GAFCon News So Far
The pre-GAFCON preparatory consultation in Jordan wound up early, and the participants moved to Jerusalem on Thursday, 19th June. Hotel and meeting rooms previously unavailable in Jerusalem became available at the same time GAFCON leaders learned that previously granted permission for the Jordan consultation was deemed insufficient. The time in Jordan was very valuable for prayer, fellowship, and networking. The group made pilgrimages to Mt. Nebo and the Baptism Site of Jesus. GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, and Archbishop Greg Venables of Southern Cone, were for different reasons unable to be in Jordan. Both are, however, expected to play significant roles at GAFCON in Jerusalem. GAFCON book, The Way, The Truth and the Life, will be released on Thursday, 19th June, in Jerusalem. A press conference will be held at the Renaissance Hotel on Thursday, 19th June at 19:00 hours. .............................. GAFCON begins on Sunday, 22nd of June in Jerusalem. Over seven days, Anglican leaders and laypeople representing 75 percent of the Anglican Communion will meet for prayer, bible study and worship. Jerusalem was chosen as it represents the historical roots of the Christian faith.
1b. David Virtue's Report, 18 June
AMMAN: PRE- GAFCON CONSULTATION RELOCATED
Nigerian Primate Refused Entry into Jordan
By David W. Virtue in Amman
www.virtueonline.org
6/18/2008
In a surprise development, conveners of the Global Anglican Future Consultation (GAFCON) were told last night that a principal figure in the consultation, Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, was not given a visa to Jordan, even though he holds a diplomatic passport. As a result, the leaders of the conference were thrown into dismay because of the important role he is to play at this assembly of orthodox Anglicans.
The time in Jordan is very valuable for prayer, fellowship, and networking, said Peter Jensen, a chief GAFCON organizer. GAFCON speaker Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone was also not able to be in Jordan. Both are, however, expected to play significant roles at GAFCON in Jerusalem.
Leaders scrambled to find an alternative way forward to allow the inclusion of everyone expected to attend the conference.
As a result, GAFCON leaders decided to move forward the date of the transfer to Jerusalem and will leave on buses Thursday morning, instead of Sunday as originally planned.
"It was our original plan to do everything in Jerusalem, but logistical problems forced us to have the pre-consultation in Jerusalem," said the Rev. Dr. Arne Fjeldstad, GAFCON communications head. "We will now have a more efficient and productive preparation for the conference being in the land where Jesus was born."
The 100 participants left Jordan in high spirits. Many made a moving visit to baptismal sites at the River Jordan and also visited Mt. Nebo where Moses looked into the Promised Land.
Jordanians have undertaken a major excavation and restoration at the Baptismal site which is to be the site of a church for each major Christian denomination. This has the full support of the Jordanian Government, exhibiting a striking example of Christian ecumenical endeavor in a supportive Muslim country
...............................
Rebel Anglican summit hit by leader's visa problem
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
PARIS (Reuters) - A summit of conservative bishops challenging the worldwide Anglican Communion over homosexuality and biblical authority has got off to a shaky start after its leader could not enter Jordan for a planning session.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, whose campaign has raised the specter of schism in the 77-million strong Communion, was not allowed into Jordan from Israel on Wednesday to attend a pre-summit meeting of about 130 conservatives in Amman.
Leaders assembled in Amman left on Thursday for Jerusalem, where their Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) summit will open on Sunday, GAFCON spokesman Rev. Arne Fjeldstad said by telephone from the Jordanian border.
GAFCON, which says it represents about 35 million Anglicans mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, will be held less than a month before the 10-yearly Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops from around the world opens on July 16.
Fjeldstad said Akinola was not denied entry into Jordan but gave up after several hours' delay at the border.
"He was kept in bureaucratic limbo," he said. "They claimed that, as a diplomatic passport holder, he had to give advance warning that he was coming. He decided to go back to Jerusalem."
Planned for four days, the Amman meeting "wound up early" when GAFCON leaders learned "that previously granted permission for the Jordan consultation was deemed insufficient", Fjeldstad said in a statement late on Wednesday announcing the move.
DISPUTE OVER BIBLICAL AUTHORITY
Some 280 bishops are expected to be among more than 1,000 Anglican leaders due at the Jerusalem GAFCON on June 22-29. They plan to visit biblical sites including Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, and prepare a strategy for future action.
They are not planning a formal schism but many will not be among the 800 bishops due at the Lambeth Conference, which usually agrees doctrinal guidelines for member churches. Among the boycotters are bishops from Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya.
The Communion's crisis reflects a split between traditionalist churches in the so-called Global South -- where more than half of all Anglicans now live -- and liberal ones mostly in Britain, Canada and the United States.
