Jesus, Lord of His Church and of the Church’s Mission

The transcript of Bishop Michael Nazir Ali’s address to the Leaders Conference of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in London last month, has now been posted online.

It’s entitled “Jesus, Lord of His Church and of the Church’s Mission”.

“I was once at a very grand assembly of a denomination in the West, let’s put it like that. It was very grand, very awe-inspiring. But in the middle of it, I had this sense that they had the form of godliness but not the power. You know what I am talking about.

What makes the church has to do with the Gospel, that is to say, everything that the Church needs in its ministry – its life together, its preaching, the celebration of the sacraments – comes about because of the nature of the Gospel itself. In other words, how we are church is not different from what the Gospel is. The Gospel produces what is authentically church.

This is a lesson we must learn again and again if the ecclesia is to be semper reformanda: again and again to check how we are church against the Gospel, and you’d be surprised at how much resistance there is to such an idea in some circles if you put it forward.”

Photo: GAFCON.

New Bishop for Wellington, NZ

“Justin Duckworth has been announced as the next Anglican Bishop of Wellington.

And he may just be the least likely-looking bishop ever elected in New Zealand. He has dreadlocks, for starters. He’s usually in shorts and bare feet, too. But the voters in the Diocese of Wellington saw past that…”

– Report from Anglican Taonga. More from the Diocese of Wellington.

Stories from FCA Leaders Conference — Dr William Philip

Dr William Philip from the Church of Scotland was an observer at the FCA Leaders meeting in London. He’s interviewed by Russell Powell in this 2 minute video.

Related: Video of Ministers and Elders Meeting, June 2011 (esp. #3) at St. George’s Tron in Glasgow.

Archbishop Peter Jensen at the FCA Conference: Audio

Hear Archbishop Peter Jensen’s address on “The issues the face us” – given at the  Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Conference evening session on 26th April 2012. (Photo: Russell Powell.)

Reform welcomes FCA commitment

Tuesday 1st May 2012

Rev’d Rod Thomas, Chairman of Reform, the conservative evangelical network in the Church of England, has welcomed the recent statement of commitment at the conclusion of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) conference in London. (to see the FCA statement click here)

He said: “Archbishop Wabukala of Kenya hit the nail on the head when he said the crisis at the heart of the Anglican Communion is ‘not only institutional but spiritual’.

“We see a prime example of this here in the UK. Recent statements from some church leaders in England on issues of human sexuality indicate the full-scale departure from traditional Biblical teaching that a tiny minority are seeking to impose on the Church of England. Their gospel of radical ‘inclusion’ is undermining the Biblical gospel of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. God welcomes those who come to him knowing they need forgiveness. Those who simply want God to affirm their lifestyles have not understood the gospel.

“It is very encouraging therefore to know that the leaders who represent the vast majority of the world’s Anglicans are willing to stand with and support those who wish to hold to the Biblical gospel as being good news from God for a world in desperate need.

“We also agree with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali’s assessment that the Anglican ‘Instruments of Unity’ have failed dramatically, and encourage the FCA to model an alternative way forward of working together within our Communion across the globe to fulfill Christ’s command to make disciples for Him.

“Here in the UK the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) has been established to do just that – model a new way of working within an Anglican framework and fellowship, with a panel of orthodox Bishops providing oversight to those churches who need it. This solution will not suit all, but it is a much-needed encouragement for some to know that their ministry is recognized and affirmed by a worldwide fellowship of Anglicans.”

– from Reform.

The uniqueness and sufficiency of Christ

Dr Mike Ovey, Principal of Oak Hill College, preached on Hebrews 1:1-4 at the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Conference in London this week.

Watch his most encouraging, edifying and challenging exposition – at the GAFCON website.

Missing the biggest story of the week

Each week, the Anglican Communion News Service publishes a weekly roundup of news from all around the Communion. Interestingly, this week’s roundup makes no mention of a meeting in London of  two hundred leaders from thirty countries – representing the majority of Anglicans worldwide.

FCA Leaders Conference concludes — and the movement begins its mission

Media Release
Leaders Conference, London
23 to 27 April 2012

“After some 450 years it is becoming clear that what some have called the ‘Anglican experiment’ is not ending in failure, but is on the verge of a new and truly global future in which the original vision of the Reformers can be realized as never before…”

Media Release:

The movement begins its mission

GAFCON 2008 declared it was ‘not just a moment in time but a movement of the spirit’. Now, at a conference in London, 200 Anglican leaders committed to mission and mutual support.

The Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem established a Primates Council representing the majority of the world’s Anglicans and set up a global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans as a movement within the Communion.

The leaders met at St Mark’s Battersea Rise in London for five days of prayer, planning and plenary sessions. Seminars ranged over key topics such as evangelism, family, economic empowerment, the Gospel, church and spiritual leadership under pressure.

Opening the event, GAFCON/ FCA Chairman Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya, told the delegates they were called to “a great prophetic purpose at this critical point in the life of our communion.” The Archbishop outlined the extent of unbiblical teaching in the communion and declared “The heart of the crisis we face is not only institutional, but spiritual.”

“After some 450 years it is becoming clear that what some have called the ‘Anglican experiment’ is not ending in failure, but is on the verge of a new and truly global future in which the original vision of the Reformers can be realized as never before” the Archbishop said.

