ACNA Provincial Council 2016
Canon Phil Ashey sends this video report from the ACNA Provincial Council, currently meeting in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
GAFCON 3 to be held in Jerusalem in 2018
News from GAFCON:
GAFCON Conference 2018
June 22, 2016
The Chairman and fellow Primates of the GAFCON Council are pleased to announce that the third GAFCON conference will be held in Jerusalem in 2018.
Jerusalem has a special place in the hearts of the GAFCON movement as it was the location of the first conference in 2008. Moreover, Jerusalem stands as a constant reminder of the birth of the Gospel and the movement’s determination to remain true to the teachings of our Lord and his Holy Word.
GAFCON was greatly blessed by both the initial conference and the second meeting in Nairobi in 2013. When Anglicans from across the Communion come together in unity it is a tremendous blessing, and we are excited to see the Church built up in the land where it was given its foundation.
Dates and further details will be announced in due course.
Where do we find Anglican Communion?
“This idea that the church’s role is somehow to uncritically affirm the culture and hold out the love of God without any call to repentance is at the very least a defective view of New Testament Christianity and certainly cannot be called evangelical.
But for me to say such a thing is itself the problem, according to another Bishop, Colin Fletcher who has been acting Bishop of Oxford for the past 18 months…”
– At Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Symes reviews the notion being pushed ahead of the Church of England’s General Synod of “unity in [doctrinal] diversity”.
‘Bill Shorten says same-sex marriage plebiscite would not lead to homophobia-driven violence’
“The Federal Opposition Leader has said although a plebiscite on same-sex marriage could be damaging to the LGBT community, he does not think that it would lead to a shooting like the one in Orlando.
Bill Shorten said during the online leaders’ debate on Friday night that he did not want to hold a plebiscite because it would encourage homophobia.
He also referenced the recent shooting in Orlando and the murder of British MP Jo Cox…”
– Report from ABC News.
Related:
“Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s linking of the Orlando massacre to a people’s vote on marriage was an unfortunate form of emotional manipulation designed to silence debate, according to the Australian Christian Lobby…” – Australian Christian Lobby.
ACL AGM pledges support for Archbishop Nicholas Okoh
This motion of support for Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria was passed unanimously by the Anglican Church League’s Annual General Meeting tonight, 16th June 2016 –
“The Anglican Church League gives thanks to God for the strong spiritual leadership of the Chair of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria.
In particular, we stand with the Archbishop in his call to the leaders of the Church of England to uphold the teaching of the written word of God on human sexuality, to distance themselves from the false teaching and corrupt practice of the American Episcopal Church, and to give themselves afresh to the proclamation of the crucified and risen Christ and the re-evangelisation of Europe.
We pledge our prayerful support of Archbishop Okoh as he continues to lead the GAFCON movement with grace, faithfulness and boldness.
We call on all Anglicans across the world to join with him in upholding biblical truth and genuine Christian discipleship, which is characterised by humility and a resolute commitment to the teaching of the Bible, the centrality of the gospel of Christ, and the new life of faith, repentance and obedience.”
GAFCON UK offers Scottish churches alternative episcopal oversight
As the Scottish Episcopal Church moves towards allowing same-sex marriage, the GAFCON UK Panel of Bishops has offered alternative episcopal oversight to those churches which many need it.
This letter from GAFCON UK has been released by The Scottish Anglican Network:
“We are saddened and appalled that the Scottish Episcopal Church will next week debate amending its Canon C31, so as to adopt a wholly unbiblical approach to human sexual relationships. To so amend the canon would sever the church from the teaching of Christ and His Apostles, and also the considered and expressed conviction of the vast majority of the bishops of the Anglican Communion at Lambeth 1998, which was reinforced by the Anglican Primates Gathering only months ago.
We stand with you and pray for you as you resist this unhelpful and dangerous innovation. Should the church decide to follow the revisionist approach, disobey the clear teaching of Scripture, and thus cause a break with orthodox Christian teaching, the Gafcon UK Panel of Bishops offers to provide alternative episcopal oversight, and thereby your recognition as faithful Anglicans by the worldwide Gafcon movement, which represents the majority of Anglicans worldwide.
We remind the Scottish Episcopal Church of the cautionary words of Jude that unbiblical standards in sexual ethics “….deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Chr ist”. This is an issue over which the Scottish Episcopal Church is dividing the church, and we will stand united with faithful Anglicans in Scotland seeking to uphold the plain doctrinal and moral teaching of the Holy Scriptures.
