Global South Anglican

...Should you not exercise a charitable restraint to create space for the global churches to work out their agenda?  John Stott’s lasting legacy is to bring about the maturing of the churches in the Southern Hemisphere, even if that means the “waning” of the Evangelical Fellowship of the Anglican Communion.  He laboured for the birth of churches, and not merely for the victory of an ecclesiastical party.  This is why he is held in high esteem by all.  The “new” in the Communion is that for the first time we live as a worldwide Communion of autonomous churches, defined by geographical boundaries, and called to work together across the geopolitical and socioeconomic realities.  We are no longer a church defined by party lines.  We seek not the victory of a party.

“Do you think the “orthodox” Anglicans on their own can carry the Communion forward without the blessing of Canterbury?  I am unsure.  Anglicans – as any other religious bodies – have a social and public identity that is informed by tradition.  Such tradition stabilizes tiny Anglican communities across the globe, and offer them tangible hope in times of deep crisis.  I think here for example of Myanmar and Sri Lanka.  It would be a sad day if Anglican churches across the Communion are presented with the choice: between a particular understanding of biblical faithfulness, and allegiance to Canterbury.  It is easy to be rebels with causes.  It is a different matter, you would agree, to bring about a new world order...”

Editorial note: Both Dr Michael Poon and Archbishop Jensen have articles featured on this site regularly. It will be in the interest of our readers and Anglican faithful that we continue some open conversations on the nature and direction that our Communion is taking. This is a critical time for our Communion and churches. If we are just fighting for biblical orthodoxy and nothing else, we might as well splinter into independent churches. Even ‘mission’ is not a good enough reason to be together - for we are working quite well across denominational boundaries. If it is both biblical orthodoxy AND the catholic order of our Church with our identity/mission as an ecclesial family, then it calls for careful, deeper reflection, longterm vision and clarity in our strategy - that the 2003 crisis and our subsequent responses may not tear the fabric of our Communion even further. 

The Global South represents a broad spectrum of Anglican churches that hold onto the historic faith and ecclesiology informed by the historic formularies. It does not answer to the dictates of the radical evangelical wings within the Communion. It is regrettable that Asia, West Indies, and Middle East are glaring omissions among the “conveners” of the proposed Conference.

We continue to welcome readers to participate by leaving their comments and engaging in discussions. However, do keep your comments to the posts or issues raised.

We appreciate your cooperation and continual participation.

Have a blessed New Year.

The Editorial Team

The Anglican Future Conference is not designed to take the place of Lambeth. Some people may well choose to go to both. Its aim is to draw Biblical Anglican Christians together for urgent consultation. It is not a consultation which can take place at Lambeth, because Lambeth has a different agenda and far wider guest list.  Unlike Lambeth, the Future Conference is not for Bishops alone – the invitations will go to clergy and lay people also. But it is a meeting which accepts the current reality of a Communion in disarray over fundamental issues of the gospel and biblical authority. It therefore seeks to plan for a future in which Anglican Christians world-wide will increasingly be pressured to depart from the biblical norms of behaviour and belief. It gives an opportunity for many to draw together to strengthen each other over the issue of biblical authority and interpretation and gospel mission

- Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney Diocese has unpacked some of the background behind the 2008 Holy Land Conference. Read it all here.

Orthodox Primates with other leading bishops from across the globe are to invite fellow Bishops, senior clergy and laity from every province of the Anglican Communion to a unique eight-day event, to be known as the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) 2008.

Today, multitudes of human beings join the angels to rejoice. Christians shining as light lead many to Christ and there still exists, great trouble among those who would not have Jesus. Efforts to turn Christmas into a mere holiday season continue unabated all around us. ‘Christmas Greetings’ are replaced with ‘Season Greetings’ as if it possible to have a Christmas without Christ. ‘B.C.’ and ‘A.D’ are changed to ‘B.C.E.’ (Before Common Era), and ‘C.E’ (Common Era) all in an attempt to conceal the fact that Jesus came to save an erring world from sin and eternal condemnation. 

Anglican Communion Insituite published a thought-provoking response

The long awaited Advent Letter promised by the Archbishop of Canterbury is now in the public arena. It is a remarkable piece of work—one that deserves careful reading and reflection on the part of all. Its rich theological content and wise procedural protocols will place it, along with the Windsor Report and the Communiqué from Dar es Salaam, in the center of all future discussions of the nature and calling of the Anglican Communion. It should be remembered that statements of this nature are not trial balloons or proxies for our voting, up or down, but rather have the character of Anglican instrumental discourse, to be ranged with other such documents as defining the nature of Anglicanism at a critical time. So they must be assessed with the same level of seriousness with which they are constructed and promulgated.

Read the rest here

There are some really terrible headlines in the papers at the moment about what Rowan Williams ‘said’ about the Christmas story:

“It’s all a Christmas tall story” The Times
“Three Wise Men are just a legend, says Archbishop of Canterbury” The Daily Mail
“Archbishop says nativity ‘a legend’” Daily Telegraph

I’m sure there’s plenty more around like this. The only problem is, none of it is true. Instead, one ‘journalist’ seems to have fed on another.

Ed: I will say that this is yet another example of irresponsible journalism.

Read it all here

The first meeting of the Common Cause Leadership Council created the structure necessary for building a federation of orthodox Anglicans in North America. Three delegates from each of the ten Common Cause partners gathered in Orlando, Florida December 17-18. The Council unanimously elected Bishop Bob Duncan as Moderator. Delegates also elected Canon Charlie Masters of Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) as General Secretary and Mrs. Patience Oruh of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) as Treasurer. The Leadership Council recognized the ratification of a statement of theology and formed the committees called for by the Common Cause articles of confederation adopted in September 2007. A communiqué from the Common Cause Leadership Council can be found below. 

