GAFCON responds to the Archbishop of Canterbury

From here [boldface mine]:

The Global Anglican Future Conference gathered leaders from around the Anglican Communion for pilgrimage, prayer and serious theological reflection. We are grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury for engaging with the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration. We wish to respond to some of his concerns.

On faith and false teaching. We warmly welcome the Archbishop's affirmation of the Jerusalem Statement as positive and encouraging and in particular that it would be shared by the vast majority of Anglicans. We are however concerned that he should think we assume that all those outside GAFCON are proclaiming another gospel. In no way do we believe that we are the only ones to hold a correct interpretation of scripture according to its plain meaning. We believe we are holding true to the faith once delivered to the saints as it has been received in the Anglican tradition. Many are contending for and proclaiming the orthodox faith throughout the Anglican Communion. Their efforts are, however, undermined by those who are clearly pursuing a false gospel. We are not claiming to be a sinless church. Our concern is with false teaching which justifies sin in the name of Christianity. These are not merely matters of different perspectives and emphases. They have led to unbiblical practice in faith and morals, resulting in impaired and broken communion. We long for all orthodox Anglicans to join in resisting this development.

On the uniqueness of Christ. We are equally concerned to hear that 'the conviction of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and God' is 'not in dispute' in the Anglican Communion. Leading bishops in The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, and even the Church of England have denied the need to evangelise among people of other faiths, promoted and attended syncretistic events and, in some cases, refused to call Jesus Lord and Saviour.

On legitimacy. In the current disorder in the Communion, GAFCON came together as a gathering of lay leaders, clergy and bishops from over 25 countries on the basis of their confession of the common historic Christian faith. They formed a Council in obedience to the word of God to defend the faith and the faithful who are at risk in some Anglican dioceses and congregations.

GAFCON, where the governing structures of many provinces were present, affirmed such a Council of the GAFCON movement as its body to authenticate and recognise confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith.

In their primates and other bishops, the assembly saw a visible connection to the catholic and apostolic Church and the evangelical and catholic faith which many have received from the Church of England and the historic see of Canterbury. It is this faith which we seek to affirm.

On authority. As the Virginia Report notes, in the Anglican tradition, authority is not concentrated in a single centre, but rather across a number of persons and bodies. This Council is a first step towards bringing greater order to the Communion, both for the sake of bringing long overdue discipline and as a reforming initiative for our institutions.

Whilst we respect territoriality, it cannot be absolute. For missionary and pastoral reasons there have long been overlapping jurisdictions in Anglicanism itself – historically in South Africa, New Zealand, the Gulf and Europe. In situations of false teaching, moreover, it has sometimes been necessary for other bishops to intervene to uphold apostolic faith and order.

On discipline. Finally, with regard to the Archbishop's concern about people who have been disciplined in one jurisdiction and have been accepted in another, we are clear that any such cases have been investigated thoroughly and openly with the fullest possible transparency. Bishops and parishes have been given oversight only after the overseeing bishops have been fully satisfied of no moral impediments to their action.

We enclose a response to the St Andrew's Draft Covenant. (See separate post).

We assure the Archbishop of Canterbury of our respect as the occupier of an historic see which has been used by God to the benefit of his church and continue to pray for him to be given wisdom and discernment.

Signed

The Most Rev Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria
The Most Rev Justice Akrofi, Primate of West Africa
The Most Rev Emmanuel Kolini, Primate of Rwanda
The Most Rev Valentine Mokiwa, Primate of Tanzania
The Most Rev Benjamin Nzmibi, Primate of Kenya
The Most Rev Henry Orombi, Primate of Uganda
The Most Rev Gregory Venables, Primate of The Southern Cone
July 18 2008

National Pastors Convention 2008 in San Diego

Well, I just found out about this (sponsored by Zondervan) or I would have posted on it earlier (and tried to get some interviews for AnglicanTV!):

NPC 2008: February 26-29, 2008

Three of the speakers and their events:

Anglican bishop John Rucyahana was elected Bishop of the Shyira diocese of Rwanda in 1997. During his term, John often escaped death, even as many pastors, friends and family members were killed in the ongoing genocide. John works tirelessly for reconciliation in Rwanda: having founded the Sonrise orphanage for children orphaned in the genocide, and ministering in prisons to its perpetrators. He is the author of The Bishop of Rwanda: Finding Forgiveness Amidst a Pile of Bones. He and his wife, Harriet, have five children.

