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 a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in June 2008 for the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON: News, 4 January). They are travelling to the places of Christ’s ministry, where the gift of the Holy Spirit was first poured out, in order to strengthen them for what they believe will be difficult days ahead.
The vision, according to the Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Revd Benjamin Nzimbi, is to inform and inspire the invited leaders “to seek transformation in our own lives and help impact communities and societies through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
The convening Primates have said that their pastoral responsibility requires that they provide an opportunity for their bishops, who would normally have looked to the Lambeth Conference, to meet for prayer, fellowship, and counsel, on matters vital to their Church’s mission and ministry.
[blockquote]Bishops and their wives, and clergy and laity, including the next generation of young leaders, will attend GAFCON.[/blockquote]
If I might be so bold as to suggest two names to the organizers of the Conference: Father Matt Kennedy and Father David Handy. Both are intellectually gifted, probable leaders of the next generation, but also both gentlemen are great communicators. It is important to disseminate the results of the conference to Anglican world, and I think that Fathers Kennedy and Handy could contribute in this regard.
One of the most obvious points (to me) about GAFCON no one seems to have picked up is unlike Lambeth, at GAFCON the Bishops will decide the agenda not the ACC. I wish them well in their deliberations.
Jon R
What Anglo-Catholic bishops will be going?
And so they will decide what?
On the whole I am broadly supportive of GAFCON and similar international alliances. I Especially appreciate the openness of those organising this, and that’s why I feel paragraphs such as this are unhelpful:
[i]Responses have been positive: One senior English cleric spoke for many: “We have to find a way which does not leave us endlessly stuck waiting for decisions which never come and allow us to move on with the gospel.†Another called the decision to hold the conference “momentousâ€. From East Africa, a senior official has written: “The vision is timely.â€[/i]
Why the anonymity? It can only be to the good of all to know who is in favour of this event. Who are these senior clerics?
Re: #3
Perhaps Rowan Williams himself, or a representative?
No. 6 – Certainly interesting if true.