At the end of June I was privileged to attend the Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a vibrant and upbeat gathering of nearly 1000 people at St Vincent University, Pennsylvania.
It was a celebration to mark five years since its formation, to worship together and hear from the Lord, and to recommit itself as a movement under the leadership of Archbishop-Elect Foley Beach to mission based on the foundation of God’s Word.
ACNA includes various groups who on grounds of conscience took leave of the Episcopal Church of USA (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada. For example, the Reformed Episcopal Church had been independent for some decades; newer breakaways included those who sought episcopal oversight from Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and the Southern Cone of America during the chaotic years following Lambeth 1998, when it became increasingly difficult for evangelicals and orthodox Anglo-Catholics to be part of North American Anglicanism with its radically liberal trajectory.
It was the impetus of the first GAFCON in 2008 which galvanised the formation of the ACNA project, which now comes under the oversight of the GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) Primates, many of whom attended the June Assembly.
ACNA has been a remarkable success so far, with around 60 new churches being planted each year, and a total of more than 1000 established congregations and new mission initiatives across the continent. The leadership of outgoing Archbishop Robert Duncan during this turbulent period cannot be overestimated. As Bishop of Pittsburgh he bravely led the opposition to the heretical leadership of TEC from within the House if Bishops; he has able to gain the trust of all the dissident groupings who had already left TEC and forge unity with others whom he led out. This unity cannot be taken for granted - many in ACNA are reformed evangelicals, some enjoy charismatic worship and some are more comfortable with high church styles.
Jim Packer
The conference featured plenary sessions and smaller seminars, spread over three and a half days. Speakers included the great J.I. Packer who held us spellbound with his compelling lucidity at age 87 as he spoke of the importance of catechesis as part of disciple making through the local church. I had been invited to take part in a seminar run by the American Anglican Council, a networking and mission organisation within ACNA, on the subject of the Global Anglican Communion. Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester was also present as an envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose greetings and assurance of prayers were passed on to the Assembly. This is significant as ACNA does not have the official status of being recognised by Canterbury.
Differences
The situation in North America is very different from England. In the US, Episcopalian Bishops took the lead in pushing through their radical ‘inclusion’ agenda ahead of a predominantly conservative culture. Their first partnered gay Bishop was consecrated in 2003 yet many States do not allow same sex marriage even today; in England, despite the recent redefinition of marriage in law and apparent popular support for it, the C of E Bishops have so far officially maintained a biblical view of marriage, and recently rejected the Pilling Report’s recommendation to allow the blessing of same sex couples in church. Also, because Church and State are separate in the US and there are many denominations, American Anglicanism is not as embedded in the culture as the C of E in our society. Forming a separate church in England might be as painful. Many ACNA congregations have made huge sacrifices, losing buildings and parish bank accounts to litigious TEC Provincial and Diocesan officials and having to 'start from scratch'.
Similarities
But there are also some similarities. Something like an alternative Anglican ecclesial entity already exists in embryo form: the Anglican Mission in England is recognised by and has oversight from GAFCON. There is a growing awareness even among ‘open’ Anglican evangelicals that the tide cannot be held back for long. We are likely to see either disestablishment, some kind of split, or both, as the culture becomes more godless and pressure for ‘equality and diversity’ in churches and in C of E schools increases. The forthcoming ‘facilitated conversations’ are not going to be about theology and ethics. They are a means to buy time and work out whether it is possible to hold together a church containing opposing views on fundamental doctrines. With such a scenario unfolding, faithful, orthodox, confessing Anglicans can be encouraged by the example of ACNA.
