Bishop McIntyre breaks ranks on homosexuality

How does this square with the Australian Bishops’ Protocol?

The Synod of the Diocese of Gippsland met in Sale, 18–20 May 2012. In his Presidential Address, Bishop John McIntyre spoke of the “new place” to which he had come in his understanding of homosexual people and the church. He said –

“I will appoint to office in our diocese those whom I believe God is calling to minister among us … and I am willing to live with any consequences that may arise from remaining true to that commitment.”

Read the full text of his address – linked from the diocesan website (PDF) – also quoted at length in The Gippsland Times (“Anglican Bishop enters gay marriage debate”, 19 May 2012).

Related posts. (Photo: Diocese of Gippsland.)

Papers from the FCA leaders conference available

More papers from the FCA leaders conference in London have been uploaded to the GAFCON website.

See this page for the complete listing of resources from the GAFCON website.

The newly available papers are –

What is the Gospel? – from a seminar led by Drs Ngozi Okeke & Mark Thompson

Ecclesiology:

A Summary of Anglican Ecclesiology – Ashley Null
16th Century Anglican Ecclesiology – Ashley Null
The Anglican Mind in Caroline and Tractarian Thought – Arthur Middleton

Faithful and Effective – Evangelism and Church Planting.

Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire elected

“The Rev. A. Robert (Rob) Hirschfeld was elected bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire today at St. Paul’s Church, on the first ballot. In January 2013 he will succeed Bishop Gene Robinson as the Xth Bishop of New Hampshire. …

Rev. Hirschfeld is married to Polly Ingraham… and has two sons and a daughter.”

– New Hampshire elects a bishop coadjutor. (Photo credit: Reynolds Winslow.)

How will Anglicans react if New Hampshire Episcopalians elect another Gay Bishop?

Time asks the question, and includes mention of FCA and quotes a response from Archbishop Peter Jensen –

“‘Having once made an appointment which defies both orthodox Christian teaching and the commitment of the majority of their fellow Anglicans, it would not be surprising that the Episcopal Church would continue its intransigent path,’ he wrote…”

– Story at Time. (Photo credit: Forester Photography, Concord NH via Dioc NH.)

Falls Anglican Church Virginia has last Sunday at property

“A departing Anglican congregation held its final services at a Virginia church property that they lost to The Episcopal Church in a years-long court battle.

The Falls Church Anglican, a congregation that broke away from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia years ago over the increasingly liberal theology of the denomination, held two services on Sunday, leaving the property to a much smaller Episcopal congregation…”

– story from Christian Post. Photo: Falls Church.

New West Synod moves to lift same sex blessing ‘partial moratorium’

From a report on the Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster, which concluded yesterday –

“Of interest to many was the passing of Motion #1 on the afternoon of May 12th by a substantial majority of Synod.

In this motion, Synod requested that the Bishop lift the partial moratorium that has been in place since 2005 and authorize priests of the Diocese of New Westminster to bless the civil marriages of gay and lesbian couples in those parishes that support this pastoral act. …

Bishop Michael responded by saying that he will think about this decision and that he plans to confer with many members of the diocese…”

– from the New Westminster website. (Photo: Dioc. New Westminster. h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.)

Related: The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns by Dr Mark Thompson, 2008.

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

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