Publications

Into the Great New World: Pilgrims toward the Common Good

05 Jun 2018  |  Author: Stephen Pickard  | Theme: Religions and dialogue; Civil society and politics

I am a cradle Christian if you like. I grew up in a Hunter Valley coal mining town, attended a local Anglican Church, worked at a Steelworks, went to university, met my wife to be at a church camp; went into fulltime Christian ministry and began a family. Because the deep mysteries of the universe and human life were a perennial source of interest I felt compelled to study theology. I spent the next 25 years teaching and offering leadership in Christian Theological Institutions and being a bishop in the Australian Anglican Church. I managed to do this without ever really getting to know the world of faiths; the people of the great religions of the world; and especially little to do with the religions of the people of the Book, the great Abrahamic religions; Islam and Judaism. I was basically ignorant in such things.
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Is peace as interesting as war?

30 May 2018  |  Author: Doug Hynd  | Theme: Civil society and politics; Leadership and institutions

Towards the conclusion of Judith Brett’s fascinating biography of Alfred Deakin, the author notes how quickly the nation-building moment of Federation – to which Deakin had devoted himself so wholeheartedly – was pushed aside from popular memory and esteem by the myth-laden rebirth of Australia as a nation at Anzac Cove and on the Western Front. How, she asked, could an achievement of peaceful political change compare in popular imagination with the glory of battle?
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Aust Churches' Engagement with the World Council of Churches

29 May 2018  |  Author: David Gill  | Theme: Religions and dialogue; Public theology and ethics

This week of Prayer for Christian Unity, for me, always brings back a painful memory. It was 1968, and I had just joined the staff of the World Council of Churches in Geneva. A staff meeting was discussing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In a moment of madness, I decided to give everyone the benefit of my wisdom.
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From Faith to Inter-Faith: A Personal Account

29 May 2018  |  Author: Stephen Pickard  | Theme: Religions and dialogue; Public theology and ethics

Faith: Early Stirrings of God I am a cradle Anglican. No doubt I am not alone in this gathering brought up on the BCP. I disliked Sunday School and couldn’t wait till I was confirmed and could attend Sunday morning Holy Communion. So, from the age of 12 on Sundays, usually with my parents but increasingly alone, my earliest stirrings of the divine consisted of a diet of hymns from Ancient and Modern, sermons of varying value, sacramental bread and wine, and of course singing the Nicene Creed as one does. It works better sung I feel. I look back on this early years as the beginnings of a somewhat pious young life, obedient, respectful, serious and conscientious in my religion.
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ACC&C Submission on Religious Freedom

23 Feb 2018  |  Author: Stephen Pickard  | Theme: Civil society and politics; Religions and dialogue

This letter constitutes my submission, as an Anglican bishop and theology professor, in my capacity as Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C). This ecumenical Centre was established adjacent to the Parliamentary triangle in 1998 by agreement between Charles Sturt University and the Anglican diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. We foster wisdom for the common good, working with other religious traditions, Government, civil society, NGOs, the indigenous community, and not-for-profit groups.
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