Pray for Iran

A prayer update from Gafcon:

“As the nations groan under injustice and violence, we are called to pray with clarity and hope. Today, let us be especially mindful of Iran and its people, where reports continue of brutal repression, widespread arrests, and the silencing of those who cry out for freedom. Pray for an end to violence, for the protection of innocent civilians, and that the weak, the poor, and the oppressed would be defended and upheld.

Pray that God would intervene in the hearts of those who wield power and weapons: that security forces would restrain themselves, prisoners would be released, and corrupt rulers would be brought to account. Ask for wisdom for world leaders as they consider how to respond, and for justice and peace to prevail where fear and brutality now dominate.

As part of the Gafcon movement, pray with confidence that Christ’s gospel continues to advance even in the darkest places. Give thanks for the many who have turned to Christ in Iran in recent years. Pray for the protection, perseverance, and bold love of Iranian believers, and that through them many more would come to know Jesus, to the glory of God.”

– Source: Gafcon.

Gafcon: G26 Bursaries Needed

A prayer request from Gafcon:

“As we look ahead to the G26 Bishops Conference in Abuja, Nigeria in March, let us commit ourselves afresh to prayer for God’s financial provision. Pray that the Lord would supply the resources needed to fund additional bursaries, so that bishops are not prevented from attending because of cost.

Pray especially for bishops from the Global South, many of whom are deeply committed to biblical faithfulness but lack the means to fund their travel. Ask that no voice is missing from this historic gathering due to limited finances.

Pray that God would stir generosity among his people—individuals, churches, and partners—to give sacrificially and joyfully. Give thanks for what has already been provided, and ask that the remaining need would be met in full, for the strengthening of Christ’s Church worldwide.

Please give at www.gafcon.org/G26Bursary.”

Source: Gafcon.

Dr. Glenn Davies and the Future of Anglican Communion in relation to GAFCON

In the latest Australian Presbyterian Profiles in Christian Living, Mark Powell speaks with Glenn Davies, the Bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, about the future of the worldwide Anglican Communion and GAFCON.

While this was recorded in late October, it’s just been published.

– Watch here.

Gafcon Chairman’s Christmas Message 2025

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

At Christmas, the Church once again returns to the quiet and unsettling words of Luke’s Gospel: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

The coming of Jesus into the world did not happen because space was made for him, but because he chose to enter our broken world. The Son of God entered his own creation not amid welcome and recognition, but amid rejection, displacement, and neglect.

That truth should give us pause.

For there are times when the Church herself can begin to resemble the inn—busy, occupied, confident in her own arrangements—yet leaving no room for Jesus and his Word. Under false shepherds, the voice of the true Shepherd is sidelined. Faithful witness is crowded out. Obedience is treated as disruption. And those who seek to hold fast to the gospel are told, in effect, that there is no room.

Yet Christmas proclaims this unshakable hope: Jesus is not hindered by closed doors. God’s purposes are not thwarted by human refusal. The child laid in the manger is the Lord of history, and his Kingdom will not fail.

This year, many across our Anglican family have known uncertainty, pressure, and grief. Some have borne the cost of faithfulness quietly and at great personal cost. Christmas reminds us that such suffering does not place us outside God’s purposes, but often directly within them.

The witness of the Church has always been forged not through comfort, but through conviction.

That truth was given renewed expression in this year’s Martyrs’ Day Statement, which clearly and soberly reaffirmed our shared confession, fellowship, and mission under the authority of Holy Scripture. It reminded us that the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) has always been guarded and proclaimed at a cost—and that we are called, in our generation, to do no less.

Throughout this past year, we have seen bishops, clergy, and lay leaders stand together in gospel unity, resolved to make room for Jesus where others have not—to guard his gospel, to proclaim his truth, and to remain faithful even when it would be easier to yield.

As we now look toward the historic gathering in Abuja next March, we do so with humility, prayer, and hope. G26 is a summons to make room for Jesus afresh in the life of his Church, to listen again to his Word, and to walk together in obedience and courage.

And so, as you celebrate the birth of our Lord with your families and churches, may your hearts be strengthened by this sure hope: “Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Lord enters in.”

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Yours in Christ,

The Most Revd Dr Laurent Mbanda
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
Saturday, 20th December 2025.

McNeills visit Abuja for G26 Preparation

A Gafcon point for thanksgiving and prayer –

“We give thanks to God for a fruitful week-long visit to Abuja, Nigeria, by Gafcon Global Operations Manager, The Revd Canon Jodie McNeill, and his wife, Mrs Mandy McNeill, Events and Partnership Coordinator.

