http://fca.net/ Latest news fom FCA United Kingdom en-us Tue, 10 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT Tue, 10 Jun 2009 09:41:01 GMT Expression Engine webmaster@fca.net webmaster@fca.net 5 /uk/news/being_faithful_now_available_for_download/ The Commentary on the landmark Anglican ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ has been released in digital form and is available for immediate download.

More details at the GAFCON site and a copy has been posted in FCA resources. 2010-02-17T13:30:06+00:00 /uk/news/being_faithful_now_available_for_download/ /uk/news/open_letter_from_gafcon_primates_to_fca_uk_and_ireland/ RELEASED: October 20, 2009, 10am

Wednesday October 14th, 2009

To: The Organising and Executive Committee of FCA-UK and Ireland

The Rev’d Paul Perkin, Chairman

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We, the GAFCON Primates Council, are deeply thankful for your report of the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK and Ireland) on July 6th, which gathered many of those who remain committed “to the faith once delivered to the saints”.

We have heard your distress about the marginalization of some of those seeking to maintain and strengthen Gospel witness in Anglican Churches. In particular, we note your concern about the difficulties faced by those of orthodox Anglican conviction in the process of discernment, selection, training and deployment in ordained ministry. We also share your grief over the lack of adequate recognition and support of newly formed congregations arising from faithful Gospel witness. It is evident that your churches are not immune to the crisis and divisions that have so deeply assaulted other parts of the Anglican Communion

We are encouraged by your commitment to work for an internal solution that can address these deep concerns. Steps taken early enough to make provision to address them can preserve good order. We firmly support your efforts to ensure the provision of appropriate oversight, and if this is not forthcoming, to provide it.

We welcome the formation of the FCA-UK and acknowledge its Executive Committee as the authentic voice of a very broad coalition of orthodox theological perspectives. We are also encouraged that having embraced the Jerusalem Declaration you are in fellowship with the Primates Council and wish to be accountable to us as a branch of FCA worldwide.

And so, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Jude 20,21)

On behalf of the Primates’ Council



+Peter Abuja

For Media Interviews:

Revd Paul Perkin: +4420 732 69412

Canon Chris Sugden: +441865 883388


2009-10-20T10:32:24+00:00 /uk/news/open_letter_from_gafcon_primates_to_fca_uk_and_ireland/ /uk/news/fellowship_of_confessing_anglicans_consultation_algarve_portugal_november_1/ November 17th – 19th 2009

Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Consultation: Algarve Portugal

At the Jerusalem GAFCON Conference in June 2008, representatives of 40 million churchgoing Anglicans affirmed the historic and orthodox Anglican faith in the Jerusalem Statement. This restates the power of the good news of Jesus Christ to bring us together across continents and cultures into the global fellowship of the Anglican Communion. The mission of making this good news known is currently being hindered and obstructed in many ways by belief and behaviour in church leadership that is contrary to the teaching of the Bible and the apostles.

To this end the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans ( http://www.fca.net) was launched at the Jerusalem Conference. We are a fellowship of people united in the communion of the one Spirit and committed to work and pray together in the common mission of Christ. It is a ‘confessing fellowship’ in that its members confess the faith of Christ crucified, stand firm for the gospel in the global and Anglican context, and affirm a contemporary rule, the Jerusalem Declaration, to guide the movement for the future. We are a fellowship of Anglicans, including provinces, dioceses, churches, missionary jurisdictions, para-church organisations and individual Anglican Christians whose goal is to help reform, heal and revitalise the Anglican Communion and expand its mission to the world. The Jerusalem Declaration is the basis of our fellowship.

The Fellowship in the UK and Ireland was launched in London on July 6th. Continental European representatives who were present mooted the possibility of a further “coming together” to explore this thinking – an opportunity for worship, discussion, prayer and discernment. In support of this a Consultation in the sunny Algarve is to be held 17th -19th November.

