Global South Anglican

In a wide-ranging interview, the Canadian Anglican theologian J.I. Packer talked with David W. Virtue about the state of the Anglican Communion at the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) Winter Conference in Dallas, Texas.

As Anglican Christians, both within and outside TEC, what are we to make of the disciplinary process against Pittsburgh’s Bishop, Robert Duncan, now initiated by the Presiding Bishop?  In brief, I would urge TEC and other Anglican bishops to pray for and take action so that this process pauses indefinitely.  They should do this for the sake of genuinely seeking discernment and resolution as to the ordering of our common life as Anglicans.  There is nothing that legally demands that the process be carried through at this point and in the manner now laid out.  There is every Christian reason to work for some other outcome.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams today launched the official programme for Lambeth Conference 2008 Equipping Bishops for Mission at Lambeth Palace. Joining Dr Williams on the panel were Archbishop Ellison Pogo (Archbishop of Melanesia and Chairman of the Design Group) and Archbishop Ian Ernest (Archbishop of the Province of the Indian Ocean). Mrs Jane Williams outlined the plans for the Spouses’ Conference which is being held alongside the bishops’ conference. Jane Williams was joined by Margaret Sentamu. 30 bishops from 17 provinces around the Anglican Communion also joined the press conference.

During the service, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, issued a statement of apology to the Hindu religious community for centuries-old acts of religious discrimination by Christians, including attempts to convert them…

In June 2008 archbishops and bishops from both the Evangelical and Anglo-catholic wings of the church, who lead 30 million of the world’s 55 million active Anglicans will make pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  They are travelling to the places of Christ’s ministry and where the gift of the Holy Spirit was first poured out, to strengthen them for what they believe will be difficult days ahead.

The vision, according to Archbishop Nzimbi of Kenya is to inform and inspire invited leaders “to seek transformation in our own lives and help impact communities and societies through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 

More at Anglican Mainstream

The Church of England’s response can be read here.

The Church of Scotland’s response can be read here

The Church of Ireland’s proposes their own version of the draft covenant. Read here

Anglican Church of Aoterea and New Zealand’s response can be read here

(The Anglican Covenant Draft can be read here)

Details on San Joaquin’s inhibition can be read here and here.

And now, Pittsburg is on the cards too. Read here and here.

Fort Worth too. Read here.

Ed’s observation: TEC should consider whether she is closing whatever channels still left for reconciliation by taking such punitive actions and going against the advice of the Primates at Dar Es Salaam.  The rest of the Communion will not sit idly by.

A response by Michael Poon to Andrew Goddard

In making this public support, I ask fellow presbyters across the Communion to join in to reaffirm the responsibilities we received at our ordination and rekindle the gift the Holy Spirit has endowed us, that we may find refreshed vision to labour for the sake of the Communion at this finest hour in our Communion’s history. We can be confident in this undertaking because our Lord Jesus Christ has sanctified us with his Word and has called us to communion with the triune God. This offers us the secure basis upon which we can engage in “serious discussion” and “common discernment” together. God’s Word sanctifies human speech, and makes truth-speaking possible. We thus believe, and so we boldly speak; and in so doing share in the divine calling to effect the sanctification of the Communion and of the wider world that God has redeemed in Christ.

The 8th National Conference of the TSPM/CCC has just concluded in Beijing and the names of the new leaders have been announced. 

A great deal of the language that is around in the Communion at present seems to presuppose that any change from our current deadlock is impossible, that division is unavoidable and that any such division represents so radical a difference in fundamental faith that no recognition and future co-operation can be imagined. I cannot accept these assumptions, and I do not believe that as Christians we should see them as beyond challenge, least of all as we think and pray our way through Advent.

Anglican Mainstream earlier letter of response to Canterbury’s Advent letter is - click here

Ed: Andrew Goddard’s analysis deserves a careful read and response in this theological forum.

The 33 ACK bishops in the country have been meeting for the last two days to pray and consult over the crisis that has engulfed the country following the disputed Presidential election results released on December 30.

The former archbishop of Canterbury wants the Episcopal Church to support an international agreement calling for a moratorium in the Anglican Church on the consecration of gay bishops and church blessing of same-sex unions.