There are, as to be expected, many responses to the Advent letter. For a more complete list, go to Episcopal Cafe.

Some which are worth noting:

Kendall Harmon (T19): This is a thoughtful, prayerful letter and deserves to be treated as such by all Anglicans.

From Bishop Iker (Fort Worth): “The best assistance that the Archbishop can offer to address the situation in TEC is to host a mediation that seeks a negotiated settlement for separation, without rancor or litigation.”

John Richardson thinks the Archbishop is finally leading: Leadership and Lambeth - Dr Williams’ Advent challenge to the Communion

Fulcrum has a more hopeful analysis:  Fulcrum Response to the 2007 Advent Letter

Where does this leave us as a Communion?  Because we have no single central executive authority, the answer to this is not a simple one.  However, it is important to try and state what common ground there is before we attempt to move forward; and it is historically an aspect of the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury to ‘articulate the mind of the Communion’ in moments of tension and controversy, as the Windsor Report puts it (para. 109).  I do so out of the profound conviction that the existence of our Communion is truly a gift of God to the wholeness of Christ’s Church and that all of us will be seriously wounded and diminished if our Communion fractures any further; but also out of the no less profound conviction that our identity as Anglicans is not something without boundaries.  What I am writing here is an attempt to set out where some of those boundaries lie and why they matter for our witness to the world as well as for our own integrity and mutual respect.

On Sunday, 9 December 2007, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) held the consecration of four new suffragan bishops in the USA:  Roger Ames, David Anderson, Amos Fagbamiye, and Nathan Kanu.  These four will join Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns and Suffragan Bishop David Bena in leading CANA.

More info and reports:

CANA website

BabyBlueOnline

Timesonline

“It is perhaps worth noting that the Archbishop of Canterbury, in a conversation with Bishop-elect David Anderson and me in September 2003, first proposed the idea of a Network of orthodox congregations and dioceses. This suggestion was later repeated at a meeting with Bishops Duncan, Herzog, Howe and Iker on October 17th, 2003 in Lambeth Palace. At that time it was described as a Network of ‘Confessing’ Congregations and Dioceses but later it was simply called the Anglican Communion Network and officially chartered in January 2004 with representatives from eleven dioceses.”

The following address was delivered by the Rt. Rev’d Martyn Minns, Missionary Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), on Thursday, 6 December 2007, at Church of the Epiphany (Herndon VA) to the annual Council of clergy and lay delegates.  It outlines the history leading up to the formation of CANA.

Read it all here.

The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno in central California, voted to leave the church, which has been in significant upheaval since 2003 when U.S. Episcopals consecrated the first openly gay bishop in the church’s more than four centuries of history. Dozens of churches and groups have left the Episcopal Church in recent years. Today is the first time that an entire diocese has voted to officially split from the national body. The votes weren’t close: the clergy in California’s Diocese of San Joaquin voted 70-12 to withdraw, and laity voted 103-10.

More updates at Titusonenine

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams gave a public lecture on 6th December 2007 in Singapore, speaking on the topic “Religious Diversity & Social Unity.” The lecture was jointly hosted by Diocese of Singapore and MUIS (The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore). The Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, chaired the lecture. Many diplomats, MPs, community and religious leaders were present amongst the 800 participants at Ritz-Carlton.

There was a lively Q & A session after that.
Lecture: audio & text
Q&A: audio & text

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams gave a public lecture on 6th December 2007 in Singapore, speaking on the topic “Religious Diversity & Social Unity.” The lecture was jointly hosted by Diocese of Singapore and MUIS (The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore). The Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, chaired the lecture. Many diplomats, MPs, community and religious leaders were present amongst the 800 participants at Ritz-Carlton.

During a 40-minute address, he made the point that having strong religious convictions does not mean the end of social unity. In fact, the more conviction that people have in their religion - regardless of their faith - the less they can justify violence. The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church also defended the role that religion can play in public life.

Lecture: audio
Q&A: audio & text

Primates with State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) Vice Minister Wang Zuoan in front of SARA Reception Hall

At the invitation of the Honourable Minister of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Ye Xiaowen, the Primates of the Global South of the Anglican Communion visited the cities of Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing and Shanghai from 21-30 October 2007. Nine Primates of the Global South of the Anglican Communion representing Africa, Asia and the Middle East participated in the historic occasion. The delegation discussed national religious policies and state-church relations. 

On September 11, 2007, the 50 millionth Bible rolled off the Press at Amity Printing Company in Nanjing. 

The following article is provided by The Rev. Canon Benjamin Twinamaani of Uganda, posted at Anglican Communion Institute.

The danger is that this process has, in turn, produced (or perhaps uncovered) further points of tension. At the level of principle there are new fracture lines developing as, competing with the Windsor vision, there are at least two other alternative ways of envisioning our life together - what I’ve called connectional confessionalism and autonomous inclusivism. These now supplement the tensions over sexuality and (in as much as there is a correlation between these and the two extremes of the sexuality spectrum) they may strengthen and reinforce them. At the level of practice there are those who, even if they share Windsor’s vision of life in communion and reject these two alternative paradigms, are unhappy with at least some of Windsor’s practical outworkings of this vision in relation to how the Communion should respond to its diversity over sexuality.