About Us

Southern Cross Online Worship began in May 2023 as a ministry of Faith Church Sunshine Coast.  Prior to its formation, the founding members of Southern Cross Online Worship were part of an online communion group of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations called ACC NOW (National Online Worship) led by Rev Anne Hibbard.  This online Zoom communion group began in 2018 a couple of years before COVID-19, initially as part of the prayer network of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations (ACC), and later as a group of the ACC in its own right.  The  Assembly of Confessing Congregations was a confessing movement in the Uniting Church of Australia from 2006, whose aims were to confess the Lord Jesus Christ, proclaim the truth and renew the church.  Sadly in 2023, the Assembly of Confessing Congregations of the Uniting Church in Australia decided it needed to close for various reasons including the Uniting Church's crossing of the line in the 2018 Assembly decision on same gender marriage.  Instead of being regulated by Scripture in regards to same gender marriage the UCA was primarily guided by diversity. This departure made it increasingly impossible for evangelical/reformed/orthodox congregations to thrive or even survive with any integrity. This culminated in 2022-2023 with two key congregations of the ACC being forcefully dissolved and the Chair of the ACC's recognition of ordination being removed by the Uniting Church.  One of these congregations dissolved was the Mooloolaba Christian Church which became Faith Church Sunshine Coast. 

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The closure of the ACC meant that most of the people in ACC NOW were without a spiritual home.  But the Lord was going ahead and preparing a new place. In April 2023 ACC NOW ceased operation with the ACC finishing and a new group was formed called Southern Cross Online Worship.  Faith Church Sunshine Coast under Rev Dr Hedley Fihaki's leadership opened their hearts to Southern Cross Online Worship as a ministry of their church.

 

By God's grace and providence, in June 2023 the Anglican Diocese of the Southern Cross welcomed Faith Church Sunshine as a full member of the Diocese of the Southern Cross.  On the same day the bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, Bishop Glenn Davies laid hands on seven ministers who had recently resigned from the Uniting Church and confirmed their ordination for ministry in the Diocese of the Southern Cross. Two of these ministers were Rev Roger and Rev Anne Hibbard, the leaders of Southern Cross Online Worship. 

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