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The Editorial Team

We had as our chief resource person Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies (Anglican Communion) and we spent quality time rediscovering the Biblical foundations of our liturgy. We came to the conclusion that we do indeed have a rich and strongly biblical heritage which must be rediscovered, cherished, and guarded by all true Anglicans. Our Liturgy is a dramatization of The Bible and should therefore be held sacred without casual departures at the discretion of individuals. Our liturgy promotes fellowship, teaching, mission, and relevant spirituality. All of us – Bishops, Clergy and Laity have a great role to play in this regard. We must take time to prepare prayerfully so that the liturgy does not become a cold and lifeless aspect of our worship life, but a vibrant, inspiring and liberating encounter with our self-revealing God. Our liturgy enables us to respond to God’s self-disclosure. As Anglicans, we are encouraged to live godly lives in the Church and in society. Our members in public office should go with a sense of mission as those who have been inspired by this encounter with the living God. 

A Communique issued at the end of the Episcopal Retreat of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion) held at the Ibru Anglican Retreat Centre, Agbarha Otor, Delta State from January 7-12, 2008.

The Anglican Church of Cameroon; Church of the Province of West Africa has a Bishop elect-The Rev Fr DIBO THOMAS-BABYNTON ELANGO of St John’s Anglican Church Yaounde.

Bishop Robert Duncan, moderator of the Common Cause Partnership, a federation of Anglican jurisdictions in North America, has invited members of the Common Cause College of Bishops to join him and other Anglican archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity from around the world in Jerusalem June 14-22.

It’s not unusual for Anglicans to be divided these days. But what’s tragic is that the division that is the context of both of these controversies is mostly between conservative and ‘open’ evangelicals, two groups who share a lot of common ground. In what follows, I hope to gesture towards what I believe is a major cause of the division. If I am correct, then the current controversies may portend a widening conflict in which human sexuality is no longer the presenting issue. For at the heart of these controversies is a dispute over the nature and implications of the Gospel itself for Christian ethical conduct and the ordering of the Church.

The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) has welcomed ten new congregations into its membership. The Rt. Rev. Francis R. Lyons, the Bishop of Bolivia, commended these U.S. Anglican congregations and their clergy to the oversight of CANA Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns.

The Archbishop of the Sudan, Dr Joseph Marona has stepped down from office, two years ahead of schedule, due to ill health. At a meeting of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan’s House of Bishops in Juba on Dec 29, Dr. Marona announced he would retire with effect from Dec 31, 2007. A successor will be elected at a special meeting of Synod in February.

Meeting privately with Archbishop Akinola and the Archbishop of Southeast Asia, John Chew, Dr. Williams succeeded in bringing all the primates to the negotiating table in Dar es Salaam. A report prepared on Dr. Williams’ behalf by the joint ACC/Primates standing committee, whose principal author—the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan—was absent from the meeting and on holiday, undercut the conservatives’ momentum by claiming that the American Church’s General Convention had complied with two of the three principal requests put to it by the Windsor Report-and deserved a passing grade.

My personal conviction after a very long period of active participation in this drawn-out process is that the system is not allowing a solution. It’s Catch 22. We believed initially that there was a simple, albeit painful, solution but there seemed to be an overwhelming reluctance to pay the price. It’s not even “unity whatever the cost” because that’s the one thing we won’t end up with. The Anglican Communion has already unraveled, and things are even further away from resolving the deadlock. 

January 3, 2008

Dear Kenyan Friends and Friends of Kenya,

You may have heard that there is a terrible outbreak of violence in Kenya in the wake of the most closely contested election in Kenya’s history. So far probably 300 have been killed. In Eldoret, about fifty were burned to death when an Assembly of God church containing people seeking refuge was set on fire.

I was able to speak with the Archbishop. He and Mama Alice were in good spirits despite the fact that they were unable to leave the house because the streets are so dangerous. He has also been battling malaria, but is feeling better today.

Bishop Murdoch and I are asking that you please re-double your prayers for the Archbishop and for Kenya that peace would prevail. ABp Nzimbi confirmed that the overwhelming majority of Kenyans want peace.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Bill Atwood
Suffragan Bishop for International Affairs
All Saints Cathedral Diocese, Nairobi
Anglican Church of Kenya

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, as Presidents of the General Synod, have submitted a Church of England Response to the draft Anglican Covenant published last year for discussion around the Anglican Communion.