All who identify with the GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration will be warmly welcomed

Venue : Centro Paroquial e Social da Diocese do Algarve, Portugal
Date : 17th – 19th November 2009
Cost : +/- €150 inclusive of Accommodation and meals but excluding transport
Nearest Airport : Faro

Leaders and Speakers:
Bishop John Ellison, Former Bishop of Paraguay and Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Winchester
Bishop Martin Morrison (CESA)
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Secretary of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK and Ireland)
Rev’d Charles Raven, Rector of Christ Church, Wyre Forest and Director of SPREAD International, http://www.anglicanspread.org

Contact : Chris Sugden at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for further information
Confirmed bookings and payment by 15th October 2009 via http://www.anglican-mainstream.net click on “Donate” and follow the instructions 2009-10-01T10:48:07+00:00 /uk/news/fellowship_of_confessing_anglicans_consultation_algarve_portugal_november_1/ /uk/news/dvd_of_be_fathful_launch_of_fellowship_of_confessing_anglicans_uk_and_irela/ The DVD of the July 6th Be Faithful launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK and Ireland) has now been produced by Anglican TV.

Presentations from

Rev Paul Perkin (Chair, FCA UK and Ireland) – Opening Bible Reading

Dr Chik Kaw Tan (Malaysia and UK) Testimony to the Uniqueness of Christ

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh – Greetings from the Chair of the Primates Council, Archbishop Peter Akinola

Bishop John Hind (Chichester)

Archbishop Greg Venables (Southern Cone)

Lady Caroline Cox – Presentation on Anglican International Development work in Sudan

Bishop Keith Ackerman (Anglican Church of North America) The Situation in North America

Bishop Keith Broadhurst welcomes and interviews Archbishop Bob Duncan, Moderator Bishop of the Anglican Church of North America

Archbishop Peter Jensen (Sydney) Secretary of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans – Why the Jerusalem Statement matters

Rev Vaughan Roberts (Oxford) Why FCA UK and Ireland?

Canon Vinay Samuel (India) Mission in the context of the challenge of aggressive secularism

Bishop Wallace Benn (Lewes) Bible reading on Fellowship

Bishop Michael Nazir Ali Homily at the Eucharist summing up the day.

It is available from AnglicanTV http://www.anglicantv.org or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for £10 including post and packing. It will come with a DVD of the filmed presentations included on the day, including an interview with Dr J.I.Packer, a 7 minute presentation on the work of the Episcopal Church of Sudan supported by Anglican International Development and a 22 minute Highlights presentation from the Jerusalem 2008 GAFCON conference.

Orders can be placed

a) By mail with a cheque for £10 to Anglican Mainstream, 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE, United Kingdom

b) By Paypal, by clicking on Donate on www.anglican-mainstream.net and following the guidelines 2009-09-26T09:53:24+00:00 /uk/news/dvd_of_be_fathful_launch_of_fellowship_of_confessing_anglicans_uk_and_irela/ /uk/news/fca_welcomes_new_primate_of_nigeria/ GAFCON/FCA welcomes new Primate of Nigeria

Media Statement 16/9/09

Archbishop Nicholas Orogodo Okoh has been elected as the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).

The news of his election was announced after Episcopal Synod held on 15th September, 2009.

56 year old Archbishop Okoh is currently the Archbishop of Bendel Province and bishop of Asaba.

Archbishop Dr Peter Jensen, general secretary of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) welcomed the news "Nicholas Okoh was present at the foundation of GAFCON and has played a leading part in the movement. Archbishop Okoh has made a significant contribution as the Chairman of the Theological Resource group. He is an able and committed Christian leader and we warmly welcome his appointment."
2009-09-15T23:39:54+00:00 /uk/news/fca_welcomes_new_primate_of_nigeria/ /uk/news/the_need_for_gafcon/ The need for GAFCON

Presentation at the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Southern Africa, Port Elizabeth, September 3 2009

Chris Sugden

Why was it necessary for the Primates of Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Southern Cone to invite Anglicans from around the world to meet with them and their bishops in Jerusalem in June 2008 for the Global Anglican Future Conference? You have with you today three people who were in the room when that decision was taken: Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, Canon Vinay Samuel and myself.

