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Announcing a new ANiC church in St. John’s, NL
A new ANiC parish is rising from the ashes of the tragic and arbitrary removal of the Rev Darrell Critch as rector of St Mary the Virgin (St John’s, Newfoundland). Last April, Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) Bishop Cyrus Pitman removed Father Darrell because of the Biblical and principled stand he took on a moral issue. Recently, Father Darrell relinquished his Anglican Church of Canada licence and received an ANiC licence from Bishop Don.
Then, on July 6, Father Darrell preached at the inaugural service of the Church of the Good Samaritan, a service held in an outdoor amphitheatre and attended by over 100 worshipers, most of whom were former members of St Mary’s. The Church of the Good Samaritan will now elect officers and then be officially received into the Anglican Network in Canada. This new congregation will meet at Hampton Hall (at the Marine Institute) over the summer.
GAFCon in review
Well, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCon) is both history – and historic. Thank you so much for praying. God answered in a powerful way. GAFCon is now a movement, not just a moment in history. The final statement of the conference delivered in a big way.
We have a theological statement (Jerusalem Declaration) that forms the basis of fellowship among orthodox Anglicans; we have an orthodox Primates Council forming, and we have the Primates and conference calling for the formation of an orthodox Anglican province in North America. In a news conference, the Primates referred to this as bringing order out of the chaos created in the Communion by the actions and theological deviation of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the United States.
Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Proverbs 25:25
Here are GAFCon-related resources:
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GAFCon website, which has articles on various sessions of the conference, audio of some news conferences, pre-conference documents, and much more |
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The Way, the Truth and the Life, an excellent reference and discussion book prepared for GAFCon delegates prior to the conference
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AnglicanTV has video of many of the sessions and news conferences (Scroll down to see archived sessions) |
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Sydney Anglicans had a professional videographer at the conference doing interviews and ‘stories’ from some of the pilgrimages |
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Photos from the conference and pilgrimage – most taken by a professional photographer |
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Many independent journalists and bloggers reported from Jerusalem, including:
David Virtue – VirtueOnline
Matt Kennedy – StandFirmInFaith
Steve Waring – The Living Church
Tim Morgan – Christianity Today |
It is not surprising that an event of this magnitude has elicited a tsunami of reaction. Here is some of it:
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Bishop Don recently wrote ANiC members a personal account of his experiences at GAFCon, saying, “Above all, I felt time after time that we, in ANiC, are not in this alone. By standing apart from the Anglican Church of Canada, we have endeared ourselves a “great cloud of witnesses” who are with us step by step along the way. It is wonderful to be part of the worldwide Anglican Communion and know that we are doing our part to keep it faithful to the Rock from which it was hewn.” |
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Bishop John Guernsey, in his “Reflections on GAFCON“, says that, from the beginning GAFCON was designed to NOT presuppose an outcome. He says, “…from the very first conversation at the preliminary meeting planned for Jordan, the leadership has reminded us again and again that there would be no advance decisions made, only prayer and discussion of what we believe the Lord Jesus Christ wants of us in GAFCON.” |
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Episcopal Church (TEC) Bishop Mark Lawrence (South Carolina) was one of a number of orthodox TEC bishops attending. He endorses GAFCon’s statement but indicates his diocese, unlike others, is not “spiritually desperate”. |
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The Archbishop of Canterbury responds to GAFCON saying, “GAFCON’s proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways, and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed.” Bishop David Anderson responds to Dr Williams key points, saying in part, “What will it take for Dr. Williams to acknowledge what is staring him in the face?” |
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Archbishop Fred Hiltz responded by denying that the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church (US) are abandoning the Biblical gospel and by calling for more dialogue. |
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Presiding Bishop Katharine Jeffers Schori’s response … “. This statement does not represent the end of Anglicanism, merely another chapter in a centuries-old struggle for dominance by those who consider themselves the only true believers.” |
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The Fulcrum Anglican website has mixed reviews. It has posted two responses from Bishop Tom Wright (Durham) – both critical – and a tentatively positive response from Dr Andrew Goddard.
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Bishop Wright’s first response (June 30 08) (Interesting to note the pervasive use of the word “I” – at least 32 times.) |
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Bishop Wright’s second response (July 6 08) (A commenter on one of the blogs counted 75 uses of personal pronouns.) |
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Dr Andrew Goddard’s The GAFCON movement and the Anglican Communion |
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Fulcrum’s news release responding to GAFCON in which they express concerns about the formation of a North American orthodox province. |
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A briefing paper on GAFCON for Parochial Church Councils in which Fulcrum expresses concern that the GAFCON strategy may be very divisive. |
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GAFCon petition
A petition has just been set up online for those outside the UK who wish to show their support for GAFCon. Over 1000 signatures have been collected already.
