Bishop Stephen Hale’s EFAC Global message after the GFSA Conference

“Message from Bishop Stephen Hale, Chairman of EFAC Executive Committee

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This EFAC Global report has been written while I’ve been in Cairo participating in the Orthodox Leaders Meeting (AOL) organised by the GSFA and GAFCON Global. It is a new meeting that arose out of the Ash Wednesday Declaration of the GSFA in 2023 and the Kigali Commitment also in 2023. Its purpose is to connect the Primates with the many mission partners and groupings who are involved in conversations about resetting the Anglican Communion. A Statement from this meeting will be issued in due course.

The background to all of this for EFAC Global is a remarkable journey from the Lambeth Conference in 2022 to today. …”

– Read it all, via Anglican Mainstream.

Larger photo.

CEEC welcomes orthodox bishops’ statement ahead of Synod

“CEEC is grateful to the group of 11 bishops who have today published* a warning, ahead of General Synod, that the LLF proposals currently on the table would go against church doctrine, further endanger the unity of the church and by-pass proper canonical process.

We commend the courage of these bishops as they write, ‘we are among a number of bishops unable to support the direction of travel presented to the bishops at our most recent meeting, or the proposals to be brought to General Synod later this month.’

We support the assertion of this group as they state that while they support the emphasis on and importance of unity highlighted in the proposals, they believe that the proposals will not ‘protect our unity in mission to the nation or our partnerships within the wider Church.’…”

– Read the full Statement from The Church of England Evangelical Council.

Egypt: A CEEC perspective from John Dunnett, National Director

The Church of England Evangelical Council’s National Director, John Dunnett, reports on the GSFA First Assembly in Egypt –

“It was an amazing privilege to attend the gathering of 200 archbishops, bishops, senior leaders and lay brothers and sisters from 40 different countries.

There was an incredible sense of unity amongst people from radically different cultures and backgrounds, all united in the gospel. …

I was struck by a real sense of disbelief, shock, grief and betrayal at the Church of England’s continued departure from its biblical doctrine…”

– Read it all here.

Can the Church of England afford same-sex blessings?

“The General Synod meeting in York next month is being overshadowed by revelations of the dire financial state of most of the Church of England’s 42 dioceses.

The staggering picture of the C of E’s financial decline in the Diocesan Finances Review Update, circulated to Synod members ahead of their July meeting, comes as the C of E’s bishops seek approval for their plan to allow standalone services of blessing for same-sex couples to go ahead on an experimental basis. …”

– Julian Mann highlights the multiple financial woes facing the Church of England as the House of Bishops steams ahead with same-sex blessings.

Church Society responds to the latest LLF proposals from the Bishops

“Another synod, another paper on LLF. So, what do we have?

Within the synod paper there is much discussion about ‘discernment’, the idea being, no doubt, to reassure us all that no irreversible decisions are being taken. However, it is important to note that this is not discerning prior to acting but rather discerning through action. Standalone services of blessings for same sex couples will be allowed, and this will be monitored annually through ‘existing data or feedback gathering models’. All this for a three year period.

This is a curious thing. It is normally considered more prudent to discern whether something is right or wrong before you act. When crossing the road it is wise to check there is no traffic before you step out. True, just heading onto the road and being struck by a car would help you discern it was not safe, but would it not be better to have looked for traffic first? Especially when others on the pavement are shouting: ‘Stop!’

This is particularly the case when it comes to issues such as this one …”

– Church Society looks at the latest LLF proposals from the Church of England’s House of Bishops and asks, “Is it possible to hold multiple doctrines simultaneously [?]”. You probably know the answer.

Many related earlier posts on LLF here.

(Image modified from a photo by Philip Clark.)

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s sermon at the GSFA First Assembly in Egypt

Our thanks go to the Anglican Futures website for drawing attention to Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s sermon at the final session of the GSFA First Assembly in Egypt last week.

The Archbishop spoke on Romans 10:1-10 – and you can see video of the sermon here.

“…the Anglican Communion will not be surrendered to leadership that denies the authority, truth and trustworthiness of the Word of God…”

Take the time to watch to be reminded of the great issues and the great responsibilities before every believer. Most encouraging!

Update:

A PDF file of the Archbishop’s sermon notes is available here, with thanks to Russell Powell. (Clicking the link may download the file to your downloads folder.)

Cof E ‘forfeits leadership’ role in Communion declare Global South Anglicans

“Global South Anglican leaders meeting in Cairo last week repeated their statement that the Archbishop of Canterbury and C of E had “forfeited” leadership and vowed to press on with creating new structures for the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Some 200 Global South Anglicans met in Cairo to hear the Archbishop of Sudan, Justin Badi Arama, state that membership of the Communion had shifted ‘from geography to doctrine’. …”

– From The Church of England Newspaper. Republished at Anglican Mainstream.

Photo: Archbishop Justin Badi Arama at Lambeth in 2022, with thanks to the Lambeth ’22 Resource Group.

GSFA, ACNA, and the Future of Conservative Anglicanism

“The 176 delegates, observers, and invited guests who gathered for the First Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) on June 11 in the Egyptian desert surely brought a variety of hopes with them.