During their visit, they worked closely with the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in preparation for the history-making G26 Bishops Assembly, to be held in March next year.

They were warmly welcomed by The Most Revd Dr Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba, Primate of All Nigeria and member of the Gafcon Primates’ Council, together with his wife, Mama Angela. They also met with The Most Revd Dr Blessing C. Enyindah, Dean of All Nigeria and Chairman of the Gafcon G26 Planning Committee.

We give thanks for this strong partnership in the gospel and for the excellent preparations already underway. We pray for the Lord’s strength as logistics continue, and ask that He would raise up generous Christians to provide bursaries so bishops from the Global South can attend this vital gathering.

Give at www.gafcon.org/G26Bursary.”

– Source.

Not a New Communion: Anglican Reformers are always called Schismatic

Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison writes at The Gospel Coalition –

“Since Gafcon—the Global Anglican Future Conference—released its Martyrs’ Day statement on October 16, 2025, the same question has followed me from Belfast to Sydney to Dallas: Have we just witnessed the birth of a new Anglican Communion?

It’s understandable. The statement was bold—speaking of a ‘reordering of the Anglican Communion’ and introducing the phrase ‘Global Anglican Communion’ (GAC). For some, that sounded like a split. But it wasn’t a Declaration of Independence; it was a confession of Anglicanism’s ongoing dependence on the unchanging Word of God. …”

– Read it all here.

GAFCON to Re-Order Communion — Anglican Unscripted with Bishop Paul Donison

In the latest edition of Anglican Unscripted (number 945!), Kevin Kallsen interviews Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison.

If you missed Bishop Donison’s recent Australian tour, this is the next best thing.

– Watch here.

Bishop John Guernsey Appointed Chairman of Chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

Prayer request from Gafcon:

“Give thanks to God for the appointment of The Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey as the new Chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, whose Trustees faithfully govern and support the ministry of Gafcon and the Global Anglican Communion.

We praise the Lord for Bishop Guernsey’s deep and longstanding commitment to Gafcon: a delegate at GAFCON 2008, Chair of the Statement Committee in Nairobi 2013, and Worship Coordinator in Jerusalem 2018. His decades of faithful leadership in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) have strengthened our global fellowship.

Pray for Bishop Guernsey and his wife, Meg, asking that God grant him wisdom, humility, and joy as he helps guide our movement to have the Bible at the heart of the Anglican Communion.”

– Source. (Background: Bishop Guernsey Wikipedia entry.)

Centre of gravity shifts from Canterbury to Abuja – with Paul Donison

From The Pastor’s Heart, a special edition featuring an interview with Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison –

“Paul Donison responds to global reaction to Gafcon’s reset of the Anglican Communion and its declaration that Canterbury’s time is over.

The Lord is removing his Spirit from the Canterbury–Lambeth lampstand, and the centre of global Anglicanism is shifting from London to Africa.

The average Anglican today is not English, not Western, not male — she’s a young African woman in her twenties, probably Nigerian. The Anglican Communion is now catching up with that reality.

Since the Gafcon Primates’ announcement on 16 October 2025 — declaring that Canterbury is out and that the Bible will be the foundation document for a reordered Global Anglican Communion — reaction has been electric: claims of schism, conflict in Ireland, tensions in ACNA, questions about women’s orders, realignments in England, silence from some primates, and fresh courage from others.

And what does this mean for a blended province like Australia?

Gafcon General Secretary Paul Donison joins us with an update on plans for the Global Bishops Gathering in Abuja, Nigeria, 3–6 March 2026.”

– Watch or listen here.

Bishop Donison is speaking at Moore College on Wednesday night at 7:30pm:

Everything you always wanted to know about Gafcon

From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net –

“The General Secretary of the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), Bishop Paul Donison, has embarked on a speaking tour of Australia, with stops in capital cities including Sydney.

‘Sydney’s really been part of the Gafcon story right from the beginning,’ said Bishop Donison in a brief call from Melbourne Airpport during his whirlwind tour. ‘One of the opportunities for coming out to Australia is to help Australians realize how much love there is for Australia and how Australia can be such a key part of Gafcon moving forward.’

Bishop Donison has already spoken in Melbourne and Hobart and is on his way around the rest of the country before the Sydney meeting at Moore College on November 26. …”

– Read here. (Emphasis added.)

Image courtesy Gafcon Australia.

After Sydney, Bishop Donison will be speaking in Brisbane and Christchurch.