GAFCON coverage in the blogs
A couple useful blogs list GAFCON resources and references:
Chris’ Considerations
TitusOneNine (Kendall Harmon)
In addition, a number of blogs covered GAFCon closely. These included:
Some post-GAFCon media coverage (incomplete list)
Living Church – June 28 08 – GAFCON declaration calls for reformed communion
International Herald Tribune – June 29 08 – Anglican conservatives… form power bloc
The Guardian – June 29 08 – My other Gafcon
The Telegraph – June 29 08 – Anglican Church offshoot founded … in Jerusalem
The Sunday Times – June 29 08 – Anglicans form ‘new church’ in gay clergy row
Cybercast News Service (CNSNews) – June 30 08 – Anglican… reclaiming Biblical position
The Toronto Star – June 30 08 – Anglican rebels demand change
SydneyAnglicans.net – June 30 08 – Journey to the Promised Land
National Post – June 30 08 – Anglicans seek alternative to ‘false gospel’
Al Jazeera – June 30 08 – Anglican body condemns ‘immortality’
The Telegraph – July 1 08 – Archbishop of Canterbury … warns rebels over … split
The Telegraph – July 1 08 – Anglican Church ‘in chaos’ say rebel leaders
Sydney Morning Herald – July 1 08 – Breakaway move puts Jensen in a bind
Informify news - July 1 08 – Conservative Anglicans challenge mainline church…
New Tines (Rwanda) – July 1 08 – No one will distract us from the Holy Bible - Kolini
The Press Association (UK) – July 1 08 – Church chiefs slam homophobic claim
The Guardian – July 1 08 – The Evangelicals are moving in for the kill
The Guardian – July 1 08 – Church of England: Archbishop confronts Anglican rebels
TimesOnLine – July 2 08 – Senior Anglican warns Church over its ‘dark-side’
TimesOnLine – July 3 08 – Crossroads for Anglicans
CanadianChristianity.com – July 3 08 – Worldwide Anglican split will impact Canada
Guardian – July 2 08 – Gafcon can save Anglicanism (by Chris Sugden)
VirtueOnLine – July 2 08 – Jerusalem: Gay-baiting … media misses GAFCON message
BBC – July 3 08 – Bishop attacks anti-gay movement
Church Times – July 4 08 – GAFCON draws a mixed reception
Church Times – July 4 08 – New fellowship to unite ‘confessing Anglicans’ is born
Church Times – July 4 08 – Leader: Treat GAFCON with respect
Sydney Morning Herald – July 4 08 – It’s not just about gays… (By Archbishop Jensen)
Nigeria Tribune – July 4 08 – Lambeth conference not for us – Akinola
Sydney Morning Herald – July 5 08 – The battle for hearts and souls
Religious Intelligence – July 5 08 – US presiding bishop dismisses GAFCON conference
CBNnews.com – July 5 08 – Anglican call for a new leadership body
BBC – July 5 08 – Sentamu rebukes Williams critics
Guardian – July 6 08 – Rebel bishops threaten the very heart of our liberal traditions
Guardian – July 6 08 – Archbishop hits back at the evangelical rebels
CBNnews.com – July 7 08 – A new day for Anglicanism
The Telegraph – July 7 08 – Will Anglican debate end in fudge or schism?
First Things – July 8 08 – The Anglicans at GAFCON: What happened in Jerusalem
News shorts – Canada
Anglican Church of Canada continues ‘conversation’ on sexuality
Several essays have been posted to the ACoC website in response of the Primates’ Theological Commission mandate to consider “the theological question of whether the blessing of same-sex unions is a faithful, Spirit-led development of Christian doctrine”. These are authored by George Sumner, Catherine Hamilton, Roseanne Kydd and Christopher Seitz and are part of a forth-coming book.
Bishop of Huron announces retirement
The Diocese of Huron announced the retirement of Bishop Bruce Howe, effective September 1. He is currently on a planned sabbatical leave.
In the media this week
The National Post, June 14, 2008 – A faith’s new land: The future of the fractured Anglican Church may rest in Africa
Canwest News Service – It’s not about the sex, Anglican bishop tells flock
News shorts – USA
The Episcopal Church (TEC) gets downright ugly
TEC’s mean-spirited attacks on the Southern Cone Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin (in California) have plunged to new depths. Acting contrary to established church protocol and canons, the TEC’s pretender bishop, Bishop Lamb, seized a church building, dismissed the priest and changed the locks. See the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin’s news release.
Court decision in Virginia favours orthodox churches
A court in Virginia issued a ruling upholding the constitutionality of a Virginia statute which permits local congregations to decide the fate of their properties by majority vote in the event of a denominational split. Earlier that court had ruled that the Anglican Communion was indeed split. While this is a positive development for the CANA congregations which are being sued by the TEC and the Diocese of Virginia, it does not spell the end to the litigation.
