Bishop Zavala visits Diocese of South Carolina

CHARLESTON, SC, May 21, 2015 – Repeating the reassurances spoken by a stream of visiting Anglican bishops during the past three years, the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of South America told Bishop Mark Lawrence and others from the Diocese of South Carolina, “My brothers and sisters, you are not alone. You continue being part of the Anglican Communion.”

The Most Rev. Hector “Tito” Zavala, Bishop of Chile and Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of South America, made his comments in clear English during a meeting at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston, May 20. He said that, despite the Diocese’s separation from the Episcopal Church in 2012, the Diocese continues to be recognized as Anglicans by the majority of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“I'm here with you with the consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury," said Bishop Zavala. He told those gathered that Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was with the Global South Primates "Steering Committee" in a meeting in Cairo, Egypt in 2014 when "we decided to establish a Primatial Oversight Council to provide pastoral and primatial oversight to some dioceses in order to keep them within the Communion" said Bishop Zavala.

Bishop Zavala is one of 40 primates of the 80 million member worldwide Anglican Communion. His province is made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

The Global South, which makes up 75 percent of the Anglican Communion, emerged as a way for bishops and primates of the Southern Hemisphere to encourage one another for mission. Though it is recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, it is not an official structure of the Anglican Communion.

During his first South Carolina visit, Bishop Zavala met with the Diocesan Council and the Anglican Communion Development Committee. He also participated in meetings that were open to the public at St. Matthias, Summerton and the Cathedral, Charleston.

Bishop Zavala came to the United States to receive a Doctorate of Ministry from Trinity Seminary in Ambridge, PA.

During his comments, he repeatedly reassured the Diocese that it has the support of Anglican leaders from around the world.

“Behind me is the Primate of Egypt and the Middle East, the Primate of the Indian Ocean, the Primate of Myanmar, the Primate of Southeast Asia, the Primate of Nigeria, the Primate of Burundi and others. We are supporting you,” he said. “In the Global South we do not want to interfere with any dioceses … (But) If a diocese has a problem with the Primate or House of Bishops who do not respect Lambeth resolutions we are ready and willing to support them, realizing it’s a temporary not permanent oversight.”

Bishop Zavala also shared at length the remarkable growth and missionary spirit of his home Diocese of Chile. As both the first native-born diocesan bishop of Chile and Primate of South America he continues to be an inspiring pioneer for Anglicanism.

“We’re grateful for the strong support we’ve received from Anglicans around the world and are especially thankful for this time we’ve had with Bishop Zavala,” said Bishop Lawrence.

Bishop Zavala will continue as a guest of the Diocese through the end of the week.

More photos here.

[REPOST] Of breakaways, remnants, and Jezebels . . . and getting the terminology right

[ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE: I am seeing too many media reports referring to the Diocese of South Carolina​ as a "breakaway" group. This is an egregious error on the part of journalists who are either ignorant of the facts or willfully negligent in reporting them. This article, written shortly after last year's Diocesan Convention, is reposted at this time in the hope that it will be a useful resource in refuting the false narrative generated by the national church and perpetuated by an uninformed and incurious media. --JAG]

Peter Leithart expounds on the significance of Jezebel to the history of Israel and why John's invocation of her name in reference to the "prophetess" in Thyatira was precisely on the mark.

Jezebel’s appearance in 1-2 Kings is part of a continuing story of Israel’s relationship with Tyre and Sidon. During the days of David and Solomon, Hiram king of Tyre was an ally of Israel. This is the ideal relationship between Jew and Gentiles, Israel and the nations.

Jezebel represents an inversion of that. As I argue in my 1-2 Kings, Ahab is an anti-Solomon, a Solomon without a period of faithfulness. He is the son of a David-like king Omri, builds a temple in Samaria, and takes a foreign wife, as Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh.

It’s all backward. Ahab’s temple is a temple to Baal, and his wife is an idolater, even a sorceress (as Jehu says) and a leader of a band of Baal prophets. Ahab and Jezebel have an agenda to reunite the two kingdoms, but instead of placing Yahweh and His house at the center, they want to make Baal worship the center. This inverts the proper relation between Jew and Gentile. Instead of the Gentiles assisting in Israel’s project, Israel is enlisted to pursue a Baalist agenda.

Under Ahab and Jezebel, Israel is in bed with the Gentiles, but they aren’t united properly. They are united in a bed of prostitution, at an altar of spiritual adultery.

This is what the Jezebel of Thyatira is doing too. She is a prophetess, as the first Jezebel was the high priestess of a band of prophets. She leads the saints astray, as Jezebel did. She leads them into Baalamite sin, eating meat sacrificed to idols and committing acts of fornication, porneia. There is a false community here, a false family, with Jezebel and her children united in idolatry and immorality. Jezebel assembles an anti-church, as the first Jezebel joined with Ahab in forming an anti-Israel.

The perpetually apostate northern kingdom, moreso than the erstwhile faithful southern kingdom (Judah, where David's house continued on the throne until the Babylonian exile) periodically took an interest in Israel's reunification but, as with Ahab and Jezebel, such an interest was always of human (even pagan), not divine, origin. Judah outlasted Israel by several generations not because all of its kings were righteous (some were, some weren't) but because of God's promise to David. A reunited Israel under rule of one of the northern tribes would simply not do as part of God's plan for the redemption of the world. The faithful remnant, out of which the true Israel would eventually be reconstituted under Jesus and the Apostles, would emerge out of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, then expand well beyond the boundaries of even David's old empire, grafting in the Gentiles from the ends of the earth.

It is an irony of tragic proportions that some of the most loathsomely divisive figures in the history of both Israel and the church have so often cloaked themselves in the mantle of "unity" and "reconciliation" while abandoning the very faith which unites Jew and Gentile and reconciles the world to God. As it would not do for David's throne to be usurped by the apostate house of Ahab, so it will not do for the Church of Jesus Christ, Great David's greater Son, to be consolidated under the present apostasy of Katharine Jefferts Schori and her minions.

Terminology matters. It is a most egregious error to refer to the Diocese of South Carolina, having liberated itself from Schori's apostasy, as a "breakaway diocese." It is equally erroneous to refer to the handful of low country parishes which have remained with the national denomination as a "remnant group."  Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of how God has worked throughout history can see how upside down and backward the picture painted by such references is.

To use Leithart's words, the national denomination under Schori is following the way of Jezebel, forming a false community and a false family united in idolatry and immorality. In other words, the national denomination is an anti-church, a "breakaway" from the faith once for all entrusted to the saints.

Meanwhile, as was so richly illustrated at its recent convention, the Diocese of South Carolina is gathering into one so many of the disparate elements of the far flung Anglican Diaspora while also being grafted in to the larger family of faithful Anglican provinces of the Global South. The "remnant" is always that small but faithful group that perseveres through trial, is finally vindicated, and goes forth rejoicing in the new work God has begun through it.

Global South welcomes Diocese of South Carolina

August 21, 2014

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

As you will recall the 223rd Diocesan Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina meeting at Christ Church in Mt. Pleasant on March 14-15, 2014 unanimously accepted the offer of the Global South Primates Steering Committee for Provisional Primatial Oversight.

Now this morning we receive with gratitude this letter from the Global South Primatial Steering Committee. It is their acceptance of our request for this gracious relationship. I trust you will be heartened as I have been by their welcome of us “… as an active and faithful member within the Global South of the Anglican Communion, until such time as a permanent primatial affiliation can be found.” It is my joy to share it with you.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

The Right Reverend Mark Joseph Lawrence
XIV Bishop of South Carolina

21 August 2014

Announcement regarding the Diocese of South Carolina

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The Global South of the Anglican Communion welcomes the unanimous request of The Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence, XIV Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, and the Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina to “accept the offer of the newly created Global South Primatial Oversight Council for pastoral oversight of our ministry as a diocese during the temporary period of our discernment of our final provincial affiliation.”

