GAFCON primates lead in corruption fight
“GAFCON’s most senior leaders are taking a prominent role in the fight against corruption in Africa.
The Chairman of the Primate’s Council, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, was appointed late last year to chair Kenya’s Anti-Corruption Campaign Steering Committee.
Among other measures, the committee will run nationwide public education campaign aimed at changing Kenyans’ attitude towards corruption.…”
– from GAFCON.
GAFCON Chairman’s July — August 2015 Pastoral Letter
“I am writing to you on the day when the Church has traditionally celebrated the Transfiguration. The veil that covered Jesus’ glory in his earthly ministry is briefly drawn aside before he begins his journey to Jerusalem and death upon the cross. While Jesus prayed, Peter, James and John slept, but we must not judge them harshly. Climbing mountains is hard work! In fact, they were so deeply asleep that the reality being revealed was not immediately clear to them, yet the impact was lasting.
Years later, Peter recalls this moment on the mountain as he writes to spiritually sleepy Christians who are in danger of forgetting the truth of the gospel and have become complacent about false teachers…
The problem TEC in particular continues to pose for the rest of the Communion was highlighted by another but less reported resolution from its 2015 General Convention, A051, ‘Support LGBT African Advocacy’ which mandates that Church to spread its ideas to Africa…”
– GAFCON Primates’ Council Chairman, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, sends his latest Pastoral Letter.
West Hamilton Parish and the wilderness
“One of our harshest critics here, a former Diocesan Manager, opined in the Waikato Times that we have consigned ourselves to the religious wilderness.
I can’t help thinking that’s not a bad place to be…”
– The Rev. Michael Hewat, Pastor of West Hamilton Community Church, writes about his experience of being forced out of the Anglican Church of NZ. (PDF file)
Published back in March on the Latimer Fellowship website.
TEC decision ‘a mistake with serious consequences’ — GAFCON
“The recent decision of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, to remove reference to gender in the marriage canon and introduce rites for conducting ‘same-sex marriage’, is a mistake with serious consequences.
The problems for the rest of the Anglican Communion have already been noted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. But the fundamental reason that it is a mistake – and the reason why it is so destabilizing – is that it is a significant departure from Holy Scripture. This is a departure which Christians are not at liberty to make…”
– Read the full statement from Archbishops Eliud Wabukala and Nicholas Okoh, the Chairman and Vice Chairman, of the GAFCON Primates Council.
Abp Wabukala photo: ACNA.
GAFCON Chairman’s Pastoral Letter, June 2015
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, writes:
“My dear brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our only Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
It is a strange thing that in the Church we can see both extraordinary strength and extraordinary weakness at the same time.
The strength of Christian faith has been revealed in a most profound way by members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston following the shooting of nine of its members during a bible study…
In contrast, there are too many examples in the Church of weakness in the face of the subtle challenges of cultural and financial pressure. In Africa we are still too dependent in our thinking on outside agencies. This makes us vulnerable to relationships designed to buy influence and damages the integrity of our witness, while in the more economically developed world there is too often a fear of being out of step with secular culture.
In this context I cannot avoid mentioning a very disturbing event in England…”
– Take the time to read it all, including a quote from Archbishop Peter Jensen at last week’s FCA meeting in Belfast.
GAFCON: A moment and a movement — report on Belfast meeting
“A meeting of church leaders from across Ireland has been challenged to remain biblically faithful but to ‘dare to do new things’ in the face of a ‘new spiritual darkness’ in the west.
The General Secretary of the Global Anglican Future Conference, Dr Peter Jensen, who addressed the event at Belfast’s Willowfield Church, told the story of GAFCON’s beginnings in the landmark conference of Bishops, clergy and lay leaders in Jerusalem in 2008, through to the Nairobi meeting in 2013 and the movement’s unifying work today across the Anglican world…”
Update:
Here’s a report from The Belfast News Letter.
and a correction to that report, from Philip Robinson GAFCON Operations Manager.
GAFCON: A Moment and a Movement
This event, coming up on Friday June 19th, will be of interest for readers within travelling distance of Belfast.
It’s being organised by the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK & Ireland), and is a discussion on the future of global Anglicanism – with:
The Rt Rev Dr Peter Jensen – General Secretary, GAFCON
The Rev Canon Andy Lines – General Secretary, Anglican Mission in England
Mr Philip Robinson – Operations Director, GAFCON and the Global FCA.
The Anglican Future Conference — A Report
A report by Rev Caitlin Hurley, ACL councillor.
In late March, 460 Anglicans gathered in Melbourne for the inaugural Anglican Future Conference.
The conference was a joint initiative of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Australia (FCA-A) and the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion (EFAC). Read more
GAFCON Chairman’s Pentecost Letter 2015
“One of the great lessons of the East African Revival was that a genuine movement of the Spirit will impress on our hearts that the Scriptures really are the inspired and authoritative Word of God.