My privilege this morning is to set out why GAFCON Jerusalem 2008 was necessary.

The immediate cause for GAFCON was the invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams to those who had consecrated Gene Robinson as a Bishop to attend the Lambeth Conference. This invitation was sent in July 2007, and the timing was significant as I will show later.

Following this invitation, Archbishop Peter Akinola made a visit in October 2007 at his own expense to London to meet with Archbishop Rowan Williams to ask him most seriously to delay the Lambeth Conference until the issue of the consecration of Gene Robinson by the Episcopal Church could be resolved. When Archbishop Williams proved immovable on this certain things became crystal clear to Archbishop Akinola and his colleagues.

First, all that they had done since 1998 to state and clarify both the scriptural teaching of the Anglican Communion, and its pastoral response from a biblical perspective to those in same-sex relationships, had achieved nothing. The result of this process was that there was no clear message of Anglican identity. The account of this ten year process is given by Archbishop Akinola in his article: “A most agonizing journey towards Lambeth 2008” which is the opening chapter of The Way, the Truth and the Life (Latimer Trust 2008). The question was therefore would more of the same achieve anything further.

Second, those who had defied this teaching would be fully part of the spiritual, table, Eucharistic and conciliar fellowship of the bishops of the Anglican Communion for three weeks. By refusing to join them, these African archbishops were not refusing to come to a table to discuss an issue about which there was disagreement. For them it was a matter of the witness of the Church – did its senior leaders in the highest councils of a hierarchical church endorse the actions of people who had made a bishop of a divorced man, living now in an active same-sex relationship outside the Christian teaching on marriage and engage with them as equally faithful shepherds of the flock of Christ?

230 serving bishops – over a quarter of those eligible to attend Lambeth, said they would not do this. For them it was a conflict about the nature of truth. Was truth to be found in endless discussion, at an open table, in an indaba process where no revelation was given or to be apprehended, or in unbounded diversity? The so-called open table is already biased in favour of a non-biblical agenda as it assumes that all opinions are of equal worth, even those that reject the bible’s teaching. The indaba process is designed for communities where the moral boundaries and the system of governance is settled and not up for discussion: it is not designed to investigate or invent or design those boundaries. True diversity for these bishops was to be found in the expression of different gifts of the Holy Spirit, discovered and exercised in adherence to scriptural and Christological distinctives. In sharp contrast the prevailing passion for diversity pushes these distinctives to the margins.

These bishops were not against dialogue and discussion. They were against being part of a dialogue of senior Christian leaders that had no accountability to any revealed truth.

Third, these archbishops had come to the conclusion that more of the same discussions that had preceded Lambeth would not achieve anything further. The resolutions of the Lambeth Conference of 1998 had been ignored. Why should they believe any further resolutions would resolve matters or be followed? Then the decisions of the Primates Meeting had been overridden. The Primates’ Meeting in Dromantine in Ireland in 2005 had decided that the American and Canadian churches would be asked to withdraw their participation in the councils of the Church until they had responded to the requests made of them through the Windsor Report. But they attended the ACC meeting in Nottingham in 2006 and now were being invited to the 2008 Lambeth. Further, the Primates Meeting in Dar-es-Salaam in 2007 had specifically asked for responses from those churches to requests by the Primates Meeting by September 30 2007. Three months before those responses were given, the bishops of those churches were invited to Lambeth 2008. So those responses were rendered irrelevant and the Primates’ request vain. Further the strong request of the Primates’ meeting in 2007 that all litigation against orthodox churches in North America be dropped was and continues to be ignored.

As these Primates reflected on these developments, or rather lack of developments between 2003 and 2007, they came to the conclusion that a new approach was needed. They needed to take council with their bishops, and clergy and lay people.

From what transpired at Jerusalem in 2008 we can see a number of contours of this new approach taking shape.

