Archbishop Peter Jensen: Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans: Newsletter 1/12

[I received the following e-mail from the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.  Apparently, Peter Jensen thinks Anglo-Papists and Tractarians are wonderful Christians rather than the heretics they really are.  As if morality is the sole issue of who is a true Christian and who is not?  I guess that means it is ok to practice idolatry and to add works to faith as a matter of justification before God?  Charlie.]

To the Members of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is the first of our regular briefings about the FCA and what it is doing. We hope that you will be committed and prayerful to the Fellowship, especially as the need for it becomes more and more apparent.

Foundations

The Global Anglican Future Conference met in Jerusalem in June 2008. Those present felt the hand of God upon their work at a critical moment in the life of the Anglican Communion. They understood that it was a moment in which God was launching a movement. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans exists to foster that movement and to keep the vision alive.

It has two great purposes:

The first is the proclamation and defense of the gospel throughout the world, especially in and through Anglican churches. We look for people all over the world to have the transforming experience of coming to know Christ as Saviour and Lord through repentance and faith, by the power of the Spirit. It is this transforming power which the ‘inclusivist’ gospel has lost. We therefore need to defend the gospel and the people of God against their spiritual adversaries, notably the revisionist theology which has become so prevalent in the West.

The second purpose is to provide aid to those faithful Anglicans who have been forced to disaffiliate from their original spiritual homes by false teaching and practice. Such Anglicans require recognition and authentication. They need to be kept in the Anglican family. Already the efforts of the Primates’ Council of the FCA has borne wonderful fruit in the coming into existence of the Anglican Church of North America. As a member, you can help through prayer, through being informed and by expressing welcoming such fellow Anglicans when the moment arrives.

This provision in North America provides such recognition and authentication, but there is more to be done as the challenges to biblical teaching and authority within the Communion continue. God’s wisdom is essential, as is the fellowship of faithful Anglicans around the globe.

News – the FCA Leaders Conference

About 200 Anglican leaders from 26 countries and 22 Provinces are meeting in London in from April 23-27^th. The Conference is being hosted by the Rev Paul Perkin and his church, St Mark’s Battersea.

The aim of the Conference is to gather these leaders so they can unite and work together on the goals of the FCA, especially the defence and proclamation of the gospel and the recognition and support of fellow Anglicans.  The theme of the Conference is ‘The Uniqueness and Sufficiency of Christ’. Bible studies and plenary addresses will explore this theme and develop its practical applications. In the afternoon, seminars on key topics for the Anglican Communion and the FCA will allow delegates to network and contribute in different areas of expertise and interest. Topics will include evangelism in different cultures, the Biblical teaching on the family and on leadership, the nature of the gospel, and our ecclesiology. Special attention will be paid to the questions of aid and development as our churches seek to be both generous and independent in their fellowship each other.

There will be some special occasions. One evening will be given to interviews with godly leaders who have experience of leading under pressure, so they can help us explore the nature of true spiritual leadership. On the Thursday night, the Conference has arranged to meet with as many local Anglicans as possible, in an evening of prayer, praise and the word, with a special encouragement to our brothers and sisters to be faithful witnesses to Christ in England.

This will be a forward-looking conference that focuses on the opportunities for the gospel that lie before us. The crisis of the Communion in one sense is over. We are now living in a time of consequences. The Jerusalem Declaration challenges us to learn to live in such a time and to go forward with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What can you do?

We would greatly value your fellowship and support of the FCA as the Leaders’ Conference approaches.

Pray

We are mindful that unless the Lord guides and blesses our labours, we labour in vain (Ps. 127:1). There are many things that might be prayed about, but here are a few:

·      Ask the Lord to oversee all preparations for the conference

·      Ask that he will guide those charged with teaching his word

·      Pray for the health and safety of delegates as they travel and meet together

·      Pray for godly, wise and strategic outcomes

·      Pray for the financial needs of FCA, running the conference and the costs for delegates attending

Join

If you have not yet joined the FCA now is a great time to do so, as an expression of your support and Christian fellowship.

You can do so easily through the FCA website: http://fca.net/member/register

Promote

There are many faithful Anglicans who would be encouraged to know of the work of the FCA. But they are yet to hear! So…

·      Put a link to the FCA website on your personal blog, or parish or diocesan website and ask people to join to express their support

·      Place an article on the FCA Leadership Conference 2012 in your church bulletin or diocesan newspaper

Give

There are ongoing funding needs for the ministry of FCA, and for the Leaders Conference 2012.

·      Please give generously – as an individual, a parish, a diocese

·      Please think about organizations or businesses that might be interested in contributing to the financial needs of the FCA and/or the conference

There is a PayPal facility on the FCA website (www.fca.net) for making a donation.

Yours in the service of Christ,

Archbishop Dr Peter Jensen,

General Secretary, Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans