The Anglican Mission Comments on the 2008 Lambeth Conference Invitations

Anglican Mission in America ^ | 5/23/07 | Rt. Rev. Charles H Murphy, III

[Huber]

In response to the decisions by the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding invitations to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the Rt. Rev. Charles H. Murphy, III, Chairman of the AMiA, in consultation with the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini, Primate of the Province of Rwanda, issues the following statement.

The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, announced this week that invitations to the 2008 Lambeth Conference have been issued to over 800 bishops in the Communion, including all but one of the bishops in The Episcopal Church (TEC). I believe that this action and decision by Archbishop Williams indicates an intentional distancing of himself from the Primates’ Godly counsel which they have repeatedly stated in their gatherings and in their Communiqués. For example:

The emergency meeting of Primates at Lambeth in October 2003 calling TEC to repentance.

The Global South leaders gathered in Lagos, Nigeria in October 2004 repeating this call and stating that their actions had “pushed the Anglican Communion to the breaking point.”

The January 2005 Global South Primates’ meeting in Nairobi reiterating this call for repentance, and warning that “failing any substantial change of direction within the next three months (i.e. by May 31st, 2005), the Global South Primates would conclude that TEC had chosen to ‘walk alone’, and follow another religion.”

The February 2005 Dromantine Primates’ meeting which warned of “broken relationships” unless TEC repented.

The October 2005 South to South Encounter which repeated these warnings and these concerns.

The September 2006 Kigali Global South meeting which commended the “Road To Lambeth” document describing this present state of “broken communion” and which questions the need to attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference if TEC refuses to clearly turn and repent.

The February 2007 Dar es Salaam gatherings of CAPA and the Global South Primates which, again, endorsed the “Road to Lambeth” document and its conclusions.

The Archbishop seems to signal his unconditional support for continued full inclusion of TEC bishops, regardless of how they ultimately choose to respond to repeated demands and conditions of the Primates of the Anglican Communion, most recently voiced in their Dar es Salaam Communiqué.

In light of the overwhelming evidence of the Global South’s clarity and numerous warnings, by issuing Lambeth invitations to ECUSA Bishops prior to the release of their final response to the Primates’ concerns and demands for repentance (due September 30th), Archbishop Williams’ actions can be interpreted as preemptive and even dismissive. This seems to indicate he takes the Global South’s continued support for granted.

I consider this decision as a demonstration of the ongoing crisis of faith and leadership that exists in this Communion, and I believe that it will have serious consequences in view of our Lord’s teaching that a “house divided simply cannot stand.”

We can draw comfort from the fact that, as Dr. Philip Jenkins writes in The Next Christendom, the actual leadership of the Anglican Communion has now shifted to the Global South, and I expect Archbishop Kolini and other Global South leaders will address this matter in a decisive way at their upcoming meetings this fall. I join in their endorsement of the “Road to Lambeth” as containing the best way forward in our life together as “the one holy catholic and apostolic Church”.

As this crisis within the Communion is being addressed and resolved, the Anglican Mission will maintain its consistent focus on those 130 million people in this country who have yet to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by gathering and planting new churches throughout North America. We rejoice in the knowledge that the AMiA is in “full communion” with all of God’s faithful around the world and that since the creation of this Mission nearly seven years ago, God has faithfully added to our numbers, on average, one new church every three weeks. We will, therefore, continue to look to Him, and to Rwanda, for the necessary authority and “recognition” needed to press on with this vital and essential work.

(Archbishop Kolini and the House of Bishops in Rwanda expect to meet soon to respond officially to Archbishop William’s decisions regarding the 2008 Lambeth Conference. It is anticipated that they will address the fact that some of the members of their body have not been invited to the Lambeth Conference.)

“Road to Lambeth” http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/the_road_to_lambeth_presented_at_capa/

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FYI..Rumor has it that Rosie O’Donnell quit the view to enter an Episcopal seminary along with Jim McGreevey. she said she expects to be Presiding Bishop within 5 years..(g)