First, they would call for a coalition of the willing – of those who would stand publicly with Anglican faith and practice as set out in the Anglican formularies. Over 1200 people from 27 provinces of the Communion responded to their invitation to meet. They represented at least over 40 million of the 55 million churchgoing Anglicans around the world.

Secondly, they called for Anglicans to return to their roots to discover who we are. Primarily this was to their roots in scripture as the supreme authority for faith and conduct. But to engage with scripture they felt strongly called to return to the places where scripture if one can put it this way, took place: where God spoke and acted in history to and for his people. It was not an easy decision to meet in Jerusalem and was beset with many difficulties. But meeting in Jerusalem was very powerful. We met in a city whose life had been shaped by the word of God, We met in the place, on the steps of the temple, where Peter had preached the risen Jesus and opened that life to the whole world. For me, as a member of the Church of England, it was very powerful indeed to realize that my spiritual roots belonged here, where Abraham had been called to sacrifice Isaac on the Mount of Moriah; where the Old Testament worship had taken place; where Jesus had taught and been tried, been crucified and raised; and where the Holy Spirit had been given to empower the disciples for mission. And here were 1200 of us, from the nations of the world, the fruit of that mission 2000 years later gathered to worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. Rome, Canterbury, Geneva, New York are just not in the same league. Our Anglican roots are not in the sixteenth century, nor in the sixth century, but in the Holy Land all the way back to Abraham. People are Anglicans because of their biblical faith, not because they are approved by one or another structure.

Thirdly, the Primates trusted the Holy Spirit moving among his people to guide us. There was no prepared text or even papers for us to discuss at Jerusalem. There were bible studies and study groups, but no texts. Yet, as the week progressed, in bible study groups, workshop groups, and regional groups, the participants found they came to a common mind about the nature of Anglican identity and mission. This they expressed in the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration. There were scenes of great joy when the statement was read and adopted. We were so thrilled that God had led us from all our backgrounds, and cultures and traditions to be rooted in the same understanding of his Word and our faith.

Fourthly, this leads to the point that this movement does not depend on a centralized bureaucracy. It was the development of such a centralized bureaucracy over the last 40 years that had undermined the orthodoxy of the Anglican Communion. For a large bureaucracy requires large funds to support it and this hands control to funders and fund raisers.

In sharp contrast to this centralized approach, the approach of GAFCON and the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has been to enable each parish, congregation and committed person to contribute. That is why it is so good to be having this meeting here in St John’s Walmer. At our launch in London, one church provided all the staffing for the stewarding; another group of churches provided the staffing for the worship service. This enables local churches and people to know they have a significance in having a larger role themselves. The development of FCA South Africa will not be a matter of setting up a central office to do the work: it will be a matter of many small battalions all over the place moving things forward as part of a larger movement.

The heart and root of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans certainly in the UK and Ireland is in the life and work of local churches where mission is done and their leadership. We have determined to build on the space we have and relate internationally to the other Fellowships and the Primates’ Council.

And fifthly the controlling paradigm is mission. It was the argument of those who called GAFCON that the mission of the Anglican church was being severely hindered by the unwillingness of the church to be consistently biblically faithful in its discipline and practice of marriage. They argued that issues of sexuality had crowded out other vital issues for the church to engage with: therefore they engaged with those issues at Jerusalem. The focus of the Jerusalem Conference was on the Lordship of Jesus, the authority of the scriptures, the kingdom of God, the centrality of a strong doctrine of the cross, church planting, enterprise solutions to poverty and the gospel’s engagement with secularism and other religions. Following Jerusalem the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in the UK at the request of the Primates Council has established Anglican International Development to enable local churches to partner churches, Dioceses and provinces in gospel shaped development with resources, skills, contacts and support.

Sixthly, the controlling driver for mission is theology, not ideology. The GAFCON Primates Council as it became, commissioned a Theological Resource Group to provide a preparatory study for the Jerusalem Conference which is available as The Way, the Truth and the Life. It has also commissioned this Theological Resource Group to produce a commentary on the Jerusalem Declaration.