Reconciliation for All, Not only Rwanda

No matter how big or small the difficulties, God can bring about reconciliation in all of our lives. In telling the story of genocide in Rwanda, Bishop John shares about how Rwandans are “finding forgiveness amidst a pile of bones”. He shows how a loving God transforms even the darkest nights of horror into a new day of hope and reconciliation.

Learning from the Sages

Spend 90 minutes with our sages, Bishop John Rucyahana, Ben Patterson and Calvin Miller as they share about what they have learned over their years that would help pastors position themselves for the long-haul in ministry. Hear them talk about ministry, the church, spiritual formation and what has helped them sustain and grow their relationship with God. These sages have a collective wisdom that will position pastors well as they continue to minister in the future.

And

N.T. Wright is Bishop of Durham and was formerly Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and dean of Lichfield Cathedral. He taught New Testament studies for twenty years at Cambridge, McGill and Oxford Universities. Wright's full-scale works The New Testament and the People of God, Jesus and the Victory of God, and The Resurrection of the Son of God are part of a projected six-volume series entitled Christian Origins and the Question of God. Among his many other published works are The Challenge of Jesus and Evil and the Justice of God.

The Cross and the Reconciling Task of the Church

When we learn to read the gospels for all they're worth, we discover that they are the focal point of a much larger story, which is the narrative of how the creator God had planned to reconcile the entire world to himself. The cross is much bigger, in other words, than simply a mechanism for enabling individual humans to find salvation: it is the means by which reconciliation is to happen at every level. How then does the reconciliation achieved on the cross get to work out in real situations in the world today? What can we learn from those who've been doing it?

And

Rev. Dr. D. Zac Niringiye is a theologian, pastor, Bible teacher, counselor, trainer, and organizational development consultant. Currently, he is Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Kampala, a position he assumed after four years as Regional Director of the Church Mission Society’s work in Africa and 20 years of ministry among students in Uganda.

Redefining Power: Finding Our Place in a Global Church

Our central Christian affirmation makes a claim about power: “Jesus is Lord.” This alone means followers of Jesus should be especially alert to issues of power. At this time in our North American culture and in the state of global affairs, the collisions, claims, and counterfeit ideas about power are everywhere. They affect the church around the world every day, as well as right here at home. North American pastors and churches particularly need to think again about power. We need to consider how the Gospel, and the global church, can help us see power redefined in order for us to live and preach the gospel more faithfully. This seminar brings together a set of outstanding pastoral and theological leaders from churches in the Majority World, to reflect and challenge us.

Check it out.
H/t to Go a Little Deeper, who actually is attending and posting on some of the sessions.

GAFCON response to evangelical English bishops

From the Anglican Church of Nigeria [boldface mine]:

To Bishop David James and colleagues

Brethren

We have received your letter encouraging us to attend the Lambeth Conference with you.

We trust that we are united in faithful obedience to the Scriptures and also to the Anglican Formularies. We understand your desire to continue to support the efforts of the Archbishop of Canterbury. As GAFCON Bishops and primates, we share with you a commitment to the communion and its future. We ask you to understand that we have reached a different conclusion and request you to understand our decision.

We think it is important to let you know our reasons for not acceding to your request, and also to make them public since your letter is public. We have a number of concerns.

First, the Lambeth Conference is not a two hour seminar discussing a contentious issue. It is three weeks in which we bishops and our wives are called to share together our lives, our prayer, our bible study, our meals, our worship and the Lord's Supper, to be a family together.

You will know that some of us have not been able to take communion with the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church since February 2005, - a period of about three years. The reason is that TEC took an action to consecrate Gene Robinson as Bishop in 2003 contrary to the resolution of the Lambeth Conference, an action of which they have not repented. The consecrators of Gene Robinson have all been invited to Lambeth, contrary to the statement of the Windsor Report (para 134) that members of the Episcopal Church should "consider in all conscience whether they should withdraw themselves from representative functions in the Anglican Communion".

You will know that some of those who objected to this consecration in the United States and have made arrangements for orthodox oversight from other provinces including ours have been charged with abandonment of communion. Their congregations have either forfeited or are being sued for their properties by the very bishops with whom you wish us to share Christian family fellowship for three weeks.

To do this is an assault on our consciences and our hearts. Further, how can we explain to our church members, that while we and they are formally out of communion with TEC, and provide oversight to these orthodox colleagues, we at the same time live with them at the Lambeth Conference as though nothing had happened? This would be hypocrisy.

We are also concerned that the invitation list reflects a great imbalance. It fails to address fundamental departures from historic faith that have triggered this crisis and yet excludes bishops of our own provinces, of Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda who teach and practice Biblical faith. As constituted, the invitations suggest that institutional structures are superior to the content of the faith itself.

