Archbishop Peter Jensen on the ‘failure’ of the Canterbury meeting and ACC-16

“The ACC-16 Lusaka gathering was irrelevant to the GAFCON bishops. We stated again that the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka, only highlighted again the inability of the current instruments to uphold godly order within the Communion.

Delegates from the Episcopal Church, by their own admission, voted on matters that pertained to polity and doctrine, in defiance of the Primates. This action has damaged the standing of the Anglican Consultative Council as an instrument of unity, increased levels of distrust, and further torn the fabric of the Communion. I think that is pretty definitive. The Anglican Communion should be preaching the Word of God…”

– GAFCON General Secretary Peter Jensen was intervewed for VOL as he attended the CANA East Diocesan Synod in Pennsylvania last week.

GAFCON Primates’ Council Communiqué April 2016

The GAFCON Primates have released this Communiqué after their meeting in Nairobi this week.

“We are a global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion. Please continue to pray for our global Anglican future.”

Be sure to read the Appendix too.

_______________

Primates’ Council Communiqué

April 22, 2016 – Nairobi, Kenya

Introduction

We the Primates of the Global Anglican Future Conference met in Nairobi, Kenya from April 18-21, 2016. We give thanks for the gracious hospitality of the Anglican Church of Kenya, their Primate, the Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala, and All Saints Cathedral Diocese. As the location for GAFCON 2013, All Saints holds a special place in our history and in our hearts, and we have been encouraged to be here again.

We began our meeting with prayer and a Bible study that focused on Mark 2:1-12. In this passage, the Scriptures retell the story of a man who could not walk, but was assisted by friends who helped bring him to Jesus. Unable to get their friend through the front door, they loved him enough to find another way.

It is a story about the grace of God at work both in the power of fellowship and the merciful love of Jesus. We ourselves have received His forgiveness, and because He first loved us, we are passionate about doing all that we can to bring others into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We met this week to find practical ways of removing obstacles so that all those who need healing can be brought close to Jesus, be forgiven of their sins, and walk again.

Mission and Discipleship

GAFCON works to guard and proclaim the unchanging, transforming Gospel through biblically faithful preaching, teaching, and programs which free our churches to make disciples by clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ in all the world.

This week we made progress on a wide variety of initiatives to build up the body of Christ. We planned for GAFCON 2018, approved a program that will facilitate bishops’ training, received good news from our provinces and branches, added staff to further the ministry, and made a transition in Primatial leadership. We have also paid careful attention to the facts that have arisen from the Anglican Consultative Council’s meeting in Lusaka.

GAFCON 2018

As a global family we are continuing to make preparations for GAFCON 2018. This will be the third conference since our founding, and the ten year anniversary of the Jerusalem Declaration. The GAFCON movement uniquely draws together the majority of the world’s Anglicans, both clergy and laity, into one proportional and representative body.

We are excited to gather for worship that represents the breadth of the Anglican Communion, as we come together under the authority of the Bible. The conference will provide teaching from God’s Word, fellowship that spans continents, break-out sessions that teach on the themes of mission, discipleship, and evangelism, especially in places where persecution is rife.

It is our hope and prayer that disciples will be so inspired by the vision of the glory of God among the nations, that the Church will be revived and joyously released to spread the love of Jesus.

A coordinator has been appointed to take this work forward, a planning team is being formed, and more will be shared in the coming months.

Bishops’ Training

The Bishops’ Training Institute, launching in September 2016, will equip bishops to be men of prayer, diligent in Bible study and godliness. The inaugural class will bring together twenty new bishops from across the world. Its vision and mission is to equip today’s bishops for effective ministry by seeking the wisdom of the whole church, and especially senior bishops. It will gather, train, mentor, challenge, and sustain episcopal leadership so that today’s bishops will be empowered to live for Christ and make Him known.

Growth

We give thanks for the continued growth of GAFCON. Our meeting included representatives from ten provinces (Congo, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North America, Rwanda, South America, South Sudan & Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) and two branches (Australia and the United Kingdom).

We also celebrated the newest branch of the movement that has been founded in New Zealand. While we were meeting in Nairobi, 500 people came together in Auckland and Christ Church, New Zealand to stand together for the truth of the Gospel. They have our full support, and we are excited to see what God will do in and through them in the years to come.

Staffing the Movement

GAFCON has demonstrated that it is a growing movement that now requires more staff to undergird its development. Mr. James Stileman has been appointed as our Operations Manager to work with the General Secretary, the Most Rev. Peter Jensen, in growing GAFCON’s capacity to serve the movement. The Rev. Canon Charles Raven is heading a new office of Membership Development, and will be working to increase and strengthen GAFCON’s branches and provinces. Ms. Tina de Souza has joined us to head our Communications Department, and she has overseen the development of our website and overall communications strategy. We welcome this team, and give thanks for their dedication to the cause of Christ.

Leadership

We also give thanks for the wise and faithful leadership of the Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala, as his term as our Chairman comes to an end. His six years of service came at a critical time in the life of our movement, and he has put us on a good footing as we enter this next chapter of our life together.

We are excited to announce that the new chairman of the Primates’ Council is the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, Primate of the Anglican Church of All Nigeria. He is joined in leadership by the new vice-chair, the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Primate of the Anglican Church of Uganda. Archbishops Okoh and Ntagali have been deeply committed to the GAFCON movement since its founding, and are well prepared to lead.

Canterbury to Lusaka

We went to Canterbury out of a desire for unity. In our hearts we desire to see the tear in the fabric of the communion mended. The sanctions passed at that meeting were the mildest possible rebuke to only the worst of the offenders, but they were one step in the right direction. Regrettably, these sanctions have not been upheld. This is disappointing, but sadly not surprising. A more comprehensive statement appears in the appendix to this document.

Conclusion

This is an important time in the life of our churches. The grassroots outpouring of messages of support has shown the strength of our movement, and we are deeply thankful for the prayers of our laity and clergy over the last few months. We are a global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion. Please continue to pray for our global Anglican future.

Members of the Primates’ Council Present

The Anglican Church of Kenya
The Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala

Anglican Church of All Nigeria
The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh

Anglican Church in North America
The Most Rev. Foley Beach

Province de L’Eglise Anglicane au Rwanda
The Most Rev. Onesphore Rwaje

The Anglican Church of Tanzania
The Most Rev. Jacob Chimeledya

The Church of the Province of Uganda
The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali

Appendix: From Canterbury to Lusaka

Last January, we spent time together at the Primates Gathering contending for a restoration of godly order within the Anglican Communion. The sanctions passed at that meeting were not in themselves capable of restoring order, but they were a potential first step.

At that meeting, we acknowledged the reality of the “significant distance” between us and “expressed a desire to walk together” if possible. This distance was created when The Episcopal Church walked away from the Anglican Communion’s doctrine on sexuality and the plain teaching of Scripture.

Within hours of the meeting’s end the public responses from many bishops, clergy, and lay people of The Episcopal Church made it clear that they did not desire to share the same journey. The biblical call to repentance is a call to make a 180 degree turn. It grieves us that many in The Episcopal Church have again rejected this call. While we desire to walk together, until there is true repentance, the reality is that they are deliberately walking away from the Anglican Communion and the authority of Scripture at a distance that continues to increase.

The recent meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka, Zambia has again highlighted the inability of the current instruments to uphold godly order within the Communion. Delegates from the Episcopal Church, by their own admission, voted on matters that pertained to polity and doctrine, in defiance of the Primates. This action has damaged the standing of the Anglican Consultative Council as an instrument of unity, increased levels of distrust, and further torn the fabric of the Communion.

Nonetheless, we give thanks that these events have brought further clarity, and drawn GAFCON closer together in the mission of the Gospel. We are of one mind that the future of the Anglican Communion does not lie with manipulations, compromises, legal loopholes, or the presentation of half-truths; the future of our Communion lies in humble obedience to the truth of the Word of God written. What others have failed to do, GAFCON is doing: enabling global fellowship and godly order, united by biblical faithfulness. This unity has provided us with great energy to continue to work for the renewal of the Anglican Communion.

