Better Gatherings

Category: About Us

  • Copyright Information

    The original material on this website and texts quoted from Sunday Services (2001) are copyright. However, permission is given for reproduction, provided no commercial advantage is obtained. Notice of copyright must appear on any document reproducing such material as follows:
    © 2009 by The Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel. Used by Permission.

    Material from An Australian Prayer Book (1978) copied from this website must be acknowledged as follows:
    © 1978 by The Anglican Church of Australia Trust Corporation.

    Material from a Prayer Book for Australia (1995) copied from this website must be acknowledged as follows:
    © 1995 by The Anglican Church of Australia Trust Corporation. All rights reserved.

    Material from Common Worship (2000) copied from this website must be acknowledged as follows:
    © Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000, http://www.cofe.anglican.org/commonworship/). All rights reserved.

    Material from New Patterns for Worship (2002) copied from this website must be acknowledged as follows:
    © New Patterns for Worship (2002). All rights reserved.

    Most of the quotations from Scripture on this website are from the New International Version. The NIV text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of 500 verses, without express permission of the Publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 25 per cent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

    Permission to reproduce copyright hymns must always be obtained from the copyright owner, from the person or body administering the copyright, or through a copyright licence scheme such as Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI).

    We are grateful for the permission granted by Emu Music to reproduce their song lyrics on this website.  For online purchases of songs and sheet music, please see Emu Music.  Churches must have a current CCLI licence to reproduce these lyrics in service sheets, overheards and via a data projector.

  • About Better Gatherings

    About Better Gatherings

    Welcome to the Better Gatherings website! This website has been compiled by the Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel.  The panel consists of Bishop Forsyth (Chairman), the Rev. Dr David Peterson, the Rev. Dr Andrew Shead, the Rev. Dr Michael Stead, Dr Greg Clarke, Dr Jane Mathieson, the Rev. Alan Lukabyo, the Rev. Christopher Allan and the Rev. Peter Tong.

    We hope that you find the material on this site helpful for creating services that glorify God and edify the church.

    Here’s a word from the archbishop……

    PFJ Through the gospel of the Lord Jesus, God incorporates us into his church and summons us to meet together. In the words of the Book of Common Prayer, we meet ‘to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul.’

    We have a solemn responsibility to order our gatherings in accordance with the teaching of God’s word. The spiritual quality of our preaching, prayer and fellowship depends on our obedience to the Lord. We are living at a time when the pastors and leaders of our congregations need to re-think theologically and pastorally the basis of our experience of church.

    The bettergatherings website provides a much-needed resource for those of you with a responsibility for what occurs in church. I commend it as a useful means of continuing and promoting God-honouring, meaningful and biblical gatherings.

    Peter F Jensen
    Archbishop of Sydney