Reform calls for ‘decisive intervention’ to save shared conversations on sexuality from collapse
“At its most recent meeting on Wednesday, 1st October 2014, the Reform Council expressed its dismay that the objectives of the ‘shared conversations’ on Scripture, Sexuality and Mission had been changed and that as a result orthodox Anglicans had been in effect excluded. It called on its members not to participate in the conversations under these conditions…”
– A media release from Reform.
Related: Church of England College of Bishops meeting, 17 September 2014.
Diocese of NW Australia recognises ACNA as “a member church of the Anglican Communion”
“The Diocese of NW Australia, meeting in synod this weekend, passed the following motion,
That this synod:
- welcomes the impending investiture of the Most Reverend Dr Foley Beach, the Archbishop of The Anglican Church in North America;
- recognizes the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) as a member church of the Anglican Communion, in full communion with Diocese of North West Australia; rejoices that the orthodox faith is proclaimed in word and deed through ACNA and its member churches;
- continues with ACNA to pray for and call for repentance from those churches which have turned to a different gospel;
- calls upon faithful Anglicans around the world to join us in joyful praise to God for the renewal and rebirth evident in ACNA and the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. …“
– from David Ould.
Lambeth Conference to be postponed — report
“The precarious state of the Anglican Communion has led the Archbishop of Canterbury to postpone indefinitely the every ten year meeting of the bishops of the Anglican Communion…”
– according to a report from George Conger at Anglican Ink.
GAFCON backs English renewal
“GAFCON understands the challenges that faithful Anglicans face in England, according to the Chairman Eliud Wabukala.
The Archbishop made the comment in a message to the recent RENEW conference, organised by the groups Reform, Church Society, and the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE).
Archbishop Wabukala, who chairs the GAFCON Primates Council, recently issued a pastoral letter in which he said “AMiE is authorised by the GAFCON Primates to work within and, where necessary, outside the structures of the Church of England as a missionary society”.
The conference committed delegates to “work for a nation of healthy, local Anglican churches throughout England.”
In particular, it committed to looking at opportunities for church planting, training and to “to contend together for the faith once delivered to the saints by developing a joint approach to working within our diocese /region given the theological convictions and teaching of the diocesan leadership.”
The conference also approved a doctrinal statement which began “Knowing that unity is a work of the Holy Spirit which can only be established through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we rejoice in the fellowship of all those who subscribe to the 2008 Jerusalem Declaration.”
The Jerusalem Declaration was agreed to by the first Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in 2008.”
– from GAFCON.
Related:
GAFCON Chairman’s Pastoral Letter September 2014.
TEC PB to step down in June 2015
“Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman elected to head a national branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, announced Tuesday (Sept. 23) that she will not seek a second nine-year term in office…”
– from The Huff Post.
(Photo: TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori with the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. ACNS, via ENS.)
The Unravelling of the Anglican Communion
“From 2003 to 2013 — it took just ten years for ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada to unravel the Anglican Communion…”
– A. S. Haley at The Anglican Curmudgeon, provides a quick overview of the last ten years.
Related: The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns – by Dr Mark Thompson, March 2008.
GAFCON Chairman’s Pastoral Letter September 2014
From the September 2014 Pastoral Letter from GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Eliud Wabukala –
“In the twenty first century, it is becoming clear that we must see the once missionary nations of the West as now themselves mission fields. The fact that the United Kingdom came close to breaking up last week is a symptom of the disintegration that follows when a once common Christian faith has been lost and I want to appreciate the work of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) who are sharing with other mission minded Anglicans in England as they meet for the ‘ReNew’ Conference this week.
