Precious in thy sight, O Lord, is the death of thy saints, whose faithful witness, by thy providence, hath its great reward: We give thee thanks for thy martyrs James Hannington and his companions, who purchased with their blood a road unto Uganda for the proclamation of the Gospel; and we pray that with them we also may obtain the crown of righteousness which is laid up for all who love the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

When he died on Nov. 22, 1963 hardly a soul blinked in Northern Ireland where he was born or in England where he spent most of his working life as one of the world’s greatest Christian apologists.

Clive Staples Lewis was a week short of 65 when he suffered a heart attack at his home in Oxford. The obituary writers barely noticed his demise, in part because he died on the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

British indifference to Lewis half a century ago will be examined at a one-day seminar at Wheaton College on Nov. 1, co-sponsored by the Marion E. Wade Center, the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals and Wheaton College’s Faith and Learning program.

Lewis may be the most popular Christian writer in history, with millions of copies of his books sold, the vast majority in the United States where his influence is far greater than in his native country.

Read it all.

A baptism is all about renouncing the devil, washing away the stain of original sin, and entrusting your child’s soul to God. But here’s betting that for Kate and William today’s ceremony is less about religion and more an opportunity for a happy party, surrounded by the people they most care about, to celebrate the arrival of their son. And if it is, what’s wrong with that?

The tradition of having your baby baptised is in decline in Britain: christenings in the Church of England are down by around a half on what they were in 1980, and there’s a similar story in the Catholic church. Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury who’s presiding at the font in St James’s Palace today, says it would be wonderful if the baptism of Prince George led other parents to think about getting their baby christened. And he’s right ”“ not because the church needs bums on its pews, but because baptism is an age-old rite of passage that provides one of those all-important moments in family life when we pause, take stock, and think about both where we’ve come from and where we’re going, and how important it is to support one another along the way.

Read it all.

As at any conference, ID badges dangle on lanyards around the necks of all the delegates. The lanyards at GAFCON are actually fine strands of beads. Here utility meets delicate beauty.

When I first received my badge, I didn’t think much of the lanyard. That’s a nice detail, I thought. A touch of Africa. But there’s a story behind these strands of beads. A good one.

Each one of the strands of beads that the 1300 delegates wear this week at GAFCON was handmade by women and girls in the Marsabit Diocese of northern Kenya. Small strands of loving kindness.

They have made these under the guidance of Alice Wangui, a Mother’s Union worker for this area, and Mama Sue, who is married to the bishop of this diocese.

Photo: Ladies of Marsabit, Laurel Moffatt

This is a place of Hot and Dry. The deserts have names I had not heard before. My mouth works to pronounce them, the syllables lying like rocks in my mouth:
Turlbi
Kargi
Marikona
Isiola

This is a place of Push and Pull. Where tribes war over those fleeting commodities, water and pasture.

The names of the tribes as new to me as the names of the desserts in which they live: Borana, Ledile, Burlge, Gabra, Saburu, Turkana,

The Borana and Burlge fight as I write.

Life is Hard and Dry, Alice tells me. It’s a place where rain does not deign to fall. Except every two years. Or three,

Beautiful. Read it all.

Check it out (you can click on it to make it larger).

There is nothing in Anglicanism like GAFCON. The Lambeth Conferences have all the bishops and their wives; the Anglican Consultative Council has a few representatives from each province. The Third Divine Commonwealth Conference in Nigeria from November 18-22 with 5000 people is largely composed of members of the Church of Nigeria.

GAFCON2013 is made up of bishops, clergy and lay people drawn from 38 countries numbering over 1300 people.

The Archdeacon of Cardigan, the Venerable Will Strange, describes the worship, led by a choir and a drummer as fantastic. The morning bible expositions of the Book of Ephesians have been spectacular and models of their kind.

Read it all.

We believe the apostolic faith,” Dr [Peter] Jensen said in the opening session, “and we do not believe the faith of those who contradict the Bible, and who deny the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ.”

The first day of the conference was devoted to worship, and to a preparatory talk given by Dr Jensen. The second day alternated between worship and presentations by the Archbishop of Kenya, Dr Eliud Wabukala, who hosted the conference, and the Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, the Revd Dr Mike Ovey.

Shorter presentations were offered by the Vicar of St Mark’s, Battersea Rise, the Revd Paul Perkin; the Archbishop of Sudan, Dr Daniel Deng Bul; the Bishop of Jos, Nigeria, the Rt Revd Ben Kwashi; Andrea Minichiello Williams, of Christian Concern; the Bishop of Nelson, New Zealand, the Rt Revd Richard Ellena; and the vice-chancellor of Uganda Christian University, Canon John Senyonyi.

