What has emerged from the Fourth Global South to South Encounter in Singapore?

The Global South Encounter ended today when the Fourth Trumpet was issued. Most of its content is very predictable but there are things of more value to be learnt from other reports about the Encounter.

Two proposals

The Most Rev. Mouneer Anis, Archbishop of the Middle East, proposed a new global Anglican structure to compensate for the ongoing 'ecclesial deficit' in the communion and sustain and enhance Christ's mission. He later clarified his idea saying that he was proposing a new structure for the global South only and not the Anglican Communion as a whole but some nevertheless saw it as an unofficial declaration of the Global South's independence from official Anglican Communion structures.

The second proposal came from Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda. He called for an Anglican Ecumenical Council of the worldwide Anglican Communion which he believes will bring to an end a dozen years of primatial communiqués, reports and endless talk of "process" and "listening" that has achieved nothing to resolve the crisis of faith and leadership within the Anglican Communion.

Kolini argued that the renewing of the Anglican Communion through such an ecumenical council would be binding on the church with Scripture as the church's supreme authority. Those provinces and dioceses that would not accept the Council's authority would place themselves outside the communion.

David Virtue claims than an archbishop told him; "The Ecumenical Council is the way forward. This is an unstoppable movement not another communion. We will prevail. The trumpet blast is the call for a new Council. The hope is that we can get it done this year."

The reality is that such proposals have been made repeatedly at Global South gatherings. The Archbishop of Canterbury isn’t going to call an emergency Primates meeting or an Anglican Ecumenical Council. The only way that Archbishop Mouneer Anis’s idea can come to fruition is if the Global South formally declares schism and claims to be the real Anglican Communion by the number of member it has. They haven’t declared schism yet and I wouldn’t bet on it happening this year.
Positive qualities

I’m grateful to Father Ron Smith who found the time to watch the video clips of talks give by the Primates of The Middle East, and Singapore. Commenting on Thinking Anglicans, he said that Archbishop John Chew’s was strangely moving. The Archbishop urged the delegates to listen to the message of Isaiah in the Suffering Servant passages. Father Ron saw hope for the Gospel of God's radical love and forgiveness to be taken seriously - by those of the Global South, as well as the rest of us. He also listened to Bishop Rennis Ponniah's Scriptural study on Isaiah.42:1-9 “…where he so beautifully speaks of God's love and compassion for ALL people.”

Father Ron reminds me that those gathered in Singapore are Anglicans, Christians on the road with us, and however uncomfortable they make life for us, they are still, like it or not, in communion with us. Neither side particularly likes this state of affairs, but I don’t believe we have the option (which they take to themselves) to say we are not in communion and do not recognize them. We in Changing Attitude recognize them and disagree totally with their attitude towards LGBT people.

Old guard and new recruits

David Virtue who was present in Singapore reported that the older generation of archbishops of Nigeria, Kenya, Central Africa and Rwanda are retiring while other Global South bishops in Singapore are new to leadership roles in the Anglican Communion and are not completely familiar with some of the personalities and the nuances of the Communion. Says David “…it will be important to get the new archbishops and bishops up to speed so they won't be blindsided by the power of the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other Instruments of ‘unity’.”

Some archbishops and bishops speaking to David Virtue in private expressed concern that Rowan Williams will try to exploit, conquer and divide the Global South bishops because many are inexperienced and lack the ability to challenge his authority. One archbishop apparently told David that +Rowan could exploit their inexperience, which anyone who knows +Rowan knows to be untrue. This shows the lack of respect some of the GS Primates have for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Nothing new there, but it’s always interesting to me that David Virtue wants to publicise the fact.

David thinks +Rowan “is trying to wait them out.” He knows the next generation needs a learning curve and “will exploit it and hopefully prevail. He can drag his heels with endless talk of ‘process’ and ‘listening’.”