____________

from GAFCON. Photo: GAFCON.

Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand launched with two conferences

“Nearly 500 Anglicans from around New Zealand, including the Vicars of many larger churches, have met together this week at two conferences in Auckland and Christchurch to launch the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans NZ (FCANZ). FCANZ is a local expression of the Gafcon movement, and a message of support was read out at the conferences from Most Rev Dr Eliud Wabukala, Chair of the Gafcon Primates.

Video greetings were also received from Most Rev Foley Beach (Primate of ACNA) and the Rt Rev Richard Condie (Bishop of Tasmania and Chair of FCA Australia).

Rev Canon Vaughan Roberts (St Ebbe’s, Oxford) gave 4 talks on True Gospel, True Sex, True Love and True Unity, and was joined by Rev Canon David Short (Vancouver), Dr Peter Adam (Melbourne), Rev. Dr. Sarah Harris (Auckland) and others.

The formation of FCANZ has been in response to the passing of Motion 30 in 2014 and the subsequent release of the ‘A Way Forward’ Report, due to be presented to the General Synod of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia next month. The report proposes the blessing of same-sex civil marriages thereby rendering them as “rightly-ordered” relationships opening up the possibility for those in them to be accepted as candidates for ordination.

Rev Jay Behan, Chair of FCANZ, said ‘This week has been a hugely significant moment for orthodox Anglicans in New Zealand. FCANZ is committed to promoting faithfulness and providing fellowship, and orthodox Anglicans now know that through the FCANZ there is a place for all orthodox Anglicans in New Zealand, whether they are inside or outside the current Anglican structures.

We continue to pray that General Synod will pull back from making a decision which will tear the fabric of the communion, undermining the allegiance to General Synod for many Anglicans in New Zealand.’

– Media release from FCANZ, via Anglican Mainstream.

Prayer requested for GAFCON Primates Council meeting this week

The GAFCON Primates Council is meeting this week in Nairobi (18th-23rd April 2016). As ever, they value your prayers as they seek to guard the gospel so it can be faithfully proclaimed.

From GAFCON:

The January gathering of Primates in Canterbury saw many people around the world praying for the GAFCON Primates and the wider Anglican Communion. Thank you if you were one of those people. As the GAFCON Primates Council meets this week in Nairobi, they would value your prayers again. Below are some points to guide your prayers as well as your praise to our God who is rich in mercy and grace.

Give thanks:

for the Primates’ willingness to serve the Anglican Communion through the GAFCON Primates Council despite the heavy burdens they carry in their own Provinces.
for the courageous and faithful leadership of Archbishop Wabukala as he stands down as chairman at this meeting.

Pray:

for safety in travelling and at the venue, for visa arrangements to go smoothly and for everyone to arrive as scheduled.
that the Primates will be united and strong in their love for God’s Word and their resolve to see the Church of God healed and renewed.
for wisdom in the decisions that need to be made about GAFCON 2018 and the development of the GAFCON movement.
for the Advisers, Consultants and Secretariat staff who will be supporting the Primates.
for this meeting to be an encouragement to the Anglican Church of Kenya.

Back to Basics Part 6 — Will you stand with us?

“No one wants to see an end to the Anglican Communion. That is why the Primates went to Canterbury.

Certainly the leaders of GAFCON are clear on this point. They are not proposing to replace the Communion. They are dealing with schism, not provoking it.

Their insight has always been clear: since the institutional structures have failed to hold the fellowship together around the truth, the answer must be a spiritual one.

A prophetic voice is needed…”

– In the last of his six-part series Back to Basics, GAFCON General Secretary, Dr. Peter Jensen, invites like-minded Christian believers to stand with those who stand for the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Mouneer Anis explains why he is not going to ACC-16 Lusaka

“Archbishop Mouneer Anis writes a sombre letter to his fellow Primates informing them he will not be attending the upcoming ACC-16 meeting in Lusaka.