First Ordination for Diocese of the Southern Cross

A Prayer Update from Gafcon:

“We give thanks to God for a joyful milestone in the life of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, as the Rt Revd Dr Glenn Davies, Interim Bishop, and Gafcon Guarantor and Primates’ Council Advisor, presided over the first ordination of a deacon in the diocese.

Congratulations to the Revd Mekyal Keira, ordained as a Deacon in the Church of God and appointed Pastor of Kush Southern Cross Anglican Church in Western Australia, the eighth congregation in this growing diocese, launched this weekend.

We also rejoice that Alezabeth Kurundi was authorised as a Lay Minister in this new church. Praise God for His faithfulness in raising up new leaders to guard His gospel and serve His people across Australia.”

– Source.

See also:

Kush Southern Cross Anglican Church Facebook page.

“We’re an English-Arabic speaking church in the Diocese of the Southern Cross in Perth, Western Australia.”  (They meet at 160 Dampier Avenue, Kallaroo WA 6025.)

Prayer for the Persecuted Church

From Gafcon:

“This Sunday marks the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Across the world, faithful Anglicans and other believers face hardship and danger for the name of Jesus. Yet they remain steadfast, trusting that the Lord is their refuge and strength, and that nothing can silence His gospel.

As the global Gafcon fellowship, we stand with them in love and prayer. We thank God for their courage as they continue to guard God’s gospel in the face of pressure and persecution. Their witness reminds us that the Word of God is not chained, and that His Church endures by His power alone.

Pray that the Lord will uphold His persecuted people with faith, endurance, and peace. May their steadfast hope inspire us all to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations, whatever the cost.”

Image: Last year’s World Watch List from Open Doors.

Anglican Aid — In fellowship with GAFCON

From The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid:

“Anglican Aid gives thanks to God for the gospel faithfulness of the leadership of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), following their recent statement regarding the future of the Anglican Communion. This announcement is a declaration that the Anglican Communion would not centre around a person or an office, but rest on a single foundation: the Word of God.

As the overseas aid, development, and ministry support agency of the Sydney Anglican Diocese, Anglican Aid is committed to resourcing churches in the world’s poorest countries with faithful servants trained in the word of God. We are building and resourcing theological colleges and supporting the training of over 2,500 people for various ministries. Anglican Aid longs to see the word of God faithfully proclaimed to the nations. …”

– Read it all here.

Photo: Anglican Aid CEO Tim Swan with Archbishop Ande from the Anglican Church of Congo.

2025 Global Vision Tour with Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison

A few months ago, we noted that Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison would be speaking at events across Australia and in New Zealand in November.

Details are now available – via the Gafcon Australia website.

“Hear about Gafcon’s Global vision – challenges and opportunities from Bishop Paul Donison and your local Gafcon leaders.

The 90-minute presentation will provide an opportunity to deepen your understanding of Gafcon and connect with others.

Admission to this public event is FREE, and a light supper will be served at the conclusion.”

November 2025

Melbourne
Tuesday 18th  7.30 pm Ridley College, 170 The Avenue, Parkville

Hobart
Wednesday 19th  7.30 pm Wellspring Anglican, 43-47 Grosvenor St, Sandy Bay

Perth
Thursday 20th  6 pm Dalkeith Anglican, 56 Viking Rd, Dalkeith

Adelaide
Friday 21st  7.30 pm St Bart’s Norwood, 77 Beulah Rd, Norwood

Sydney
Wednesday 26th 7.30 pm Moore College, 1 King St, Newtown

Brisbane
Friday 28th 7.30 pm St Phil’s Rochedale, 270 Rochedale Rd, Rochedale

Christchurch, NZ
Saturday 29th November Trinity Church

See also this message from The Rev. Peter Smith, Chair of Gafcon Australia.

Key Gafcon stories from the last week

In case you missed them, here are some key posts related to last week’s Gafcon announcement. Each will open in a new window  –

The Future Has Arrived — Gafcon Communique 16 October 2025.

Enough’s Enough! — A Bible-Centred Reordering of Global Anglicanism — The Pastor’s Heart with Archbishop Laurent Mbanda.

A Long Awaited Future – Dr Mark Thompson.

The Anglican future is here – SydneyAnglicans.net with a Media Release from Bishop Peter Hayward, Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney.

Gafcon Reboots the Communion – Anglican Unscripted.

The patience of Gafcon – some historical background.

The Future of Anglicanism Has Arrived: What GAFCON’s Statement Means for Evangelicals – Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison.

Sydney Standing Committee welcomes Gafcon announcement – SydneyAnglicans.net.

Gafcon photo.

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