In the Western hemisphere, September saw a new year for schools, universities and many professional bodies. This year it saw the elections for the new five year term of the Church of England General Synod and four new appointees in the Anglican Communion and the Church of England take up their office and ministries.
They all come from evangelical and orthodox backgrounds and commitments.
Idowu-Fearon
The new Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Most Reverend Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, was secretary for the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion in Nigeria, an international fellowship founded by John Stott. He attended the National Evangelical Anglican Congress (3) held at Caister in 1988 and NEAC 4 in Blackpool in 2003. In a recent interview on the BBC Sunday programme he said: ‘Why all of us within the Communion have some uneasiness about it [the move by The Episcopal Church in America to allow gay marriage] is simply because it goes against Resolution 1.10 of Lambeth 1998. That resolution says: “In view of the teaching of Scripture, we uphold faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believe that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage”. The other side of the coin is in Nigeria or Uganda where homosexuals are being criminalised. It goes against the spirit of Resolution 1.10. … Any resolutions from any province that does not take Resolution 1.10 seriously is against the agreement within this church… As Secretary General, my job is to present and execute the decisions of the four instruments of unity we have.’ A full transcript of his interview can be found at www.anglicanmainstream.org/?s=Idowu+Fearon
Graham Kings
Archbishop Fearon was the preacher on 13 September at the commissioning of Bishop Graham Kings in Canterbury Cathedral as the Mission Theologian in the Anglican Communion. Bishop Kings spent a number of years as colleague of the late Archbishop David Gitari in Kenya. Speaking of this appointment, the executive leader of CMS, Canon Philip Mounstephen has said: ‘Bishop Graham Kings’s appointment is an initiative of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is concerned that the significant theological and missiological insights of the Church in the global south should be better heard and understood in the rest of the Church – and particularly within the Anglican Communion.
He invited CMS to be involved, which we were delighted to be, and we then completed the partnership when Durham University came on board to ensure the academic credibility of the whole project. The focus of the work will be on seminars, publications and scholarly exchanges – both south to north and south to south.
All too often the significant wisdom and learning of theologians from Africa, Asia and South America is dismissed by western scholars and church leaders who, quite frankly, should know better. This post is an attempt to redress the balance and is indicative of the commitment of CMS, Durham University and the Archbishop himself to do just that.’
Rod Thomas
A further significant service will take place in Canterbury Cathedral on 23 September when Prebendary Rod Thomas, the chairman of the Council of Reform, the conservative evangelical Anglican network, will be consecrated as Bishop of Maidstone.
The official announcement of his appointment described his work as follows: ‘Rod Thomas’s specific duties as Bishop of Maidstone will include: fostering vocations from those taking a conservative evangelical position on headship; undertaking episcopal ministry (with the agreement of the relevant diocesan bishop) in dioceses in both Provinces where PCCs have passed the requisite resolution under the House of Bishops’ declaration; and being available to act (again by invitation) as an assistant bishop in a number of dioceses.’
A touchstone for his ministry is whether he will indeed be invited and welcomed in all the dioceses where his ministry is requested.
Rachel Treweek
Just prior to that, on 19 September, Rachel Treweek, who overlapped with Rod Thomas at Wycliffe Hall Theological College, Oxford in the 1990s when the late Dr Richard France was Principal, will be installed as the first woman Diocesan Bishop in the Church of England as Bishop of Gloucester.
A touchstone for her ministry will be whether members of Reform in the diocese and the churches where they serve and worship will feel they are being genuinely encouraged to flourish.
Each one of these colleagues as they take up their new callings and posts has the potential to be a class act setting a direction as the Anglican Communion seeks a new identity and way of being following the de facto defection of The Episcopal Church from the family norms of the Communion by its redefinition of marriage.
