Archbishop Wabukala ‘to retire in June 2016’
“The Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala, has informed the members of the Kenyan House of Bishops that he will step down in June 2016, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65…”
– George Conger has a brief report at Anglican Ink.
GAFCON Chairman’s Pastoral Letter October 2015
Speaking of the meeting of Primates called by the Archbishop of Canterbury for January 2016, GAFCON Chairman Eliud Wabukala writes:
“I believe this will be an historic meeting unlike anything that has gone before. There is now a shared realisation that the time for dialogue is over and there must be a decision that will settle the future direction of the Communion and free us from being dragged down by controversy and confusion.”
– Read his full October 2015 Pastoral Letter here.
Global South Primates — Cairo Communiqué
The Global South Primates have released a Communiqué after their meeting in Cairo, October 14–16.
“While we were disappointed that the general Global South Conference in Tunisia was cancelled at the last minute due to security reasons, we are immensely grateful to God who blessed this rescheduled Primates Meeting in Cairo.”
– Read their full Communiqué via the Anglican Communion News Service.
George Conger at Anglican Ink also has the Communiqué with some commentary.
Archbishop Welby, What will you do about it?
“I’m not fond of litigation. I take our witness to the world very seriously, and the damage to that witness from Christians suing each other is serious. And even though my former profession as a criminal prosecutor put me in the position of litigating daily in the courts, I would much prefer followers of Jesus Christ being able to follow 1 Corinthians 6 and work out their disagreements within the Church, through church or secular sponsored arbitration services and negotiated settlements.
I cannot, however, let the injustice pass that occurred in the oral arguments before the South Carolina Supreme Court, between the Diocese of South Carolina (Bishop Mark Lawrence) and The Episcopal Church (TEC.)…”
– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey is disturbed by the latest legal action in South Carolina, and wonders what the Archbishop of Canterbury will say to the TEC Presiding Bishop at the Primates’ gathering in January.
The wages of spin: death of truth?
“Revisionist leaders talk a lot about their desire for unity in the Church. But more often than not, the only unity they are interested in is with the world, joining with the briefings of the secular culture against orthodox Christianity.
Here is what happened on Thursday, on the BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ programme, where the Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, and myself were in separate studios to discuss Justin Welby’s recent invitation to the Primates of the Anglican Communion to attend a meeting in January…”
– Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes writes of his experience last week on BBC Radio – and looks at lesson we can learn. (Image: Christian Concern.)
‘The Anglican Communion is already divorced’
“Is the Anglican Communion about to split over different views of sexual ethics?
You might think so after reading headlines about the archbishop of Canterbury’s proposal to “loosen” the structures of the Communion — a way of retaining his relationship to the liberal wing of the Western churches as well as the traditional Anglicans of the Global South.
But to interpret the archbishop’s recent announcement as a split over sexuality is to miss the bigger picture. First, the impending dissolution of Anglicanism as it currently exists institutionally is over much more than sex. Second, the divorce has already taken place, just not formally…”
– At Religion News Service, Trevin Wax gives the Archbishop of Canterbury’s call for a Primates’ meeting some context.
What brings us together
“Early this week Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, announced that he was inviting the leaders of the Anglican Communion to gather, reflect and pray over the Communion’s future. We later learned through his ‘aides’ that he was open to the Communion moving to a looser federation-like structure. Ruth Gledhill, a long-time reporter on Anglican events, gave a hearty endorsement of this possibility …
While I like Ruth Gledhill’s writing, I don’t share her enthusiasm for the Archbishop’s ‘vision.’ Why can’t I get on board with it and just ‘let go and let God?’ Because that would mean I ‘let go’ of the truth. …
What brings us together as Anglicans isn’t shared mission or endless indaba.”
– At the American Anglican Council, Canon Phil Ashley sees problems with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s hope of holding the Anglican Communion togther.
ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach on the proposed Primates’ gathering
The Archbishop of the Anglican Church of North America, Foley Beach, writes about his invitation to the Primates’ gathering in January:
“The challenges facing the Anglican Communion over the last couple of decades are no secret, and it is time to face them.”
Full text:
“Many of you have heard the news that I have been invited to attend a gathering of the Primates of the Anglican Communion this coming January.
I did indeed receive a personal call from Archbishop Justin Welby inviting me to attend and participate.
If my fellow GAFCON Primates accept the invitation, and I am expecting that they will, then I have also pledged to attend. The challenges facing the Anglican Communion over the last couple of decades are no secret, and it is time to face them. Previous meetings of the Communion, from the 1998 Lambeth Conference to the 2007 Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, gave clear direction for maintaining and restoring order within the Communion. Unfortunately, these resolutions were not followed which further divided the Communion. The resulting situation is one in which the fabric of the Communion continues to be torn.
I am thankful for the way in which GAFCON has proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ, and has been seeking the renewal and restoration of the Communion.
I ask your prayers for myself, as well as the other GAFCON and Global South Primates, as we continue to seek to evangelize, proclaim the Gospel, and work for the restoration of the Anglican Communion’s life and witness.
In Christ,
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach.”
– From The Anglican Church in North America.