Warmly in Christ,
The Rt Rev John Ellison, The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, The Rt Rev Wallace Benn, and The Rt Rev Ken Barham, on behalf of the Panel of Bishops, Gafcon UK
The Rev Paul Perkin, The Rev Michael Ovey, on behalf of the Exec Committee, Gafcon UK
The Rev Canon Andy Lines, Mr. Dan Leafe on behalf of the Anglican Mission in England.”
Bishops are not powerless against the present spiritual disorder
“With scandals over Zen Buddhist meditations promoted by promoted by the Canon Chancellor of York Minster, the Church of Nigeria severing links with Liverpool Diocese over the appointment of an uber-liberal American bishop, and an Oxford cleric appearing to bless the same-sex ‘marriage’ of Desmond Tutu’s daughter in South Africa, this has been a lousy summer so far for the Church of England.
But dare one respectfully suggest that Bishops disturbed by these developments should not despair? They are not powerless in the face of such gross spiritual disorder…”
– Julian Mann, Vicar of the Parish Church of the Ascension at Oughtibridge inSouth Yorkshire, reminds bishops of their consecration vows and their responsibilities – and the authority they have to use them.
(Photo: Archbishop Justin Welby.)
Religious Instruction in schools and “soliciting”
“Press reports today (e.g.”Qld govt to review religious education“, Courier-Mail, 7 June 2016) indicate that a school Principal in Queensland has written to parents at his school indicating that he is cancelling the usual Religious Instruction (RI) classes, on the basis that he has discovered the lessons involve “proselytising” (a term which he says refers to “soliciting a student… to change their religious affiliation”). The Queensland Government in response to the press reports has indicated that it will be reviewing materials used to ensure they comply with relevant rules.
Does this mean a radical change has recently taken place in a program which has been operating for many years allowing parents to send their children to RI (elsewhere sometimes called “Scripture” or “Special Religious Education”) classes for a short period each week? Actually, no. It seems that the Principal has misread the relevant provisions, and the Queensland Government really doesn’t need to react to the misleading interpretation…”
– Assoc Professor Neil Foster provides vital reading as background for the news story out of Queensland.
Religious instruction under review in QLD
“Religious Instruction (RI) in Queensland’s state schools will be reviewed after a school principal raised concerns that teaching materials are proselytising students. It’s the first time a review of this nature has been called in the state.
The review, announced by the QLD Minister for Education Kate Jones today, comes after a local Brisbane principal told parents he had decided to axe religious instruction classes immediately after reviewing the materials and finding that, in his belief, they “proselytised” students. …
Matthew Keong, the principal at Windsor State School in Brisbane’s north, sent a letter to parents on Friday outlining his decision to stop the program. The materials used in his school were from the ‘Connect’ program, published by Youthworks Media (a Sydney Anglican ministry).”
– Report by Kaley Payne at Bible Society Australia,
GAFCON Chairman’s June 2016 Pastoral Letter
“My dear people of God,
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him! As the new Chairman of GAFCON I greet you in Jesus’ name and thank God for all of you, from north and south, east and west.
First, I want to thank my predecessor, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala who will soon retire as Primate of Kenya. Under his leadership our movement has been greatly strengthened and our second great conference in 2013 which he hosted in Nairobi showed that GAFCON was here to stay. As a Primate, I understand the very heavy burdens of our office and I thank God for my brother’s wisdom, courage and perseverance. I also assure his successor, Archbishop elect Jackson Ole Sapit, of my prayers and look forward to his fellowship in the GAFCON family.
I have been involved with GAFCON from the beginning and I am convinced that this is a movement called into being and sustained by the Lord of the Church himself. In every age, the devil is at work to destroy the Church, but we stand firm in the confidence that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We therefore preach the gospel, make disciples and commit ourselves to prevailing prayer, knowing that the most dangerous attack on the Church today is not persecution from the outside, terrible though that can be, but a globalised secular ideology which has established itself inside the Church.
We must therefore devote ourselves to the task of restoring the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion and this is the way to true unity. The divisions which have been so destructive in recent years have come about because some have chosen to abandon biblical doctrine and it has become increasingly clear since the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka last month that those traditionally entrusted with leadership in the Communion will do nothing to call them to repentance.
GAFCON is evidence that despite this deep failure, God has not given up on the Anglican Communion. Indeed, in his mercy and grace, he is renewing it and we look forward with great anticipation to GAFCON 2018 as a gathering of the nations for the nations as we magnify the one true God who has rescued us from futile ways and brought us into the Kingdom of his Son.