Read it all.

My father, who died earlier this year at the ripe old age of 90, had a life that was as varied as it was long.

He served in the Italian campaign in the Second World War, then became an Anglican clergyman, a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, and subsequently dean of St John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong. For 21 years he was principal of Morley College, an institute of adult education, in London, and finally director of a large charitable foundation. In his retirement he returned to his first love, church history, completing a project on Restoration church courts that he had put aside 30 years previously and ending his career with seven entries on Restoration Anglican divines for the Dictionary of National Biography, which was published in his 81st year. (“Not my period” he would always declare stoutly when asked a question about a historical event that fell outside the late 17th century, although in fact he wrote what is still a standard history of the movement for Christian unity.)

At the age of 85 he was awarded the rare degree of doctor of divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace at which Rowan Williams preached a fire-breathing sermon on the threat of secularism, little knowing that my father had long ceased to be a believer.

Read it all.

This morning I stopped to chat with John W Yates III of Holy Trinity Church in Raleigh, N.C.. John was a former study assistant to John Stott and we talked about Uncle John’s influence on North American Anglicans.

Take the time to listen to it all.

Those who make this journey must look in two directions, the Archbishop said.

‘First, they look at the world. Jesus tells his disciples to let people come to him. To do that they have to be outward looking, in touch with the world, welcoming, generous-spirited, alive with the life of the Christ to whom they will introduce all who come.’

He added that as a Christian, Prince George ‘is to share the life of Christ which is in him, regardless of whom he meets, their faith or nature or habits, so that others find life. That sharing may be in words, or generous actions – most likely both – but it will be both very costly and infinitely rewarding.’

The second direction in which Christians must look is towards Christ, the Archbishop said….

Read it all and note the video link at the bottom for those interested.

The christening of Prince George has taken place in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London.

The prince, third in line to the throne, was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The christening was private, with only senior royals, four members of the Middleton family, the seven godparents and their spouses among the 22 guests.

Read it all.

This post is sticky – look below GAFCON Links entry for new posts
The video of Abp. Peter Jensen’s address to the Primates luncheon and the Abp. of Canterbury in Nairobi on Sunday Oct. 20.

Watch it all.

Update: There is also a Transcript of this talk available on the GAFCON site [pdf] and on the AAC site here and on Anglican Ink copied below

TRANSCRIPT: DR PETER JENSEN, General Secretary of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

Your graces, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, actually brothers and sisters, it is a very wonderful thing to stand here and look around and see so many whose faces I know so well who I count as comrades, brothers and sisters in the long, arduous business of being Christian. As well as that, I see quite a number whose acquaintance I have just made.

My first duty today is to say particularly to the local committee who have arranged for GAFCON to take place here, how very, very grateful we are to you for the extraordinary amount of work you have done, for the skill with which you have done it, and for the endless hours of time you have put into this. I might say with the High Commissioner how much this has enhanced if I can say so and will enhance the reputation of Kenya and Nairobi.

You have been through two horrendous incidents with the fire at the airport and of course this last tragedy. You have continued on, faithfully and steadfastly. You have looked again at the security for example, I know that, but you have been so faithful in doing all this. We will not be adequately able to thank you but please accept these words as our deepest thanks to you for making this great convention possible.

Can I also say that I didn’t think it would be possible until I walked into the Trinity Centre and then I knew, since we could never build that centre in Sydney, I knew I was in the presence of people who can run a convention and do it well. So I want to lead the rest of us in applause to the local committee. (Applause).

Your Grace the Primate of Kenya we want to thank you. It is not an easy thing to extend an invitation to hundreds and hundreds of people to come. My whole aim in Sydney I have to say was to avoid the General Synod occurring ever in Sydney, always have it somewhere else. I know what it’s like, and that was nothing compared to having GAFCON here. So again and very publicly I want to say how very grateful we are to you. And today of course I want to thank you, on behalf of all your guests, for this magnificent meal that you and Mama Rhoda have been hosting for us and I want to say how grateful we are; but also I want to assure you publicly that you are loved, you are deeply loved, both here in Kenya but also around the world, and we love and honour you for all you have done for us ”“ thank you. (Applause)

I have also been asked to say just a few words about GAFCON. One of the reasons why it is so appropriate to be here for GAFCON this week is that it was born in Nairobi, Room 1216 of the Hilton Hotel to be exact, well I have to check my records, but I think it was 1216. A number of people sitting here today were present at that meeting. And it was intentionally held here in Kenya. The leader of the meeting of course was Archbishop Akinola, and I can remember Archbishop Okoh at his right. And Archbishop Okoh’s great contribution to the meeting, amongst others, was to tell us that the word GAFCON was the word we should have. So I think it was you sir, I can’t see you, but it was you sir who gave us the word GAFCON and for that we are very grateful because it is the Global Anglican Future Conference which we decided on.