Some had been working on what is now called the GSFA’s Covenantal Structure for nearly a decade, and were excited to see the body finally convene and elect its leaders. For them, these are crucial steps in building the kind of institution the Anglican Communion hasn’t been in a long time, a body that acts like a global church, standing firm against false teaching and binding its members in mutual submission and common order. …“

– This report, by Mark Michael at The Living Church, is one perspective on what happened at the GSFA Assembly. (We’ll post links to other reports if they come to hand.)

Click here for the full size version of the Assembly group photo, courtesy of GSFA via The American Anglican Council.

Canterbury Cathedral to offer Prayers of Love and Faith for same-sex couples

“Same-sex couples already in civil partnerships or civil marriages, or who have sealed a covenanted friendship, can now be offered Prayers of Love and Faith at Canterbury Cathedral, following a unanimous decision by the Dean and governing Chapter. This step has already been taken by many churches and cathedrals. …”

– As if to underline the importance of both GAFCON and the just-concluded GSFA Assembly, Canterbury Cathedral has published this announcement. (With thanks to Anglican.ink for the tip.)

Photo: Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, with thanks to Canterbury Cathedral.

Related:

Global South Bishops ‘aggrieved’ by appointment of new Dean of Canterbury – October 2022.

Communique from the First Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches

“The First Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches – GSFA 9th Trumpet, 11-15 June 2024, St Mark’s Conference Centre, El Khatatba, Egypt …

A total of 200 participants from across 40 nations gathered as orthodox Anglican leaders for the 1st Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA).

This is the first Assembly of the GSFA after the Global South Churches adopted a new Covenantal Structure in 2019 to bind their communion in Gospel life and witness together as a covenanted ecclesial body within the Anglican Communion.

To maintain continuity with the past and remember our roots, we have chosen to recognise GSFA’s 1st Assembly as also the 9th Trumpet of Global South churches since its first gathering at Limuru, Kenya in 1994. …”

– Read the full Communique released over night at the GSFA website.

Two updates from the GSFA Assembly

Two reports from The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey:

“Last night, we crossed an important finish line! The members of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) formally and unanimously ratified the Cairo Covenant and its covenantal structures. Among the most important sections are those that define how Anglicans read the Bible and what authority we give to its reading. …”

– Ratifying the Cairo Covenant.

and then a further update via Anglican Mainstream:

“The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) achieved their third objective of Assembly 2024: the election of godly leaders among the Primates Council, the Council of Bishops, and the Assembly.”

– Global South Assembly – The Structures come together.

Final Communique expected tomorrow.

Can the GSFA help the CofE bishops tell right from wrong?

“Church of England bishops are not known for their transparency – but sometimes there is a rare glimmer of honesty, particularly when a journalist is prepared to ask the right question.

This week, Dave Piper, a radio journalist, used Facebook to ask Rt Revd Martyn Snow, the Bishop of Leicester a simple question and wonderfully he received an honest answer. …”

– This post at Anglican Futures looks at the dilemma facing the Church of England Bishops who want unity over truth.

By way of answer, it draws attention to the address at the GSFA Assembly by the Rev. Sam Ferguson, Rector of The Falls Church Anglican in Virginia:

“Living up to the challenge, in less than an hour, he set out three of the unarticulated assumptions which shape the world in which we live and are seen in the LGBT movement.  He then offered a glorious, biblical alternative to each one.”

Can the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans chase the snakes out of the Anglican Communion?

“Yesterday, in a monastery in the Egyptian desert, the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) met for their first Assembly, under their new covenantal structures. Their purpose? To reset the Anglican Communion.

In his keynote address, the current Chair of the GSFA, the Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi, set out their plan. …

The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans has waited twenty-five years for the Instruments of the Anglican Communion to bring order to the divided church community, but they will wait no longer.”

– Susie Leafe writes at Christian Today.

The Assembly videos can be seen here.

Report from Global Assembly of Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, Egypt

From the American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey:

“Dear friends in Christ,

I am writing from the St. Mark’s Coptic Monastery in Khataba, Egypt, where almost 200 delegates from 11 Anglican Provinces, 3 ‘Provinces-in-formation’ duly constituted by Gafcon and recognized as such by the GSFA, and numerous mission agencies from over 40 countries are gathering for the first Global Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA). This Global Assembly marks an historic ‘reset’ of the Anglican Communion with regards to:

1.    What Anglicans believe (a common confession of faith based on Biblical faith, Apostolic tradition and the Anglican formularies);

2.    A true and genuine Communion of Anglican Churches based upon covenantal structures that provide clear and fair criteria for membership– with mutual accountability and discipline within the boundaries of Reformational Anglicanism; and

3.    A passionate commitment to Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:16-20) –  undeterred by false teaching – through mission partnerships that will enable Anglicans to proclaim Christ faithfully to all nations…”

– e-mail, via Anglican Mainstream.

GSFA takes on the challenge of resetting the Anglican Communion

Anglican Futures has published the second of three posts on the aims of this week’s Global South Fellowship of Anglicans Assembly in Egypt:

“The GSFA are resetting the Anglican Communion by creating a means of global accountability and discipline.” (Emphasis added)

– Read the second post – though you might want to begin with the first in the series, “The GSFA – a potted history”.

Image: GSFA leaders at Lambeth in 2022.

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