So the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans was formed to address two tasks: first to take forward the mission of the church, and preach the transforming biblical gospel so that people can come to know Christ and second to provide support and protection and fellowship for those faithful Anglicans who were being persecuted for their orthodox faith and who need recognition and authentication. In particular the Primates Council has provided encouragement to those in the United States to form their own new entity, the Anglican Church in North America.

Finally, why Confessing Anglicans? Public confession of the apostolic faith is needed to identify where orthodox Anglicans stand in relation to the current challenges. It is not saying that we are the only faithful Anglicans. It is reaffirming Anglican identity and rooting it in the apostolic faith, belonging to a Christian church which is centered on the gospel and bounded by Scripture. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans invites others who share this confession to stand clearly and firmly with us and to be willing to pay the price. 2009-09-11T03:46:50+00:00 /uk/news/the_need_for_gafcon/ /uk/news/fellowship_of_confessing_anglicans_launched_in_south_africa/ Issued by the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA - Southern Africa)

Press Release

For Immediate Release

3 September 2009


FELLOWSHIP OF CONFESSING ANGLICANS LAUNCHED IN SOUTH AFRICA

Seventy Anglican clergy and laity are today (September 3) attending the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (South Africa) at St John’s Church in Port Elizabeth.

FCA, which grew out of the Gafcon Conference in Jerusalem in 2008, has already seen successful national launches of Anglicans signed up to the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ across the globe, including in London in June 2009. The Port Elizabeth day gathering, called ‘Be Faithful’, will, say organisers “send out a clear message that “the Scriptures exhort us to remain faithful to the faith ‘once for all delivered to the saints’, to the Lordship of Christ and hence to Apostolic teaching and practice.”

FCA (South Africa) leaders stress that FCA is not another organization and is not seeking to create another church. They add: “It is a spiritual movement and fellowship for renewal, reformation and mission – uniquely bringing together those whose key shaping and commitment, but not exclusive identity, has been through the Anglo-Catholic, conservative evangelical, and charismatic expressions of Anglicanism. The FCA movement unites them in one fellowship defined by its centre in the Christian faith as currently expressed in the Jerusalem Declaration and Statement.”

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, commended the meeting in these terms:” The aim of all faithful evangelicals and catholics throughout the Church must be to witness to the truth in love and unity”.

Anglicans from across South Africa - from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Church of England in South Africa and the Traditional Anglican Communion - were welcomed as an example that the FCA is a body in which healing between different Anglican groups can take place, and not schism.

In his keynote address, Canon Dr Vinay Samuel from India and Oxford who spoke at the London launch challenged the participants: “Can you bring the biblical resources of faith to shape the heart of South Africa’s agenda. Will its agenda be shaped by simply an ideology of rights and use the iconic status of leaders such as Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela to silence any other view? That is not a great gift to the world from South Africa. You will draw on the best of South Africa’s journey of social transformation. But you are called to the prophetic stance of the obedient disciple, rather than the stance of political people who have become messianic with the new universal of human rights which is now being imposed, claiming that these rights are self-evident –and if the Bible teaches anything different it is to be rejected. They own the Bible, and claim the Holy Spirit, for the service of this ideology. That is based on power, not on obedience.”

FCA is being launched to support those in South Africa who hold and support orthodox faith, and at least one annual meeting will be held for teaching and fellowship, to strengthen the quality of biblical teaching and preaching. Retired Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya was present representing the Primates Council of GAFCON whose chairman Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of All Nigeria, sent the following greeting: “ What a great blessing and tremendous joy to know that the mustard seed of GAFCON sown in the land of our LORD barely a year ago is already growing so fast and so big.

“May I remind you that issues and concerns that led to GAFCON are still very much with us. Revisionists will not come to repentance. The action of TEC at its recent General Convention have confirmed our fears that for them, there is no going back. They are intensifying their search for new disciples in Africa, using mammon to buy silence and cheap compromise of the Gospel. They claim to be theologically with us, but are in full alliance with all that we stand against.

“GAFCON and FCA people must continue to stand very firm on the word of God. We must not waver or succumb to pressures posed by finance and economics. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We must trust him who has called us. He is faithful and will provide what is needed for his work.”

