GAFCON3 highlights global mission

The nine emerging networks met throughout the afternoon to plan their work between now and GAFCON 2023 which will like GAFCON 2013 be held in another part of the world. GAFCON 2028 will be held back in Jerusalem.  An emerging question for all parties is what is to be the relationship between these new Anglican networks and those linked with the Anglican Consultative Council.

The question also surfaced about how a new province, such as Chile, could be incorporated as an ‘official’ Anglican Province and at the same time be a GAFCON Province. With the Primates Council standing on stage behind him, Archbishop-elect Tzavala of Chile affirmed that their new province stood firmly with GAFCON as part of the Anglican Communion.

The Panel of Advice, a synodal council has had its first meeting. It has two houses: the primates form one and a bishop, clergy and layperson from each province with GAFCON representation make up the other.

A series of seminars and presentations address issues such as the uniqueness of Christ, engaging with non-Christian religions including traditional religions, marriage, love and intimacy, addressing the culture of death, the Holy Spirit, how to preach on hell, same-sex attraction and singleness, equipping women in ministry for ministry, the practice of discipline, gender and identity, human flourishing in different cultural contexts, empowering the laity and the sacraments in the Christian Life. GAFCON  is clear that it is broader than evangelicalism and includes women priests and Anglo-Catholics in its membership.

The seminar on human flourishing and Mission addressed how the practice of Christian faith expressing the gospel of the kingdom of God addressed free floating individual choice of the capitalist consumer culture of the west extending as far as consensual sex with whatever gender felt right for a person’s needs, and its provision of a new identity as sons and daughters of God for those robbed of their identity by poverty and social exclusion.

On Thursday lunchtime the first draft of the Conference statement wiil be given to the regional groups to discuss over their packed lunches of a well filled brown roll and a pineapple and grape desert. They will feed their responses to the statement drafting group who will present the final document for approval on Friday morning. Delegates have been assured that the drafting group have started with a blank sheet of paper.

On Thursday afternoon the delegates will take part in a second part of their pilgrimage, for a group photo on the temple steps, a photo venue made very familiar from GAFCON 2008. GAFCON 3 has almost 2000 delegates from 53 countries, almost equally divided between clergy and laity of whom 673 are women and 94 are female clergy. 218 are from Australia, 232 from Uganda, 367 are from USA, 204 from UK and 472 from Nigeria. A special extra platform is being provided to accommodate them all.