A Hope and a Future for Anglicans

“It is an understatement that Anglicanism is not always neat and tidy.  The very nature of our decision making in councils, as ancient as it may be, is messy.  Things don’t always go as planned.  Sometimes people don’t respect what the whole decides together in scripture, prayerful study and discussion, and waiting on the Lord’s timing.  Sometimes a part demands that the whole adjust to it and runs ahead rather than waiting on the counsel of the whole church.

That seems to be at the heart Bishop Michael Nazir Ali’s decision to leave the Church of England to join the Anglican Ordinariate in the Roman Catholic Church. …

We have included a few articles in today’s weekly newsletter responding to his departure, but I want to offer some good news with some cautious optimism.  On Sunday, October 17, the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) issued their Communique (“The Eighth Trumpet”) after a four-day conference on Zoom attended by 90 delegates from 16 Provinces and one diocese (Sydney), including the Anglican Church in North America.

In the words of the Communique, the purpose of this GSFA gathering was to “address the unchecked spread of revisionism” among all the Churches of the Anglican Communion by enacting a “covenantal structure” that will “enhance ecclesial responsibility” and mutual accountability among the churches of the GSFA …

Now there is an ecclesial body, a Communion to which the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) can bring distressed, biblically faithful, orthodox Anglicans from heterodox dioceses and provinces for membership.  GAFCON can authenticate and recognize those in distress and gather them for membership in GSFA—just as St. Paul gathered Gentile converts into churches that enjoyed communion with the established church in Jerusalem under St. Peter.”

– In his weekly newsletter from the American Anglican Council, Canon Phil Ashey sees hope for a genuinely orthodox Anglican communion.

He mentions the just-concluded 8th Global South Conference and its Communiqué (“The Eighth Trumpet”) from the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches.

The Seventh Global South Conference held in Cairo, Egypt

“The 7th Global South Conference opened on the 8th of October 2019 with an Eucharist Service followed by a welcome dinner at the All Saints Cathedral, Cairo.

Slightly more than a hundred delegates and observers from 19 Provinces and other parts of the Communion were present for this 4-day Conference. …

Bishop Rennis Ponniah, who chairs the Study Group on Enhancing Ecclesial Responsibility, presented the proposal for an enhanced ecclesial structure to guide the work of Global South. …

A new Steering Committee was appointed:

Chairman: Archbishop Justin Badi (Sudan)
Vice-Chair: Archbishop Tito Zavala (Chile)
Secretary: Archbishop Samuel Manhkin (Bangladesh)
Treasurer: Archbishop Foley Beach (ACNA)

Members:
Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo (Myanmar)
Archbishop Masimango Katanda Zacharie (Congo)
Archbishop James Richard Wong Yin Song. …”

– From Global South Anglican.

See also:

The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSA) Covenantal Structure. (PDF file)

“This Proposal on Enhancing Ecclesial Responsibility of Global South Churches sets out a clear basis and a coherent structure for constituting The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSA).”

American Anglican Council Canon Phil Ashey’s hopes for the Anglican Communion. – Youtube.

Photo credit: Revd Canon Andrew Gross.

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