Whilst he had every good faith to attend, the clear disregard for the Primates’ decision reached in January 2016 Primates Gathering, that TEC not is not to be represented in the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion, prevents him from doing so in good conscience.” (From GAFCON.)

Here’s the text of his letter. Paragraph breaks added for ease of reading.

My dear brother archbishops,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am writing to let you know that I have decided not to attend the ACC-16 in Lusaka. My decision has come after a long period of prayer and conversations.

As many of you know, it is not easy for me to withdraw from meetings, but this time I felt that if I were to attend, I would be betraying my conscience, my people, and the Primates who worked hard last January to reach a temporary solution in order to keep walking together until such time as we can reach a permanent solution.

I thought that the decision of the Primates’ Meeting in January would be followed through and TEC would not be represented in the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion but sadly this is not the case.

I don’t mind the participation of TEC in the General Meeting of the ACC, but the decision of the Primates was very clear that they should not be nominated or elected in internal standing committees. Although I was disturbed by the statements made by the chairman of the ACC while he was in the USA, I had still intended to attend the meeting. However, as it became clear that the decision of the Primates’ Meeting about the participation of TEC in the Standing Committee would be disregarded, it was then that I decided not to attend.

I see that there is a lot of confusion about the role of the Primates’ Meeting and the ACC. Neither have jurisdiction within provinces, but both have roles in regulating the relationship between provinces. The Primates’ Meeting has “enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters” (Lambeth 1988) and to make “intervention in cases of exceptional emergency which are incapable of internal resolution within provinces, and giving guidelines on the limits of Anglican diversity” (Lambeth 1998).

Some think that because the ACC is the most representative of the instruments (including bishops, clergy, and laity), it is more authoritative. This is not true. It’s very name, “consultative”, reminds us that it is not an “Anglican Synod” but merely an advisory group. The Instruments of Unity, in order to have good relationships, need to support each others’ decisions in those areas of responsibility given to them by Lambeth Councils.

I will be praying for the members of the ACC-16 so that they may affirm and respect the decisions of the Primates’ Meeting. If this happens, it will bring hope back and we will be able to think of the future together.

+ Mouneer Egypt

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis
Archbishop of Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Via GAFCON.

Reflections on Archbishop Mouneer Anis’ boycott of ACC-16 Lusaka

“The announcement yesterday by Archbishop Mouneer Anis (Jerusalem and the Middle East) that he will not be attending the upcoming Anglican Consultative Council meeting (ACC-16) has sent shock waves through the leadership of the Anglican Communion…

The Episcopal Church’s intention to continue to participate in the Joint Standing Committee of the ACC (also known as the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion), was just too much. It was a clear and direct rejection of the discipline prescribed by the Primates. It is an act of rebellion aided and abetted by Chairman Tengatenga’s denunciation of the Primates authority.”

– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey asks is there now any reason at all for any of the GAFCON and Global South Primates to attend ACC-16.

He also looks at the Constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council, and argues why Biblically faithful Primates need to act.

Read his full piece here.

Back to Basics Part 4 — Repentance

“As we think through the significance of the meeting of Primates in Canterbury, we come to the key subject of repentance.

The issues before us have doctrinal and political aspects. But, finally, they are spiritual and that is why repentance matters.

The original tragic division in the Anglican Communion was the responsibility of certain North American Anglicans. They have been invited back into communion with those who severed relationships.

But this is not simply a matter of apology without change.

The need is repentance, with the hope of reconciliation and restoration…”

– GAFCON General Secretary, Dr Peter Jensen, writes the fourth of six reflections in the light of January’s Primates Meeting.

The Primates’ Authority does not depend on Canterbury

“As I observed last week, the Primates must be wondering why they even came together in January at Archbishop Welby’s request if he is now unable to defend them.

And as Archbishop Mouneer notes, that is the source of our impaired Communion. It is a great pity that the source of impaired communion lies in great part in the lack of leadership by Canterbury himself.”

– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey looks at the failure of Canterbury to respond publicly to the Anglican Consultative Council’s public repudiation of Primatial authority.

Back to Basics 3 — Fellowship

“Fellowship, or Communion, is a very precious gift of the gospel. The Lord Jesus laid down his life for his Church, his Bride. Christians are united to Christ for their salvation. Inevitably, then, we are united with one another. We are all one in Christ Jesus.

I have been trying to think through the implications of the January meeting of Primates for the Anglican Communion and for GAFCON.

The Communique and the story of the meeting certainly put a lot of store on fellowship and unity. The Primates, we are assured, were unanimous in their desire to walk together, difficult though it is…”

– Dr Peter Jensen, GAFCON General Secretary, writes the third of his reflections following the Primates Gathering in January 2016.

Good reading of the Good Book

“To assess the implications of the Primates’ gathering in January and what we have seen subsequently, I am suggesting that we go back to basics. The first point was the authority of the Bible over our consciences and over the churches. It is God’s word written.

But there is a hot contest over the interpretation of the Bible, especially when it comes to God’s expectations about sexual behaviour. What can we say about how we read the Bible?”

— Dr Peter Jensen writes the second of his Back to Basics series for GAFCON.

Church of Nigeria not taking part in ACC Lusaka meeting

“During the Canterbury meeting itself, the way and manner in which those who hold the orthodox view of human sexuality and marriage were spoken of by the authorities, and denounced as “homophobic”, left no one in doubt that we were in the wrong place…”

– Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Primate of Nigeria, explains why the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) won’t be represented at the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, next month. Via GAFCON.

To go Forward we must go Back

“Since the Primates gathering in January I have been trying to assess its significance for the Anglican Communion.

I am not alone in thinking that the GAFCON movement and its Primates played an important role in the outcome. But it is possible to lose clarity in the midst of all the talk and interpretations. We need to go right back to basics to be sure of our identity, our purpose and our policies as a Communion.

We need to go back to basics to make sure that our witness is heard…”

– Dr Peter Jensen, GAFCON General Secretary, has released the first of six reflections on the fundamentals underpinning the Christian faith.

Anglican Church of Kenya will not take part in the ACC meeting in Lusaka

To the Bishops, Clergy and all the Faithful of the Anglican Church of Kenya

from the Most Rev’d Dr Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Bishop, All Saints Cathedral Diocese Nairobi

Statement on Anglican Consultative Council 16, Lusaka

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I am deeply committed to the unity and restoration of our beloved Anglican Communion. It was for this reason that I and brother Primates from GAFCON and other orthodox provinces were willing to accept the Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation to a meeting of Primates in Canterbury earlier this year, despite the representation of Provinces with which the Anglican Church of Kenya is in a state of broken communion.

It seemed that this might be an opportunity to restore godly faith and order and, although the resolution agreed by an overwhelming majority of those present was not all we hoped for, it sent a powerful message around the world that the collective mind of the Communion was to remain faithful to the Scriptures and God’s purpose for man and woman in marriage.

In particular, the Episcopal Church in the United States (TEC) was required to withdraw its representatives from groups representing the Anglican Communion ecumenically and it was agreed that TEC should not participate in votes on doctrine and polity in the Communion’s institutions.

However, the Presiding Bishop of TEC has made it clear that his Church will not think again about same sex ‘marriage’ and he expects his Church to play a full part in next month’s Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting in Lusaka. This defiance of the Primates’ moral and spiritual authority has been supported by the Chairman of the ACC, Bishop Tengatenga, who has confirmed that TEC will participate fully.

There can be no true walking together with those who persistently refuse to walk in accordance with God’s Word and the Anglican Church of Kenya will not therefore be participating in the forthcoming meeting of the ACC in Lusaka.

An opportunity has been missed to use the ACC for good and it is increasingly clear that the GAFCON movement must continue to provide a focus for that godly unity so many of us desire.

via GAFCON.