What is the Anglican Consultative Council meeting for?
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has written to urge all Anglican primates to attend the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka from April 8-19.
The primates of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda have indicated that their representatives cannot attend because the spirit of the Primates Meeting in Canterbury, which introduced consequences for TEC and its participation in Communion decision-making on doctrine and polity, appears to be being overridden or ignored. …
Kenya and Nigeria were very gracious in trusting the conversations at Canterbury and the decisions made there. They now suspect that they were misled.
Lusaka is not the place to sort out church polity, unity, doctrine or matters of sexuality. Those are the callings of the primates meeting and the Lambeth conference of Bishops.”
– Chris Sugden writes for The Church of England Newspaper. Via Anglican Mainstream.
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.
Bishop of Salisbury ‘leads backlash against fixed date for Easter’
“A prominent Church of England bishop has spoken out against plans by the world’s main Christian denominations to fix the date of Easter to the same Sunday every year. … the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, warned that the move would detach Christianity from its Jewish roots by breaking the link between the timing of Easter and Passover.”
– Story from The Telegraph. (Photo: Diocese of Salisbury.)
Easter messages 2016
Easter is a wonderful opportunity to speak with clarity about the meaning of the Lord Jesus’ death, and the implications of his Resurrection.
Please pray that church leaders will communicate that message as they should, that Christ will be honoured, and that men and women will turn to him in repentance and faith.
Here are some of the messages we’ve spotted so far.
Will our messages to the world this Easter be as simple and clear as the sign in the photo? –
Diocese of the Northern Territory, Bishop Greg Anderson –
“Political commentator Mungo MacCallum recently described Malcolm Turnbull’s performance in the top job as ‘a hugely disappointing resurrection’.
Maybe it is good that the word resurrection still has some place in today’s media. But the first resurrection sets the benchmark. All other so-called resurrections, including the PM’s, are inevitably hugely disappointing. They all, in the end, run out…”
Diocese of Armidale, Bishop Rick Lewers –
“What is surprising about Easter is that the death of Jesus on the cross is all about clemency. Not His, but ours. It is where God would take upon himself the sins of the whole world, accepting the blame for what we have done in preference to leaving us stranded in our blameworthiness with no hope of forgiveness…”
Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook –
“Toplady’s hymn expresses it well:
‘Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked turn to you for dress;
Helpless look to you for grace;
Foul I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.’
By dying on that cross, Jesus won our salvation…”
Diocese of Melbourne, Archbishop Philip Freier –
“What is the resurrection promise of Easter Day? – God’s love will endure and continue, no matter what. Christians look to Jesus’ rising from the dead as not just an historic action but as the promise of his presence with us today – even in the worst of circumstances…”
Australian Baptist Ministries, National Ministries Director Keith Jobberns –
“The Easter celebration is a reminder that humans have been given a second chance. The Easter narrative records that in Jesus, and through relationship with Him we can find freedom from the shackles of fear, acceptance despite our faults and the opportunity to begin anew with God and our fellow humans…”
Diocese of North Queensland, Bishop Bill Ray (PDF)–
“Yes, Christians believe that ‘on the third day Jesus rose from the dead’, but Christianity is more than just believing, it is living this new life in Christ and bringing it to others…”
(Photo: Bicycle bearing a gospel message, in Federation Square, Melbourne, with St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in the background, 19th March 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.
High Noon in Lusaka
“We don’t yet know what will happen in Lusaka, but I can say that one way or another, it will cast the die for the future of the Anglican Communion.”
– The Anglican Church in North America’s Bishop Bill Atwood provides some context for the Anglican Consultative Council’s meeting in Lusaka in April.
GAFCON Prayer requests — March 2016
“We thank you for your continued support and prayer for the GAFCON movement. We would like to ask for your prayer over the next few weeks for a number of important areas:
1. The GAFCON Primates Council in April 2016
As the GAFCON Primates prepare to meet in Santiago de Chile please pray for the following …”
– Prayer is the wonderful privilege of all Christian believers. Here are some prayer requests from GAFCON.
Government to retain Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
“The Government will provide certainty to the charitable sector and community organisations by today announcing the decision to retain the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).”
Canadian Bishops explain why they are not pushing for a vote to change definition of marriage
“We spent a considerable amount of time discussing the theology of marriage and our episcopal role and responsibilities as chief pastors, and as guardians of the Church’s faith, order and unity. …
… it became clear to us that the draft resolution to change the Marriage Canon to accommodate the marriage of same-sex partners is not likely to pass in the Order of Bishops by the canonical requirement of a 2/3rds majority in each Order. Some of us talked of being mortified and devastated by this realisation…
… we feel a responsibility to convey our inability to come to a common mind in discerning what the Spirit is saying to the Church.”
– The ‘chief pastors, and guardians of the Church’s faith, order and unity’ of the Anglican Church of Canada explain why they are not pushing to change their definition of marriage at this year’a General Synod. They don’t yet have the numbers.
Update: The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey has this commentary.
We still don’t want your money — message to TEC
Statement from the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa regarding the Good Friday Offering
“It has come to our attention that the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church (USA) has recently issued a Lenten appeal asking the churches of TEC to remember the Good Friday offering for Jerusalem and the Middle East. In this appeal he said ‘this tradition [The Good Friday Offering] is decades old and is an important statement of our solidarity with the members of the four dioceses of the Province of Jerusalem and Middle East.’
I would like to clarify the fact that the Diocese of Egypt with North of Africa and the Horn of Africa, one of the four dioceses of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East does not receive funds or grants from the Good Friday offering of the Episcopal Church (TEC) in the USA. The decision not to receive these funds came after the 2003 decision by TEC to consecrate as bishop a divorced man living in a homosexual relationship. The decision not to receive money from TEC is one expression of the reality that the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa was (and still is) in an impaired relationship with The Episcopal Church.
One of our clergy in Ethiopia states our situation in graphic terms: ‘We rather starve and not receive money from churches whose actions contradict the scriptures.’
+Mouneer
The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis
Archbishop of Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
Primate of the Episcopal / Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.”
– from the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa, h/t Anglican Mainstream.
Archbishop Ntagali’s Lenten Appeal to Pray for Uganda and the Anglican Communion
The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, has issued this call to prayer for Uganda, and for the Anglican Communion. Here are two key quotes:
“Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is like we are back in 2003 where we continue to be betrayed by our leaders. The Primates voted to bring discipline to TEC and, yet, we now see that the leadership of the Anglican Communion does not have the will to follow through. This is another deep betrayal.” …
“There will be a GAFCON Primates Council meeting in Chile in April, and we will discuss how to continue advancing the mission of GAFCON as a renewal movement within the Anglican Communion. As I have stated previously, we are not leaving the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion. We uphold the Biblical and historic faith of Anglicans and have come together in fellowship with other Provinces and national fellowships that have made the same decision.”
Full text below: Read more
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…