2019: A Ground-Breaking Year for GAFCON

“A lot has happened during 2019, and we give praise and thanks to God for His faithfulness to this growing movement of Global Anglicans. Watch our round up of 2019 here and we hope that you will stand with us as we move forward into the new year …”

– Encouragement from Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Ben Kwashi.

Advent Letter from Archbishop Ben Kwashi

“Peace be with you!

Our Advent card celebrates the wonderful truth that our Lord Jesus who first appeared in the humility of the incarnation will most certainly return in glory, ‘For all the promises of God find their Yes in him’ (2 Cor 1:20).

The gospel brings a hope that nothing and nobody else can give and living myself in a situation where Christians risk their lives for faithfulness to Christ, I know the power of this hope to sustain and strengthen. …”

– Gafcon General Secretary, Archbishop Ben A Kwashi, shares his Advent 2019 message.

Advent 2019 Message from Archbishop Foley Beach

“In his Advent letter to the family of global Anglicans, Archbishop Foley Beach reflects on his time in Pakistan, the launch of Gafcon’s weekday devotion ‘Lift Up Your Hearts’, and despite hostility, he encourages us to press forward in Jesus, the Coming King.“

Gafcon Ireland pushes back against claims it is un-Anglican

Here is a letter printed in the Irish Times in response to the open letter from liberal Irish clergy urging the Irish bishops to reject the election of David McClay as Bishop of Down and Dromore due to his support of GAFCON.

_______

Sir, – It saddens me that once again The Irish Times has allowed its pages to be used to spread vicious and untrue rumours about Gafcon (Analysis, November 18th, Rite and Reason, November 19th). Far from being schismatic, Gafcon has allowed the vast majority of the Anglican Communion to remain united despite attempts from some to tear the very fabric of our common life.

The pleas of brothers and sisters across the globe have been ignored and the plain teaching of Scripture has been abandoned. Instead there has been a persistent and prolonged attempt to drive the Church of Ireland away from its true Anglican heritage shared by millions across the world. It was my privilege to be at Gafcon in Jerusalem last year, the biggest international gathering of Anglicans in over 50 years. Men and women from more than 50 countries gathered in that great city to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.

Every Church of Ireland minister is committed to this. At their ordination, they promise to expound the Scriptures and teach the doctrine of the Church of Ireland to all irrespective of gender, race or sexuality.

Anyone reading the Jerusalem Declaration, which sets out the beliefs of the Gafcon movement, will notice that it merely upholds the classical authorities of Anglicanism, the Bible as the word of God written, the Creeds and Councils of the early church, the Articles, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. This is something that every bishop in the Church of Ireland is called to do and what the average church-goer in Ireland expects from their bishop. These are the things that unite us. – Yours, etc,

Rev Timothy Anderson, Chair, Gafcon Ireland

– from GAFCON.

Preparing for GAFCON Kigali 2020

Archbishop Foley speaks briefly about why evangelism is a key theme for the Kigali 2020 conference being planned by GAFCON.

Evangelical Anglicans on the Fault Line in New Zealand

“I have been privileged to visit New Zealand twice this year. On my first visit in May I had time to explore a little of this beautiful land from alpine mountains to the lush forests bordering restless volcanic lakes, but I am still haunted by the sight of the ruined Christchurch Cathedral, its west end still open to the elements after the spire collapsed in the 2011 earthquake.

My second visit in mid-October was for the consecration of the Revd Jay Behan as the first bishop of the new Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa, New Zealand …”

– GAFCON’s Charles Raven reflects on what’s happening in New Zealand.

Church of Ireland clergy object to conservative bishop’s appointment

“Thirty-six senior Church of Ireland clergy have put their names to an open letter objecting to the appointment of the newly elected Bishop of Down and Dromore due to his involvement with a conservative Anglican group [GAFCON]. …”

– Story from The Irish Times.

Photo of David McClay via the Diocese of Down and Dromore, where it is reported:

The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, said: “I wish to congratulate David McClay on his election as Bishop of Down and Dromore. An experienced parish clergyperson and archdeacon, he has a strong reputation as someone with a heart for the dispossessed and lonely, and I would wish him and his family God’s blessing and every fulfilment in his future ministry.”