The 2003 consecration of Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of the U.S. Episcopal Church, deepened a rift, the root of which lie in a dispute over strict or liberal interpretations of the Bible and authority in the Communion.
"The authority of Scripture is a defining mark of Anglican identity," Ugandan Archbishop Henry Orombi says on the GAFCON website www.gafcon.org. "In the current Anglican crisis, we are at risk of losing our biblical foundation."
He says the faith spread by British missionaries will be redefined by those who were converted. "The younger churches of Anglican Christianity will shape what it means to be Anglican. The long season of British hegemony is over."
Conservative Anglicans say the Bible bans homosexuality while liberals argue that all people are equal under God.
The Communion's differences over homosexuality are not limited to the Robinson issue. The Church of England is investigating a service to bless the civil union of two gay clergymen held in London against Church rules on May 31.
(Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
JERUSALEM: GAFCON Leaders Call for Renewal of Anglicanism
Leaders Disavow Accusation of schism
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 19, 2008
Leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference reaffirmed the historic faith saying it is the actions of North American liberals that has caused the rift in the Communion with Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen saying that the consecration of a homosexual bishop has made the situation "irreversible" in the Anglican Communion.
Jensen told a press conference that for some GAFCON will be an alternative to Lambeth, but some conservatives will go to one conference and some will go to both conferences (Lambeth and GAFCON). He said GAFCON is not a further cause for schism.
"What has happened in the Anglican Communion has rocked us all."
Jensen said a newspaper report in The Telegraph newspaper that Anglican Communion leaders meeting in Amman had formally declared the end of the worldwide Anglican Communion was inaccurate.
The report said GAFCON leaders could no longer be associated with liberals who tolerate homosexuality.
"If there is a rift it was caused by the actions of The Episcopal church in 2003 with the consecration of Gene Robinson. As a result the Anglican Communion has been damaged. The response to that is that people have been crossing boundaries and consecrating bishops with orthodox people removing themselves from local Anglican churches while wanting to remain Anglicans. We are seeing a reshaping of the (Anglican) landscape, so now we have to work to see what that looks like.
"People talk about schism - breaking away - but as far as I am concerned I am not hearing about breaking up the communion. North Americans have rent the communion. We are trying to renew the communion. I want to see it better than ever before. It will be different, however.
"GAFCON is a movement not just a convention. It will likely have a future life and the present leadership would take that life on."
Jensen said that what that looked like is yet to be discussed. Jensen said he had been in touch recently with the Archbishop of Canterbury to assure him of his prayers for Lambeth and for a successful outcome, and he has assured me of his prayers for a successful outcome for this conference as well.
"This is a different conference. It is a conference brought about in the last ten years by the monumental events which has changed the whole landscape and now we must work out what to do with the future."
Jensen said the conference would not focus on human sexuality, but will move beyond that discussion.
"We will study God's word pray and meet in small groups."
He said that the Network had 27 provinces represented at GAFCON strengthening each other, "so the whole Anglican communion might be strengthened."
"The GAFCON pilgrimage is a response to what the American Church did in 2003 when they ripped the communion apart. That's where it started and that is where the response is. GAFCON recognizes that a new state of affairs has come into existence and the question is how can we live together and sustain the highest level of communion."
Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola, who was not given diplomatic clearance to attend the pro-GAFCON theological Consultation in Amman and who is accompanied by a bodyguard from the Mossad because of threats on his life, said "The Lord sent me ahead of you. We have come together like this because it is critical. If we make a list of the things God has done in the last few weeks regardless of persecution we must acknowledge that we have come together...it has happened."
Akinola said that despite rumors and newspaper stories, "we should not dwell on those stories. If we look at the life before us we cannot be compared to the suffering of the Apostle Paul. We refuse to be intimidated and distracted."
The feisty Nigerian Archbishop reiterated what Sydney Archbishop Jensen said, that it is the North American church by their actions that had torn the fabric of the communion.
"We must agree together as a family on the boundaries. We are encouraging you to stand firm on the authority of the Word of God and we want this conference to honor God. Let us remain focused. God is with us, His promise is sure."
The pre-GAFCON consultation will continue till Sunday when some 1,000 laity and clergy from across the Anglican Communion will gather at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem. The conference will address such topics as the gospel and culture, Christian leadership, evangelism, church planting, theological education, biblical interpretation, family and marriage.
The conference will also examine Anglican identity and what the essence is of Anglican identity. Pilgrims will also visit the great biblical sites to remind themselves of the historic nature of the Christian faith and where it all started.