We cannot separate the Spirit from the Spirit-inspired Scriptures. The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to enable Christians to grow in biblical holiness and to equip them with gifts to build up the church in a hostile world.
It is therefore a tragedy when Christian leaders whose minds have been captured by the spirit of the age commend the values of the world to the Church and claim they are led by the Spirit of God. …”
– Read the full letter from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala here.
(Photo: Diocese of Kenya.)
Former SAAB showroom home to Baton Rouge Anglican church
“At first glance, a Cadillac dealer’s showroom may not seem like a ‘mission outpost’ of Christianity, but that’s exactly how Holy Cross Anglican Church was described by a visiting bishop when he blessed the congregation last Sunday evening…”
– Story from The Advocate, Baton Rouge. Photo: Gerry Lane Cadillac.
GAFCON — threat, option, or only future?
“Two Archbishops walk into a bar for a relaxing drink after a hard day’s work in committee. One of them, in placing his order, starts a conversation with the man serving the drinks. He beckons to his purple shirted companion and over the next few minutes, the two of them share the Gospel with the bartender, and lead him to faith in Christ. Later both prelates testify that for them, this was the highlight of the conference.
Thankfully its not impossible to imagine that this story involved Most Reverends Welby and Sentamu, but in fact it was related by one of the GAFCON Primates who had been told the story by his two fellow Archbishop-evangelists at their meeting last week…”
– Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream asks if GAFCON is a threat to the Anglican Communion.
GAFCON Primates Communique 17 April 2015 — We are not leaving the Anglican Communion
Next GAFCON Conference in 2018
“We are not leaving the Anglican Communion.”
“We invite all faithful Anglicans to join us in renewing the Communion…”
“This week, from 13th to 17th April 2015, we have met in London for prayer and fellowship in order to help chart the future of global Anglicanism. We are uniting faithful Anglicans, growing in momentum, structured for the future, and committed to the Anglican Communion. …
We are excited to announce that the next GAFCON conference will be in 2018. This global gathering now serves a critical function in the life of the Anglican Communion as it is an effective instrument of unity which is capable of gathering the majority of the world’s Anglicans. … A further announcement will be made when the details of the venue have been confirmed.
… We continue to encourage and support the efforts of those working to restore the Church of England’s commitment to Biblical truth. Equally, we authenticate and support the work of those Anglicans who are boldly spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and whose circumstances require operating outside the old, institutional structures. …
We are not leaving the Anglican Communion. The members of our churches stand at the heart of the Communion, which is why we are committed to its renewal. We belong to the mainstream, and we are moving forward.”
– The GAFCON Primates Council has released this encouraging Communique after their meeting in London. Full Communique below: Read more
Beginning in Jerusalem: The Theological Significance of the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference
Archbishop Peter Jensen gave the Richard B. Gaffin Lecture at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia on March 18, 2015.
In “Beginning in Jerusalem: The Theological Significance of the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference”, he explains the reasons for GAFCON, giving a glimpse of the pain involved, and the hope for the future. Speaking to his Westminster audience, he said, “You perhaps need to enter into our experience so you can prepare yourself for what may come.”
This is a sobering encouragement to watch. Thanks to Church Society for the link.
Related:
GAFCON Final Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration – 29 June 2008.
The Jerusalem Declaration formatted as a PDF file.
Archbishop sends message to Kenya after attack
Anglican Diocese of Sydney
Public Statement
Friday 3rd April, 2015
Archbishop Glenn Davies this afternoon sent a message of condolence to the Anglican Primate of Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, after the attack on Garissa University which killed more than 140 students.
The text of the message reads:
We are shocked and dismayed by this wanton and deliberate attack on Kenyan citizens in Garissa where Christians in particular seem to have been singled out.
The violence and loss of life is sickening.
We grieve with the families of students who have lost loved ones, some of whom were deliberately targeted because they own the name of Jesus.
May God enable you and the church to stand firm in this time of testing.
You may be assured of our prayers for peace in the nation of Kenya, for healing for those injured and bereaved, and for our brothers and sisters to stand firm in the face of persecution and to be filled with a spirit of love, the perfect love which drives out fear (1 John 4:18).
– source SydneyAnglicans.net
GAFCON Easter Pastoral Letter 2015
“… last week it was my privilege as Chairman of GAFCON to share in the launch of the Australian branch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.
I believe this is a new beginning for united gospel witness across the continent, sharing the same determination and passion for the gospel as that of the pioneering Anglican chaplain and missionary, Richard Johnson, who led the first recorded act of Christian worship on Australian soil on Sunday 3rd February 1788…”
– Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, writes an Easter Pastoral Letter.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…