Church of the Epiphany: GAFCON 2008

Global Anglican Future Conference 2008

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

2008 is a big year for the worldwide Anglican Communion. From July 16 to August 3, more than 880 Bishops will gather in London for the Fourteenth Lambeth Conference. The Lambeth Conference was first held in 1867, as a means of maintaining unity across the global Anglican communion, which by this time was no longer constitutionally under the authority of the Archbishop and Crown. It has become an important venue for discussing controversial matters that require some form of judgment on the part of the church. Obviously, then, deliberations over the ordination of homosexual priests and blessing of same-sex unions will be at the top of the list for debate at this year's conference.

The conference ruled in 1998 that "homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture", but called for a "listening process", implying that further judgment would be required after this process is complete. Since 1998, those resolutions have been flouted by a number of clergy - not only in the USA, but also in the UK, Canada, and even New Zealand. This has led to a Bishop Marty Minns, being ordained by Nigerian primate Peter Akinola to serve Anglicans in the USA. It would seem that the communion is crying out for a verdict, and for greater authority on the matter. However there has been no indication from Archbishop Rowan Williams that this is going to happen, but rather he talks about the listening process as something that has only just begun, and something to be "presented and reflected upon" - not something to make a judgment on, and not something that requires a disciplinary response. Instead, the Archbishop says, "the controversies of recent years have spotlighted the difficulties we have as a Communion of making decisions in a corporate way", and that the conference needs to talk about addressing this issue in a constitutional way.

This lack of commitment to defining Christian sexuality, and requiring Anglican ministers to commit to that definition, is frustrating orthodox and evangelical Anglicans across the communion. Last month seven archbishops, including five primates, and six other bishops, met in Nairobi to discuss preparation for the 2008 Lambeth Conference. With an additional primate being represented by a bishop, and two English bishops being consulted by telephone, these leaders are said to represent over 30 million of the 55 million active Anglicans in the world.

On Christmas Eve a joint statement was issued inviting senior clergy and laity from every province of the Anglican Communion to attend the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) 2008, from June 15-22, in Jerusalem. The five primates issuing the invitation are Peter Akinola (Nigeria), Henry Orombi (Uganda), Emmanuel Kolini (Rwanda), Benjamin Nzimbi (Kenya) and Donald Mtetemela (Tanzania). The two additional archbishops are Peter Jensen (Sydney) and Nicholas Okoh (Nigeria), and the eight other bishops are Don Harvey (Canada), Bill Atwood (Kenya) representing Primate Greg Venables (Southern Cone), Bob Duncan (Anglican Communion Network), Martyn Minns (Convocation of Anglicans in North America), Dr Vinay Samuel (India and England), Dr Chris Sugden (England), Michael Nazir-Ali (Rochester, England) and Wallace Benn (Lewes, England).

The invitation reads;

Southern Cone Primate Gregory Venables said, “While there are many calls for shared mission, it clearly must rise from common shared faith. Our pastoral responsibility to the people that we lead is now to provide the opportunity to come together around the central and unchanging tenets of the central and unchanging historic Anglican faith. Rather than being subject to the continued chaos and compromise that have dramatically impeded Anglican mission, GAFCON will seek to clarify God’s call at this time and build a network of cooperation for Global mission.”

The gathering set in motion a Global Anglican Future Conference: A Gospel of Power and Transformation. The vision, according to Archbishop Nzimbi 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”. Bishops and their wives, clergy and laity, including the next generation of young leaders will attend GAFCON. The GAFCON website is www.gafcon.org.

Canon Chris Sugden added: "While this conference is not a specific challenge to the Lambeth Conference, it will provide opportunities for fellowship and care for those who have decided not to attend Lambeth. There was no other place to meet at this critical time for the future of the Church than in the Holy Land.”