At a press conference today a document "The Way, The Truth and the Life" was introduced to reporters by GAFCON leader the Rev. Dr. Vinay Samuel who heads the theological Commission for GAFCON. "We are not running away we are engaging the issues. We are asking is truth accessible?" This document can be seen in its entirety here:
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8450
1e. GAFCon book "The Way, The Truth and the Life" Released
GAFCON book, The Way, The Truth and the Life, has been released in Jerusalem.
After outlining the recent history of conflicts within the Anglican Communion, “The Way, the Truth and the Life,” sets out to define authentic Anglicanism, discuss what is at stake in the conflict, and what the future holds for orthodox Anglicans. “Our journey is a witness that the truth of God is accessible. We are convinced that God has made himself known, sufficiently for us to be able to respond to him, and to make truly moral choices between obedience and disobedience.”
The book deals frankly with the crisis facing the Anglican Communion. “We have made enormous efforts since 1997 in seeking to avoid this crisis, but without success. Now we confront a moment of decision. If we fail to act, we risk leading millions of people away from the faith revealed in the Holy Scriptures and also, even more seriously, we face the real possibility of denying our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,” writes the Most. Rev. Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Abuja, Primate of All Nigeria and chairman of the Global Anglican Future Conference.
“The Way, the Truth and the Life,” which is being released digitally (http://tinyurl.com/566l42) as well as handed out in hardcopy to all GAFCON attendees, reaffirms “our Christian faith as it relates to some prime topics: Anglican identity and orthodoxy, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and its implications for personal morality and missions, and the whole issue of authority, Christ’s authority in the church and the authority of the Bible,” writes the Most. Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop of Bendel, Nigeria, and chairman of the Theological Resource Team.
The 25 members of the Theological Resource team come from 10 Anglican Provinces.
Members of the Theological Resource Team are:
1f. David Virtue's Report, 20 June
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8455
America today is in the throws of the greatest and direst transformation in its history. We are becoming an ideological state, a country with an official state ideology enforced by the power of the state. In "hate crimes" we now have people serving jail sentences for political thoughts. Congress is now moving to expand that category ever further. Affirmative action is part of it. The terror against anyone who dissents from Political Correctness on campus is part of it. It's exactly what we have seen happen in Russia, in Germany, in Italy, in China, Canada, and now it's coming here. We don't recognize it because we call it Political Correctness and laugh it off. My message today is that it's not funny, it's here, it's growing and it will eventually destroy everything we have ever defined as our freedom and our culture. --- From The Origins of Political Correctness, An Accuracy in Academia Address by Bill Lind
The origin of human rights. The origin of human rights is creation. Man has never "acquired" them. Nor has any government or other authority conferred them. We have had them from the beginning. We received them with our life from the hand of our Maker. They are inherent in our creation. They have been bestowed on us by our Creator. --- From "Issues Facing Christians Today"
Moral responsibility. Scripture invariably treats us as morally responsible agents. It lays upon us the necessity of choice ... Why is it that people do not come to Christ? Is it that they cannot, or is it that they will not? Jesus taught both. And in this 'cannot' and 'will not' lies the ultimate antinomy between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. But however we state it, we must not eliminate either part. Our responsibility before God is an inalienable aspect of our human dignity. Its final expression will be on the day of judgment. ---From "The Cross of Christ"
Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
6/20/2008
The pre-GAFCON conference, which began in Amman, Jordan, was suddenly terminated for reasons beyond the control of those planning the event.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola was denied a visa into Jordan and was kept in Jerusalem, owing largely to a bureaucratic snafu. So the 100 pre-Gafcon theological participants decided they should go to Jerusalem and join him. We took off in three buses and headed north through the Jordan Valley to the Sheikh Hussein Bridge crosssing the border late Thursday afternoon. We then drove south around Jericho through the West Bank and into Jerusalem.
My first taste of Arab hospitality came from "crazy Charlie", our minivan driver who took us from the Amman airport to the Marriott Hotel on the Dead Sea. He was a cheerful Christian man with a large family, he told us. He spoke proudly of his country, its cleanliness, and its desire for peace with its neighbors. We raced along clean highways. At one point, he waved a small note pad telling us that he had the power to report any offender who threw litter onto the highway. He said the fine for littering would be $100.00.
As we raced out of the mountain, we came down into the Jordan Valley. The Jordan River is an unusual stream that flows from 3000 feet above sea level at Mt. Hermon in Syria to the Dead Sea at 1300 feet below sea level. As the darkness slowly descended on our van our driver pointed out Mt. Nebo where Moses stood looking over, but denied entry into the Promised Land. The city set on the hill, which Jesus spoke about was another reference point. Off to the right, the lights of Jerusalem twinkled in the distance. Between us, the Dead Sea lay like a sunken lake, our hotel situated on the very edge of the saltiest body of water in the world.