Messages of support were also read out from the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, who said: “I am delighted to send fraternal greetings from those in the Church of England who are seeking to uphold the biblical faith and practice of the Anglican Communion and pray God’s blessings on your work as you seek to meet the many challenges to the faith today in the power of the Spirit and through faith in God and his Word.”

Dr Philip Giddings, Convenor of Anglican Mainstream (UK) also sent a greeting, adding: “We are delighted to see the development of the faithful work and witness of Father Gavin Mitchell and others in Anglican Mainstream South Africa. We rejoice that they are taking forward the concern for orthodox Anglican witness at this critical time and have ensured that those of us in the rest of the Anglican Communion are aware of the challenges you are facing and how you are addressing them. We stand in solidarity with you in this vital work.”

For further information contact Father Gavin Mitchell, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) +27218741120
2009-09-03T13:27:16+00:00 /uk/news/fellowship_of_confessing_anglicans_launched_in_south_africa/ /uk/news/be_faithful_in_southern_africa/ THE FELLOWSHIP OF CONFESSING ANGLICANS – SOUTHERN AFRICA

Be Faithful! Conference September 3rd 2009

ST JOHN’S CHURCH Cnr. Church Road & 8th Avenue Walmer Port Elizabeth -

Doors will open at 08.30. (Regitration will be available at the door). An exhibition with stands from a number of organizations and societies will be open.

The Title for this gathering is “Be Faithful”. We are commissioned to fully express what we believe we should be and offer to the Christian community in Southern Africa. Be faithful – this is our calling as Anglican Christians today. The Scriptures exhort us to remain faithful to the faith ‘once for all delivered to the saints’, to the Lordship of Christ and hence to Apostolic teaching and practice.

The FCA is not seeking to create another church. It is a spiritual movement and fellowship for renewal, reformation and mission – uniquely bringing together those whose key shaping and commitment, but not exclusive identity, has been through the Anglo-Catholic, conservative evangelical, and charismatic expressions of Anglicanism. The FCA movement can do this because it is defined by its centre in the Christian faith as currently embraced in the Jerusalem Declaration and Statement.

Vinay Samuel, a speaker On Septheber 3 says:

“Gafcon is defined by its centre and not by any boundaries. It is a fellowship of people who affirm the centre of orthodox faith as expressed in the Jerusalem Statement. Some who are uncertain whether they are in or out might be finding boundaries which were never intended by those who have taken the initiative to launch this fellowship.”

“Some orthodox Anglicans distance themselves from GAFCCON/FCA while affirming that they have much in common with the Jerusalem Statement and with the initiators of FCA. They are as keen to be seen as “inclusive” as they are to be seen as Orthodox. Inclusion is elevated to as important a basis for fellowship as orthodox faith. As an Indian Christian who lives in the west I am no stranger to exclusion, but I do not believe a biblical understanding of inclusion supports such a view.”

It is the intention of FCA Southern Africa to seek to support those in this Region who hold and support this center of orthodox faith. We intend to hold at least one annual meeting for teaching and fellowship, to strengthen the quality of biblical teaching and preaching.

We also hope to become a fellowship where all, who hold the ‘Anglican expression’ of the Christian faith dear, but are now divided for whatever reasons of history may have the opportunity to meet share and perhaps in God’s grace find a path to strengthen unity once more. We also hope that all who hold the plain teachings of scripture dear may also find value in this fellowship.

The Day will include:

9.00 – 5.00 : Teaching, discussions and Fellowship (Tea and lunch included)

7.30 – Worship, keynote address and launch of FCA.

Costs: R150.00 – registration fee which will include lunch and refreshments and any handouts from the speakers.
For more information and registration :
email : .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or
Tel : 0837990726 or

REGISTER ONLINE HERE 2009-08-16T23:30:05+00:00 /uk/news/be_faithful_in_southern_africa/ /uk/news/why_fca_uk_and_ireland/ A speech given by Vaughan Roberts at the launch of FCA UK and Ireland 6/7/2009

(View this presentation on Anglican TV)

I am not a prophet so I cannot tell what the future holds for the Anglican churches in our islands. As I look ahead I see two possible contrasting scenarios: a nightmare and a dream.