The decision of the Diocese of South Carolina was made in response to the meeting of the Global South Primates Steering Committee in Cairo, Egypt from 14-15 February 2014. A recommendation from that meeting stated that, “we decided to establish a Primatial Oversight Council, in following-through the recommendations taken at Dar es Salam in 2007, to provide pastoral and primatial oversight to dissenting individuals, parishes, and dioceses in order to keep them within the Communion.”

Recognizing the faithfulness of Bishop Mark Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina, and in
appreciation for their contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, the Global South
welcomes them as an active and faithful member within the Global South of the Anglican Communion,
until such time as a permanent primatial affiliation can be found.

Yours in Christ,

+Mouneer Egypt

The Most Revd Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis
Primate of Jerusalem & the Middle East
Bishop of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
Chairman, Global South Primates Steering Committee

+Ian Mauritius

The Most Revd Ian Ernest
Primate of the Indian Ocean
Bishop of Mauritius
Hon. General Secretary, Global South Primates Steering Committee

++Anis: World is not doing enough for Iraqi Christians

A statement from the Office of the President Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

The Most Revd Dr Mouneer Hanna Anis, Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa and the President Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, stated that the suffering, persecution and displacement of Iraqi Christians, especially in the Mosul area, is a disgrace to the international community which is not doing enough to rescue the people of Iraq from the terrorist attacks carried out by ISIS.

Bishop Mouneer also expressed his deep sadness for burning and looting of churches in Iraq, noting that the Chaldean Church in Iraq goes back to the first century.

He added that emptying Iraq of Christians is a great loss to the people of Iraq.

Bishop Mouneer also called upon the Iraqi government and the international community to make every effort to stop these terrorist crimes against Christians and called upon on Al Azhar Al Sherif and Muslim scholars in the Middle East to stand against the terrorist ideologies of these terrorists who have also killed innocent Muslims.

St. Andrew's Fort Worth: An appeal for the Venables

From the parish newsletter, St. Andrew's Forth Worth:

A dear friend of this parish and diocese is Archbishop Gregory Venables of Argentina. He was our honored preacher at our centennial service and he was the one that helped the Diocese of Fort Worth find a temporary jurisdictional home in the Southern Cone at the onset of our legal/canonical adventure. We are much in his debt.

Sadly, the Archbishop and his wife, Sylvia, were brutally beaten and robbed at their home last week. One friend of the Venables stated this:

About a week ago Bishop Greg Venables and his wife Sylvia returned home to Olivos in the Buenos Aires only to find a robbery in progress in their home. The thieves threw Sylvia to the floor and bound and terribly beat Greg. They then proceeded to steal everything of value from their home.

The thieves took a MacBook Pro that we had gotten for Greg as well as an unlocked iPhone. All of their electronics were stolen along with all of Sylvia’s jewelry and even Greg’s pectoral crosses. No insurance is available.

To add insult to injury, the Diocese of Argentina bank account in the UK was closed. The bank said it was because there was no answer to mail that they had sent. Of course, all the mail had been answered. Several thousand dollars is being held by the English bank and won’t be recoverable until he can go there in person. In short, they have lost everything except the roof over their heads.

Certainly we as a parish need to be praying for the Venables. But we would also like to offer tangible, material support. Please consider contributing to St. Andrew’s Mercy Fund for the Venables. Our vestry members have already committed to supporting this effort and hope that all in our church family who are able will join them in supporting and lifting up these members of our extended Church family.

We would like to replace the laptop and the iPhone and raise some serious cash on their behalf to assist with many of the items that were lost in this violent attack.

South Carolina Supreme Court deals another blow to TEC dilatory tactics

CHARLESTON, SC, May 7, 2014 – The South Carolina Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by The Episcopal Church (TEC) and its local subsidiary, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), ending their latest effort to delay a trial to block the two groups from seizing Diocese of South Carolina property.

The high court’s decision to return the matter to the circuit court means that the issue can now go to trial. TEC and TECSC have filed several state and federal appeals, apparently aimed at delaying the discovery process in advance of the trial that is scheduled to start on July 7.

In the appeal rejected by the Supreme Court, TEC and TECSC had asked the court to force the Diocese of South Carolina to share privileged communications with the denomination. Communications between clients and their attorneys have always been protected by law. The appeal effectively asked the state supreme court to overturn a cornerstone of American law.

“We are grateful that the South Carolina Supreme Court again prevented TEC and TECSC from abusing the judicial system to delay resolution of this case,” said the Rev. Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese. “Their strategy of using legal motions to delay court decisions caused nearly a year to be wasted and untold dollars to be spent on legal wrangling rather than God’s work.”

Judge Diane S. Goodstein, who will preside over the trial, has set the trial date for July 7-18, 2014.

TEC has a long history of dragging out legal battles, apparently in hopes of draining the resources of parishes and dioceses it seeks to punish for leaving the denomination. It has spent more than $40 million on litigation in the past few years. TEC routinely appeals court decisions in hopes of wearing down its opposition – and to intimidate parishes and dioceses that wish to leave the denomination.

The South Carolina Supreme Court took jurisdiction of all appeals in this matter, effectively ensuring that appeals will be considered in an expedited manner to minimize the time wasted.

The Diocese of South Carolina, which is a member of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and receives provisional primatial oversight from bishops in the Global South, disassociated from the Episcopal Church in October 2012 after TEC tried to remove Bishop Lawrence. Following the Diocese’s decision, 49 churches representing 80 percent of the Diocese’s 30,000 members voted to remain in union with the Diocese and not with TEC.

The Diocese has consistently disagreed with TEC’s embrace of what most members of the global Anglican Communion believe to be a radical fringe scriptural interpretation that makes following Christ’s teachings optional for salvation.

On homosexuality and Christian persecution, Justin Welby drops the ball again

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, so it seems, never misses a good opportunity to miss a good opportunity. Yesterday, he took to the airwaves, becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury to take calls from listeners. Predictably, the topic which drew the most attention was homosexuality and, also predictably, he dropped the ball again. The Church of England cannot accept "gay marriage" at the moment, the Archbishop said, because it would lead to persecution of Christians in other parts of the world.

Yes, you read that right. But let's allow His Grace to speak for himself here.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, stressed the need for a global focus when considering reform within the Church of England, specifically with regards to gay marriage, according to The Guardian.

As support for same-sex marriage grows in the West, Welby warned during an LBC Radio phone-in that if the Church of England were to accept gay marriages, it could lead to "catastrophic" consequences for Christians elsewhere, particularly in Africa.

"I have stood by gravesides in Africa of a group of Christians who had been attacked because of something that had happened far, far away in America, and they were attacked by other people because of that, and a lot of them had been killed," said Welby.

"We have to listen to that. We have to be aware of the fact," he said, according to The Guardian. "Everything we say here goes round the world."

Were the Church of England to accept gay marriages, he commented, "the impact of that on Christians far from here, in South Sudan, Pakistan, Nigeria and other places would be absolutely catastrophic."

Nonetheless Welby condemned homophobia and said, "to treat every human being with equal importance and dignity is a fundamental part of being a Christian." He shared his particular concerns about the devastating impact of homophobia on gay teenagers, and reiterated the importance of a loving approach.

Welby said that he has been wrestling with the issue of protecting Christians abroad while still having a loving approach to gay Christians for a long time, but stressed the very real dangers that he had personally experienced.

He explained that the reasoning behind the massacre of Nigerian Christians was essentially, "If we leave a Christian community here we will all be made to become homosexual and so we're going to kill the Christians."

"The mass grave had 369 bodies in it," he said. "And I was standing with the relatives. That burns itself into your soul, as does the suffering of gay people in this country."

That the titular head of the worldwide Anglican Communion can be this naive about the plight of the persecuted church is truly mind-boggling. Christians in Africa and the Middle East face death every day because they embody precisely the kind of authentic Christian faith which Justin Welby's Church of England has abandoned in favor of cultural accommodation. To say that Christians in Nigeria were slaughtered by Muslims who feared being "made to become homosexual" (accepting without question an insulting piece of Muslim propaganda) is to trivialize (excuse me, trivialise) the very real persecution such Christians face every day for the very real reason that they are very real and faithful followers of Jesus Christ. A church that accommodates the culture need never fear persecution. A church that takes seriously Jesus' call to be salt and light, however, is a constant irritant to the culture (be it Muslim, atheist, or what have you) and will quite often be sanctified by the blood of martyrs.

Moreover, as the "gay rights" movement continues to push its agenda, faithful Christians in the U.S., England, and elsewhere are being made to pay a heavy price for resisting its advances. Rather than losing sleep over "the suffering of gay people" in his own country, Archbishop Welby needs to wake up to this very real crisis for the church in the West.

Bishop Lawrence: "We cannot allow the need for consolidating to replace the need for advancing the gospel."

Photo Credit: Good Shepherd, Charleston via Facebook

Here is the full text of Bishop Mark Lawrence's brilliant address to the 223rd Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina. I have highlighted some of the most important points.

“The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.” So wrote the Swiss theologian, Emil Brunner, several generations ago. And it was clearly under the burning fire of the Holy Spirit that the apostles moved out to engage the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. For what God had done in Jesus Christ for the world must be made known to the world. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?” wrote St. Paul. “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!’ … faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10: 14-17) So these early Christians sent out and so they went out. Pressing on, as one missionary statesman has written, “… going from city to city as heralds of the King, not staying to argue with gainsayers….” We spend too much time arguing with those within the church who do not believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be proclaimed to all people while we remain in guilty silence about the Gospel in the presence of its many cultured despisers. It was not so for the early disciples. Inflamed as they were with a saving message and filled with an unspeakable joy they brushed off the dust of those who had rejected their message and moved on looking for the next opportunity. The Holy Spirit never allowed them to let the need to consolidate what they had gained to replace the need to advance. In fact advancement became the method of consolidation. I am gripped by these words from Bishop Lesslie Newbigin, writing about the church’s need to press forward “… both to the ends of the earth and the ends of the world, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.” Of the Church’s need to press on in the strength of the Holy Spirit, living by grace, turning outward to engage the world, resisting the constant temptation to play it safe, he writes:

“When she (the church) becomes settled, when she becomes so much at home in this world that she is no longer content to be forever striking her tents and moving forward, above all when she forgets that she lives simply by God’s mercy and begins to think that she has some claim on God’s grace which the rest of the world has not, when in other words she thinks of her election in terms of spiritual privilege rather than missionary responsibility, then she comes under His merciful judgment (of God) as Israel did.” (p. 132)

Pressing forward in mission and rejoicing in hope: that is the glorious calling which we need to rediscover at the heart of our common life. One profound characteristic of the exploding growth of Anglicans in many parts of the Global South is their joy—joy in the midst of deprivation; joy in midst of persecution; joy in the midst of temporal uncertainty; joy that is rooted in the new life in Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. I yearn to see such unspeakable, irrepressible, iridescent joy within the life of our congregations, and frankly in my own life as well. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) The man recognizes that the treasure is worth more than all that he has and with joy he does what we too often fail to do—he acts according to what he has discovered!

In this address I will take up three dimensions of our calling as a diocese to make biblical Anglicans for a global age. The first is the call to do this within our congregations and local communities. The second is the call to do this in the larger playing field of emerging Anglicanism. Finally, I want us to deepen our understanding of our God-given identity and to embrace our providential opportunities.

Every Congregation Engaging Every Generation

Much has been written and discussed in recent years regarding the challenge traditional churches have in reaching across the generational divides in our society. But, it is not just the traditional churches or congregations that are experiencing this problem; and not just the church either. The broader society struggles with it. When Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman published their book, When Generations Collide—raising questions about who these generations are? Why they clash? How to solve the generational puzzle at work?—They hardly knew what to expect from the reading public. But they didn’t need to wonder for long. Soon media outlets from CNN, Time magazine, local news stations, and even corporate businesses wanted in on the action. Still the questions hang there, challenging us as a diocese to find ways to help equip each congregation to engage every generation with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Three of our four workshops at yesterday’s pre-convention sessions were focused on some aspect of this challenge. Three of our diocesan staff members regularly engage this very work—Joy Hunter in communications strives to keep us current as we become more hi-tech savvy through E-Newsletters; an attractive, useable website; and a diocesan facebook page. She also leads workshops to help our smaller congregations create websites; works with Jan Pringle, Canon Lewis and others on press releases; and has even gotten the bishop blogging.

Then there is our diocesan Youth Coordinator, Dave Wright. You will hear from him later. It is a widely known when we were in TEC that we had the most successful diocesan youth program and more effective parish programs than any diocese in the national church. It would still be so today; and is equally true of the dioceses of the Anglican diaspora. But we have no reason to rest where we are. Too many of our churches do not have youth ministries or know how to start them. We want to help change that. Dave will have more to say about this later in this convention.

The third diocesan staff person engaging across the generations is our Faith Formation Coordinator, Peter Rothermel. He is on the cutting edge of this field. His working to strengthen Christian families, helping grandparents share their faith with their grandchildren, and our parishes to engage in men’s ministry has been transforming for many of our congregations. For instance confirmation at St. James, James Island has become a unique parent-youth rite. Or take just this past month, I spoke at the Christian Men’s Conference at St. Christopher here in the Diocese of South Carolina—almost 300 were in attendance—many men attending with their sons. Most were from the diocese but others came from across the state and even farther afield. In recent months Peter has been helping the Diocesan Church Women rethink this new chapter of their ministry post-TEC. It is an exciting, re-visioning time for them.

I mention these three diocesan staff persons because they are, like all our diocesan staff, Canon Lewis, Nancy Armstrong, Beth Snyder, Susan Burns including your bishop, here to build up and strengthen the parishes and missions of the diocese. You are not here to serve us—we are here to serve you with every gift and resource that the Holy Spirit makes available. To that end, no conversation in the diocese about engagement across generations would be complete without referencing the dynamic ministry of the diocese at St. Christopher every year—Buddy Camp (for parents and children), Family Camp, Youth Camps for all ages. These are stunningly effective examples of ministry to the various age groups and generations. This year we’re offering a new Grandparent Camp designed for grandparents and grandchildren 6-12 years of age. If you are a person who’s concerned that their grandchildren may not know Jesus Christ because they’re not going to church, sign up! Is this cutting edge engagement for Christ across the generations? You bet!

How I wish you could join me on my travels around the diocese to see the incredible ministries that our congregations are engaged in—from St. Luke’s Hilton Head to our several congregations on the Grand Strand. The Cross, Bluffton’s Buckwalter Campus is filled with children during the week at the Cross school and then filled again on Sunday morning with a contemporary worship service—The Cross, one church on two campuses, added over 220 new members just this past year of 2013 as they ministered across generations! In Beaufort, St. Helena’s sponsorship of Holy Trinity Classical Christian School in its second year of existence is nurturing children in a unique educational approach that may well do for North America what the Irish did for Western Civilization in the early Middle Ages.