Now a number of the folk here today were present at that. How little we could have guessed that we would be here five years later and asking ourselves what has been accomplished. I heard earlier today – Archbishop Wabukala said – that in a sense the crisis has passed, and that’s true because you can’t live in a state of crisis. The crisis having been passed, the results have become permanent, or at least permanent for the time being if I can put it like that. Something has happened with grave consequences which now go on. And what indeed has happened and why?

Well, the genesis of GAFCON as you know was the authority of Scripture: Is the word of God the word of God?

Long ago, even before GAFCON, Bishop Nazir-Ali said to me that the debate we were having was about the clarity of Scripture. I’ll never forget him saying that. And I thought yes, he’s right of course: Is the Bible the Bible for everybody, that all can read, in a way in which it interprets itself? Is it the Bible for the lay people as much as it is the Bible for the clergy and anyone else? And this was Bishop Nazir-Ali’s point: that we can read the Bible too; and we can understand what it is saying to us. And the clarity of the Scriptures – particularly in the area of human sexuality – which is so important for our identity, means that we believe that we know ”“ always ready to look again – but when we look again, the same message appears:: that human sexual expression needs to occur within the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman, and anything else is unholy matrimony, if you like.

Now it’s those great issues, aren’t they: the Bible and our obedience to the Bible, which gave us the explosion if you like which occurred at GAFCON. Since then, I see GAFCON ”“ it’s interesting, you occasionally hear what people say about GAFCON and the FCA, not always very nice ”“ it is often far from accurate.

I often hear it said that it is a ”˜schismatic movement’, which is very funny considering how many Anglicans are involved in it – ”˜it’s a schismatic movement’. And I’ve heard a view that ”˜it is homophobic’ of course, and all the other terms of abuse that’s it’s so popular to throw.

I want to say to you that the GAFCON movement is a movement for Unity. I remember the Saturday night after GAFCON I, we had gathered in the room, the Primates gathered there, I gathered as the boy in the room, and the discussion was held. And I think it was I, but someone asked the question: ”˜Are we leaving the Anglican Communion?’ And immediately all said: ”˜No we are not leaving the Anglican Communion; that is not the intention, we would never do that.’ But our intention is to gather up the fragments of the Anglican Communion. And what GAFCON has done, particularly in North America, has been to gather up the fragments and to unite and to make sure that our beloved friends like Archbishop Bob Duncan here today, our beloved friends are kept and recognised as the authentic true Anglicans that they are, and that they don’t have to pretend to be something else. (Acclaim and applause)

And of course it is not only the North Americans but others as well, and this is going to happen in other places around the Communion, indeed it has begun to happen in other places around the Communion, where to stand for Biblical truth is going to cost you very, very dearly indeed, as it has cost our brothers here. And then you will have to ask yourself: who are our friends? Who will stand with us? And GAFCON is a way of delivering friendship, it is a way of delivering unity, it is a way of making sure that to quote the immortal words of a Nigerian bishop at our last meeting in London: ”˜Now we know we are not alone’ [Approval]. I’ve never forgotten him saying that.

That’s GAFCON: Now we know that we are not alone.

Now, as we heard this morning, the Anglican Communion 21st Century is going to look very, very different from the Anglican Communion that began the 21st Century ”“ that’s obvious. Indeed it is not only going to look different, it is different, it already is different. The events of 2008, little did we know it, was the birth of something new in the Anglican Communion. And in a sense GAFCON is called I believe to model what a Communion could be, a different Communion. I like to put it this way: that the British Empire is dead but the British Commonwealth of nations has followed.

There’s a different partnership, a different equality between the partners now, a bringing together of bishops, laity and clergy, altogether in a great conference where all may play their part, and a way of modelling and being the Anglican Communion for the sake of the whole Gospel, of Christ and the Gospel, in a way which will bring our gifts to bear for the sake of one another. That’s a great picture, and I believe in microcosm this is what the FCA movement is already and has begun to be.

Here is, when thirteen hundred and – now last night it was thirteen hundred and fifty-two, this morning it is thirteen hundred and forty-eight and one baby from Nigeria I believe ”“ are gathering in Nairobi.

1,352 Anglican Christians are gathering here in Nairobi for a week in which we are going to seek, according to Archbishop Wabukala, we are going to seek the Glory of God.

Our prayer is that we may see the Glory of God in this week together and go home changed. We are going to hear about the East African Revival. We are going to be challenged by it. We from the West are going to be deeply challenged about the East African Revival. We are going to hear about the Persecuted Church. We are going to hear from each other. We are going to minister to each other. We are going to hear the Word of God together and sit underneath the teaching of the Word of God. It is I believe that we are going to sing the praises of God and worship together.

It is I believe going to be an extraordinary week, not just a sort of missions conference, something I know +Bob Duncan was worried about, but it is an ecclesial conference – it is more than that. [Oh you mean I’ve learned something from you?] Archbishop Duncan is always hoping I am going to learn something from him, and I have. (laughter). It is more than just a conference, it is more than that.

Now we are deeply in prayer, Archbishop Wabukala told us to be in prayer we will see the Glory of God. For my part I have asked that we will see that the Lord will maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, because Unity is what we are about.

Now that’s the genesis of FCA, GAFCON, and I have talked about it’s meaning.

And just to conclude by saying it has two great Purposes:

– First of all to recognise and authenticate Anglicans, who for no fault of their own, in a stand for Biblical truth have become disaffiliated from their own denomination or original church ”“ to gather up the fragments of Christ’s church, and to maintain them in unity.

– And then Secondly, to bring together Anglicans from all around the world – [we’re not the only Anglicans, of course, that would be nonsense] ”“ but to bring together Anglicans from all around the world, to release the energy of the Anglican Communion for the sake of: the Mission of the Gospel; the Sovereignty of God’s Word; the Glory of God’s Name; and the Good of God’s People.

Dear brothers and sisters as we are here today enjoying this wonderful occasion together, let’s remember what’s drawn us together, the Glory of God, and let us join in prayer that we will indeed see the Glory of God this week in Nairobi. (Applause)

The day began with a Eucharist in Nairobi Cathedral where there was standing room only. Afterwards the 331 bishops, over a third of those in the Anglican Communion, gathered for a group photograph in which they gave the “One-way” sign.

In his chairman’s address Archbishop Eliud Wabukala of Kenya said the challenge facing the church “is that the nations which were once the spiritual powerhouses of world wide mission have now become deeply secularised and even hostile to the Christian faith”.

“What really rots the fabric of the Communion is the process by which weak churches are gradually taken captive by the surrounding culture,” he said.

Read it all.

After morning tea we turned to the opening plenary session and the chairman’s address. Archbishop Wabakula of Kenya is a softly-spoken man but even his gentle voice could not disguise the power of what he had to say. We reported yesterday that Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had been challenged by the Primates in their meeting and Wabukala had equally firm words to say. Here’s the key paragraph,

Five years on, the paralysis of which we spoke has intensified. And it has become clear that the Communion now needs new wineskins, a new way of ordering its affairs to fulfil the world wide scope of the Great Commission. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury has now come to this conclusion and I am grateful for

His Grace’s honesty in acknowledging that the Anglican Communion’s neo- colonial leadership structures need to be replaced when he preached here at All Saints Cathedral last Sunday. However, it is difficult to see how stable and effective leadership can be developed unless the depth of the spiritual crisis we face is acknowledged. Organisational change on its own will not be enough. Even the very weak theological discipline of the Anglican Covenant has failed to win consent despite years of negotiation and the Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer able to gather the Communion.

Or, put in simpler terms, it’s not enough for Welby to visit GAFCON and tell them that he recognises that the current structures are failing. If he will not deal with the real issues (the apostasy of the American and Canadian churches) then GAFCON will continue on without him. He no longer commands any leadership amongst them.

Read it all.

The full transcript of Abp. Wabukala’s “Chairman’s Address” to the morning Plenary Session at GAFCON II today in Nairobi. Highly recommended.

