CofE campaigns to recruit ministers
At this weekend’s Church of England General Synod, a campaign is being launched to encourage young people to consider training for Christian ministry —
“The Call Waiting magazine contains a selection of all of this information and will be handed out via stalls, seminars and workshops at events such as the Greenbelt Christian Festival this summer in Cheltenham. …”
– from a Church of England press release.
Tom Wright attacks GAFCON
“The Bishop of Durham has attacked the Anglican traditionalists behind a new movement against what they consider liberal views on homosexuality.
Dr Tom Wright, a traditionalist himself, said Gafcon’s plans to let parishes break from liberal bishops were ridiculous and ‘deeply offensive’. …”
– From BBC News. However, see the final GAFCON press conference – and Matt Kennedy has some comments at Stand Firm.
See also this report on the All Souls meeting from Religious Intelligence –
Archbishop Venables: “Just to make it absolutely clear: Gafcon is not a breaking-away from the Anglican Communion. It is not the formation of an alternative group.”
He continued: “It is not a seizing of power, it is the exercise of legitimate authority for the sake of the Anglican Communion. We are not taking power over anybody, we are just bringing things together.”
(Photo: Diocese of London.)
All Souls Rector complains about press coverage
From the Rector of All Souls, Langham Place, to the Editor of The Independent newspaper –
Dear Sir
You published an article today under the headline “Anglican rebels punched gay rights activists”.
As the alleged incident took place at the church of which I am Rector I have spent some time today trying to track down details concerning the alleged incident. The following seem to me to be relevant…
– Full letter at Anglican Mainstream. (Photo: All Souls.)
GAFCON final press conference video online
Anglican TV’s Kevin Kallsen has now posted online the full video of the last GAFCON press conference.
Not only are the answers helpful, but the video gives an insight into how journalists seek to report on something like GAFCON. Russell Powell is heard as he facilitates the briefing.
In the light of near-hysteria about GAFCON in some circles, this is well worth watching. It runs for 36 minutes and can be seen here.
(Incidentally, Kevin Kallsen, who has provided this very helpful resource, is looking for financial support so he can report from Lambeth.)
CANA Bp. David Bena writes about GAFCON
David Bena, Bishop in CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America) writes to his clergy about GAFCON and the Jerusalem Declaration –
“It… spells out what you and I have always believed but was yanked away from us by radical professors and church leaders: Primacy of Scripture; Jesus as Incarnate and the only way to salvation; the Creeds said without crossing our fingers at certain phrases…”
– Read the full message via Transfigurations. (Photo: CANA.)
Confessional fellowship will ‘reassert Bible’s authority’
Three archbishops who participated in the recent Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jerusalem addressed hundreds of Church of England clergy July 1 about a newly formed network they assert will bring needed authority to the Anglican Communion.
“There are moments in the church where authority has to be taken, and this is one of those moments where the most senior people available have decided to come together to take their authority to do certain things which they have the capacity to do,” said Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney in remarks reported by the London Telegraph. …
Archbishop Jensen dismissed as mythological the idea that the Archbishop of Canterbury exercised legal or juridical power over the Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s power is largely moral, he said, adding “that the last five years have seen a diminution of the moral authority that he is able to bring to this role.” The loss of moral authority was not Archbishop Williams’ fault, Archbishop Jensen said, and probably would have happened to “whoever had been the archbishop.”
– Report from The Living Church. (Photo: GAFCON media team.)
New President for NSW Council of Churches
The first woman President of the NSW Council of Churches has been elected. Deaconess Margaret Rodgers was unanimously elected President of the Council at the Annual General Meeting last month.
Well-known to Sydney Anglicans, Margaret was the Media Officer for Archbishop Peter Jensen until her retirement at the end of 2007. She served as Principal of Deaconess House, 1976–85, and was CEO of Sydney’s Anglican Media Council 1994–2003.
The NSW Council of Churches represents seven Christian denominations – The Anglican Church (Diocese of Sydney), The Baptist Union of NSW, The Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (NSW), The Churches of Christ in NSW, The Fellowship of Congregational Churches (NSW), The Presbyterian Church of Australia (NSW) and The Salvation Army (Eastern Territory).
For more about the NSW Council of Churches, see their website.
Canadian Primate claims all is well
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has challenged the statement issued by a global group of conservative Anglicans accusing the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church in the United States of proclaiming a “false gospel that has paralyzed” the Anglican Communion. …
– Story from the Anglican Journal (of the Anglican Church of Canada).
See, however, Archbishop Hitlz’s full statement, with interspersed commentary from Anglican Essentials Canada.
Gay bishop gets warm welcome at Sacramento’s Holy Trinity Cathedral
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, stepped before the altar at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Sacramento on Tuesday afternoon and let the applause wash over him. …
He said it’s only a matter of time until gays and lesbians have the same rights as heterosexuals in the church.
“We know how it’s going to end,” said Robinson. “We’re only arguing over timing. I believe that with my whole heart.”
– Report from The Sacramento Bee. (See also Dr J I Packer’s ‘Lessons to be learned’.)
Image: Trinity Cathedral newsletter.
US Senate examines ‘TV evangelists’
“They preach prosperity – that God can make you healthy and wealthy. Every year some of America’s best known TV evangelists bring in hundreds of millions of dollars from donors all over the world. But as Jonathan Beale reports, some of the TV evangelists’ own lifestyles have begun to ring alarm bells and prompted a Senate investigation into their activities.”
– This 3 minute video report from BBC News mentions Kenneth Copeland (pictured), Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar.
See also our earlier story about Justin Peters’ seminars on the ‘gospel’ taught by these three ‘Word of Faith’ preachers.
