News and comment from the Anglican world
GAFCON SUNDAY 29 JUNE
Gafcon invites every church to devote time during worship services on Sunday 29th June to show this video about Gafcon Sunday from Bishop Paul Donison, and to lead prayers for our movement.
We would love you to take up a thanksgiving offertory during your service, or to consider a special one-off gift from your church mission budget to support the vital work of Gafcon.
www.gafcon.org/donate
www.gafcon.org/donate/churches
Gafcon in Europe: date to be announced - evening of prayer and Gafcon news and changes to the Regional structure.
All Gafcon supporters across the Region are invited to join Bishops Paul Donison and David McClay for a time of prayer and Gafcon updates. Zoom link details will be sent out to all subscribers of the newsletter in due course.
Across Europe, there will now be one regional body relating to Gafcon Global and promoting Gafcon locally. This will be known as Gafcon Europe, of which Bishop David McClay is now the Chair (see below). From next month, the working name that we will use, including for this newsletter and other communications, will be Gafcon Europe instead of Great Britain and Europe (Gafcon Ireland will continue as a Gafcon branch). This reflects our strengthening unity as a region, and the encouraging development of faithful Gafcon-aligned Anglicanism in the continent of Europe as well as in the nations of the British Isles.
Gafcon communique for prayer for peace in the Middle East – ‘Pray for this conflict to cease. Pray for the protection of the innocent. Pray for the wounded and for the bereaved. And pray that the Lord will raise up peacemakers in our time’…
Martin Davie critiques the Church of England Bishops’ statement on Gaza as being unbalanced.
Revisionist bishops in Ireland and England
Bishop David McClay of the Diocese of Down and Dromore, Board Member of Gafcon Ireland and new Regional Secretary of Gafcon Europe, has issued a statement lamenting the high profile platforming of a same-sex partnered revisionist bishop from TEC at a celebration of Pride at Dublin Cathedral on 13th June.
Bishop David says that this event “very clearly signifies a departure from the historic faith, the teaching and the discipline of the Church of Ireland.”
He continues:
“We are part of a worldwide Anglican communion where many are coming to know Christ every day. The church is growing in those nations which hold to biblical orthodoxy in doctrine and lifestyle. Here in the West where parts of the church are embracing the liberal culture of society the church is in decline and we hear much by way of talk about this decline.”
His stance has been unanimously supported by Down And Dromore Diocesan Synod
Bishop David McClay
In their statement, Gafcon Ireland say:
The public affirmation and celebration of a bishop who is in a same-sex ‘marriage’, which is contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture and the received doctrine of the Church, undermines and is contrary to gospel witness, causes confusion, and brings division amongst God’s people….We also grieve for those within the Church of Ireland who are faithful to the Scriptures but feel increasingly isolated as public platforms are given to those who reject core Christian convictions. The GAFCON movement reassures that, “you are not alone”.
We thank God for these clear statements, and pray that the ministry of the gospel would flourish among faithful Anglicans in Ireland, both those contending for truth within the Church of Ireland, and those who are part of a group of new ACE plants.
Meanwhile in England, a number of Dioceses are openly promoting the celebration of Pride. For example, a prominent report on the Diocese of Oxford website says:
"As queer Christians, we can sometimes not know where we're welcome, not know where we're safe…And so having a Christian presence at Pride, having Pride prayers is about saying to everyone - trans, lesbian, gay, bi, ace, anywhere on that spectrum - that you are welcome.”
The strategy of CEEC in response to this and the wider agenda of LLF, according to a recent internal mailing, is to encourage its member churches to consider using the Ephesian Fund, to ask the C of E bishops to discuss the issue, and to pray “that such a conversation could arrive at a Settlement which would guarantee an orthodox space in the Church of England, and secure for clergy and lay people the freedom to be licensed and served by a bishop who holds to the Anglican position on marriage and sexual ethics.”
See also: Conservatives quiet in response to the appointment of “radically revisionist” Bishop of Doncaster, from Anglican Ink.
Individual churches within the C of E are responding in a more robust manner, but often “under the radar”. Such responses include supporting church plants under Anglican Network in Europe, and irregular ordinations carried out by bishops from overseas.
LLF latest. Bishop Martin Snow has resigned from the chairmanship of this drawn out and divisive process. According to well-informed blogger Tim Wyatt, this “throws the whole PLF saga into yet another tailspin. The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has said the process will continue and the timetable laid out earlier this year will not be derailed by Snow’s resignation.”
Read Wyatt’s article ‘The Poisoned Chalice’ here.
Choosing the next Archbishop of Canterbury
Meanwhile many are hoping that an appointment of a theologically orthodox Archbishop of Canterbury might restore Anglicanism in the British Isles and Europe to its biblical foundations.
Voices have been raised calling for an orthodox Archbishop from the wider Anglican Communion. Bishop Mouneer Anis says
it is imperative that the selection process for the next archbishop reflect the theological convictions and pastoral concerns of the broader Anglican world—not just those of a shrinking liberal Western context. The next archbishop must be more than a national figurehead or a political mediator; he must be a shepherd who is unwavering in the faith once delivered to the saints….Appointing an archbishop who compromises these principles in the name of institutional appeasement will only deepen the fractures already within the Communion.
An open letter from the Chairman of GSFA expresses realism when it says that the churches of the global south “no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘primus inter pares’ spiritual leader of the Communion.”
The letter continues:
“…while we recognise that the appointment of an orthodox Archbishop of Canterbury cannot of itself turn back the clock, this could be an opportunity to begin undoing the damage by showing that the Church of England is now willing to take seriously the deep concerns of her ‘daughter’ Churches.”
And the letter expresses the hope that “you will hear and take full account of those millions of faithful Anglicans who still hold the Church of England in great affection even though she has deeply grieved them.”
Gafcon may comment in due course on the election process for the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Its position remains consistent. It would obviously prefer that the new Archbishop is orthodox in belief. However over the past 25 years the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other “Instruments of Communion” have failed again and again to prevent the embrace of a false gospel in the shrinking Western Anglican Provinces, and latterly have actively promoted this false gospel. Rather than putting our confidence in the election of one person to lead a failed system, it would be best to apply our prayers and energies to the task of proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations, alongside those committed to biblical orthodoxy from all over the world through Gafcon’s emerging movement of Anglican churches that have clearly distanced themselves from unfaithful leadership.
Church in Wales
Welsh bishops reveal unbiblical theology in speaking up for trans people:
“The Bench of Bishops believe that every human being is a precious child of God, deserving of dignity and respect. We each have an innermost identity known only to God, which it is our purpose to discover in its deepest reality…. we call for greater compassion, greater understanding, and greater generosity so that all children of God can find in the Church, and in society as a whole, a welcome and a place to be their fullest selves.”
ACE Synod and Conference
the focus of the first in-person conference alongside Synod was our vision ‘to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations of Europe. Speakers included Bishop Paul Donison from Gafcon, evangelist Glenn Scrivener, and Bishop Andy Lines.
Report and photos here
Iranian pastor in Dublin speaks on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. He speaks of his deep burden for the people of Iran—"our families, friends, and communities—who are suffering under immense fear and uncertainty. For many Iranians, years of disillusionment under oppressive leadership have now been compounded by this current conflict.”
Pastor Davood asks for prayer for peace, and especially “for both the Iranian and Jewish peoples to encounter the living hope found in Jesus Christ.”
Other important news
Decriminalisation of abortion. The recent vote in the House of Commons by 379 to 137 effectively allows abortion up to birth by declaring that there will be no consequences if a woman aborts her baby after the previous legal limit of 24 weeks.
Read David Robertson’s reaction in Christian Today here
And a round up of other reactions here
Assisted dying legalised
MPs narrowly back legalising assisted dying in England and Wales by 23 votes, reports BBC news, after a debate featuring many wise warnings not to go ahead. Church of England bishops have largely been reluctant to speak out, but a Statement from the ANiE bishops laments the “culture of death” and urges repentance, prayer and recommitment to mission.
Read the Statement from the ANiE bishops here.
Lord’s Prayer tops Shakespeare, Dickens, Churchill and National Anthem in public recognition poll. From Church of England website. More Brits correctly identify source of ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ than ‘To Be or Not To Be’; ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’ or ‘Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us’. But the Archbishop of York in his response is unable to use the news to witness meaningfully to Christ, saying “Though ancient, its words continue to resonate with people of all faiths and none… Lines like 'Give us this day our daily bread' speak powerfully to today’s challenges, reminding us to seek sufficiency, not excess, and to consider what ‘enough’ truly means.”
Cranmer’s Book Of Common Prayer Changed The Church Forever
Chuck Collins says:
“Cranmer’s Prayer Book was in English, not Latin, which represented a gigantic move to make worship the work of the people and not just a priest doing his magic at a high altar.”
Why do people come to faith? Article from Christian Today. Reading the Bible and experiencing a welcoming church are two of the most common reasons why people become Christians, a new report by the Evangelical Alliance (EA) has found. Its new report, Finding Jesus: Identifying Pathways to Faith in Adulthood, draws on the experiences of 280 adults who came to faith in the last five years.
The Gospel in Europe: Life and Light gathering of evangelicals predominantly from Roma and other traveller groups attracts 40,000; YouTube report receives 375,000 views in four days.
Read here in Evangelical Focus
Prayer round-up:
- Continue to pray for those on the Crown Nominations Commission for selection of the new ABC. Pray that the voice of Global orthodox Anglicans would be heard and heeded.
- Pray for Bishop David McClay as he begins his work of leading the Europe branch of Gafcon, and as he stands publicly for biblical truth in Ireland.
- Pray for the launch prayer meeting on 10th July 2025 at 7.30pm by zoom (see above news item) – details of Zoom link will be sent to all subscribers of this newsletter.
- Continue to pray for peace in the Middle East, and for Nigeria where there has been another wave of brutal attacks on Christians in the last two weeks.
- Continue to pray for the process leading to the election of the new diocesan bishop for AMiE, to be confirmed at the AMiE Synod on 5 July.
- Pray for AMC – for planned plants in Germany and UK. Pray for AMC workforce & for AMC’s evangelism, discipleship, prayer & work with young people
- Give thanks for the recent ACE conference, and pray for the new congregations taking root in the British Isles as well as in Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
- Pray for Bishop Paul Donison (see short video in which he outlines prayer needs for Gafcon here) and for the work of Gafcon.
THE GAFCON COLLECT
Eternal God and gracious Father,whose blessed Son Jesus Christ died for our redemption; commissioned His disciples to preach the good news; and sent the indwelling Holy Spirit in every generation to embrace and proclaim salvation in Christ alone: Arise and defend your Church, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Shine the light of your Holy Word upon hearts darkened by error and strengthen the work of Gafcon so that the Anglican Communion throughout the world proclaims Christ faithfully to the nations, that captives may be set free, the straying rescued, and the confused restored. Bind your children together in truth, love, unity and courage, that we, with all your saints, may inherit your eternal kingdom, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.