Michael Jensen

Leading Ash Wednesday for the First Time by Michael Jensen

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I led an Ash Wednesday service. And to my surprise, I found it extremely moving.

I say “to my surprise” because my tradition is not one for rituals. In fact, I was formed in church contexts that made a point of not doing things like Ash Wednesday—precisely because they looked too much like a Catholic observance. We worried about outward forms: about the danger that ritual action might substitute for inward faith, or worse, become a kind of spiritual performance.

Prayer for 15th December 2025, by Michael Jensen

Photo: Photo of Bondi Beach by Alex Wong on Unsplash Rev Dr Michael Jensen, one half of the WADR Team, is the rector of St Marks Anglican Church Darling Point, a parish very close to Bondi Beach in Sydney which he visits most days. Here is his prayer written just hours after the 14th December mass shooting at BondiContinue reading “Prayer for 15th December 2025, by Michael Jensen”

There is Racism in the Church by Michael Jensen

And the truth is this: if you ask a person of Indigenous or Asian background whether they have experienced racism in Australia, their answer will be pretty much yes. Sometimes even in church.

On the Death of Pope Francis: a Protestant Reflects, by Michael Jensen

The WADR Project team offer our heartfelt condolences to Catholic Christians on the death of Pope Francis, and our prayers for the upcoming Conclave. This article initially appeared on Michael Jensen’s own substack. Picture is of Australian artist Shen Jiawei with his painting of Pope Francis, Gabriella Clare Marino, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via WikimediaContinue reading “On the Death of Pope Francis: a Protestant Reflects, by Michael Jensen”

Simon of Cyrene & the Grassy Knoll, by Michael Jensen

Picture by Anonymous – Center of MSS (Tbilisi, Georgia), Public Domain Fifty-nine and half years ago, a Ukrainian born dressmaker named Abraham Zapruder stood waiting on a concrete plinth on the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. He was waiting for the motorcade of the President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, to pass by, so thatContinue reading “Simon of Cyrene & the Grassy Knoll, by Michael Jensen”