The hotel was both beautiful and beautifully situated. Arab hospitality is second to none. The hotel staff was polite, cheerful and endlessly helpful. Internet access was easy, the food superb and the worship sublime.
My first and only story from Jordan deals with the relocation and the refusal by the Jordanian government to give visa clearance to Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.
You may read much speculation by the secular media about our being thrown out of the country. That was not the case. We were not thrown out at all. We left in an orderly fashion in three buses and got credit transfer at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem. The transition went smoothly.
The short time in Jordan was very valuable for prayer, fellowship, and networking, said Archbishop Peter Jensen, a chief GAFCON organizer who summed up our short time there. This writer can vouch for that.
We arrived late in the afternoon at the Renaissance Hotel in West Jerusalem and moved right into a press conference, after grabbing a quick dinner.
Archbishops Jensen and Akinola both made the point that the upcoming GAFCON conference next week is not about schism and splitting from the Anglican Communion, sending this writer into high gear to dispel two stories in the London TELEGRAPH that the Anglican Communion was on the brink of schism and a new Communion would form out of GAFCON. Not true.
Even the New York Times got it wrong. Laurie Goodstein wrote, "The news conference was called in haste, after the conservatives abandoned a preliminary strategy session in Jordan because two of their most influential members, Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, and Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies, were denied visas."
This is wrong on several counts. First of all Archbishop Drexel Gomez was never planning to come to GAFCON and is not here. If Ms. Goodstein was referring to Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone, he will be coming, though late, as he has a family situation, which prevented him from being here immediately.
There is no doubt there is a fork in the road, but that fork was started in 2003 when an openly homoerotic priest was consecrated the Bishop of New Hampshire. GAFCON leaders have acknowledged that fact and that is why this conference is taking place. They are not causing the rift. The Anglican Communion's pansexualists have already done that. They are merely reacting to what has become a fait accompli.
Secular media outlets are saying the Anglican Communion is at an end. GAFCON leaders are saying that is not true.
Perhaps, down the road something will emerge, but that is not what these Anglican leaders are presently saying here. What they want is a renewed communion, not a breakaway one. You can also read the paper."The Way, the Truth and The Life" the product of some of the best theological minds in the Anglican Communion. This document forms the basis of this consultation and conference.
I have written three stories you can read in today's digest from Amman and Jerusalem.
*****
One question that is coming to the forefront is should orthodox bishops in The Episcopal Church and the Church of England spend thousands of dollars and three weeks in a meeting with these bishops, fellowshipping, eating, praying, studying the Bible, and taking Holy Communion together?
There is little doubt that the behavior of these bishops, in this regard, renders them unacceptable to any council of Christian bishops. Can you imagine the Council of Jerusalem or the Council Nicaea sitting down with these bishops? The question must be raised, on what grounds are the orthodox Bishops prepared to meet with them in this fashion? You can read a story about that in today's digest.
*****
To honor Shabbat (Sabbath), Virtueonline will have a shortened digest. We wish to respect the Jewish tradition to which we as Christians owe so much.
All blessings,
David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
1g. Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh's address to the GAFCon leaders, 20 June
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8453
"Anglicanism Come of Age: A Post-Colonial and Global Communion for the 21st Century"
By the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan
Bishop Robert Duncan today released the text of his opening plenary address to the leadership of the Global Anglican Future Conference. The group has been meeting in Jordan in advance of the June 22–29 Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem.
The address, titled "Anglicanism Come of Age: A Post-Colonial and Global Communion for the 21st Century," offers Bishop Duncan's perspective on the positive purpose of the Global Anglican Future Conference, the current state of affairs within the Anglican Communion, and the way forward in the years ahead
"We who are gathered here recognize that the Reformation (Elizabethan) Settlement of Anglicanism has disintegrated. We know that we are at a turning point in Anglican history, a place where two roads diverge. One road is faithful to Jesus' story. The other road is about some other story...The choice before us is a choice before all Anglicans. It is just as certainly a choice before the upcoming Lambeth Conference. Which road will the Anglican Communion take?" asks Bishop Duncan.
Bishop Duncan continues, "The present structures of the Anglican Communion all reflect a British colonial past. Some new instrument(s) of unity reflecting a global and post-colonial communion must emerge."
GAFCON is an early sign of what the future holds for Anglicanism. It "will be neither British nor Western. What emerges, we may be just as sure, will represent the conciliarism that has characterized Anglicanism at its best," states Bishop Duncan.
The full text of Bishop Duncan's address is here. http://www.acn-us.org/etc/2008/anglicanism-come-of-age.pdf
Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.