January protests

Cathedral Newsletter – 29 January 2026

Image courtesy of the Bible App.

Dear friends, in January, we have experienced an upswing of protests occurring outside the Cathedral in Sydney Square, which have disrupted multiple church services on Sunday and Wednesday evenings in various ways.

The first concern has been crowding around our main Cathedral doors. This makes access awkward for people arriving for church or trying to leave. Some report they find it a bit intimidating. Our doors are all emergency exits and so should never be blocked. It is also now illegal to hinder, block or harass people entering or leaving a place of worship.

The second main concern comes from the sustained loud noise from protest speeches, chanting, music, drumming and shouting, generally amplified by PA systems. In one case a Police helicopter also hovered directly overhead for 20 minutes almost drowning out the end of a church service. Not even shutting all our doors blocks the noise.

This is distracting from peaceful engagement with God in our prayers and song, and makes concentration hard during Bible reading and sermons.

Overall it is unsettling, especially in a post-Bondi world. And if you come in the morning and have been unaware of this, you only have to remember how it was with the year of PAG protests in the Square on Sundays October 2023–October 2024.

I hope it is not so, but I fear some are being discouraged from attending public worship at our Cathedral.

In response, Cathedral staff have been proactive in liaising with Police. And though untrained in security, our staff take measures to mark our entry zones, and to politely ask protestors to keep them clear. (We only ask volunteer ushers to assist when briefed in our safety protocols.)

Sadly I report that Police are not so proactive in ensuring protestors do not block our doorways. Sometimes it seems they are short of manpower, or officers on the ground are unfamiliar with the precinct. So we continue to negotiate with them.

We have also asked protest organisers to show consideration when church is on, for example, by requesting them to face their speakers away from the Cathedral, or to assemble further away from our doors. This meets with varied success.

By the way, I make these comments independent of the merits of different protest causes. In the last month they have variously concerned Venezuela, Iran, Palestine, and the new anti-hate speech and protest laws.

Howerer in recent years, I have heard and seen some vile antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, which saddens me greatly. So too with other slogans which may be legal, yet intimidating or insulting.

Yet Christians are generally strong supporters of freedom of speech, even speech we find disagreeable. For our God is a speaking God, and we rely on our ability to articulate the gospel even when people don’t like its contents.

But freedom of speech can apply only so long as it does not incite violence or other criminal action, slander others, or create a public safety risk. And there is no obligation to make an organisation’s own property available for the promotion of views we disagree with. Hence we do not permit organised Muslim prayers on our land, nor do we allow unbiblical preachers into our pulpit.

In all this, we have developed a strategy for further advocacy with Police and representatives of the NSW Government, to ensure our own rights to assemble and worship as Christians in peace, safety and good order are better upheld.

We are also reviewing our own protocols. In this, we are supported by our regional Bishop Michael Stead, Sydney Anglican Property Senior Manager Tim Green, with advice from Sydney Anglican Legal. The Archbishop is also well aware of our concerns.

But sharing central space on the main street of the CBD, adjacent the Town Hall at the busiest public transport stops and stations of a large city, means there will always be clamour and crowds and people we find strange or unsettling around. Some of them may want to join us at church too. Jesus loves them. And we should too.

So I want to reflect further on how we should think personally about disruptions and distractions to our corporate worship when we come together at church.

Here I am simply going to quote Joe Carter, Senior Writer at The Gospel Coalition and Associate Pastor, Maclean Bible Church, Arlington Virginia. He was writing after protesters entered Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota and disrupted a church service since they believed an elder worked for the controversial federal ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agency. Activists interrupted the service with chanting and aggressive questioning directed even towards women and youth, filming as they went. Since then some lead protestors have been arrested and charged.

Carter asks beyond legalities and safety protocols: What theological principles should guide churches in these moments? His answer.

Three biblical truths must be held together. First, the church is a sacred assembly. Paul describes gathered worship as ordered and peaceable: “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). Second, the church welcomes sinners—but not disruption. Hospitality doesn’t require surrendering the gathering itself. Third, the church isn’t a political theater. Worship is directed vertically before it’s expressed horizontally. When protest overtakes praise, the purpose of the assembly is lost.

Does increased security contradict trust in God?

No. Trust in God has never excluded preparation. Nehemiah both prayed and posted guards (Neh. 4:9). Jesus instructed his disciples to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16) and spoke of prudence in dangerous contexts (Luke 22:36). Security isn’t fear; it’s stewardship. Protecting your congregation is an act of love. Doing so with grace—responding to even hostile protesters with firm kindness rather than retaliation—is an act of witness.

In an age of increasing hostility toward religious communities, churches must prepare. But our preparation should never descend into fear or hostility. We protect because we love. We plan because we’re stewards. And we trust that, ultimately, our security rests in the hands of One who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4).

I would add that whenever you find yourself disturbed within or angry at others, then it is always right and wise to take you concerns to God and to pray not only for yourself but for those who are upsetting you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Warmly in Christ,

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney