"Heartbreak & Healing: I came to Gafcon IV this time with great reluctance. A combination of all the travelling and a heavy heart at what might be the outcome of the conference did not fill me with enthusiasm! In the Lord’s providence, good lay leaders’ and our bishop’s gentle encouragement prevailed and I am so glad I came."
"A serving church: A powerful expression of this was shown early on Monday morning when our much delayed flight (via Zanzibar!) arrived at Kigali at 3am. Imagine my astonishment on discovering that Laurent Mbanda, the Archbishop of Rwanda, was there waiting to greet us with a big hug. That set the tone of the conference for me. The welcome, care, and hard work of the mainly Rwanda volunteers has been humbling and serves as a powerful example of what we should all do and be all of the time."
"Whether it’s in the turmoil of Sudan and Myanmar, or the determined doctrinal drift of some in the Church of England, it is comforting to know that Gafcon offers support, encouragement and prayer"
Dave McCarthy, St Thomas Edinburgh (ACE)
"I met a Ugandan brother yesterday whose ministry is all about promoting something he calls ‘reverse mission.’ It involves encouraging Ugandan churches to send their young and trainee ministers to the West in order to learn under a minister there, whilst bringing something of the evangelistic and spiritual vitality of the Church of Uganda to the western context."
"This seems to me to illustrate a logic that is at the heart of Gafcon - across the global church we need one another. We in the West have training and resources that can benefit our brothers and sisters elsewhere, but we also have so many ways in which we need them. We need their witness, prayers and help if we are to re-evangelise the west."
Pete Jackson, Christ Church Walkley, Sheffield (AMiE)
"It is the final day of Gafcon and I am going to miss arriving at the conference each day excited about the conversations I will have with sisters and brothers from around the world. Chats that warm the heart and pierce the heart and at the same time fill the heart with joy."
"I would like to tell of one man in my prayer group who ministers in Australia. The reason I mention him is because like mine his ministry was very ordinary but he was enthusiastic about it and faithful in it. As we spoke each day, our ministry separated by thousands of miles, we spurred one another on in love and good deeds. Same Lord, same Gospel, same Holy Spirit of God working among us."
Scott McKay, Christchurch Newland, Hull (AMiE)
see full report at Anglican Network in Europe - Gafcon Gleanings - Friday