It is quite impossible or us to experience worship and fellowship like this and ignore the global scope of the gospel. This is God’s revealed truth and saving for all people in all times an the Anglican Communion at it best demarcates this reality. Historically its origins lie in the expansion of the English speaking world, but here we are in Africa where, as elsewhere, the gospel has taken root in very different cultures. This is the Global Anglican Future conference because biblical Anglicanism is by its very nature global ”“ not merely because of our history, but because the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ is to ”˜all nations’ (Matt28:19).

The challenge we face is that the nations which were once the spiritual powerhouses of world wide mission have now become deeply secularised and even hostile to the Christian faith and the Churches of those lands have more often than not been strongly influenced by the societies in which they are set. I am aware that for some of you, the threat of violence from Islamic extremism may be uppermost your minds, and we have had a painful reminder of that reality recently here in Kenya, but that which really rots the fabric of the Communion is the much more insidious process by which weak churches are gradually taken captive by the surrounding culture.

Those of us in Africa and the Global South have no room for complacency. A few weeks ago we discussed GAFCON in our Provincial Synod and one senior layman remarked that GAFCON is for the sake of our children. There are powerful and well funded organisations working to see Kenya and other African nations adopt the same values which are causing so much havoc to faith and family and society in the West and we must confront these challenges together as a truly global Communion.

One hundred years ago, what is now Kenya teemed with wildlife which roamed freely through the land. Now our wildlife is largely limited to special game reserves and some worry about possible extinctions. I think this is a picture of what is happening in part of the Anglican Communion. There are those who would like to see orthodox Anglicans allotted a reserve in which they must stay and not challenge false teaching and it is very sad to see faithful people struggling for a place to survive in such compromised Churches. Orthodox Anglicans who feel themselves beleaguered should never settle to be thought of merely as an endangered species called ”˜traditionalists’ because our Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans links us together as what we are, a global majority.

Read it all.

Q: If you had to name or or two ways that we could pray specifically for the conference what would those be?

A: Pray that God would pour out His Holy Spirit for the beginning of a new revival throughout the church through what He can accomplish at this gathering. Pray for the persecuted church throughout the world which is widely represented by many in attendance. Pray for the health and safety of all gathered.

Q: What has struck you most about being in a different place with so many Anglicans from so many varied locales?

A: This is what heaven will be like someday, and what a joyous opportunity to get a taste of it now….

Read it all.

Reality struck home today.

There are forces within the Anglican Church that are making it hard for some of our brothers and sisters to remain Anglican. There are forces outside the Anglican Church that are making it hard for some of our brothers and sisters to remain Christian.

Just recently I gave a talk in which I quoted Paul in 2 Timothy 3: In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. I almost want to go back to that group of people and apologise for trying to unpack what Paul meant without any real understanding.

Read it all.

Gafcon II began on a different key than its first assembly in 2008. The anger-tinged passion that drove the Jerusalem conference is absent from Nairobi and there is a confidence in the vigor of the global reform movement.

Yet, for its successes ”“ playing midwife to the birth of the Anglican Church in North America, expanding the circle of supporters across the globe, garnering acknowledgement from Canterbury — the movement is in the midst of a reimagining of its identity.

“Who are we” asked Dr. Peter Jensen, the Gafcon General Secretary in the opening address to the 1352 delegates from 40 countries representing 28 provinces. Will we be here in five years, he mused.

The 21-26 October 2013 conference is expected to give direction to the movement ”“ but to where remains unclear.

Read it all.

A senior figure in the Church of Ireland has criticized members of his own church for being dismissive of Catholics.

Anglican Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin also said his members needed to be kinder to fellow Protestants who had married Catholics.

Referring to a recent political debate on abortion, Archbishop Jackson said, “I remember earlier this year the deeply pejorative remarks I heard directed against the Roman Catholic Church by members of these dioceses to me because of its stance and principle on abortion.

“The comments were conversational but it was, more than anything, the assumption of an entitlement to be dismissive more than the criticism of content of the other tradition that came across as instinctive,” he said, writing in The Irish Times newspaper.

Read it all.

You may find the video here.

Watch it all (a little over 33 minutes).

Update: a short 3 minute video with excerpts from the Press Conference may be found here.

Archbishop Welby’s whirlwind visit to Nairobi on Sunday provided an opportunity for him to take the measure of six Primates and half-a-dozen other key leaders, including the General Secretary of GAFCON, Dr Peter Jensen, and the retired Nigerian Archbishop, the Most Revd Peter Akinola, in a private meeting at All Saints’ Cathedral.

The conservatives also had an opportunity to size up Archbishop Welby. All of those questioned after the meetings expressed a personal regard for the man, but were sceptical that his office could provide a solution to the divisions within the Church if it sought to take a neutral stance.

“Archbishop Welby’s statement ‘The old ways are no longer appropriate, the old structures no longer work,’ given on the eve of GAFCON, give us hope,” Dr Jensen said. Nevertheless, the future envisioned by Archbishop Welby “began with GAFCON 2008”, Dr Jensen said. “It’s time for him to catch up.”

Read it all (scroll to the bottom of the page).

We’ve found already just in the first half day how many people from around the world appreciate this website, but also how many are not aware of the material that is available to help resist the tide of pansexualism. Other ministries being displayed range from mission and evangelism, relief and development, and theological education.

One such ministry is BUILD, a programme developed by the Church of Uganda over the past decade. This provides biblically faithful training for local clergy and lay ministers in the midst of the ministry they are already doing. The programme takes them through a series of modules which participants complete in groups and on their own, that systematically build biblical knowledge, practical skills and godly character, in a way that enables them to equip others ”“ so it has a multiplying effect. Hundreds have so far been trained in this way at comparatively low cost. The church is beginning to share the programme with neighbouring Anglican Provinces. Canon Stephen Kewaza has been leading the programme from the COU education department. More can be found on www.buildcurriculum.org . Over the next few days I hope to feature more ministries like this from the global south….
Recently retired Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen, the secretary for GAFCON 2, had to briefly fight back tears as was overwhelmed by the reality of the fulfillment of months of hard work and preparation. A list of countries represented was read out, which included Bermuda, Burundi, Fiji, Argentina, Gambia, India, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Singapore, South Sudan, Uganda, Germany, Sierra Leone and many others. Why are we here? Jensen asked, and said that the structures of the old communion could not contain the new wine of today’s confessing Anglicans. Our task is repentance from “captivity to the world”, and recovery of the true Gospel which leads to transformation. “We are here to support each other especially where there is false teaching in the church, and where there is poverty and persecution.”

Jensen explained that a drafting committee will work on communiqué and statement to be read out at the end of the conference. But a word of warning: “We can plan a conference, but what is God’s plan? What is he going to do? Something different and unusual? How will God manifest his glory here?”

Read it all.

ARCHBISHOP Stanley Ntagali is expected to lead a delegation of 200 people from Uganda, to attend a global conference of church leaders to discuss the gay crisis in the Anglican Church.

Read it all from an article the day the conference began.

Asked if GAFCON was a breakaway Anglican movement, Secretary of the Primates Council Archbishop Peter Jensen said: “Nothing could be further from the truth. It wishes to work in [and] with the Anglican Communion on the very issues Archbishop Welby mentioned. We seek to model how the communion can be when it insists on strong theological standards.”

Archbishop Welby is clearly taking note of the words of the Primates Council of GAFCON when it met in London in April 2012 and said that the Primates Meeting of the Anglican Communion should elect their own chairman.

This conference was not supposed to happen. There was no trigger event like the Lambeth conference and its invitation to the consecrators of Gene Robinson to attend, which lit the fuse for the first GAFCON in Jerusalem in 2008. GAFCON at Jerusalem was ignored by the Anglican instruments of communion because they did not believe it would happen.

Read it all.

Amid deep division in the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Sunday emphasized the need for mission and evangelism.

“The more seriously we take the Bible, the more effectively we will be able to deal with our divisions,” Welby said.

Read it all.

Makes the heart glad–KSH (Photo courtesy of David Ould).

Bishop Robert Paterson says without an injection of public funds – or a massive donation from private sources – many of the 45 Anglican churches will become un-usable within 20-30 years.

Some need expensive structural repairs and the bishop says smaller congregations simply won’t be able to raise the funds needed to put things right.

Read and listen to it all.

You may find the video here.

Watch it all and form your own conclusions and make your own prayerful evaluations (a little over 27 minutes).

The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, left Abuja Sunday as the head of Nigeria’s 470-man delegation to Kenya, to attend the second Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), opening today.

Read it all.

When we step back and take a deep breath, we come to understand that there is much at which to wonder. The Rev. Bill Cliff, Huron University College’s chaplain, is fond of saying, “If the gospel isn’t astonishing, you’re not reading it right.”

If we’re going to engage in Christian youth ministry that matters, we need to reawaken our sense of awe, wonder and astonishment. If we are not captivated by the Christian story, how can we expect our children to find it relevant?

Read it all.