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PLANO, TX: ACNA Annual Assembly Draws over 1,100 Anglicans including Global South Primates and Bishops
"Discipleship: Renewing Our Call to the Great Commission" focused on gospel solidarity and church planting in a changing world
Anglican leaders say no compromise with the Episcopal Church over sexuality issues
By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
June 20, 2019
The Anglican Church in North America celebrated its 10-year anniversary in Plano this week with over 1,100 attendees from 23 countries, that included 10 Primates from the Global South, ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach announced new GAFCON Anglican dioceses, as the moral and theological divide between Lambeth and GAFCON grows exponentially.
"The Anglican Communion has a rich heritage that is evangelical and catholic, but the virus of revisionism and liberalism continues to spread all around the Anglican world. The powers that be in the Anglican Communion establishment are not doing anything to stop it and the result is that they are infecting provinces around the world. This is not the gospel and what the scriptures teach us," Archbishop Beach told attendees.
"Passion for the gospel and people must stand for truth against western secularism but in their own cultures," he said.
Beach praised the new extra provincial diocese in New Zealand and said a new bishop would be consecrated in October this year.
"Since the Sydney meeting of GAFCON primates we have seen the Diocese of Sydney not going to Lambeth with the province of Kenya (also) said it is not going. The ACNA bishops will not to go as observers," he said.
"We asked Archbishop Justin Welby, 'are you inviting bishops who violated Resolution 1.10, he said yes, therefore there is no point in us coming.'"
Archbishop Beach warned the Archbishop of Canterbury that he (personally) was in violation of 1.10.
When Beach was asked why can't TEC and ACNA get along, he replied, it is hard to be in a good relationship with someone who is suing you.
Since its founding in Plano in 2009, the Anglican Church in North America has grown to 1,062 congregations and 134,649 members in Canada, the United States and Mexico. On Friday, June 14, 2019, the denomination's leader, Archbishop Beach was re-elected to a second term in office. He is also the Chairman of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) which represents 50 million of the 70 million active Anglicans in the world.
Some 1,175 attended this Tenth anniversary from 23 Countries including the US, Mexico, Canada, Burundi, Brazil, Chile, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Kenya, Myanmar, Argentina, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Malaysia, Australia, UK, Uganda, Sudan, Philippines, Israel, Congo and India.
Ten Primates were in attendance from North America, Kenya, Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Rwanda, Uganda, Chile, Brazil, Indian Ocean and South Sudan.
Three African Primates came from Africa, including the Archbishop of Kenya, The Most Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit; The Most Rev. Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda and from the Anglican province of Uganda, The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali. Three Global South Archbishops were in attendance including Archbishop Miguel Uchoa of Brazil, Archbishop Stephen Than of Myanmar and Archbishop Moon Hing of Southeast Asia.
Other International guests came from South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the UK, including The Most Rev. Ben Kwashi, Archbishop of Jos, Nigeria and General Secretary ofGAFCON and Bishop Michael Stead of Sydney, Australia.
This conference also saw the official launching of the new 2019 Book of Common Prayer and Catechism. Special plenary speakers included James Bryan Smith, Russell Moore and Ravi Zacharias.
GAFCON General Secretary and Nigerian (Jos) Archbishop Ben Kwashi said GAFCON was a movement of the gospel across the world. He said he was once asked what the difference was between the Christianity preached in Africa and the Christianity preached in America, he said, "We are moving away from where you are going."
"We are about the gospel; it is non-negotiable gospel ministry. The Scriptures are non-negotiable. The Holy Spirit IS sending us out in mission. We are the headquarters of God's mission in the world. We are sending out missionaries from here to Chicago."
Ugandan Archbishop Stanley Ngatali, Deputy Chair of the Primates' Council, said he had released his parishes to the ACNA as part of the renewal movement. We are the true members of the (Anglican) Communion; the others are walking away, he said, speaking of liberals who now walk apart from the gospel.
"The ACNA is a blessing to us in Africa, liberalism will take people to hell. Our program is not same sex marriage, the Scriptures teach us to look at Jesus as the Savior, adding that GAFCON was consecrating new bishops in South Sudan.
The Anglican Bishop and Primate of the new Anglican Church of Chile, the Rt. Rev Tito Zavala, said he was happy when GAFCON appeared. The Jerusalem Declaration https://www.gafcon.org/resources/the-complete-jerusalem-statement is a strong declaration for our times today. We have received missionaries of the word of God to our country. GAFCON is dynamic and faithful to the gospel centered around the Bible and we are united and provide testimony for the work of the gospel.
Archbishop Miguel Uchoa of Recife, Brazil said he was invited to preach in 2008 when things were exploding between him and the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, a TEC clone.
Today we have over 1,000 safe places on Facebook that are a port in a spiritual storm and shelters of refuge. "GAFCON is a movement, not a structure so we can move ahead all the time."
Uchoa said Canterbury is not my safe port. "I don't want to put my ship in the Canterbury harbor. I will not attend Lambeth next year. I want to be in practice not an observer."
Looking at the Anglican Communion today, the Rev. Canon Charles Raven, GAFCON'S Membership Development Secretary noted that the so-called 'instruments of communion' is just the trojan horse of a new paganism which the Canterbury based global institutions of the Communion have failed to recognize or resist.
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