We are also mindful of the press interest in the Conference, and in the presence in some form or other of Gene Robinson and his male partner, and of 30 gay activists. We would be the continual target of activist campaigners and media intrusion. In these circumstances we could not feel at home.

All of us have attended Lambeth before. As far as we are aware, only a few of you have been to a Lambeth Conference. In 1998, we had great difficulty in making our case heard in the face of the process of the conference. At that conference we were blessed with the leadership of Archbishop George Carey who has always been a champion of orthodox biblical teaching on sexuality. We have come to the conclusion, from the failure of the instruments of the Communion to take action either to discipline the Episcopal Church or to protect those who have asked the Communion for protection, that there is no serious space for those of an orthodox persuasion in the councils of the Communion to be themselves or to be taken seriously.

We are therefore not persuaded by your arguments to attend. We have looked at all the facts for some time. To find a solution we have proposed the postponement of the conference, the calling of a Primates' meeting and work towards the conclusion and endorsement of the Anglican Covenant by individual provinces. Our request has not been heeded. We must attend to the care of our bishops, clergy and people.

We must address the issue of the Anglican Communion Covenant, particularly as a revised version has just been published. Many of you are concerned about the need to attend Lambeth to contribute to and influence the debate on the Anglican Communion Covenant to help the working of our Communion for future reference. Currently the prospects do not seem good for what is proposed in any way to engage with our current difficulties or relate to the facts on the ground. The state of our broken Communion is not mended by the Covenant. The Lambeth Conference will only be a place to offer reflections on it. That is why some of us recommended that Lambeth be postponed in order to give space for the reconciling process to take place, a Covenant to be agreed, and Lambeth to be held for those who signed up to the Covenant. This proposal was rejected.

Even if you have decided to go to the Lambeth Conference, we hope that you will respond positively to our invitation to attend GAFCON. You will bring your rich experience of mission and we believe that you will also be enriched by the experience of Anglican bishops and Christians from around the world who are keen to share what God is doing in their midst and what He is teaching them.

We emphasise that this action is not intended to signal that we are walking out of the Communion. We are responding to a need of people committed to and continuing in the apostolic faith to meet and consider how they will walk together in mission and mutual support, and to meet in the one place which is spiritually significant for all of us.

Yours in Christ,

Archbishop Peter Akinola (Nigeria)
Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini (Rwanda)
Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi (Kenya)
Archbishop Henry Orombi (Uganda)
Archbishop Gregory Venables (Southern Cone)

GAFCON press conference

Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria speaking at a press conference about GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference):

But Uganda, Rwanda, Sydney, Nigeria: we are not going to Lambeth conference. What is the use of the Lambeth conference for a three weeks’ jamboree which will sweep these issues under the carpet. GAFCON will confer about the future of the church, which will set a road map for the future. We are a movement that will move away from the “maybe - maybe not”.

The issue is that church leaders are endorsing what is wrong. They are not willing to make the gospel that the Lord can bring change available. We want to move forward with commitment to the word of God. The question is asked how many people we are. The question is rather how many people we are representing. Four primates who are in the leadership of GAFCON represent more than 30 million Anglicans.

Read it all.

Also was presented the GAFCON Theology Resources Team

Members of the Theology Resource Team for GAFCON met in Lagos Nigeria from January 28-30. They came from Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Australia, Ghana, India, and England. They are pictured here with Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Primate of Nigeria, fourth from the right. The GAFCON Theology Resource Team Conference focused on Authentic Global Anglicanism. . .

And check out one of the papers presented by Rev Professor Stephen Noll, vice-chancellor of Uganda Christian University on The Global Anglican Communion and Anglican Orthodoxy.

'God has blessed our socks off'

From the Philadephia Inquirer:

Half a dozen years ago, a congregation looked one last time toward the building raised by members' hands and out across the graves in the churchyard, and wept. Then, the churchgoers turned and left.

This week, they'll install a new rector, welcome the public to a talk by an Anglican bishop from Rwanda, and play host for the second time to a regional meeting of their new affiliate, the Anglican Mission in the Americas.

"God has blessed our socks off," said the Rev. Kenneth Cook, assistant to the rector at what was St. John's Episcopal Church of Huntingdon Valley and now is St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church of Churchville.

"It's a cool church," said the Rev. Mark E. Rudolph, scheduled to be installed as its rector Thursday. Rudolph, who was ordained in the Reformed Episcopal Church and served seven years as rector at St. Philips in Warminster, described his path to St. John's as "circuitous."

And it was, at least compared to the path walked by members of St. John's Montgomery County parish – which was decisively away from the Episcopal Church USA. They were among those who broke with the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania over church trends they feared veered too far from fundamental beliefs.

They were not among those who plunged into legal battle with the diocese over "sticks and bricks," as they call it.

"If we are going to live and die for this property," Cook said, remembering the agonizing talks, "we might as well admit this is an idol for us."

So they made their way, first to borrowed quarters in a Methodist church. There, leaders were moved to find "everybody here" on the first Sunday, said Michael McTigue, the rector's warden. He added: "The risk was that we could lose the entire organization."

They didn't.

In Huntingdon Valley, membership was put at 360. Today, an estimated 225 people attend Sunday services in the Jesus Focus Ministry complex, at the end of a wooded drive not far from the Churchville Nature Center. The Episcopal Province of Rwanda provides oversight for the congregation.

The congregants' five-year tenancy at the Jesus Focus Ministry, a nondenominational Bible-study ministry, has run smoothly, they said. There are no schedule conflicts, and members of each organization take part in the other's activities.

"It's been an unbelievable match," McTigue said, grinning at St. John's good fortune. "Over and over, it's the same thing for us. Last year, we were behind in budget $25,000 with a month to go."

The rector at the time, the Rev. Phil Lyman, who had moved with the congregation from Huntingdon Valley, sent church leaders home to pray. And the money appeared.

"If you focus on numbers and money, you get lost," McTigue said. . .

Read it all.

Mississippi: 'Redoing church'

From the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger. I found this article somewhat confusing - mentioned are Anglican churches under Kenya, but then it says that no Mississippi churches have left ECUSA, so I'm assuming the Anglican churches are all new plants. Also, incorrect national numbers are used (did you know that only 55 churches have left ECUSA?) and some other errors are present, but the situation is so confusing, I don't blame the reporter.

RAYMOND — A framed document hangs in a dining room-turned sanctuary on the outskirts of this tiny central Mississippi city that reads, "Diocese of Thika, the Anglican Church of Kenya."

The certificate shows who has authority over the two-month-old congregation, called St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church.

"We gave them what I call 'the kiss of peace goodbye,' " said St. Michael's priest the Rev. Linda Berry about her break from the Episcopal Church U.S.A. "Our main focus is on what we're doing now, which is redoing church."

Berry is part of a national movement of former Episcopalians and other believers aligning their congregations with conservative Anglican churches in Africa. Those seeking African oversight say they've become disillusioned with what they consider to be an increasingly secular drift in the Episcopal Church U.S.A.

And while church leaders battle over theological issues, many worshippers are seeking the African-affiliated Anglican churches for wholly different reasons. . .

. . . Therese Baker of Jackson, who had been baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church, started worshipping at St. Michael's because she found most area Episcopal churches too large and unwelcoming.

"Unless you knew someone you were ignored," the former veternarian's assistant said.

About a half dozen people worship at St. Michael's, where churchgoers sit in a semi-circle in front of an altar set up in Berry's dining room.

Surrounded by the aroma of scented candles, believers help conduct the liturgy by taking turns reading the day's Scripture.

"They're so small right now you feel like you're actually part of something," Baker said. "I want to become closer to God and I feel like I'm getting that here."

Colorado transplant Lana Mapes, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister who led small mission churches, attends St. Michael's because she finds a more authentic form of Christianity than among the people she's encountered in big, established churches.

"I see a lot of hypocritical behavior," Mapes said. "It's all about them, what's good for them, what's good for the pocketbook."

People attending St. Michael's also say they value such rituals as infant baptism and regular Holy Communion.

"That's always been a very basic part of our religion," Mapes said about sharing the Eucharist.

David Hein, a religion professor at Hood College in Maryland who specializes in Episcopal and Anglican history, said the new Anglican churches in the United States seem well positioned to attract evangelicals who want to connect with their faith's apostolic roots, but consider the Episcopal church too liberal.

"Some are moving away from churches that emphasize a glamourous preacher and are looking for an association with thoughtful holiness, which they find in traditional Anglicanism," he said. "There's a movement of evangelicals who are dissatisfied in large preaching temples.". . .

. . . "People think the split was about homosexuality," said Berry, 61, who was ordained a priest in August by a Kenyan bishop. "But that wasn't really it."

A major rift formed in 2003 between the U.S. Episcopal church and the more conservative leaders of the 77 million member global Anglican Communion when Episcopal church leaders elected their first openly gay bishop.