American Conservative bloggers at war

David Virtue reported that “Everyone is upbeat, cheerful and at peace. The archbishops and bishops are smiling; they are not fighting liberal and revisionist archbishops and bishops who have a different religion. Only God knows what they really believe, but whatever truncated Christianity they have, you won't find it here. There is no tension here. There is joy and peace. No one is being asked to reconcile the irreconcilable. This is Anglicanism at its finest."
This is David’s typical idyllic, fantasy version of the reactionary and progressive parts of the Anglican Communion.

And then … on Tuesday Greg Griffiths (who wasn’t in Singapore) posted on Stand Firm that “...after Archbishop Rowan Williams' video address to the Global South-to-South Encounter audience was over, there was silence. No one applauded, and glances around the room revealed lots of head-shaking and eye-rolling.”

David Virtue (who was there) sent an email to various people which you can read here if you really need to. David abuses Stand Firm and uses language which, if Changing Attitude used such language, he would torment us with for eternity.

The comments thread on both Stand Firm and VirtueOnLine usually display the most prejudiced opinions in the Communion and the most vitriol towards the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Presiding Bishop, +Gene Robinson and the Episcopal church in general. Commentators now turned their fire on Greg for having posted David’s email in the first place and on David for attacking Stand Firm (not for the first time) and for using such abusive language.

This outburst reminds me to continue live by faith, stay deeply centered in the love of God and continue to trust in the Kingdom qualities which Jesus proclaimed. There is, when all is said and done, something deeply unpleasant and totally unchristian among those who claim the Christian high ground. They accuse us of betraying the Gospel whilst doing the same themselves. It’s such an easy and cheap point to make against them, but when you are among those who have been repeatedly abused and vilified by the American Christian right, there’s something satisfying when they publicly reveal the true nature of their shadow selves.

Why are Global South leaders tempted to follow old-paradigm, British Colonial Christian ideas?

Yesterday’s lectionary readings from Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 2 set off a train of thought in me.

Deuteronomy gives substantial support (for those who give equal weight and authority to the whole of the Bible) to those who claim to be orthodox, conservative and evangelical in their commitment to a God of rules who wields power and authority. God has commanded Moses to teach the Israelites all the commandments, statutes and laws so that they may “fear the LORD your God and keep all his statutes and commandments.” (Deut 6.2) If they go after other Gods, “...the anger of the LORD your God who is among you will be roused against you, and he will sweep you off the face of the earth ...” (Deut 6.15) “The LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God...” (Deut 6.24) God commands obedience to law and is to be feared.

Paul on the other hand, writing to the church in Ephesus, reiterates again and again that it is by grace that we are saved (Eph 1.7, 2.5, 2.8), grace has immense resources (Eph 2.7). God has lavished on us all wisdom and insight (Eph 1.8) that we may know “how rich and glorious is the share he offers you among his people in their inheritance...” (Eph 1.18) and has raised us up “...so that he might display in the ages to come how immense are the resources of his grace...” (Eph 2.7) because “...we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the life of good deeds which God has designed for us.” (Eph 2.10)

Now, if you are a Global South Anglican, the teaching of Deuteronomy is as much your guide as is Paul, and you can use Leviticus 18.22 to condemn LGBT people. It will be clear to Global South Anglicans that the grace and gifts lavished by God and described by Paul in Epehsians cannot apply to loving, partnered LGBT people. I, partnered, gay Colin Coward, am mistaken in my experience of the lavishness of God’s grace and God’s gifts and blessings on my life – not so?????

How has this state of affairs arisen? How can the Revd Dr Paul Swarup in the third thematic address in Singapore say that we can only be a light to the nations by following God’s instruction and pursuing justice and encouraged the Encounter delegates to pursue justice by calling people to be accountable, speak the truth in love and expose what is not of the Lord, which means, of course, exposing TEC, Mary Glasspool, Gene Robinson and all the faithfully partnered Christians in the Communion?

Let me float a theory. The ‘west’ - Britain in the case of Anglicanism - exported the Empire Brand, Colonialism, a system of power and control (and rape of other world resources) by ‘us’ over ‘them’ for our white, British benefit. The British integrated a version of Christianity into the British Empire Brand, modelled on Victorian colonial values and norms – hence, obedience to the Ten Commandments, to authority, to the teaching of law, not grace, and submission to the rule of God and the Queen, both symbols of supreme autocratic power. This model continues to work well for some authority figures in Africa, those who enjoy holding, wielding and abusing power and authority.