As we prepare for GAFCON 2018, we shall also press forward in developing networks, training key leaders, encouraging sound biblical theology and resourcing our supporters throughout the world. We shall also not shrink back from standing with faithful Anglicans who find themselves in jeopardy.
In the beginning, the focus of our concern was North America and we thank God that he has raised up the Anglican Church North America as a new wineskin in that continent. Now our concern is increasingly with the British Isles. A line has been crossed in the Church of England itself with the appointment of Bishop Susan Goff, of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, as an Assisting Bishop of Liverpool. The false teaching of the American Episcopal Church has been normalised in England and this divisive act has meant that the Church of Nigeria’s Akure Diocese has had no alternative but to end its partnership link with Liverpool Diocese.
At our recent Primates Council meeting in Nairobi we reaffirmed our solidarity with the leaders of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in the UK and the Anglican Mission in England at this testing time.
When the GAFCON movement began in 2008 with our first conference in Jerusalem, my predecessor as Primate of All Nigeria and former Chairman, His Grace Peter Akinola, declared that GAFCON was a rescue mission for the Anglican Communion. His words were prophetic and they are being fulfilled. Let us be confident of all that is yet to come. Let us work and pray for the reform and renewal of our beloved Communion. Let us trust in our God who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.
The Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council.”
– via GAFCON.
Does the C of E have enough vicars?
“Today the Ministry Statistics for 2015 are released (soon to be posted on the C of E stats web page) and they tell us the stark reality of decline in clergy numbers.
On Radio 4 this morning, Rose Hudson-Wilkins suggested that this wasn’t too worrying, since we can dispense with the model of the ‘white, male, clericalised’ pattern of ministry. What she failed to highlight is that there are no sustainable models of church growth which don’t involve stipendiary (set aside, financially provided for) leadership, and the NT itself sees leadership as a gift to the church which enables the ‘building up’ of the people of God.…”
– At Psephizo, Ian Paul looks at some of the implications of the latest ministry statistics from the Church of England.
Dominic Steele interviews Peter Jensen at the Nexus16 Conference in Sydney
Dominic Steele conducted an on-the-spot interview with Peter Jensen at the Nexus16 Conference at Annandale on May 23.
If you didn’t see it as part of the live stream, you can watch the segment here, via the GAFCON website.
Appointment of American Bishop ‘leads to split with Nigerian Diocese’
“It has come to the attention of Reform, that the Bishop of Liverpool, The Right Reverend Paul Bayes, has appointed Bishop Susan Goff as an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Liverpool.
Susan Goff is a Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia in The Episcopal Church. In July 2016, she voted in favour of changing the definition and purpose of marriage according to in Canons of The Episcopal Church…”
– Here’s a media statement from Reform in the UK.
Photo: The Diocese of Virginia.
Related: Diocese of Liverpool Global Links.
Greetings for new Kenyan Primate
The GAFCON website has posted these messages of greeting to the new Kenyan Primate The Rt. Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit, who was elected last week:
Archbishop Peter Jensen – on behalf of GAFCON.
Archbishop Stanley Ntagali – Primate of Uganda.
Archbishop Foley Beach – on behalf of ACNA.
Andy Lines – on behalf of Crosslinks, also gives thanks for the ministry of Archbishop Eliud Wabukala on his coming retirement.
Primate of Uganda welcomes new Kenyan Primate
Archbishop of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali, has sent this message to the newly-elected Archbishop of Kenya:
The Rt. Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit
Archbishop-elect
Anglican Church of Kenya
KENYA
Dear Archbishop-elect Jackson,
Greetings from the Church of Uganda in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
On behalf of the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda, the clergy, and laity of the Province, we extend our hearty congratulations to you on your election as the next Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya.
We have been praying for the election and believe that God’s will has been done. Your colleagues have recognized God’s apostolic calling and anointing on you, and we believe His grace will be sufficient for the big ministry ahead of you. We shall warmly welcome you to the GAFCON Primates Council and look forward to walking together as neighbours in East Africa in the cause of Christ, His Gospel, and the expansion of His Kingdom into every corner of our region and into every heart.
We thank Archbishop Eliud for his steadfast leadership of the Anglican Church of Kenya and the global GAFCON community. He has been single-minded in proclaiming and contending for the “faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). We believe the future is very bright for the Anglican Church of Kenya and we thank God for your election to serve as Archbishop and shall pray for you as you prepare to receive the baton being passed to you.
Your brother, in Christ,
The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali
ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA.”
– via GAFCON.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…