A Nightmare

Let me start with my nightmare: in my negative moments it seems not just realistic but likely. In my nightmare the Church of England, Church in Wales, Church of Ireland and Episcopal Church of Scotland continue on their gradual drift towards the apostasy of The Episcopal Church in America, so that within twenty, or maybe only ten years, it becomes virtually impossible for orthodox Christians to be ordained: either because the hierarchy will not accept them or because their consciences will not allow them to join such a compromised body. As a result gospel witness in the Anglican churches will be gradually extinguished, making it that much harder to evangelise our nations. Some will ask how we could descend into such a gloomy situation so quickly given that, as they argue, “We have never had it so good”, with many orthodox parishes thriving and orthodox bishops regularly appointed. But it is sadly easy to imagine how the liberal agenda will quickly come to dominate our churches because of an inadequate response from faithful Christians who react with naivety, compromise and internecine squabbles.

Naivety
There is a tendency for many to be naive, failing to notice the steady slide away from the truth. This is not least because of the ‘salami tactics’ of the revisionists, who are often careful not to overreach themselves and bring things to a head before they are likely to win the victory; but rather gradually establish facts on the ground, thus undermining the orthodox faith slice by slice.
Compromise
Some are canny enough to see what is happening but compromise rather than giving the robust response that is required. They shy away from the inevitable cost of standing for truth and against error, whether it is the possibility of a strained relationship with the bishop, who may be less likely to give a curate and support a plant; the fear of gaining a reputation as a trouble maker and thus damaging prospects for future preferment; or concern to avoid possible tensions in the local church where the PCC may not wholeheartedly support any form of protest. As a result, many clergy and lay leaders keep their heads down, so the slide continues.


Divisions within the orthodox
There are many in our churches who are committed to a revealed faith that we have received in trust from God and are not at liberty to change. There are many too who are deeply concerned about the drift away from that faith in our churches. But we are a disparate group: traditional Anglo-Catholics in their various forms and evangelicals from different tribes – conservative, charismatic and open. We have different opinions and styles and have a background of decades, even generations, of mutual suspicion. In my nightmare it will prove impossible for us to work together for a common cause; instead of moving forward in convoy we will divide into different factions and turn our guns on one another. There will be gradual defections into little offshoots such as: Church of England Continuing (Reform), C of E Continuing (Forward in Faith), C of E Continuing (New Wine). Once such splits begin they soon become contagious, suffering from the Protestant disease of dividing over minor differences, so that we will soon have a multiplicity of independent groups all claiming to be the authentic Anglicans. None of them, of course, will have any chance of renewing or reforming the main body of our churches and they will struggle to have a national impact.

There is my nightmare. It need not and must not be like that!

A Dream

My dream is of a strong, united renewal movement of orthodox Anglicans whom God will use to stem the tide of heresy in our churches and to move out in mission to the world. Today’s launch of the FCA UK and Ireland is a significant step forward towards the possibility of that dream becoming a reality. If it is to happen we must bind ourselves to five commitments right from the start:

1. A commitment to truth
We must never be a merely pragmatic alliance of disparate groups with a common enemy. Above all we should stand together as those joined by a common Biblical faith as expressed by Canon A5 of the Church of England and the Jerusalem Statement: “The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal.” We believe in the Bible as God’s word written and we proclaim Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Saviour.

2. A commitment to breadth
It was a privilege to be at GAFCON and to witness such unity in Christ and yet such variety: racially, culturally and liturgically. We came from diverse Anglican traditions and differed on many secondary matters, notably on whether it is appropriate for women to be ordained presbyter or consecrated as bishops; but we were united in our commitment to fundamental truths. Our joining of the FCA does not mean that we must abandon all our distinctives and agree on every detail. No doubt some significant differences of conviction and culture will remain and we may stay largely in our own particular boats, but if we share common fundamental convictions we will be able to sail in convoy in the same direction and support one another along the way.

