Apology for survivors of abuse
On Monday 22 October in the House of Representatives, our Prime Minister, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, delivered an emotional, heart-felt apology on behalf of the Parliament and the Australian people, to the survivors of child sexual abuse, including those in Anglican churches.
That our Church was complicit in any way in these events, by ignoring them, disbelieving the testimony of survivors, or allowing sex offenders to continue their horrendous conduct in what should have been the safety of a church environment, is itself a matter of deep shame.
Let me reiterate my apology to the survivors of child sexual abuse, for our failure to protect them as children, and also to the families of those who have died prematurely due to their abuse.
While we have adopted rigorous processes to ensure the safety of children in the present, I recognise that this will not overcome the trauma that accompanies the sins of the past.
Today is an opportunity for congregations across the diocese to acknowledge the failures of the past and listen with acceptance to those who have been harmed.
My fervent prayer is that this will in some measure provide healing for these wounds, raise our consciousness of the seriousness of child sexual abuse, and enable us as a Church community to play our part in protecting and giving voice to the most vulnerable among us.
I offer this apology confident of the comfort, transforming power and tender love of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ARCHBISHOP GLENN DAVIES
Coming up this Sunday 25th November 2018
This Sunday we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘What to do with the weak’ from Romans chapter 15 verses 1 to 13.
During our services on Sunday, Jodie will spend time giving the official apology to survivors of abuse from our Archbishop Glenn Davies, and spend time in prayer for those who have suffered abuse and for their families.
We will once again have our popular weekly question and answer time, and Jodie will be answering these questions:
- Will God forgive a Christian soldier who kills in offence not defence?
- Who wrote the book of Ezra?
- How did Adam die?
- Was Moses rebuked by God when he smashed the Ten Commandments?
- When trying to avoid causing the weak to stumble, must we always avoid the offensive thing, or only in their presence?
- If your conscience thinks that nothing is right, then does that mean that you can’t avoid sinning?
- Should prawns be considered unclean since they crawl and eat on the ocean ground?
- Is the Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation an example of a disputable matter amongst Christians?
Our Assistant Minister, Simon Chaplin, was ordained as a Presbyter on Tuesday this week, so we also will have a special report during our service marking this occasion.
Our youth group, Refuge, meets at 4pm in the Neighbourhood Centre, and then head over to join us for church. Kids’ Club and Andy’s Club meets at our 5pm evening service for their program, followed by a great dinner together for the whole family.
As always, come along and visit us at 10am or 5pm at 35 Fisher Street Oak Flats, or if you can’t make it in person, jump online at www.oakflats.tv to watch a livestream of our services.
See you at 10am or 5pm this Sunday, God willing!
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