In a plenary address, Bishop Michael Nazir?Ali concluded that the Anglican “Instruments of Unity” have failed dramatically and that the FCA is called to model an alternative way for the churches of the Anglican Communion to gather and relate to one another in such a way as to carry out the Great Commission in the coming decades.

In their final conference ‘Commitment’, the leaders resolved to work together in an ever?strengthening partnership, to stand by each other and to engage in a battle of ideas on behalf of the Biblical Gospel.

The next Global Anglican Future Conference was also announced. The event, with invitees including clergy and lay people, as well as bishops, is scheduled for May 2013.

“One delegate came up to me and said ‘Now I know that I am not alone’. Though they are the majority, the orthodox often feel isolated.” said FCA general secretary Archbishop Peter Jensen. “There are people everywhere who believe the same gospel, preach the same thing and stand for the same truths. That is the dynamic of this conference. People who felt powerless have now been given confidence.”

April 27, 2012 AD.

See the Statement and Commitment from the meeting with a brief introduction to GAFCON (PDF file).

Text here via Anglican Mainstream.

 

 

Statement from the Anglican Mission in England

“Statement at the Celebration of the Anglican Communion at Emmanuel Centre, Westminster

The next few months will increasingly reveal the direction being taken by the Church of England regarding two matters:

We have established, and this week confirmed the principle that orthodox Anglicans who despite repeated efforts cannot receive oversight in the Church of England can continue to belong together with other orthodox Anglicans and minister with recognition within the global Anglican communion.   Read more

We should elect our chair, say Primates

“The Primates of Nigeria and Kenya suggested this week that the Archbishop of Canterbury should no longer chair the Primates’ Meeting. The chairman should instead be elected by the Primates themselves, they said…”

– Church Times reports on the FCA meeting which concludes today in London.

Abp Wabukala’s FCA Conference keynote address

“I believe that our time together here is a key moment in the unfolding purpose of God for our beloved Anglican Communion and its great encouragement to have leaders drawn from some thirty different nations as we gather here this evening. We are indeed a global communion for the twenty-first century…”

– Archbishop Eliud Wabukala is the Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council and Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Read the text of his keynote address from the FCA Leadership Conference in London.

FCA Primates Council media release at start of Leaders Conference

April 23, 2012

“With great anticipation we greet the delegates to the first FCA Leaders Conference as they gather in London. Over two hundred leaders from thirty countries will hear God’s word and commit to one another for the preaching and defence of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in and through the Anglican Communion.”

Media Release
Leaders Conference, London
23 to 27 April 2012

The Primates Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans met over three days, April 19th- 21st in London.

With great anticipation we greet the delegates to the first FCA Leaders Conference as they gather in London.

Over two hundred leaders from thirty countries will hear God’s word and commit to one another for the preaching and defence of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in and through the Anglican Communion. From this meeting will emerge key networks and commission capable of strengthening the worldwide churches and delivering the Christian message to the world.

We pray for those responsible for the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury that they will look for a godly leader of God’s people. We believe that in the future development of the Anglican Communion the chair of the Primates Meeting should be elected by the Primates themselves. We believe that the future of our Communion relies on adherence to Scriptural authority, faithful and Christ-centred preaching of this word, the blessing of God’s Holy Spirit, godly leadership and the spiritual commitment of God’s people. These spiritual realities and the reality of worldwide Anglicanism should be reflected in the structures of the Anglican Communion.

From the beginning the thrust of our FCA movement has been forward-looking. We have therefore confirmed the decision to call GAFCON II for May next year in a venue shortly to be announced. We believe that the joyful meeting of orthodox Anglicans from all over the world will be a dynamic force for restating the gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of revisionist attempts to change basic doctrines and turn Christianity merely into a movement for social betterment. It is the preaching of the Gospel of Christ crucified which saves men and women and transforms the world.

– available at the GAFCON website.

Converted Anglican church now Taoist temple

A new use for a former Diocese of New Westminster church building –

“After renovations by the Chinese Taoism Kuan-Kung Association in Canada, which purchased the property in the fall of 2010, the building has been transformed…”

– story and image from BC Local News. Another story from Burnaby Now.
(h/t Ed Hird.) 

New Westminster considers plans for three ‘returned’ parishes

“Having won the court battle for the buildings of St. John’s Shaughnessy, St. Matthias and St. Luke, and St. Matthew’s Abbotsford, the Diocese of New Westminster must decide what to do with them…”

The Anglican Essentials Canada blog reports on New Westminster’s commitment to ‘Plant three new churches’ –

“It is the desire of DNW to have vital, viable self-sustaining parishes at each of these three locations in three to five years at a cost equivalent of planting one new church. The financial commitment for this ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity of DNW will be up to $4.5 million…”

Archbishop of Canterbury’s Easter Sermon 2012

Rowan Williams has released the text of his last Easter sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury –

“It just might be the case that the high watermark of aggressive polemic against religious faith has been passed.

Recent years have seen so many high-profile assaults on the alleged evils of religion that we’ve almost become used to them; we sigh and pass on, wishing that we could have a bit more of a sensible debate and a bit less hysteria. But there are a few signs that the climate is shifting ever so slightly…”

– Read it all at his website.

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