So many of our congregations are engaged in re-missioning, or helping with church planting, I haven’t time to name them all. I made a list last fall that included 11 congregations that were struggling or faced with very significant difficulties. I spent a lot of time with them. Of these 11 at least eight and perhaps even nine are presently moving forward in positive ways. It is by helping them advance not helping them consolidate that a difference is made. This is true for even our strongest parishes. Take for instance St. Philip’s Charleston’s partnership with one of our new church starts, Church of the Resurrection, North Charleston. God-willing, Resurrection will be fully received at next year’s convention—but thanks be to God they are here with us today. How encouraging it is witness the Mother Church of the diocese stepping once again into her historic nurturing role in yet another century—the fourth and counting! Now, St. Paul’s, Summerville, in partnership with the diocese and one of its members, Mr. Gary Beson, who was this week approved for ordination after three years at Trinity School for Ministry, is exploring the possibility of planting a church on the east side of I-26. And up on the historic Waccamaw neck, quietly and without much fanfare a miracle has been taking place. Grace Church, Waccamaw, a congregation of the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) has prayerfully chosen to become members of this diocese. Equally as remarkable is the way Christ the King, Waccamaw and Grace Church have been walking together, merging their life and ministry for the sake of the kingdom of God. It is a work only the Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of his people could accomplish. In some ways it is a merging of different generations for the sake of the gospel. Together they are congregations more equipped than ever to engage every generation with the good news of Jesus Christ. How grateful we are to have both parishes and their rector seated at this Convention. And farther to the north and just received as a mission of this diocese is Grace Church, North Myrtle Beach. I must tell you that without the sacrificial ministry of the Reverend Linda Manual this would not have been even a remote possibility.

I wish I could tell you about the exciting ministry going on by the priests, deacons and lay members of the diocese in such places of education as—Porter-Gaud, the Citadel, Francis Marion University, and Coker College. If time permitted I could tell you one story after another —where young people’s lives are being changed, baptisms are taking place, and where biblical Anglicans for a global age are being made.

The more I see the hand of God working among us the more I realize that to enable every congregation to engage every generation with the good news of Jesus Christ is a realistic, achievable, and transformational goal. If you get a chance ask Mr. Pinckney Thompson, Sr. Warden at Redeemer, Orangeburg about the ministry he has as layman among the young members of his congregation and community. While you are at it, ask the Ervin brothers, Joe and Bill at St. Matthew’s Darlington about the youth ministry they lead there. Let us never forget my friends — the first order of ministry is the lay order. We have some remarkable lay men and lay women in ministry in this Diocese of South Carolina—some in Cursillo, Faith Alive, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, DOK, DCW, Men’s Conference, but most of all in congregations from Holy Apostles, Barnwell to St. David’s Cheraw—from Walterboro to Pinopolis to Bennettsville. Where there is trust in the power of God’s Holy Spirit and the willingness among God’s people, God will make a way. We don’t talk enough about ordinary people doing extraordinary ministry under the power of the holy spirit.

So far I have been speaking about our calling locally to make biblical Anglicans for a global age within our churches and local communities— equipping every congregation to engage every generation. I have only mentioned a handful of parishes. There are so many other stories I wish I could share of congregations moving forward in mission and ministry. But I need to move along to the larger scene in North American Anglicanism and the emerging scene in the larger Anglican Communion. Here, too, I believe we have our part to play.

Helping to Shape Emerging Anglicanism in the 21st Century

… has been an important part of every bishop’s address since I became your bishop in 2008. This year will be no different. Let me retrace some of the significant happenings since last year’s diocesan convention. After the New Wineskin’s Conference in Ridgecrest, N.C. (at which we had a large number of parishioners and clergy attending) we were visited by seven bishops of the Anglican Communion—from Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Ireland, Egypt, the Horn of Africa, and then later in the fall by Bishop Rafael from the Anglican Church in Bolivia. Each spoke in various congregations and diocesan settings. I mention this among other reasons because it is amazing the way mission can help us engage across the generations. Just one story to illustrate—but there are many like it: When Robin Quick heard Bishop Rob Martin tell of a Tree-Church congregation in his Diocese of Marsabit, Kenya that was losing the huge tree it met under by river erosion she went back to Christ Church, Mt Pleasant’s Sunday School and set about to raise $25,000 to construct a building for this Tree Church. In raising the last dollars they planned a 5-K run. So, as you might imagine, when I was asked to run in the race what could say but “Yes!” I have to tell you I won first place in the over 60 category and Fr. Ted Duvall won first place in the 50 and over. Never say the clergy of the Diocese aren’t fit! The 5K run got parishioners and unchurched people ages 5—75 involved in this project! Remember God’s mission engages God’s people across every generation!

This past June Archbishop Robert Duncan of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) invited us to be observers at their Provincial Synod. Dean Peet Dickinson and Mrs. Suzanne Swank from the Standing Committee and I attended. We were welcomed warmly and were encouraged by their vision and by their common life. God willing we shall send another delegation as observers at their upcoming June Provincial Synod. Then last October we joined a substantial delegation of Bishops, priests and lay persons from the ACNA in attending the Global Anglicans Future Conference (GAFCON II) in Nairobi, Kenya. Representatives from the diocese were Fr. Greg Snyder, President of the Standing Committee, and Fr. Robert Lawrence, chair of the ACD Committee, my wife, Allison and I. This was one of the largest and most remarkable gatherings of Anglicans in history—over 300 bishops and 1000 priests and laity. As you know one of the resolutions before this convention is affirming the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GFCA) and the Jerusalem Declaration both of which are key to the GAFCON movement. Let us pray that God continues to bless such movements of renewal, mission, and ministry in the Holy Spirit among fellow Anglicans. God is doing a new work within the communion. We’re glad to be a part of it.

Again last year at Archbishop Duncan’s request we host a meeting at St. Christopher for the various bishops of or connected with ACNA who have overlapping jurisdictions in South Carolina. It was agreed that I would function as convener at future meetings several times a year. These will be meetings for conversation, prayer and for mutual support. All these bishops were present at our Opening Eucharist last evening—Bishops’ Gadsden and White of the Reformed Episcopal Church, ACNA Bishop Steve Wood of the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas, Bishop David Bryan of PEAR of the Southeast (also with ACNA) and Bishop Paul Hewett (FACA). I pray that this is a harbinger and a sign of our growing fellowship and unity as we work towards a united, orthodox Anglicanism in North America.

There are two other noteworthy events for the diocese on the broader stage that I want to briefly celebrate. This past February St. Michael’s Charleston hosted their annual Global Impact Celebration—what an exhausting and exhilarating week it was. Along with bringing all their missionaries they help support, this year they invited Baroness Caroline Cox as their keynote speaker. She has been justly called the Anglican Mother Teresa. Her challenge to the some 450 members of St. Michael’s and parishioners from around the diocese who gathered at the Charleston Music Hall for witness and worship was hauntingly memorable—she challenged each of us by her words and life to engage more fully in mission for the gospel and in mercy for the suffering and persecuted Christians around the world. It was an emboldening call to move forward in mission to the ends of the earth.

Then the preceding week was the Mere Anglicanism Conference. This annual event which was begun by Bishop Allison and dean emeritus, William McKeachie has for the past two years been led by the Reverend Jeffrey Miller. This year’s conference because of the numerous luminaries on the schedule and its theme “Faith and Science” was a landmark event. It filled the Charleston Music Hall with some 650 attendees from all over the world. But for me at least seemed more than a conference. Yes, the parishioners of St. Helena’s gifts for hospitality were in splendid display. But there was something else at work this year. This was not just Episcopalians and Anglicans getting together to talk about the in-house problems of the Church. Here were Christians across the denominational spectrum gathered to engage one of the great issues of the culture, but done amidst dynamic Anglican worship and within the Diocese of South Carolina. I could not help but believe it represented a profound shift in our diocesan life. Sure many from within the diocese were not in attendance and perhaps had little knowledge and even less interest in what was taking place. Nevertheless it felt like another divide had been crossed. No longer were we held back by the gainsayers within the Church. We were discussing an issue of the day which the world sees as important and for too long (because of our denominational squabbles) we had failed to engage. I tell you friends I saw our diocese in new light. I saw it through the eyes of others. And I pray that I saw it through the eyes of Jesus Christ - resplendent with new possibilities not just for North American Anglicanism but for the role we might play by God’s grace on the larger scene of global Anglicanism.

It is for now an embryonic dream and I have debated with myself if I should even share it with you at this convention. But since I’ve been speaking about moving forward so let me give you glimpse of something I’ve only a glimpse of. What if we established in this diocese an institute to bring emerging Anglican leaders from across the world for 4 -6 weeks of residential study, prayer, renewal and reflection with seasoned Christian leaders and scholars? Imagine what a season—building relationships of gospel affection and a missionary vision for reaching the secular and the religious cultures of the 21st Century—might mean for those who labor in demanding vineyards under great depravation and persecution. Perhaps we might call it the St. Augustine or the Theodore of Tarsus School for Anglican Leadership Development. Imagine what it could mean for emerging Anglican leaders to come here from various parts of the communion for a season of study, renewal and refreshment and to have our clergy here study and pray alongside them under men such as Michael Nazir-Ali and many others who come quickly to mind. Imagine what remarkable vision and perspective these young leaders and our own priests might be given. We already have seminaries to train our future ordinands. There are programs for advanced degrees in our colleges. That’s not what I have in mind here. This would be designed for emerging leaders and those in mid-stride who have been ministering for 10, 15 or perhaps even 20 years who would be strengthened by such a time for prayer, study and visioning with other leaders to deepen their confidence in Gospel. Do you know that even now The Cross, Bluffton brings priests and laity from Ireland for a week every year to learn principles of congregational growth and to be refreshed and renewed in the midst of a lively congregation? I wonder who gains the most when all is said and done—those who minister or those who are ministered to? So I ask that you might dream and pray with me about this. We have not yet even scratched the surface of what we might do for God’s kingdom and Church.

Of course I can imagine some thinking, “Bishop, this is the wrong time to be talking about such a bold venture what with law suits and litigation expenses before us.” I can only respond by saying we cannot allow the need for consolidating to replace the need for advancing the gospel. I believe emerging Anglicanism needs this; North American Anglicanism needs it; and our own diocese and clergy need it. And I believe by God’s grace we can do it. Now to my last topic:

Clarifying our Episcopal or Anglican Identity and Provisional Primatial Oversight

The question of identity has been confusing to some lay persons in the diocese since our departure from The Episcopal Church in the fall of 2012. They ask, “How are we to refer to ourselves now that we are not part of the national church? Are we Episcopalians? Are we Anglicans?” A variety of answers can and have been given both by me and others. This is neither the time nor the place for a thorough exposition of this question. But, yes, we can and have referred to ourselves as “Episcopalians” but then one has to define what that means—though of course many of us have been doing that for years! The simple truth is that the word “Episcopalian” is not the exclusive property of TEC nor has it ever been. One might also say we are “Anglicans”—but this also needs to be explained to many within our parishes and even more to those outside. But remember the identity in God has an even deeper origin for people of faith then such descriptive names. God reminded Israel through the prophet Hosea that after a season judgment and suffering his restoring power would grant them identity:

“And in that day, says the Lord
I will answer the heavens
and they shall answer the earth;
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer Jezreel;
and I will sow him for myself in the land.
And I will have pity on Not Pitied,
and I will say to Not my People, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘Thou art my God.’” (Hosea 2: 21-23)

Bishop Lessile Newbiggin refers to this deeply captivating identity that comes to the Church from God’s mercy by calling us into fellowship with His Son with these challenging words:

“The Church exists, and does not depend for its existence upon our definition of it. It exists wherever God in His sovereign freedom calls it into being by calling His own into the fellowship with His Son. And it exists solely by His mercy…. To that end He is free to break off unbelieving branches, to graft in wild slips, and to call ‘No people’ His people.”

What is essential for us to remember is that though we have a centuries old history in this diocese and clearly demonstrate the “visible marks” of the Church, manifest first during the colonial era in a relationship with the Church of England which gave us Episcopal oversight (albeit from a distance), clergymen, and a Prayer book. This over-arching culture coupled with our well-known trait of independence made us much of who we were then and are now—sometimes through the established parish and clergy system and at other times through the preaching of Anglican revivalists like George Whitefield; then, in the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary War times this ethos continued to evolve and adapt given the dramatic change of context, and from this we emerged eventually in 1785 as the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina; and after 1790 through an association with the PECUSA; (then a several year sojourn as a diocese in The Episcopal Church in the Confederate States); then, again with PECUSA; and now we continue our sojourn under God as a diocese in the present era—an era characterized by a growing globalization within Anglicanism. None of this, however, can be our deepest identity. That is reserved for our call under God’s sovereignty: He who has called and continues to call ‘No people’ His people. We are who we are through his mercy and sovereignty in Jesus Christ. And He can bind us to whomever he chooses. Again hear some words of Bishop Newbigin:

“And if, at the end, those who have preserved through all the centuries the visible ‘marks’ of the Church find themselves at the same board with some strange and uncouth late-comers on the ecclesiastical scene, may we not fancy that they will hear Him say—would it not be like Him to say— ‘It is my will to give unto this last even as unto thee?’”

Yes, we have maintained the ‘marks’ of the Church for centuries within an ever changing context. But it is God in his providence that breaks off one and grafts on another, and calls in his mercy ‘No People’, ‘His People’. If we are not His People and do not have fellowship with His People, then it matters not who or what we call ourselves. So I remind us of an important truth that that doctrine theologians have referred to as God’s Providence has echoed again and again in the history of this Diocese . And this word, “Providence” or, rather its derivative, “providential” appears in what to my mind is the most important resolution to come before this 223rd Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina. In the final rationale for resolution R-3 “Response to Offer of Provisional Primatial Oversight” you will find this statement: “Most importantly, however, this resolution is the response others in the communion have created, and it provides a means for us to better make biblical Anglicans for a global age in this in between-time. We choose to see it as a providential provision which gives us further sacramental closeness with the global Anglican family which we so richly treasure.”

This final rationale reminds me of an address I made before the clergy of the diocese back on August 13, 2009:

Among the many doctrines of our Faith to which I might ask you to turn your thoughts this morning it is first to that wonderful doctrine of God’s Providence. It was to this doctrine that my distant predecessor, The Rt. Reverend Robert Smith, first bishop of South Carolina, turned when he addressed the Colonial Assembly which gathered at St. Philips Church in the early months of 1775 as the winds of war were blowing on the eve of the American Revolution. Of course he was not at that time a bishop. There were no bishops on these shores, though Anglicanism was well into its second century on this continent. Nor was he a bishop when he returned to Charleston from imprisonment and banishment in 1783 to give his homecoming sermon, where once again he spoke of an “overruling Providence”. As perhaps you know, his banishment to a northern colony was due to his having taken words and arms against his former king and country—and having thrown in his lot with his adopted home, he risked and lost everything. He was taken to Philadelphia bereaved of wife (she had recently died), and bereft of home and parish. But on that public occasion in February 1775, before he had ever fired a musket towards a British troop, this unlikely patriot declared his deepest allegiance:

“We form schemes of happiness and deceive ourselves with a weak imagination of security, without ever taking God into the question; no wonder then if our hopes prove abortive, and the conceits of our vain minds end in disappointment and sorrow. For we are inclined to attribute our prosperity to the wisdom of our own councils, and the arm of our own flesh, we become forgetful of him from whom our strength and wisdom are derived; and are then betrayed into that fatal security, which ends in shame, in misery and ruin.”

Notice how his eye looks upward; his mind striving to understand; his heart taking refuge in God’s ordering of things. Trusting the One “… who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. (Isaiah 40:21-24) It is under such a godly Providence that we live my friends—and it is under this godly providence, whether we act or merely stand firm in prayerful posture, that we in faith “shall mount up with wings like eagles … shall run and not be weary, … shall walk and not faint.”

So let us remember this comforting doctrine of God’s Providence. We have passed through much as a diocese. We have more challenges to encounter but we do not do so under our own power or by our own insufficient plans. There has come to us, as if by a providential hand, this offer from the Global South Primatial Steering Committee; an offer brought about not by our scheming or plans, but by the concern that others have for us; a concern that we do not walk this way alone. There’s an African proverb that wisely states—“If you want to go fast go alone; if you want to go far go together.” This offer of Provisional Primatial Oversight does not come with colonial intent or to burden us with a cultural mandate other than that of the Gospel; but rather to assure us that we are not on this long Anglican journey alone. I believe our prior relationships with so many of the Anglican Churches, our unity in the Holy Spirit, in the bonds of affection, and in the mission and gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can only be strengthened by our accepting this offer of ecclesial relationship. This Primatial Oversight will bring us an extra-provincial diocesan status with an ecclesial body of the larger Anglican family. It will deepen our mutual responsibility in the Gospel. It will give our bishop a Primate with whom to seek counsel and fellowship; and bring us gracious oversight from one of the largest ecclesial entities within the Communion; one which includes Anglicans from a diverse body of believers from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, the Indian Ocean and many, many others. So without committing us to a hasty affiliation or alleviating our need to continue the work of ongoing discernment for a more permanent provincial relationship, it does bring us, as I have noted above, a needed mutual responsibility in the Gospel. And, yes, it strengthens our Anglican or Episcopal Identity.

So in conclusion, let me say it clearly, I fully support the passage of this Resolution, R-3. Should we pass it, along with the two other related resolutions, R-1 “Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans” and R-2 “Discernment of Provincial Affiliation” we will be placed, I trust by God, squarely in the midst of the emerging Anglican world of the 21st Century. From here we can continue to move forward in strength, fulfilling our God given vision of making biblical Anglicans for a global age—striving to equip every congregation to engage every generation with the good news of Jesus Christ; and in whatever way God chooses to enable us—helping to shape emerging Anglicanism in the 21st Century. For such a gift and calling I believe we all can be grateful—and proclaim—to God alone be the Glory!

For a full report on all the convention proceedings, see the diocesan website.

South Carolina endorses Jerusalem Declaration, accepts provisional oversight from Global South

Bishop Lawrence

Delegates to the 223rd Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina enthusiastically endorsed the Jerusalem Declaration, becoming an official  partner in the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, and accepted an offer of provisional primatial oversight from the Global South Primates Steering Committee on Saturday. The actions send a clear signal that the diocese is moving ahead with its vision of "Creating Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age," having been liberated from the cumbersome apostasy of the national Episcopal Church.

While still in a process of discernment concerning a permanent provincial home, the diocese can now claim official recognition by the Anglican Communion's largest global body and genuine fellowship with Anglican Christians worldwide who confess unequivocally their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Bishop Mark Lawrence delivered an uplifting address to the convention, the full text of which will be posted when it becomes available.

Bishop Lawrence supports resolution accepting Global South offer of provisional oversight

One week from now, I will be attending my first Diocesan Convention as a priest in the Diocese of South Carolina. Since leaving the national Episcopal Church in November 2012, the diocese has been in a discernment process concerning a new provincial home. A final decision is still at least a year away, but a recent decision by the Global South Primates Steering Committee has prompted the Anglican Communion Development Committee, an arm of the Diocesan Council, to put forward a resolution in response to an offer of provisional primatial oversight. Bishop Mark Lawrence has issued the following statement concerning the resolution.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, March 7, 2014, Canon Jim Lewis emailed to all our diocesan clergy and the lay delegates to our upcoming March 14-15, 2014, Diocesan Convention a resolution that God-willing, and with the Convention’s consent, will come to the floor. This resolution, R-3: "Response to Offer of Provisional Primatial Oversight,” originated in the Anglican Communion Development Committee (ACD) but has also been supported by a majority of the clergy of the West Charleston deanery with whom I met at their recent clericus on Shrove Tuesday. The ACD Committee is an arm of Diocesan Council. It was established in 2009 in order to strategically establish mutually-enriching missional relationships with provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion. It has played a key role in pursuing our diocesan vision of “Making Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age.” As your bishop I fully support this resolution and for all of the reasons mentioned in the Rationale attached to it. But particularly for the reasons presented in the final rationale: “Most importantly, however, this resolution is the response to something others in the communion have created, and it provides a means for us to better make biblical Anglicans for a global age in this in between-time. We choose to see it as a providential provision which gives us further sacramental closeness with the global Anglican family which we so richly treasure.”

I want you to know, also, that I have been in conversation with Archbishop Robert Duncan of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) regarding this resolution. It is my hope that should the Diocese of South Carolina affirm this offer from the Global South Primates’ Steering Committee for Provisional Primatial Oversight that it will not be interpreted, either by those within the Diocese or across the wider Anglican Communion, as a step away from ACNA or any other more permanent provincial affiliation. What it does offer us, and those who may be in similar circumstances, is an ecclesial way of recognizing the relationships we have in the Holy Spirit, through the bonds of affection, and in the mission and gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as we continue in this ongoing process of discernment, this Provisional Primatial Oversight, if by God’s grace established, will give us what some might term an extra-provincial diocesan status with an ecclesial body of the larger Anglican family. It should also be noted in this regard; this Provisional Primatial Oversight, while bringing a mutual responsibility in the Gospel, commits us to neither a hasty affiliation nor alleviates our need to continue the work of ongoing discernment for a more permanent provincial relationship.

Yours in Christ,

The Right Reverend Mark Joseph Lawrence
XIV Bishop of South Carolina

Global South Primates issue Cairo Communique

Statement from the Global South Primates Steering Committee, Cairo, Egypt 14-15 February 2014

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3).

1. The Global South Primates Steering Committee met at All Saints Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt from 14-15 February 2014. We were delighted to have The Most Rev. & Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi, the Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA), and Canon David Porter, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Director for Reconciliation, as guests joining this important meeting in which we discussed the way ahead for the Anglican Communion and other matters. The Most Rev. Dr. Eliud Wabukala, the Primate of Kenya, and The Most Rev. Henri Isingoma, the Primate of Congo, apologized for not being able to attend.

2. We thank God for the times of fellowship, Bible study and prayer together. We also appreciated the frank discussion, open sharing, and spirit of unity among us. We are also encouraged by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s emphases on renewal, mission and evangelism within the Church of England and the rest of the Anglican Communion.

3. As we reviewed the current situation, we recognized that the fabric of the Communion was torn at its deepest level as a result of the actions taken by The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church in Canada since 2003. As a result, our Anglican Communion is currently suffering from broken relations, a lack of trust, and dysfunctional “instruments of unity.”

4. However, we trust in God’s promise that the “gates of hades will not overcome” the church. Holding unto this promise, we believe that we have to make every effort in order to restore our beloved Communion. Therefore we took the following decisions:

a) We request and will support the Archbishop of Canterbury to call for a Primates Meeting in 2015 in order to address the increasingly deteriorating situation facing the Anglican Communion. It is important that the agenda of this Primates Meeting be discussed and agreed upon by the Primates beforehand in order to ensure an effective meeting.

b) We decided to establish a Primatial Oversight Council, in following-through the recommendations taken at Dromantine in 2005 and Dar es Salam in 2007, to provide pastoral and primatial oversight to dissenting individuals, parishes, and dioceses in order to keep them within the Communion.

c) We realize that the time has come to address the ecclesial deficit, the mutual accountability and re-shaping the instruments of unity by following through the recommendations mentioned in the Windsor Report (2004), the Primates Meetings in Dromantine (2005) and Dar es Salam (2007), and the Windsor Continuation Group report.

5. We appreciate the costly decision of the House of Bishops of the Church of England, as well as the pastoral letter and pastoral guidance of The Archbishop of Canterbury and The Archbishop of York, in regard to the decision of the Westminster Parliament for same-gender marriage. The faithfulness of the Church of England in this regard is a great encouragement to our Provinces, and indeed the rest of the Communion, especially those facing hardships and wars.

6. We stand in solidarity with The Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul and the people of South Sudan and Sudan, calling for the cessation of fighting, an end to violence, and for a process for peace and reconciliation. We call upon the international community to give every help and support to those displaced as a result of fighting. We commit ourselves to pray for the people of Sudan.

7. We were encouraged to learn about the new constitution of Egypt and how the interim government is achieving the roadmap that was decided by its people on the 3 July 2013. We support the people of Egypt in their efforts to combat violence and terrorism.

8. We decided to activate the Task Forces established at the 4th Encounter of the Global South, which are: Economic Empowerment (coordinated by Archbishop Eliud Wabukala), Theological Resourcing (coordinated by Archbishop Bolly Lapok), Emerging Servant Leaders (coordinated by Archbishop Ian Ernest), and Inter-faith Relations (coordinated by Archbishop Nicholas Okoh).

9. We decided to hold the 5th Encounter of the Global South in 2015 and also organize a seminar for Global South leaders on “How Africa shaped Anglicanism”.

This statement is approved by:

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis, Bishop of Egypt and Chairman of Global South
The Most Rev. Ian Ernest, Primate of the Indian Ocean and General Secretary of Global South The Most Rev. Stephen Than Myint Oo, Primate of Myanmar
The Most Rev. Hector “Tito” Zavala, Primate of the Southern Cone
The Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi, Primate of Burundi and the Chairman of CAPA
The Rt. Rev. John Chew, representing the Primate of South East Asia
The Rt. Rev. Francis Loyo, representing the Primate of All Sudan

This statement was abstained by:
The Most Rev. Nkechi Nwosu, representing the Primate of All Nigeria

The arrogance, hypocrisy, and sheer hubris of Canterbury and York

Bishop David Anderson of the American Anglican Council well describes the recent communique on homosexuality from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Provinces of Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria as "spiritual bullying." The two top clerics of the Mother Church have literally scaled new heights (or, perhaps better stated, sunk to new depths) of arrogance, hypocrisy, and sheer hubris in presuming to lecture the three largest provinces of the Anglican Communion on the subject of human sexuality while, within their own house, they have failed miserably and scandalously to uphold the biblical teaching concerning the same.

Bishop Anderson pulls no punches, also pointing out other failures of the Mother Church's ostensible leadership.

The English Archbishops of York and Canterbury have fired the equivalent of a broadside into the respective Anglican Provinces of Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, and naturally it has to do with the Western hot button issue of homosexuality. While this subject seems to be causing the implosion of Anglican Provinces in America, Canada, England, Wales, and Scotland, the English Archbishops, rather than stand their Biblical ground against unnatural acts between individuals, choose rather to lecture and caution the three largest Anglican Provinces on the laws their civil governments are enacting.

When the head, nominal though he be, of the Anglican Communion lectures and cautions any Province, the implications and threat cannot be missed. It is odd that this lecture and caution would be directed toward the orthodox Anglicans of the Communion and not against the heterodox Anglicans both in North America and indeed within the Church of England itself. It seems that the Pilling Report may define the path that the Church of England will actually take. The Anglican Communion will soon have to face the prospect of a Mother Church which is spiritually unable to lead the worldwide flock of Anglicans. Interestingly, both the Archbishop of Kenya and now Uganda have responded to this English broadside and, commendably, they understand exactly the kind of spiritual bullying that is being directed toward them.

Archbishop Stanley Ntagali of Uganda, reminds the English Archbishops that, “….as they lead their own church through the “facilitated conversations” recommended by the Pilling Report, that the teaching of the Anglican Communion from the 1998 Lambeth Conference, from Resolution 1.10, still stands. It states that “homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture,” and the conference “cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions.” And then, in a direct and clear statement Ntagali says, “We sincerely hope the Archbishops and governing bodies of the Church of England will step back from the path they have set themselves on so the Church of Uganda will be able to maintain communion with our own Mother Church.”

I would not be surprised if the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, doesn’t respond as well. These three Anglican Provinces are the largest in the Anglican Communion, with a combined total of some 40 million, and these are people they can actually find on Sunday. I think it is fair to note that no longer should the mice dictate to the elephants on matters ecclesial.

There you have it. The primus inter pares, the Archbishop of Canterbury can no longer convene a full Primates Meeting, or a successful Lambeth Conference, and the orthodox Anglican Primates of GAFCON can convene two Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans conferences, in 2008 and 2013, and see a huge turnout and success. As additional responses to Canterbury surface we will post them.

One final thought. To be clear, the American Anglican Council does not support any law that unjustly targets people based only on sexual orientation. We agree with the 2008 resolution of the Ugandan House of Bishops to the effect that the church should offer “counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation” and that the church should be a safe place for anyone seeking help and healing.

Many westerners tend to use public pressure and media outlets to influence governments, churches and other groups. Those tactics don’t always work. If we have differences with our brothers and sisters in Christ, private, respectful but direct conversations are called for more often than not.

Also notable is the response from Archbishop Wabukala, who is not only Primate of Kenya but also chairman of GAFCON.

The good advice of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York would carry much more weight if they were able to affirm that they hold, personally, as well as in virtue of their office, to the collegial mind of the Anglican Communion. At the moment I fear that we cannot be sure.

Regrettably, their intervention has served to encourage those who want to normalize homosexual lifestyles in Africa and has fuelled prejudice against African Anglicans. We are committed to biblical sexual morality and to biblical pastoral care, so we wholeheartedly stand by the assurance given in the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution that those who experience same sex attraction are ‘loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ.’

We anxiously await Nigeria's response.

Archbishop Ntagali warns Mother Church about hypocrisy over homosexuality

Archbishop Stanley Ntagali Comments on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, the Church of England’s “Pilling Report,” and the Open Letter from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York

The Church of Uganda is encouraged by the work of Uganda’s Parliament in amending the Anti-Homosexuality Bill to remove the death penalty, to reduce sentencing guidelines through a principle of proportionality, and to remove the clause on reporting homosexual behaviour, as we had recommended in our 2010 position statement on the Bill. This frees our clergy and church leaders to fulfill the 2008 resolution of our House of Bishops to “offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning. The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing.”

Accordingly, we are grateful for the reminder of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to fulfill such commitments as stated in the 2005 Communique of the Primates Meeting held in Dromantine, Northern Ireland.