Bishop Peter Brain endorses GAFCON statement
The Bishop of Armidale, Peter Brain, was among the Anglican leaders who endorsed an historic document that addresses the crisis gripping the church over scriptural authority. …
Bishop Brain said … “It was a clear statement and I believe many, many Anglicans will agree with it, especially people in the pews,” he said.
“For people in the Armidale diocese, it would be exactly what they would agree to.”
– Report from The Armidale Express. (Photo: Russell Powell.)
Anglican Church League President: Statement on GAFCON
ACL President, Rev. Dr. Mark Thompson, has released this Statement about GAFCON:
“Nobody present last week in Jerusalem wanted to split the Anglican Communion. No one wanted to leave the Anglican Communion. All wanted to see a robust and authentic Anglicanism which could courageously play a part in God’s great mission of reaching out to lost men and women with the gospel of redemption in Christ.”
Full text —
I have just returned from the GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem. It was a time of rich fellowship, clear thinking and firm resolve. It was also a time of very deliberate dependence upon God. Authentic Anglican doctrine, grounded in the Scripture, reflected in the Thirty-nine Articles and joyfully embraced by the majority of the world’s practicing Anglicans, was once again on centre stage. The Lordship of Christ, who is the only Saviour of men and women, the supreme authority of the teaching of the Bible for Christian faith and life, and the urgency of mission in a world lost in rebellion against the living God, were all unambiguously proclaimed in fresh ways which encouraged God’s people and nourished faith. The Conference statement offered hope and order where time and again official Anglican pronouncements have only given further cause for disillusionment, confusion and disarray.
GAFCON has provided us with a way forward that is sober, serious and faces the realities of global Anglicanism in the twenty-first century. It has addressed directly the crisis brought about by various departures from biblical teaching and faithful Christian living in parts of the Communion and exascerbated by ineffective leadership. It has issued a call to biblical faithfulness and effective mission in the face of overwhelming need.
One further thing is beyond doubt. Nobody present last week in Jerusalem wanted to split the Anglican Communion. No one wanted to leave the Anglican Communion. All wanted to see a robust and authentic Anglicanism which could courageously play a part in God’s great mission of reaching out to lost men and women with the gospel of redemption in Christ. In the words of the Primates from almost six years ago now, the Communion has been ‘torn at the deepest level’ and we are now seeking God’s wisdom for how we are to live in the light of this new reality which is not of our making.
Gospel minded men and women all over the world will rejoice when they read this conference statement, just as the assembled crowed burst into spontaneous applause and rejoicing when it was first read to them last Sunday. Here at last is the leadership we have been praying for. The Primates who called this conference are passionate and biblically faithful. They are humble and bold at the same time. And they will not flinch when faced with the hostility of the revisionists, who continue to prosecute, depose and defame men and women who will not accept their false gospel.
We have much to thank God for as we reflect on the GAFCON and its outcome. Of course there will be opposition and it is likely to be intense. You cannot challenge such entrenched self-interest and it be otherwise. Yet there is every cause to hope and pray that many, many others will join with us in getting on with the most important job of all: testifying to God’s saving mercy in Jesus Christ and living transformed lives in the light of that good news. To that end I trust the GAFCON documents will be very useful indeed.
Mark Thompson
ACL President
1st July 2008.
Peter Jensen: Primates Council a body of integrity
Media Release – 1st July 2008
The Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen has described the Primates Council, which has emerged from the Global Anglican Future Conference, as a body of integrity and one which fairly reflects the majority of the world’s practising Anglicans.
“The conference proceeded with the spotlight of world media upon it, it was not done in a corner. Its conclusions cannot be dismissed as the work of only a few.”
“The seven primates are significant leaders within the Anglican communion and they approach this work with appropriate seriousness and solemnity.” Dr Jensen said.
The Archbishop says the lack of restraint by some revisionist church leaders in North America and the indecisiveness in response to it has made their task more urgent.
“No good can come from questioning the legitimacy of these men or their clear commitment to the church’s mission. Rather we must commend their willingness to provide clear leadership and to help bring order to this chaos.”
As to GAFCON’s influence in Australia, Dr Jensen told a news conference at the weekend that Australian leaders might not applaud it initially, but he was hoping that as it is explained they would eventually see it as very useful.
He described the GAFCON statement as ‘a very Anglican document, bringing Anglican order out of turmoil.”
– Media release from the Diocese of Sydney.
(Photo: Joy Gwaltney – taken at the final GAFCON session.)
Post-GAFCON meeting at Langham Place
John Richardson was at yesterday’s Post-GAFCON briefing at All Souls Langham Place in London – where Archbishops Henry Orombi, Greg Venables and Peter Jensen as well as Dr Jim Packer spoke.
John has posted his notes after each session. Bear in mind that these are his summary notes – however they are very helpful. Read them at The Ugley Vicar.
Direct links to John’s notes on each session – Archbishop Henry Orombi, Archbishop Greg Venables, Interview with Dr Jim Packer, Panel discussion, Archbishop Peter Jensen.
Report of the meeting from The (UK) Telegraph.
‘Archbishop confronts Anglican rebels’
“The Archbishop of Canterbury last night directly challenged the rebel Anglicans who have launched a breakaway faction within the global communion. In unusually forthright language, he accused them of lacking legitimacy, authority and, by implication, integrity. …”
– Report by Riazat Butt in The Guardian.
Also, see Sarah Hey’s brief analysis of Archbishop Rowan Williams’ response to the Jerusalem Declaration – at Stand Firm. (hat tip: Sydney Anglicans.)
(Photo credit: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…