AMiE is authorised by the GAFCON Primates to work within and, where necessary, outside the structures of the Church of England as a missionary society. In my message of greeting to the conference I said
‘We understand the challenges that faithful Anglicans face in England. At GAFCON 2013 here in Nairobi we recognised that the focus of the struggle for biblical faithfulness has shifted from North America to England. The temptation to dilute the message of Jesus Christ and compromise with the surrounding culture is strong, so it is vital for the gospel in England, and also for the world, that you continue as a beacon to the revealed truth of the Scriptures. The salvation of people from hell is at stake. So nothing could be more important.’…”
– Read it all here. (Photo: Archbishop Wabukala welcoming the Archbishop of Canterbury to Nairobi last year.)
ReNew: united, confessing, missional
“Is the Commitment signed on Tuesday by delegates at the ReNew conference a manifesto for schism? In a word, no. …
The partnership of Church Society with Reform means that there remains a strong commitment to working within the existing structures of the Church of England. There is a real desire to take Archbishop Welby at his word, that as Conservative Evangelicals are considered to be part of authentic Anglicanism and encouraged to “flourish” (according to the July statement on Women Bishops), so churches in this tradition should be encouraged to grow and multiply.…
The controversial part of the commitment is the recognition that there will be times when pioneering new congregations will on occasion mean operating without Diocesan approval, and the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) is the mechanism to enable this.”
– Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes looks at the new vision for growing evangelical churches in England.
CESA Presiding Bishop Desmond Inglesby to retire
P
residing Bishop of REACH South Africa (formerly known as CESA), Bishop Desmond Inglesby announced his early retirement –
“It is with great sadness that I need to inform you that, for medical reasons, I have decided to retire early. This means that I will be stepping down as Presiding Bishop with effect from the end of September.”
Read more at the REACH-South Africa website – and please pray for Bishop Inglesby and for the work of the gospel in South Africa.
GAFCON Chairman to assist at investuture of ACNA Archbishop
‘It has been announced that the Chairman of GAFCON, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, will assist at the Service of Investiture for the new ACNA Archbishop.
The service will take place on October 9, to formally mark the beginning of the Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach’s [pictured] ministry as Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a denomination of more than 112,000 members spanning Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The historic transition is the first for the new denomination, as its founding leader, The Most Rev. Robert Duncan, retired in June 2014 at the conclusion of a five-year term.
Dr Wabukala, who is also Archbishop of Kenya, has been invited to help lead the service, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Oct 9th at the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia and will be attended by 8 global archbishops representing more than 50 million Anglicans.”
– from GAFCON.
Archbishop Davies welcomes new Roman Catholic leader
“The Archbishop of Sydney issued a statement of welcome to Bishop Anthony Fisher, named as the successor to Cardinal George Pell as Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney.”
– read Archbishop Davies’ statement here.
(Photo credit.)
‘Gay rector faces backlash in pews’
“An Anglican clergyman is facing opposition from parishioners over a service in his local church to bless his same-sex civil partnership.
The Rev Dominic McClean, the Rector of 13 parishes around the village of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, invited parishioners to the special service this weekend to mark his civil union with his partner…” – Story from The Telegraph. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net) Photo: Market Bosworth Benefice.
‘Imam in Residence program’ at Canadian Anglican church
“A unique Imam in Residence program is being launched at St. Martin’s Anglican Church in October in conjunction with the Al Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly…”
– Report from The Calgary Herald.
Abp Welby and Orthodox Coptic Bishop host meeting on Iraq and Syria
“In an unprecedented ecumenical gathering at Lambeth Palace hosted by The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and initiated by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, a joint statement was agreed by leaders and representatives of the Churches of the Middle East and the wider Christian Church in Britain…”
– Press release and photo from the Coptic Orthodox Church.
(h/t Anglican Mainstream.)
‘Government should back Nationals’ urgency motion to help Islamic State victims’
Here’s a media release from The Australian Christian Lobby:
“The Australian Christian Lobby has renewed its call for the Federal Government to urgently lift the humanitarian refugee intake to assist refugees fleeing Islamic State brutality in Iraq and Syria.
This follows unanimous support for such a move at this weekend’s Nationals Federal Council meeting in Canberra. Read more
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