Chair of NCAN Bishop Stephen Pickard has written:
There are articles and information on the website (https://www.ncan.au/) that introduce readers to NCAN, its origins and purpose. I don’t wish to repeat that. What I do want to address is the relevance of NCAN at this period in our life as Anglicans in Australia. NCAN does not intend to set itself up over against other entities, movements, organisations or trends and trajectories in the Church. It is not just another player on the ecclesial field. NCAN exists to help the Anglican Church of Australia understand itself better as part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ.
We offer a forum for a continuing conversation and open dialogue in the Church about the things that matter that belong to the Gospel of God and that concern us as Christians. We join with all who long to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, to uphold and promote the unity of the Church and to bear witness to the Gospel. The Church is called to be the place where the multifaceted and rich wisdom of God is manifest (Ephesians 3:10), where diversity is welcomed, differences are listened to, and disagreements (which belong to the DNA of the Church of God) are harnessed for good. It has ever been thus from New Testament times though the history of the Church indicates that we have a poor track record on these matters.
If you are interested in what I have written about how disagreements and Christian unity might be understood in a life affirming way in the cut and thrust of our common life, I invite you to seek out my chapter, ‘Disagreement and Christian Unity: re-evaluating the situation’, in the General Synod’s Doctrine Commission’s publication, Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage and the Anglican Church of Australia, Broughton Publishing 2019. It is freely available online: https://anglican.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Marriage-Doctrine-Essays-Final.pdf
NCAN as its name implies encourages initiatives to develop local networks of Anglicans who desire to promote the unity of the church and its witness to the Gospel. In 2026 we hope to hold a national conference. Further details of this will be announced in the near future.