Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America will be attending the GAFCON/Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Primates meeting in London next week. The gathering set for 13-17 April 2015 is expected to plot the future course of the global Anglican reform movement as well as review the agenda set by its 2013 Nairobi Conference.
Next week’s London meeting is expected to discuss the issue of whether to support a parallel Anglican jurisdiction akin to the Anglican Church in North America for England, and how such support should be shown.
++Beach writes:
[blockquote] “Each Primate is stepping away from serious issues in his own country to be at this gathering for the sake of worldwide Anglicanism. I am confident God will honor the sacrifices made by all.” [/blockquote]
That is an easy thing to forget. These conferences take place at the cost of significant sacrifice, and time may be the greatest sacrifice of all, since each of these Primates has more than enough to occupy them at home. But they understand that what happens in England over the next few years affects all Anglicans.
[blockquote] “To achieve this end, the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) had been “authorised by the GAFCON Primates to work within and, where necessary, outside the structures of the Church of England as a missionary societyâ€.” [/blockquote]
Yes it had. And that vision has now advanced, with many local incumbents of English parishes becoming committed to it. But its still very early days.
[blockquote] “Next week’s London meeting is expected to discuss the issue of whether to support a parallel Anglican jurisdiction akin to the Anglican Church in North America for England, and how such support should be shown.” [/blockquote]
That will be difficult. The situation is not the same as in USA, and there are many pitfalls, including legal ones. Pray for the Primates and for the leaders of orthodox parishes and interest groups in England as they try to chart the best way through this maze.
The 2014 ReNew Conference took place last September and the next one is less than 6 months away. The ReNew Chairman comments on the work going on at the grass roots level in England:
[blockquote] “At ReNew 2014 we reaffirmed the centrality of the local church in reaching the Nation with the Gospel of Christ. This year the focus will be on local churches working in Gospel partnership to win the Nation. I am convinced that this Biblical model of interdependent healthy local churches is vital for our goal of re-evangelising Britain in the 21st century. I pray that many church leaders, lay and ordained, will commit to stand shoulder to shoulder for this end.” [/blockquote]
Without this vision at the congregational level, there is no point talking about parallel jurisdictions .
And who knows? Perhaps CofE will yet step back from the precipice that TEC cheerfully leapt over…