GAFCON calls for ‘truth on the table’
Here’s a Media Statement from GAFCON concerning the Archbishop of Canterbury’s call for a meeting of Anglican Primates in January 2016:
“the GAFCON Primates will prayerfully consider their response to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter.
They recognize that the crisis in the Communion is not primarily a problem of relationships and cultural context, but of false teaching which continues without repentance or discipline.”
Read the full text below:
“Media Statement
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s call for a meeting of Primates in January 2016 shows that he has recognised the deep concerns of faithful church leaders around the world, including those belonging to the GAFCON movement who represent the majority of the global Communion’s membership.
GAFCON began with the first Global Anglican Future Conference in 2008 as an initiative to restore the integrity of Anglican faith and order as the Communion descended into deepening crisis.
We are now a global family standing together to restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion with a strength and unity that comes from our common confession of the Lord Jesus Christ, not merely from historic institutional structures.
It is on this basis that the GAFCON Primates will prayerfully consider their response to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter. They recognize that the crisis in the Communion is not primarily a problem of relationships and cultural context, but of false teaching which continues without repentance or discipline.
Consistent with this position, they have previously advised the Archbishop of Canterbury that they would not attend any meeting at which The Episcopal Church of the United States or the Anglican Church of Canada were represented, nor would they attend any meeting from which the Anglican Church in North America was excluded.
It is therefore of some encouragement that the Archbishop of Canterbury has opened the door of this meeting to the Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, Archbishop Foley Beach. He has already been recognized as a fellow primate of the Anglican Communion by Primates representing GAFCON and the Anglican Global South at his installation in Atlanta last October and he is a full member of the GAFCON Primates Council.
In the end, our confidence is not in any structural reorganisation, useful though it may be, but in the saving grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and in the abiding truth of the Bible. That is what empowers us and this is the assurance we bring to our broken world.
September 17, 2015 AD.”
Read it on the GAFCON website.
Archbishop of Canterbury calls for Primates’ Gathering
“The Archbishop of Canterbury today wrote to all 37 Primates inviting them to attend a special Primates’ gathering in Canterbury to reflect and pray together concerning the future of the Anglican Communion.
The meeting, to be held in January 2016, would be an opportunity for Primates to discuss key issues face to face, including a review of the structures of the Anglican Communion and to decide together their approach to the next Lambeth Conference.
The agenda will be set by common agreement with all Primates encouraged to send in contributions…”
– from The Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.
See also: GAFCON calls for ‘truth on the table’.
Kidnapped Nigerian Bishop’s car found
“The car that was being used by Bishop Moses Tabwaye when he was kidnapped…” was found on Friday evening.
“The Bishop of Gwagwalada in the Province of Nigeria has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, according to news reports.”
– Report from the Anglican Communion News Service.
Bishops call for ‘climate justice’
“Several bishops around the Anglican Communion have made short videos describing the impact and implications of climate change in their dioceses and calling for prayer and action…”
– Bishops call for ‘climate justice’.
(Photo: Bp Tom Wilmot, Diocese of Perth.)
Related:
“The Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, has called on Anglicans everywhere to join Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran and other Christians in a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1 September…” – The Anglican Communion News Service.
Anglican Communion ‘Secretary-General’ affirms Lambeth 1.10
Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the new Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion, affirms his commitment to Lambeth 1.10 in an interview on the BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Programme and speaks against criminalisation of homosexual behaviour.
“Any resolution from any province that does not take Resolution 1.10 seriously is against the agreement within this church….. As Secretary General my job is to present and execute the decisions of the four instruments of unity we have…. I stand by Resolution 1.10…. This Communion has a position.”
BBC 4 Sunday Programme August 9, 2015. The segment begins 11:50 into the programme, with the interview starting at 18 minutes. (via Anglican Mainstream.)
GAFCON Chairman’s July — August 2015 Pastoral Letter
“I am writing to you on the day when the Church has traditionally celebrated the Transfiguration. The veil that covered Jesus’ glory in his earthly ministry is briefly drawn aside before he begins his journey to Jerusalem and death upon the cross. While Jesus prayed, Peter, James and John slept, but we must not judge them harshly. Climbing mountains is hard work! In fact, they were so deeply asleep that the reality being revealed was not immediately clear to them, yet the impact was lasting.
Years later, Peter recalls this moment on the mountain as he writes to spiritually sleepy Christians who are in danger of forgetting the truth of the gospel and have become complacent about false teachers…
The problem TEC in particular continues to pose for the rest of the Communion was highlighted by another but less reported resolution from its 2015 General Convention, A051, ‘Support LGBT African Advocacy’ which mandates that Church to spread its ideas to Africa…”
– GAFCON Primates’ Council Chairman, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, sends his latest Pastoral Letter.
Reform Response to TEC Resolution on Marriage
“In rejecting this definition of marriage, the bishops of the US Episcopal Church have rejected Jesus’ own teaching. As such, they have denied the faith they profess to teach, forfeiting any right to be regarded as true bishops of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus warned us to “watch out for false prophets” who come in his name (Matthew 7.15, 22)…”
– Read the full Reform statement here. Photo: Episcopal News Service.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…