Appeals to scriptural authority and the urgency of a revival that spread across East Africa characterized the opening session of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday. The evening spotlighted the experience of Global South Christians who are both hosting the conference and leading the renewal movement.

“If you are to get anything from East Africa at GAFCON 2, revival begins with an individual,” shared Dr. John Senyonyi of Uganda Christian University. “Revival doesn’t begin with the church, it begins with me when the Holy Spirit convicts me, I bow and say ‘Lord, may you begin with me.'”

Senyonyi was one of several speakers who came to faith through the 1930s-1970s revival, but warned of danger in talking of it as though it were a relic of history when it was a “lived experience” that could be shared in.

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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.

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It is easy in a gathering like GAFCON to see only the things that set us apart. To hear only the different accents, to have the eye caught up in the beads, and the linen, the silk and the embroidery, and to get lost in colour for a while, and then to continue the worldwide pastime of separating pale and dark. To look around and see only difference. Here. And Here. And Here.

But that would be settling for the surface of things as the way things are. And it is not the way things are for believers.

In the first gathering at GAFCON we sing and pray, and listen to the word of God together, because of our communion, not because of our difference. We sing songs of praise to God because we are thankful that there is something that binds us together that is stronger than cloth, stronger than colour.

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TALK about taking control of your own romantic destiny! Amid the quagmire of crazy bride stories we’ve heard this week has emerged a pearler about a woman who got married to, well, herself.

Mary-Anne was apparently so upset at turning 30 without a ring she threw herself a big fake wedding at a five-star venue with about 100 guests.

The Melbourne woman’s wedding planner Sarah McCawley from weddingwish.com.au says it was one of the most memorable weddings she has ever organised.

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Clearly this payout trend is unsustainable, but what politician dare touch it?

Social Security is not that difficult a problem in theory (at least in comparison to Medicare), except for the politics of it all. Numerous things could be done to put the system in the green.

Possible Ways to Make Social Security Actuarially Sound

Raise retirement age
Raise or eliminate the cap on payroll taxes
Cut benefits
Collect Social Security on personal income
Implement a Tiered Cap structure
Means Testing

Democrats would oppose 1 and 3. Republicans might oppose all but 3. So, how does this mess end if politicians won’t touch it?

Read it all and make sure to take a careful look at the charts.

–Milwaukee, WI, October 21, 2013

Over the last decade there has been a steady exodus of the faithful out of The Episcopal Church, USA. One congregation, Holy Cross Anglican Church, was one of those. And, after two years of meeting in a classroom for Sunday Worship, Holy Cross is now meeting at 550 N 95th St. Milwaukee 53226.
Holy Cross is growing and helping other grow as followers of Christ as well.
From one of the newer families that have joined us since Spring, 2013 says this about Holy Cross,

Holy Cross is a great place for families to worship together. When our family visited Holy Cross for the first time, we were delighted with how welcoming the congregation is. They didn’t mind that we had our baby with us, or even that she wasn’t perfectly quiet the whole time. In fact, having small children participating in worship is regarded as a blessing by the congregation. At Holy Cross, you will find generations of families worshiping together, being fed by the faithful preaching of the gospel and by the sacraments. For this reason, and for many others, I really believe that the spiritual life of our family is greatly nourished by our involvement at Holy Cross and that it is a great place for our little one to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord. ”“ Caleb Evans

Holy Cross Anglican Church
Exists to
Make disciples of Jesus Christ,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
And teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded us. Matthew 28:19-20

If you would like more information about this church, please contact Fr. Patrick Malone at (262) 207-4113 or email at HolyCrossAnglicanWI [at] gmail[dot] com.

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).

Leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) refuted characterizations in the western press of the gathering as a breakaway movement, with recently retired Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney responding that “nothing could be further from the truth.”

Instead, the FCA General Secretary portrayed the movement as seeking to model how the worldwide Anglican Communion can function “particularly when the Communion insists on strong theological standards” centering on the bible.

“There is a temptation to change Christian faith to comply with surrounding culture,” Dr Jensen observed at the press conference on the opening day, October 21st, 2013. “We think this has occurred far too often in the world.”

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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.

Check it out (Hat tip to Lent and Beyond) .

The Archbishop was visiting Kenya to offer condolence and solidarity following the attack, while encouraging Archbishop Eliud and other bishops and clergy ministering around the Nairobi area.

Following his sermon Archbishop Justin had lunch with Archbishop Eliud, five Kenyan bishops and those Anglican primates who had arrived early in Nairobi for the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which starts today.

The Archbishop was unable to attend the conference due to a prior engagement in Iceland and the baptism of Prince George in London, but has sent a video greeting.

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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.

Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves this day. Let thy presence be with us to its close. Strengthen us to remember that in whatsoever good work we do we are serving thee. Give us a diligent and watchful spirit, that we may seek in all things to know thy will, and knowing it, gladly to perform it, to the honour and glory of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

–1 Corinthians 15:41-50

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.

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Three people, including a girl aged eight, died when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a wedding party outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo.

At least nine others were wounded in the attack in Giza, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Egypt’s Coptic Christian community has been targeted by some Islamists who accuse the Church of backing the army’s overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July.

The unidentified attackers fired indiscriminately as people left the church

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