 AD, mentioning execution under Pilate, but not the method), and a bit later, Lucian (b. c.125 AD in The Death of Peregrine). These all pre-date the Qu’ran by a several centuries.

By contrast, it is an interesting exercise to ask sceptics for any extent examples of ancient non-Christian sources to the contrary, dating in the first or second century, and insisting that Jesus did not die by Roman execution, for example, suggesting that it only looked like Jesus was crucified!

EARLY DATING
These reports, especially those in the New Testament, are early. Paul mentions the death of Jesus no later than 55 AD in 1 Corinthians and earlier in Galatians. And he reports he preached the same message to the Corinthians when he was with them in 50-51 AD, which is within 17-21 years of the time Jesus is said to have died (depending on whether you go for 30 or 33 AD). And the oral tradition formula he reports preaching in 1 Cor 15:3ff is widely assessed by scholars to have been composed very early, reflecting what was taught by the Jerusalem apostles, very likely within a few months of the events being reported.

By contrast, the Qu’ran dates no earlier than 610 A.D. when Muslims indicate that the angel Gabriel first appeared and began to speak to Muhammad. And so its testimony that Jesus did not really die on the cross dates more than 5 centuries later than the earliest written claims of his crucifixion. There is a massive gap back to the events it claims to report. 

In my , I quote a fairly long list of modern historians, from a variety of perspectives, Christian, Jewish, atheist, liberal, scpetical. This summary from Roman Catholic scholar, RE Brown (The Death of the Messiah, 1994) is a fair representative of the strong consensus!

Most scholars accept the uniform testimony of the Gospels that Jesus died during the Judean prefecture of Pontius Pilate. (p. 1373)

I have used several standard aspects of reputable historical method (e.g. the criteria of multiple attestation, of embarrassment, of antiquity).

And the assessment that Jesus’ death by crucifixion is factual is shared by a very wide consensus of scholarship, including many unsympathetic to biblical Christianity.

And so I am confident to say the Bible is absolutely correct and truthful when it says Jesus died by crucifixion and therefore (although I am sorry to put it so bluntly) the Qu’ran is wrong when it asserts Jesus did not die this way.

Interestingly, when I asked the Muslim man praying at our door whether he had any historical sources earlier than the Qu'ran that I should read indicating that Jesus did not die on the cross, he suddenly claimed not to be a religious scholar, and changed the topic. So I indicated I preferred evidence that was closer to the time of Jesus, gave him my business card and asked him to email so I could send him a link to my article on the topic. So far he has not followed up, but please pray that God's Spirit might trouble his mind sufficiently that he might look into this matter further. 

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney

Friends in Christ, I am writing this note from the at Katoomba. It's been lovely to see twenty or so other members of the 台灣UU直播 up here.

There have also been chances to hear from our link missionaries in Bari, Italy, Simon and Jess Cowell, on their brief home assignment visit, as well as from our former student ministers, Lachie and Zaneta Neal, who are now Missionaries-in-Training, about to head to St Andrew's Hall in Melbourne, for 6 months of cross cultural training, in preparation for ministry in Japan in 2026. 

Last Sunday I promised to share the prayer I led for the New Year. Here it is:

Prayer for the New Year
Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. From everlasting to everlasting you are God, and the mountains are in your hands.

You have set our iniquities before you; our secret sins are seen in the light of your presence. So as another year has passed, we thank you again for all your mercies that lead us to repentance, through the sacrifice of your Son, our Saviour, whose blood covers our sin and brings forgiveness. 

As a New Year commences, teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

By the power of your Spirit, throughout 2025, might:
?    Jesus be our joy;
?    Faith be our foundation;
?    Scripture be our sustenance;
?    Love be our language; 
?    Mercy be our manner;
?    Integrity be our intention;
?    Truthful be our talking; 
?    Courageous be our commitment;
?    Gentle be our going;
?    and might your Glory be our goal.

May your favour rest upon us, Lord our God. Establish the work of our hands for us. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

You might be able to discern that it is based on Psalm 90, but the alliterative section of 'prayer wishes' was inspired by Dustin Benge. If you want an image of that section, you could , where you can also 'like' or 'share' with friends.

As I have been reflecting on the New Year, where we often talk about resolutions for new conduct or habits, whether for exercise, spiritual disciplines, new hobbies or work practices, I was forcibly struck by this post on social media:

Smith was alluding to the fact that we so often fail in our resolutions. We fall short in our good intentions. Sometimes we are straight out lazy, ill-disciplined or rebebellious. But at the heart of the gospel is the great truth that Jesus will never fail in his resolution to save sinners. Smith's next tweet was as follows:

“Christ Jesus took hold of me” .

This year won’t be about us “getting a grip,” but resting and rejoicing in Jesus’ grip of us. Nail-scarred hands are holding us, ruling the world, making all things new, and writing our stories with the ink of grace.

In a similar vein, the Aussie evangelist in Britain, Glen Scrivener, wrote a new year hymn, and the chorus goes like this, speaking of God:

Before our beginning, beyond all our plans,
Beneath all our pledges, your promises stand. 
Above all the heights we resolve to secure, 
Your resolution in Christ will endure.

There's a great truth never to forget this year and until we go to be with the Lord or until Christ returns,

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney