www.inclusivechurch.net Surround them with prayer
Leading anti-apartheid Archbishop to preside at inclusivechurch service.
On 15th October the leaders of global Anglicanism will meet at Lambeth Palace to decide the future of the Communion, following American Church’s (ECUSA) election of an openly gay man, Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.
As the Primates meet www.inclusivechurch.net has organised a celebration of the Eucharist, the symbol of Anglican unity, in the three parishes that immediately surround Lambeth Palace.
The former Archbishop of Central Africa, The Most Rev’d Walter Makhulu will be presiding at St Matthew’s Church in Westminster. He was president of the All Africa Conference of Churches from 1981 to 1986 and President of the World Council of Churches from 1983 to 1999. It is widely acknowledged that in the fight against the apartheid system in South Africa, few were braver than Walter Makhulu.
The Dean of Cape Town, The Very Rev’d Rowan Smith, will celebrate at St Peter’s, Vauxhall. The Dean of Divinity at New College, Oxford, The Rev’d Dr Jane Shaw, will celebrate at St John’s, Waterloo. The services will take place simultaneously at 11.00 am on Wednesday 15th October.
Following the forced resignation of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading, www.inclusivechurch.net was set up over the summer to combat the increasing tendency towards narrowness and sectarianism within the Church. Over 6,000 church members and over 50 PCC’s have signed up to inclusivechurch’s Declaration of Belief. ‘We are at the heart and soul of Anglicanism’ claims Rev’d Dr Giles Fraser, Chair of inclusivechurch. ‘The vast majority of members of the Church of England want their church to be welcoming and generous to all. This is the historic inheritance of Anglicanism. The contemporary church is currently in danger of losing its open and inclusive approach. These are worrying times.’
Press and Photographers welcome at St Matthew’s, Westminster on the 15th. St Matthew’s is on Great Peter Street.
Further details: The Rev’d Dr Giles Fraser: 07811 444011
I’ll try and sneak out of work for an hour to attend one of these. The more I hear from Archbishops Jenson and Akinola, however, the less inclined to really give a hoot about the unity of the Anglican Communion, I’m afraid. And even less about the David Holloways and William Taylors of this world leaving the C of E.