Reflections from GAFCON IV

Bishop Dan shares a brief report and reflections from his time in Kigali during the 2023 GAFCON conference.

Dear sisters and brothers in our diocesan family,

On this past Sunday the churches throughout our diocese celebrated the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s Church which we see in Acts 2. The blessings of the day of Pentecost were wonderfully reflected in the GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) gathering that took place April 17th-21st in Kigali Rwanda. It was a joyful Holy Spirit-filled fellowship of 1300+ Anglican believers from 52 countries—representing 85% of Anglicans from around the world— worshipping, learning, taking counsel and living together in the unity of Jesus. As we gathered in Kigali there was a profound sense that this was a foretaste of the hope of heaven where the nations of the world will be gathered in joy and worship in the presence of their God forever.

Our Delegates

Among the attendees at GAFCON were 12 delegates from ANiC: Bishop Trevor Walters, Bishop Don Harvey, Bishop Stephen and Nona Leung, Bishop Dan Gifford, Canon Brian McVitty, Mike Tweedle, Rev. Devin and Sarah Hunt, Canon George Sinclair, Rev. Marilyn Flower, Rev. Jordan Senner, and Rev. Howard Edwards. Our ANiC delegates were very active in developing and renewing friendships and ministry partnerships with other churches and dioceses; offering guidance to leaders from England who are now facing the same crisis we did at ANiC’s forming; learning from Anglicans in overseas churches who have vital Gospel ministries with few resources and seeking ways to strengthen one another in the mission work that Jesus has given to us. Each of our delegates came away from GAFCON deeply encouraged in the Lord Jesus and with a renewed confidence in the Anglican church’s crucial place in His mission to the world.

Concern and Significance

It was also a time of great concern and significance because of recent decisions in the Church of England to bless same-sex unions and contradict scriptural doctrine of sex and marriage, a doctrine which had been overwhelmingly endorsed at the 1998 Lambeth conference of all Anglican bishops stating that “the only appropriate context for sexual activity is the exclusive lifelong union of a man and a woman in marriage.”

A significant theme of this GAFCON was repentance, and it was a gift to be with brothers and sisters from many different cultures because it allowed us to help each other see the blind spots of disobedience to God in our own culture. Each day after our Bible teaching, we were led in a time of reflection and prayer, to consider how we have departed from the call of Jesus in our lives and in our churches, and to ask for His grace to turn back to him. In this posture of repentance and humility, GAFCON called the Church of England and other parts of the Communion to repent of their departing from the Biblical truths of our Anglican church, which continues despite continued calls from orthodox leaders for the last 20 years.

The Kigali Commitment

You can read the call to repentance outlined in the Kigali Commitment here. It is a call that has led the gathered orthodox leaders from the Global South Fellowship (GSFA) and GAFCON to no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as the leader of the Church of England, as the "first among equals" within the international leadership of the Global Anglican Communion until repentance takes place.

The Kigali Commitment does not prescribe the exact steps following this momentous decision. Rather, it calls for an urgent "resetting" of the Anglican Communion, with three goals in mind: [1] providing orthodox Anglicans worldwide with a clear identity, [2] establishing a global 'spiritual home' of which they can be proud, and [3] creating a strong leadership structure that gives them stability and direction as Global Anglicans. It is important that we pray for this process of resetting our Anglican Communion structure in the months to come.

Through GAFCON we in ANiC are in a close fellowship with millions of Anglicans who are passionate about our mission to those who don’t know Jesus, and for the growth of the worshipping body of Christ in love and fellowship with Him. With these GAFCON sisters and brothers, we commit ourselves afresh to the gospel mission of proclaiming the crucified, risen and ascended Christ, calling on all to acknowledge him as Lord in repentance and faith, and living out a joyful, faithful obedience to his Word in all areas of our lives. We will explore fresh ways to encourage each other, to pray for one another and to hold each other accountable in these things. (GAFCON IV Kigali Statement)

The members of GAFCON are called in the Kigali commitment to live out our obedience to Jesus by engaging in a decade (2023-2033) of discipleship, evangelism and mission. This will include especially encouraging youth and children’s ministry, women’s ministry, mercy ministries to those in need, and the raising up of the next generation of leaders in the church. We in ANiC wholeheartedly embrace these priorities and we pray for God the Holy Spirit to give us grace to carry out our Gospel mission.

The Body of Christ

As we continue to celebrate Pentecost may we be reminded that we are in a close fellowship with millions of Christians and global Anglicans who have a passion for mission to those who don’t know Jesus, and to the growth of the worshipping body of Christ in love and fellowship with Him. Thank God for this gift of this worldwide communion which had its beginning on the Day of Pentecost and through which the Holy Spirit strengthens and encourages us to serve him faithfully in our own diocese of ANiC.

May you all be blessed in this knowledge, and may you go forth rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yours in our Lord Jesus,

+Dan

The Right Reverend Dan Gifford
Diocesan Bishop