GAFCON rearranges conference following protests from Jerusalem church leaders
Episcopal News Service. February 20, 2008 [022008-02]
Matthew Davies
Organizers of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) have announced changes to the meeting's dates and venue, bowing to strong criticism from Anglican Church leaders in Jerusalem who have repeatedly called for the gathering to be moved.
Originally scheduled for June 14-22 in Jerusalem, GAFCON will now be divided into two parts: a consultation in Jordan June 18-22 followed by a pilgrimage to Jerusalem June 22-29, a February 19 statement on the conference website announced. The new arrangements largely reflect a request from Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, a leading opponent of GAFCON's original agenda, who said the conference would "import inter-Anglican conflict" into his diocese and be "disastrous" for his ministry in the Holy Land.
Meeting almost one month prior to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, GAFCON is largely regarded as a rival to that once-a-decade gathering of Anglican bishops.
GAFCON organizers have said the Jordan consultation "will include the conference leadership, theological resource group, those bishops serving in majority Islamic settings and other key leaders" whereas the Jerusalem pilgrimage "will focus on worship, prayer, discussions and Bible Study, shaped by the context of the Holy Land."
The conference describes itself as "a pilgrimage back to the roots of the Church's faith," that is exclusive to "Anglicans from both the Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic wings of the church."
Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, one of GAFCON's organizers, said February 19 that the organizers were "very grateful for the feedback that we have received on the many complex issues that confront us."
"The emphasis of our time together will be our future in the Anglican Communion and the reformation and renewal of our common life rooted in the Holy Scriptures and our common faith in Jesus Christ," he said.
Dawani had met with Jensen on January 12 to discuss his concerns about GAFCON and to urge him to reconsider holding the conference in Jerusalem. Dawani told Jensen that Christians in the Holy Land "were struggling with their own issues and that issues of peace and dialogue between the different faith communities of the Holy Land were far more important at this time than issues of homosexuality," according to the minutes of that meeting.
While Dawani said that he would be happy to welcome the bishops as pilgrims, he emphasized that "at this critical time, political and other leaders would exploit such a conference. It would be misunderstood by many, and would threaten ecumenism and interfaith dialogue."
Jensen explained at the time that the GAFCON event was intended for those bishops who have come to the conclusion that they cannot attend the Lambeth Conference, which will be held July 16-August 4 in Canterbury, England.
Dawani concluded that meeting by saying that he would "prefer that all Anglicans came together at [the] Lambeth Conference to discuss their concerns there together."
Three days later, Dawani repeated his concerns to Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola in a January 15 meeting that included the Very Rev. Michael Sellors, coordinator to the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, and the Rev. Canon Hosam Naoum, acting dean of St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem.
Dawani suggested that Akinola either reconsiders the venue and time for the conference, or divides the program into two parts: a conference in Cyprus and a pilgrimage in the Holy Land. "Should Archbishop Akinola be ready to accept this suggestion, Bishop Suheil would warmly welcome him and his pilgrims," the minutes of that meeting said.
Naoum told Akinola that indigenous Christians of the Holy Land "do not want to be forced to deal with issues that are not on their agenda yet and that could create serious disputes on the level of the local churches in general and the Diocese of Jerusalem in particular, as well as ecumenically, theologically, and socially."