Chairman’s October 2019 Letter — Reformation Day!

“Beloved in Christ Jesus: Greetings in the name of the crucified, risen, and ascended King, our Lord Jesus Christ!

I write to you from Wittenberg, Germany, where Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation 502 years ago by posting his 95 Theses on the doors of the Castle Church.

This month has seen an historic step in the life of the Anglican Communion. …”

– Archbishop Foley Beach, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, shares, in his October Letter, news of the New Zealand consecration.

Jay Behan consecrated in Christchurch

Jay Behan has been consecrated as the first Bishop of the Diocese of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand this morning in Christchurch.

Bishops from across the Tasman and around the world took part in the service.

ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council presided, and former Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen preached.

The event was live-streamed, and a recording may be seen via the ConfessingAnglicansNZ Facebook page (a Facebook account is not needed). Audio starts about 12 minutes into the recording, just as the service proper begins.

Archbishop Peter Jensen delivers the sermon. Bishops Peter Lin and Bill Atwood look on.

Archbishop Foley Beach addresses Jay Behan.

Listening to the consecration charge.

Dr Laurent Mbanda, Primate of Uganda and Vice-Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, reads one of the Consecration questions while Archbishop Foley Beach (left) and Bishop Julian Dobbs (right) look on.

The laying on of hands.

“There’s much for us to do. This world is full of darkness and we know the One who is the Light of the World. … We’ve got to preach and proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Jay Behan speaking after his consecration.

(Images from the live-stream video.)

Jay Behan’s consecration to be live-streamed

GAFCON advises that Jay Behan’s consecration service will be live-streamed from Christchurch on the Gafcon Facebook page @gafconference. Here’s when to watch it live in your timezone:

Australian Eastern Daylight Time:
7:30am Saturday 19 October.
UK BST: 9:30pm 18 Friday October.
USA ET: 4:30pm Friday 18 October.
USA PT: 1:30pm Friday 18 October.

A Facebook account is not needed to see the live-stream on the Facebook page.

(Photo from Sydney Synod: Anglican Media Sydney.)

Questions for Global Anglicans

In his latest video series, “Questions for Global Anglicans”, the American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey outlines a way forward for the Anglican Communion.

He hopes to see a coming-together of GAFCON and the Global South Primates.

Other videos in the series here.

Serving God or Mammon in the Anglican Communion?

“What role does money play in the continuing struggle for biblical faithfulness in the Anglican Communion? The sharp warning from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:24) about the impossibility of serving both God and Mammon alerts us to the reality that money can become a spiritual power when it seduces us into materialism. Rather than being used in the service of God, it can become a god.

But this power of money does not normally manifest itself in a simple and unsubtle appeal to greed…”

– GAFCON’s Membership Development Secretary, Canon Charles Raven, wrote this article for Evangelicals Now.

ReNew Conference hears call to mission in the light of the future

“The annual gathering of conservative evangelical English Anglicans addressed the uncertainties of ministry in the present, given the challenges offered by the Church of England and Western culture, and emphasised the certainty of a future under Christ’s just reign promised in Scripture. …

The theme of the Renew Conference, attended by nearly 500 people from 270 churches, was ‘multiplying ministries in the light of eternity’.”

– At Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Symes gives an encouraging report on this year’s ReNew Conference in the UK.

Peter Jensen interviewed on Living through the Word podcast

Archbishop Peter Jensen was interviewed earlier this month on the Living through the Word podcast of Bishop Julian Dobbs (Anglican Diocese of the Living Word in the USA).

Peter speaks about Sydney, GAFCON, and his own background.

What happened in Boga needs further analysis and appropriate action

“What happened in Boga needs further investigation, like getting a cure to a patient who requires serious diagnosis, laboratory tests and examination.

You have heard about what happened in Boga the morning of last Friday when the Islamist ADF rebel group invaded Boga. That invasion caused a lot of pain, suffering, fear and trauma. What is the source of all this? Many people are having no answers to the question.”

–  Bishop William Mugenyi Bahemuka gives some important background to the attack on Boga a week ago. At the GAFCON website.

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