TEC bishop convicted of covering up brother’s crimes
Bishop Charles Bennison (Pennsylvania) was found guilty by a TEC “court” of covering up his brother’s sexual abuse of a young girl in the ‘70s. The sentence is awaited.
News shorts – International
Archbishops and Dr Packer address clergy in London
As a follow-on from GAFCON, an important meeting was held in London on July 1 at All Souls Langham Place where about 800 Anglican clergy and laity gathered to hear Archbishops Orombi, Venables and Jensen and Dr J I Packer speak about GAFCon and the implications for the Church of England. Anglican Mainstream has posted notes taken from all addresses:
Archbishop Greg Venables
Archbishop Peter Jensen
Archbishop Henry Orombi
Interview with Dr J I Packer
Panel discussion
And the media covered the event as well:
Telegraph – July 1 08 – Gay rights protestors thrown out of Anglican summit
TimesOnLine – July 2 08 – Evangelical Christians sign up to a ‘Church within a Church’
Church Times – July 4 08 – Jensen: ‘sleeping giant is roused’
NationMedia.com (Kenya) – July 5 08 – Ugandan bishop takes battle… to London
Dr Packer makes more news
Answering a question following his address at Holy Trinity Eastbourne (England) in June, Dr J I Packer – one of the most outstanding theologians of our day and a member of the Anglican Network in Canada – said the Archbishop of Canterbury is “over a barrel” and should resign. He argued that Dr Williams’ published and unrecanted position was in direct conflict with his task of upholding the Anglican consensus on sexuality of the Lambeth conference – thus he was “over a barrel”. (Listen online to Dr Packer’s full response.)
Church of England synod votes in favour of female bishops
On July 7, the Church of England (CoE) general synod voted in favour of allowing women to serve as bishops and against putting in place special provisions for clergy and parishes opposed to serving under female bishops. (See Telegraph article). Before this change can come into effect, a future synod will have to pass the motion by a two-thirds majority in each of the houses of bishops, clergy and laity. Based on the votes received this time, those two-thirds majorities will be achieved easily.
Prior to the synod, more than 1000 clergy reportedly wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury suggesting they might leave the CoE if they were not given legal safeguards in the event synod pushed ahead with allowing women bishops. Also, The Telegraph and The Independent report hat senior CoE bishops held secret talks with the Vatican prior to synod about options should the CoE decide to impose female bishops on conscientious objectors. Immediately following the vote, the Vatican strongly criticized the CoE for planning to ordain women bishops, saying this broke with historic Christian doctrine and would drive Anglicans and Catholics further apart. Reform, a network of evangelical Church of England Anglicans, has predicted that this vote will “further rouse the ‘sleeping giant’ of evangelical Anglicanism.
Church of England controversy may entangle the Queen
A party reportedly planned for Westminster Abbey to celebrate the recent marriage of two Church of England male clergy and their impending departure for New Zealand may embroil the Queen since Westminster Abbey is directly under royal jurisdiction.
Soul food
Just for laughs (An “oldie but goodie”)
One Sunday morning, Pastor Thom noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small Canadian flags mounted on either side. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning, Alex.'
'Good morning, Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque. “Pastor Thom, what is this?
The Pastor paused and drawing on all of his training said in his most solemn of tones, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.'
Soberly, they continued standing together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, “Which service, the 9:30 or the 11:00?
Food For Thought
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
CS Lewis
Prayer requests and praise items
St Mary’s (Metchosin) – A court decision is expected on Friday (July 11) regarding St Mary’s quest to use their church building once again. Pray for God’s will to be done.
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
Proverbs 21:1 (ESV)
ANiC churches – Please pray for ANiC congregations worshiping outside their long-time church buildings. Pray for judges who are fair and open to the evidence. Pray for wisdom for our legal representatives defending our parishes. Pray for churches in the Vancouver-area where the diocese has issued ANiC clergy with “eviction” notices.
Zimbabwe – Please continue to pray for Zimbabwe and for global pressure to hold the government to account. Pray especially for Christians under attack. Politically-motivated violence and intimidation has become wide-spread.
Sylvia Venables was at GAFCON in Jerusalem with Archbishop Greg and seems to be doing well. Thank you so much for praying. We praise God for His healing touch.
Barbara and Archie Pell were also in Jerusalem as Canadian delegates to GAFCON. They appear to be making good recoveries – although the cancer and subsequent surgeries have taken a toll. Praise God for the healing He has provided and pray for continued health.
And now a word from our sponsor
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Isaiah 40:8-11, 21-23, 28-31 (ESV)
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