Category Archives: Reflections

Black Lives Matter to Jesus

Posted on June 15, 2020 by gregoryjenks

This post was first published as an opinion piece for A Progressive Christian Voice Australia. There is an age-old divide among religious people about just what God—however understood—wants of humans. For the better part of 3,000 years in the Jewish … Continue reading →

Posted in Opinion, Reflections | 2 Comments

Scripture trumps Constitution​

Posted on October 19, 2019 by gregoryjenks

Given continuing debates around the Anglican Church of Australia and elsewhere about the status of the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 and the Articles of Religion (commonly called “The Thirty-Nine Articles”) of 1571, it may be timely to publish the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Theology | 2 Comments

Faithful responses to climate change

Posted on October 2, 2019 by gregoryjenks

  In the last couple of days, there has been some controversy around the comments made by the Principal of the Coffs Harbour Christian Community School in a newsletter distributed last Friday, the last day of term three. You can read the … Continue reading →

Posted in Grafton Cathedral, Reflections | 6 Comments

For whom the bell tolls

Posted on July 29, 2019 by gregoryjenks

Almost 400 years ago, John Donne penned the words which became a modern proverb, and have proved with the passing of time to be prophetic as well: No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Grafton Cathedral, News, Reflections | Leave a comment

The Fourth R

Posted on May 14, 2019 by gregoryjenks

For years now educators have reminded us of the need to address the “three R’s”: Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic. At the same time, Religion scholars and especially those of us engaged critical biblical studies have been warning people not to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Reflections | Leave a comment

Sarcasm as a ​rhetorical​ tool

Posted on May 7, 2019 by gregoryjenks

The axiom, “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence”, is usually attributed to Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and playwright who lived in the second half of the 1800s. That attribution may not be … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Reflections | 1 Comment

Religion is no cloak for hate speech

Posted on April 22, 2019 by gregoryjenks

The media has recently been awash with stories about the hateful comments made online by Australian Rugby Union star, Israel Folau, about various classes of people being destined for hell unless they repent and conform to a set of beliefs … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Theology | 3 Comments

Compassionate Grafton

Posted on March 19, 2019 by gregoryjenks

These past few days the people of Grafton and the wider Clarence Valley have reeled in shock as we heard about the massacre in two Christchurch mosques and then learned that the assailant was one of our own, a young … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | 6 Comments

Mindful worshippers

Posted on March 6, 2019 by gregoryjenks

Prayerful Practices A checklist for mindful worshippers   A checklist for prayerful practices to help us become more mindful as we engage intentionally with the spirit-work God that calls us to undertake during these 40 days of Lent, and at all … Continue reading →

Posted in Grafton Cathedral, Reflections | Leave a comment

Intentional discipleship

Posted on February 2, 2019 by gregoryjenks

This essay was published in the February 2019 issue of North Coast Anglican which will be available in churches across the Diocese of Grafton this morning.   In the liturgical afterglow of Advent and Christmas with all those special services … Continue reading →

Posted in Grafton Cathedral, Reflections | 3 Comments