(The Global Anglican Future Conference, Jerusalem)
Updated 18 December 2008
Preamble
The Church Mission Society has played a vital part in founding and partnering more than two-thirds of the Provinces of the Anglican Communion. In the 1950s and 60s, Canon Max Warren, the CMS general secretary, worked closely with Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher in shaping the structures of Anglicanism as we know it. Therefore CMS has had a role in shaping the world-wide Anglican Communion.
Related links
Gafcon FAQ
General Secretary's comment
External links
Gafcon Final Statement
Archbishop of Canterbury's response
CMS has therefore kept itself well informed about the crisis in Anglicanism without seeking a high-profile role. The only public statement issued stated the Society’s deep concern that the mission of the Church stood to suffer if the crisis could not be speedily resolved.
Given the close links between CMS and many of the Churches represented at Gafcon, it was agreed that the general secretary (Canon Tim Dakin) and the chair of trustees (the Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Rev Paul Butler) would attend. Bishop Butler attended with the knowledge of the Church of England House of Bishops.
Their aim was to reconnect with friends and partners of CMS, listen and to make it known that the vision and values of CMS are in accord in every way with orthodox Christianity.
CMS affirms
-
Gafcon was a joyful celebration with good fellowship, worship and teaching. Meeting in the Holy Land enabled those present to reconnect in fresh ways with Jesus by seeing places where he lived, taught, performed miracles and where he died and rose again.
-
and notes with appreciation that Gafcon held back from creating a permanent split within the Anglican Communion but the movement emerging from Gafcon will be a force to remind us of the need to stay true to the gospel and the missionary calling of the Church.
-
the tone of the Jerusalem Declaration, which was serious and engaging and deserves to be studied carefully. Key words were chosen with care.
-
a strong family feeling. The majority of those present were from Churches that trace their origins to CMS work. Their concerns are the concerns of CMS.
-
that there are problems with the way in which the Anglican Communion is currently organised. The Archbishop of Canterbury has acknowledged its structures “are not very coherent or effective” (Report,
Church of England Newspaper
, 27 June 2008, page 6). The upcoming Lambeth Conference and debates on the proposed Anglican Covenant will be vitally important.
Questions
It is recognised that there are many unresolved issues and there needs to be ongoing debate about some questions:
-
What steps need to be taken to reshape Anglican Communion structures given that the current crisis shows they are no longer adequate?
-
What is the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Anglicanism and is Gafcon right in claiming that Communion with the See of Canterbury is not necessarily of the essence of Anglicanism?
-
How can Anglicanism balance the need for pastoral care for orthodox clergy and people, who constitute minorities who are under pressure, with the chaos that would follow if any parish could reject the authority of its bishop and put itself under another?
-
How is the crisis in the Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada to be resolved? Are there viable alternatives to what the Jerusalem Declaration advocates?
-
In view of the fact that much of the content for the proposed Anglican Covenant was based on proposals from the Global South, why doesn’t the Jerusalem Declaration mention it at all?
-
Will the Gafcon proposal for a Council of Primates from within its network address the need for Anglican unity or deepen division?
Update 18 Dec 2008Trustees of CMS have ‘affirmed’ the Gafcon Jerusalem Declaration
WHAT THIS MEANS
- It is a signal that CMS wishes to be involved in all the thinking and praying about the future of Anglicanism.
-
It is a signal of CMS’s commitment to relationship with all the churches of Africa and Asia with whom it has been partner over many years.
-
It is a signal that CMS is concerned about the difficulties faced by orthodox Anglicans in such places as Brazil, Canada and the USA.
WHAT IT DOES NOT MEAN
-
CMS is not saying it agrees in every detail of the Jerusalem Declaration. Refining it will involve a lot more work.
-
CMS is not saying it is adopting wholesale the entire Gafcon agenda.
- CMS is not saying that it sees Gafcon’s proposals as the only possible solution to the Anglican crisis.
-
CMS is not abandoning support for the proposal for a Covenant for Anglicans.