Updated again Friday midday
The Australian press has caught up with their local angle on this story. See
Melbourne Age Barney Zwartz Anglican archbishop spurs opposition to gays:
OUTSPOKEN Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen is galvanising opposition to homosexuality in the church, in the lead-up to an unofficial meeting of conservative bishops in Jerusalem.
As rifts in the worldwide Anglican Church threaten to become a schism, the Sydney Archbishop said American Anglicans had become missionaries for homosexuality in defiance of the Bible and Anglican teaching…
The Australian David King Jensen leads separate force:
THE conservative Anglican Archbishop of Sydney has emerged as a leader of a “provocative” breakaway summit for bishops opposed to gay clergy.
Peter Jensen confirmed yesterday he was part of the leadership group of the Global Anglican Future Conference, an international meeting of bishops and churchmen in Israel, to take place in June, just weeks before the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Conference.
He said the GAFC meeting would address “the current reality of a Communion in disarray over fundamental issues of the gospel and biblical authority”.
Andrew Brown has this comment article on Comment is free Dither on, Williams:
Over the last few years, Dr Rowan Williams has sometimes looked criminally innocent (“The trouble with Rowan is that he’s too damn Christian,”) as one of his colleagues remarked; sometimes merely well-meaning but powerless; very occasionally he has looked as if he is working to an angelically cunning plan. This week has been a good week for the cunning plan interpretation. It is not that he has done anything – but his rigorous policy of inaction and delay has given his opponents an opportunity to fall apart which they have exploited to the full…
The Jerusalem Post has a further report by George Conger Regional Anglicans fear Jerusalem conference could ‘inflame tensions’.
Arab Anglican leaders have called for the cancellation of a June gathering of Anglicans in Jerusalem, claiming it could exacerbate Christian-Muslim tensions in the Palestinian territories…
Friday updates
The Church Times has this report by Pat Ashworth Conservatives plan alternative meeting before Lambeth.
The Church of England Newspaper has this report Archbishop defends letter by George Conger which is mostly about the Advent Letter, but continues:
…Global South primates contacted by The Church of England Newspaper said they were mulling over Dr. Williams words, with some stating they would be sending him private responses, while others expected a public statement of some sort to be prepared sometime after Christmas…
There is a video on YouTube about one of the Anglican congregations in the Jerusalem diocese and the work it does at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQZQZLP6eHc
For me, it has more to say about mission, and indeed our Global Anglican Future, than anything I have so far heard from GAFCON.
BTW The Age journalist’s name is “Zwartz”
Fixed, thanks, sorry
Simon
No doubt Archbishop Jensen makes many enlightened Sydneysiders cringe each time he opens his ignorant mouth. He is a modern-day Flogging Parson!
David Virtue has been gathering information about Changing Attitude England and Nigeria this week. The result can now be read at http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7404 Why has he published these lies about Changing Attitude and gay people and this attack against me now? Is it because the announcement of GAFCON has been such a disaster for the conservatives, showing the splits and power struggles that are driven by Archbishop Akinola and Bishop Martyn Minns. They are trying to divert attention from their own serious problems. David Virtue has a reputation as a very prejudiced reporter who has a record for getting things wrong… Read more »
The Conger article, or at least the part of it posted at Anglican Mainstream, raises an interesting question. Apparently, the Archbishop was asked in a radio interview on December 19 about a possible pre-Lambeth conservative gathering. That was a week or so before the press release of GAFCON. It causes me to wonder what the Archbishop knew, and when did he know it. It also causes me to wonder what he would say now, now that the GAFCON agenda is public.
Davis,
Don’t worry about the David Virtue article. They can only publish this nonsense in their own circles because everyone else knows by now that Tunde has never ever provided a shred of evidence for his slander.
You’re right, it isn’t worth replying to.
Davis We can spark uproar by insisting that they name only one person as the “evil one” incarnate. There seems to be a plague of them right now. Endure and have faith. Reread Micah 4. They think they are winning as they gather together the masses from the nations. They say “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!” Davis, they thought their bold move would put them in the lead. It did separate them from the rest of the pack, and now others who thought they were safe from their abuse can now understand why Zion moved… Read more »
Re: the Conger article — it does sound as if the ABC was better informed about GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem than the Bishop in Jerusalem was!
Also, I have to agree with Bishop Iker — further discussions with him are not going to change anything — that is rather the point.
Fr. Mark Harris on Preludium quotes an interview with the PB of the Province of the Southern Cone, +Gregory Venables, printed in the ACC Newsletter. This is how Fr. Harris, a member of TEC’s Executive Council, sees the situation as it relates to GAFCON, and how +Venables relates to this planned conference prior to Lambeth 2008: “(+Venables) has determined that the Anglican Communion has unraveled. He has determined that the Primates who count (the Global South Anglicans Steering Committee and a few others) are the power to contend with, not the Archbishop of Canterbury… He considers himself in a self-appointed… Read more »
Why isn’t the Church of England in South Africa ( CESA) invited to GAFCON…is it because it has lay presidency, taken the word Catholic out of the creeds and has church plants in Central Africa, an “Orthodox” province.
CESA is very much the offspring of Sydney…so why are they not at the table…would it upset the African component and antagonise the Anglo-Catholics?
“the Sydney Archbishop said American Anglicans had become missionaries for homosexuality”
Apparently the Sydney Archbishop is one of those whom one knows is lying because his lips are moving…
Lord have mercy!
Never mind the Mind of the Communion, we might mind that the Mind of the Lord has spoken!
http://pluralistspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/01/gafcon-mind-of-lord-happens.html
The GAFCON website now includes the invitation that +Duncan has extended to all the CCP bishops, issued on Jan 6th. An explicit invitation to Jerusalem, despite +Dawani’s concerns and before +Akinola and +Jensen had met to speak with him (supposedly during this week). The letter states: “The Primate or Moderator of each Province is responsible for providing the list of invitees to the leadership team” Does this mean that every Primate gets to choose who is invited? Will there be Primates who will not get to choose? Will anyone from his province then be able to attend? What if a… Read more »