What really happened at the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC 17)?
by Andrew Atherstone, Psephizo:
It has been a great privilege, and in many ways a joy, to attend the seventeenth meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-17) in Hong Kong, as part of the Church of England’s delegation. We spent eight days enjoying the abundant hospitality of our hosts and discovering the impressive ministry of Hong Kong Anglicanism, especially its serious investment in programmes for social transformation like schools and hospitals. In our business sessions, we were introduced to many global Anglican initiatives such as the nurturing of Anglican women leaders, the promotion of intentional discipleship (and a new suite of resources called Jesus-Shaped Life), the vital work of the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission, the relief coordinated by the Anglican Alliance in areas of catastrophe like cyclone-hit Mozambique, and the worldwide reach of Thy Kingdom Come in praying for Christian conversions. We nodded at ecumenical agreements, were briefed on the latest plans for Lambeth 2020, and engaged with multiple Anglican networks concerning ‘peace and justice’, health care, church planting, liturgy, and environmentalism. In line with the Five Marks of Mission, there was something for everyone, both gospel proclamation and social justice, with a weighting towards the latter. It was an excellent week for building better cohesion in the Anglican world, and forming new friendships.
But ACC-17 also raises a number of significant questions about the future of Anglicanism and the interrelationship of the four Anglican ‘instruments of communion’. This article offers some personal reflections and critique.
Facing our Disunity
See also: EFAC rebut suggestion of differences with Gafcon: Press Release from the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion [asking Archbishop Josiah Fearon to clarify statements he made at ACC 17].
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