3. A commitment to grace
We will not all always agree with one another on secondary matters or on precisely what action we think it right to take in any given situation, but we must respond to those differences with grace and resist the temptation to make public criticisms of one another. We should show grace too to our fellow orthodox Anglicans who do not feel it right to travel with us at this stage. Even if they criticise us sharply we must not respond in kind but rather do all we can to keep the door open and be ready to welcome them in if they should ever choose to join us.

4. A commitment to prayer
There is much to encourage us today: we stand with the majority of practising Anglicans worldwide and there is great potential in our midst, with many gifted leaders from vibrant churches; but we must not delude ourselves into thinking that we are strong. We are not strong! The task of reforming our churches and reaching our nations is too much for us. We depend entirely on God so we must commit ourselves to urgent, persistent prayer, not just for our fellow Anglicans but for all Christians: that God would fill us with faith in the living Christ, transform us by the Spirit into radical communities of love and equip us to reach out with the gospel.

5. A commitment to action
The FCA must not be just a talking shop. Of course we must talk with one another and take counsel but then we must act. There are millions in our country who know virtually nothing of Christ; we must move forward in radical mission, if at all possible within the current structures, if necessary, on the edge. We should do so not to build our own little empires but for the glory of God and the extension of his Kingdom.

There is my dream. May God keep us humble, prayerful, wise and courageous so that it might begin to become a reality.
2009-08-14T01:48:49+00:00 /uk/news/why_fca_uk_and_ireland/ /uk/news/church_of_england_general_synod_to_debate_full_communion_with_acna/ FCA UK News Release - 15 July, 2009

The General Synod of the Church of England will be asked to decide whether it wants to be in communion with the newly founded Anglican Church of North America after a Private Members Motion (PMM), tabled on Friday by lay member Lorna Ashworth calling for recognition of the ACNA has gained support from more than 1 in 4 of the Synod.

The ACNA was launched in Texas at the end of June, after parishes, clergy and Bishops were either expelled or resigned from The Episcopal Church (TEC) over the issues of Gay Bishops and Same Sex Blessings. Bishop Bob Duncan was installed as Archbishop on June 24. Greetings were sent to his installation from the Bishops of Chester, Chichester, Rochester, Lewes and Winchester as well as from the Church of England Evangelical Council and Anglican Mainstream. He was also warmly welcomed at the launch meeting of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in London on July 6th.

The Private Members’ Motion says that “this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”. It has now gained 126 members’ signatures at the General Synod in York, which means the Synod’s business committee, meeting in September, will have to decide when the debate will take place.

Whilst PMMs are not usually supported by Bishops, Dr Rowan Williams, and Synod staff will take serious note that this motion has the public support of the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, as well as the Diocesan Bishops of Ely, Europe, Rochester, Blackburn, the suffragan bishops of Willesden, Beverly and Burnley, the Prolocutors of the House of Clergy both of the Provinces of Canterbury and of York, and the vice-chairman of the House of Laity. The House of Bishops’ Theological Group met on Friday morning in private session to table the new ‘Canons’ and ‘Constitution’ of ACNA and they will be considering these at their next meeting in September.

Lorna Ashworth said: “This motion is about wanting to stand in solidarity with our orthodox Anglican brothers and sisters in North America. This indicates that a substantial number of synod members want to declare their common faith and common fellowship with them.”

The Revd Paul Perkin, a member of General Synod, and chair of the steering committee of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, said: “The unity of orthodox Anglicans at Be Faithful! has been further expressed in the support for this motion. The matter has now assumed further urgency in the light of TEC’s rejection of the moratorium on consecrating bishops in same sex-relationships. It therefore needs to be considered by the synod at the earliest opportunity, namely in the February Sessions in 2010.”

2009-07-16T01:21:09+00:00 /uk/news/church_of_england_general_synod_to_debate_full_communion_with_acna/