But Berry and other members of the new Anglican churches in Mississippi say they left the Episcopal Church U.S.A. - the name of the Anglican church in America - because of what they saw as an increasing emphasis over the past two decades on intellectualism over biblical authority, such as raising doubts about the virgin birth and the divinity of Jesus.

"We had to make a choice," said the Rev. Ruth Urban, who leads the Kenyan-affiliated Holy Apostles Anglican Church in Brandon with her husband John. "Are we going to uphold the Scripture or uphold the church?". . .

. . . The Kenyan churches are part of a small network of Anglican churches in the state including metro-area congregations St. Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church in Flowood - which formed in 1984 before the current crisis in the Anglican Communion - and the Rwandan-affiliated Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Flowood.

The churches have not broken away from the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi. However, most attract some Episcopalians disenchanted with their national church.

And even though only the Kenyan-affiliated church ordains women - which many consider a major theological difference - Anglican churches in Mississippi and elsewhere in the United States are working toward forming their own U.S. jurisdiction.

As of September, 55 of the 7,679 congregations in the Episcopal Church U.S.A. have either withdrawn from the organization or voted to leave, said the church's communications director Robert Williams.

No Mississippi parish has broken from the Episcopal church. . .

. . . Bishop Duncan Gray III of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi said he believes there's enough room in the Episcopal church for divergent views.

"I think there is within the Episcopal church within Mississippi both diverse congregations and diversity within congregations and that there's a place for everyone," he said. "I would hope that we could find what unites us and deepens that rather than spend enormous energy on defining what divides us."

But people involved in the new Anglican congregations in Mississippi say they expect the network of Anglican churches will soon form its own province in the United States. . .

Read it all.

Rwanda Announces Election of Three New AMiA Bishops

A Communiqué FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RWANDA

The House of Bishops of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda (PEER) met in Kigali, Rwanda on the 4th day of September 2007. Acknowledging the significant growth of the missionary outreach initiated by PEER in the USA, the House of Bishops considered nominations for additional missionary Bishops to further the work of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). The House of Bishops elected three bishops and appointed them to serve in PEER’s missionary jurisdiction in North America committed to extending God’s kingdom. The bishops-elect are the Rev. Terrell Glenn, the Rev. Philip Jones and the Rev. John Miller. The date for the consecrations has been set for the 26th day of January in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2008 following the Anglican Mission’s Winter Conference (January 23 – 26, 2008) in Dallas, Texas.

Provincial Secretary

PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RWANDA

H/t to Stand Firm.
[boldface mine]

Rwanda: Anglicans reject Western accusations of rebellion

From allAfrica.com:

The Anglican Church in Rwanda and Africa will not be bullied into keeping quiet about the non biblical behaviors of the American and European churches, a senior bishop has said.

Bishop John Rucahana, Anglican head of the Shyira Diocese, said the current disagreements in the Anglican Church were caused by the ordination of the homosexual bishops by the American Episcopal Church. Rucahana said this was against the teachings of the holly bible.

The stalemate stems from an invitation to the Lambeth Conference 2008 from Archbishop Rowan Williams in which he invited one section of the bishops in Rwanda and left out others because apparently they do not have similar approaches to Anglican faith. Archbishop Williams is essentially the head of the worldwide Anglican Church. . .

Mr. Williams wrote in the letter seen by RNA: "This is not a question of asking anyone to disassociate themselves at this stage from what have been described as the missionary initiatives of your Provinces. I appreciate that you may not be happy with these decisions, but I feel that as we approach a critical juncture of the life of the Communion, I must act in accordance to the clear guidance of the instruments of the Communion."

"It is them that abandoned the faith, the law and doctrine of the church. They also do not believe in the teachings of the bible", Bishop Rucahana said Tuesday in a lengthy interview on state radio.

"Their behaviours do not conform to the religious conduct of the Anglican church because it is them that ordained homosexuals as bishops not Africans".

Bishop Rucahana said the Anglican Church in Rwanda will not be pushed into adopting the satanic behaviour of the "whites because they are whites". He called on the other sects to conform to the faith teachings as the problem crosscuts to them as well.

As a response to the move by Archbishop Williams, the Episcopal Church of Rwanda hit back accusing Archbishop Williams of "divisive" leadership.

The Rwandan Anglican clergy though their head Bishop Emmanuel Kollin said such behaviour was "violating holy orders" and by also making the decision to "ordain and to consecrate practicing homosexuals".

They added, "We feel that the words of the Archbishop are tantamount to a threat, and we cannot accept this".

Read it all.