We would further like to remind them, as they lead their own church through the “facilitated conversations” recommended by the Pilling Report, that the teaching of the Anglican Communion from the 1998 Lambeth Conference, from Resolution 1.10, still stands. It states that “homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture,” and the conference “cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions.”

It was the Episcopal Church USA (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada’s violations of Lambeth 1.10 which caused the Church of Uganda to break communion with those Provinces more than ten years ago. We sincerely hope the Archbishops and governing bodies of the Church of England will step back from the path they have set themselves on so the Church of Uganda will be able to maintain communion with our own Mother Church.

Furthermore, as our new Archbishop of Canterbury looks toward future Primates Meetings and a possible 2018 Lambeth Conference of Bishops, we would also like to remind him of the 2007 Primates Communique from Dar es Salaam, which says that there are “consequences for the full participation of the Church in the life of the Communion” for TEC and those Provinces which cannot

“Make an unequivocal common covenant that the Bishops will not authorize any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through” their governing body;

“Confirm…that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent.”

It is clear that the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Anglican Church of Canada have not upheld these commitments, and so we do pray for the Archbishop of Canterbury as he considers whether or not to extend invitations to their Primates for the next Primates Meeting or to their Bishops for the 2018 Lambeth Conference. To withhold these invitations would be a clear signal of his intention to lead and uphold the fullness of the 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10.

The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali

ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA.

In his own words: ++Akinola recounts ordeal in gunmen's hands

Reported in Nigeria's Osun Defeder via The Nation:

Former Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Dr Peter Jasper Akinola relived yesterday his abduction and rescue, saying “it was like a drama”.

Rev. Akinola, his daughter and driver were rescued by the police after their abduction in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Tuesday.

He said while his ordeal lasted, he was in fear, imagining how he could die in the hands of his abductors.

He was at the Saviour’s Anglican Church, Abeokuta.

Ministers of God and members of the church, who converged for the Christmas service, were grateful to God for the safe return of Rev. Akinola.

The retired Primate and former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) said Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikemefuna Okoye and Secretary to State Government(SSG) Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, led the rescue operation, adding that his abductors were demanding “dollars” from him.

His words: “I want to thank all of you for your outpouring of love and prayers. What happened yesterday was what I used to think is drama thing that we used to see on the television, until much more later that I realised it was real.

“I left the house about 11am to go to our site where we are building structure to train young people in Nigeria that are unemployed. The irony of it is that as I was coming out of the place where I had gone to give food to our workers for Christmas.

“As I was stepping out, these two young men came out of their car from nowhere. They asked me to open the door and were knocking the glass with their guns. I instructed my driver, Jonah, to open the door for them. They sand-witched us at the back of the car and they drove off.

“They told us to put our head down and that they will blow off our head if we look up. They drove for about an hour, where we don’t know, until we discover that we are in the midst of a thick forest. Then I requested to talk and informed them that there was no enough fuel in the car.

“They queried us for not having enough fuel in the car and my driver responded that we just returned from a journey. In the bush there, I was surprised at how they were able to locate a filling station, bought N3,000 fuel and continued with the journey that was about three(3pm) in the afternoon.

“They started asking questiond about dollars, which I said there was none. I told them I was a village pastor that has just retired and that the car was given to me by the church, they asked about the security of the car and I told them there was none. They searched for it for almost two hours but couldn’t find anything.

“I was just praying that God of mercy should come to our rescue. I was just remembering how God saved some believers in the bible and I concluded that if I must die, how can it be in the hands of these people? Unknown to us, the news had started circulating around and people started praying.

“Meanwhile, they had taken everything from us; they have taken my shirt, my shoe. I was left with my singlet and trouser, but my driver was not so lucky; his cloth, trouser and shoe were taken; he was left with boxer.

“They said I should walk on. When we moved about 100 meters from the car, I was asked to take the left while my driver was asked to take the right inside the bush, I was hearing how they were threatening my driver.

“After a while, we started hearing gun shot. Apparently, the police were around. Later, we learnt that the Governor himself with the Commissioner of Police, the Secretary to the State Government led the rescue team. When we couldn’t hear any gunshot, I trekked back to the footpath, shouting for my driver.

“Not quite long I saw a vehicle coming. They approached me. I raised up my hands and told them it was my car they took and that I’m looking for my driver. They said they were police and they said I should come into the car.

“The leader of the police team, the state anti-robbery squad; they called him TJ, was a wonderful man. For the first time in my life I doffed my hat for the police for their performance.

“This same man, a Muslim, approached me and said they had heard about what I was doing, that I should not stop. He said God had preserved my life for this purpose. He charged me to do more, right from Imasayi to Ayetoro and right to Randa.

“It was just beyond my imagination that I come back in peace but was worried about my driver whom I later found out was at the hospital.”

Global South statement on the Pilling Report

GS Statement on the Pilling Report

New Archbishop of Sydney delivers Presidential Address

Presidential Address 2013

BREAKING: Archbishop Kattey released

Let us praise God for the safe return of Archbishop Kattey!

Most Reverence Ignatius Kattey,Archbishop of the Niger Delta North Diocese of the Anglican Church,who was recently kidnapped by some gunmen, has been released according to the police.

Kattey was taken hostage about a week ago, minutes after he drove out of his residence at Eleme.

According to Vanguard News, Public Relations Officer of Rivers State Police Command, DSP Angela Agabe, in a telephone chat, said the cleric had been freed.

It could not be confirmed if any ransom was paid. Sunday Vanguard gathered that the archbishop was released at Eleme.

Archbishop Anis issues call to prayer as Muslim Brotherhood attacks Anglican church in Port Suez

Via Anglican Ink:

14 August 2013

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

As I write these words, our St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Suez is under heavy attack from those who support former President Mursi. They are throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the church and have destroyed the car of Rev. Ehab Ayoub, the priest-in-charge of St. Saviour’s Church. I am also aware that there are attacks on other Orthodox churches in Menyia and Suhag in Upper Egypt(see attached photo), as well as a Catholic church in Suez. Some police stations are also under attack in different parts of Egypt. Please pray and ask others to pray for this inflammable situation in Egypt.

Early this morning, the police supported by the army, encouraged protestors in two different locations in Cairo, to leave safely and go home. It is worth mentioning that these protestors have been protesting for 6 weeks, blocking the roads. The people in these neighborhoods have been suffering a great deal—not only these people, but those commuting through, especially those who are going to the airport. The police created very safe passages for everyone to leave. Many protestors left and went home, however, others resisted to leave and started to attack the police. The police and army were very professional in responding to the attacks, and they used tear gas only when it was necessary. The police then discovered caches of weapons and ammunition in these sites. One area near Giza is now calm, but there is still some resistance at other sites. There are even some snipers trying to attack the police and the army. There are even some rumors that Muslim Brotherhood leaders asked the protestors in different cities to attack police stations, take weapons, and attack shops and churches.

A few hours later, violent demonstrations from Mursi supporters broke out in different cities and towns throughout Egypt. The police and army are trying to maintain safety for all people and to disperse the protestors peacefully. However, the supporters of former President Mursi have threatened that if they are dispersed from the current sites, they will move to other sites and continue to protest. They also threatened to use violence. There have been a number of fatalities and casualties from among the police as well as the protestors, but it seems that the numbers are not as high as expected for such violence. However, the supporters of former President Mursi claim that there are very high numbers of casualties. The real numbers will be known later on.

Please pray that the situation will calm down, for wisdom and tact for the police and the army, for the safety of all churches and congregations, and that all in Egypt would be safe.

May the Lord bless you!

+Mouneer



The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis
Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt
with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
President Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican
Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East