Meanwhile, many Anglicans follow an entirely different Christian model which bears little relationship to the brand exported to the colonies. The Colonial brand continues to achieve surprising success in various parts of the world, but would be the kiss of death for the UK and, in its extreme form, in the USA also.

What can we do about this dire state of affairs in which what I believe to be a largely misguided, old-paradigm, Empire Brand Christianity has become dominant and is accepted by the majority of adherents as historically orthodox and congruent with the teaching of Jesus? The answer to this question is what I am daily trying to work out as I live into my faith. I remember core truths - I remember that God is the loving creative energy at the heart of the universe, not Global South Primates and leaders. They have their place in the witness to Jesus Christ, but it isn’t at the centre controlling the destiny of all, which is where they are trying to place themselves this week in Singapore.

Colin Coward

Fractious times in the Central African Province as clergy go unpaid while 4 clergy fly to Singapore

Anglican-Information – which calls itself ‘a voice for the voiceless’ in the Anglican Central African Province - issued e-letters this week revealing that the acting Dean of the Province, the Rt Rev’d Albert Chama (pictured below left) has flown to the Fourth Global South Encounter in Singapore accompanied by Bishops William Mchamba of Eastern Zambia and Godfrey Tawonzvi of Masvingo, Zimbabwe together with Fr Christopher Mwawa formerly Dean of the College of Christian Ministries, Diocese of Lake Malawi.

Currently, the clergy of Zimbabwe and Lake Malawi are unpaid, surviving by scratching a living from their smallholdings. The cost of the first class flights and accommodation for the four attending the Global South-South Encounter in Singapore roughly equals a whole year’s pay for the unpaid clergy of the Province. It is not clear where the finance for their attendance in Singapore has come from but Anglican Information assumes it is from conservative, schismatic North American Anglicans. Dismay and anger are now being expressed against the acting Dean for such a profligate waste of money.

Yesterday, a letter issued by the Diocesan Secretary of the Diocese of Lake Malawi announced a change in date for the consecration and enthronement of the Venerable Francis Kaulanda as the next Bishop of Lake Malawi. Originally scheduled to take place on Sunday 2nd May it has now been postponed to Sunday 9th May ‘in order to accommodate as many Provincial Bishops as possible’ says the letter. The real reason is the absence of the acting Dean of the Province and other bishops who have flown to Singapore.

Shockingly, the letter repeats a request for desperately needed funds for the Diocese. Donations tend to come largely from the UK and the USA, the very churches which the Global South Conference has been called to condemn. Donors are likely to think twice this time. As Anglican Information puts it, those attending the South-South Encounter “… are currently pursuing a fissiparous agenda in their battle against the American Episcopal Church and a disruptive and schismatic programme in the Anglican Communion.”

As I reported, Ian Earnest, the Archbishop of the Indian Ocean and a key member of the Global South-South Encounter, wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury on 13th April insisting that at further meetings of Anglican Primates the North Americans should specifically not be invited. His presence combined with Albert Chama’s attendance affects Bishop James Tengatenga (pictured right) of the Diocese of Southern Malawi. Bishop James was elected chairperson of the Anglican Consultative Council at the Jamaica meeting last year. The ACC has, of course, been severely criticised by the Global South. Bishop James, whom I have met on several occasions, is currently on sabbatical study leave in the United States with the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana and Bishop Chad Gandiya of Harare also have reason to feel aggrieved with Chama’s actions because they have been closely associated with the North American Churches and have remained loyal to Canterbury.

It is not clear where Albert Chama’s authority to attend on behalf of the Central African Province has come from. He has neither the approval of the Provincial synod nor the support of the other bishops. By attending the Conference in Singapore he allows the Province to be counted as supportive of the schismatic movement, when this is clearly not the case.

The scenario in the Central African Province reveals the divisions which in truth underlie the false claims to represent a unified majority in the Anglican Communion made by the Global South leaders.

Colin Coward

No escape for the Global South from the challenge to engage with LGBT Anglicans

The Global South leaders gathered in Singapore yesterday for the Fourth Global South to South Encounter. The theme of the Encounter is The Gospel of Jesus Christ —Covenant for the People; Light for the Nations.

The questions facing the Anglican Communion around the issue of human sexuality look radically different to a 64 year old gay man writing this in the Spring sunshine as he glances at the cherry blossom in a Wiltshire garden, compared with the view of the Global South leaders in Singapore or of the Archbishop of Canterbury sitting in Lambeth Palace.



In his introduction yesterday evening, Archbishop Peter Akinola, Chairman of the Global South Primates Steering Committee, said “People are perishing and we dare not remain silent. We must proclaim the Word that brings life and hope. I pray that we will have the inspiration and courage to do so.” It is the same word that brings life and hope to Global South leaders and LGBT Anglicans alike, the same Gospel, the same message from Jesus the Christ. It is the same word of life which is inspires them and us, because we are not in truth, ‘them and us’, but one in Christ.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people perish in the domains of the Global South because the Christian words preached by many Global South leaders are words of condemnation and prejudice, exclusion and judgment. There is no hope and no life for LGBT people in a gospel which wants us to conform to a heterosexual agenda and hetero-normativity, or thinks we are willing, for the sake of ‘Covenant values’, to endure enforced celibacy and emotional abuse at the hands of church leaders.

We are not prepared to endure such a life and never will. Neither will we allow ourselves to be excluded from the Communion by whichever group appoints itself ‘the orthodox majority.’

In his sermon later in the Cathedral, Archbishop Akinola asked, where are we to go from here now that The Episcopal Church has confirmed the election of Mary Glasspool and she is about to be consecrated? The ‘real’ mission of the Church, he said, “…is to make Christ known to all is suffering and in some cases neglected.” Surely, Archbishop, the real mission of the church is TO the suffering and neglected.

In the Archbishop’s Christian vision, we LGBT people, The Episcopal Church in general, Mary Glasspool and Gene Robinson in particular, are apparently part of the darkness which needs to be banished wherever it is found. LGBT Christians follow the light and live in the light, and Changing Attitude is attempting to extend the realm of light and banish the dark tomb in which Peter Akinola would like to incarcerate us.

In his message to the Fourth Global South to South Encounter the Archbishop of Canterbury said ‘all of us’ share the concern that the Episcopal Church has deepened the divide between itself and the rest of the Anglican family. Changing Attitude, with members in various parts of the Anglican Communion, does not share this concern. We welcome her election and imminent consecration which for many in the Church of England is a sign of light and hope that at least one Province in our Communion can do justice and walk humbly with our God.

The Archbishop says most Anglicans will want to express the sense that this decision cannot speak for our common mind. Supporters of Changing Attitude are not among that number. We ARE included among those who are willing to share a sense of repentance and a willingness to be renewed by the Spirit. For us, this means repenting of homophobia in the church and of the appalling prejudice and ignorance found in Anglican attitudes towards LGBT people. We want daily to be renewed by the Spirit in the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness and self-control.

The Archbishop speaks of allowing the Holy Spirit to lift our eyes to that broader horizon of God’s purpose for us as Anglicans, as Christians, and as human beings. There are indeed, as the Archbishop says, no quick solutions for the wounds of the Body of Christ. It is the work of the Spirit that heals the Body of Christ, not the plans or the statements of any group, or any person, or any instrument of communion. This will only happen as our Communion continues to engage with LGBT people where it has already done so, and has the courage to begin to engage where at the moment it maintains a stand-off.

There will be no cheap, simple, structural solutions to the conflict revolving around the presence of LGBT people in the Communion. Schism will resolve nothing because LGBT people will be present in every splintered fragment. Sooner or later, the churches will have to engage with us, including those who are priests, bishops and archbishops, learning from us and embracing us in Christ.

Colin Coward