Beloved in Christ Jesus: Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Our world continues to be rocked by crises. Hard on the heels of the Covid -19 pandemic, which continues to cause massive disruption to social and economic life, the appalling death of George Floyd has sent shock waves around the world. Despite the disorder it has triggered, his murder has rightly led to deep heart searching and a new awareness amongst Christians of the evil of racism in denying a person’s fundamental identity as made in the image of God.
I have recently addressed this with the our ACNA Provincial Council, and I urge the whole Gafcon movement to take this to heart, especially the call to reach out with the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to minorities in your community, whatever that means in your situation.
These sudden crises can be disorientating. Many voices clamor for our attention and we can be overwhelmed by the immediacy of the need, so it is even more necessary for us to be paying attention above all to our calling and the words of Jesus himself.
One of the most well-known of Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of God is that of the mustard seed, which appears in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Luke’s gospel, (Luke 13:18,19) it comes in the context of opposition from the religious authorities, just after Jesus has freed a woman from a debilitating disability on the Sabbath. Here, Jesus’ emphasis is not on the smallness of the mustard seed, but the size to which it grows, such that the birds nest among its branches. Despite the crises, catastrophes and turmoil of this age, within both churches and nations, God’s kingdom is growing and growing. It grows supernaturally by the power of the Spirit and will assuredly be fulfilled when Jesus returns. This should be a great encouragement to us.
Earlier this month, I chaired a meeting of the Gafcon Primates Council. Although we could not meet face to face, there was a remarkable joy in our time together and a strong sense that God is building his kingdom as our Churches seek to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations. We were especially encouraged by the continued growth of Gafcon’s global networks, as well as the Gafcon Branches that act as a Confessing Anglican presence in the provinces not represented by the Primates Council. We also recognised the need for gathering and equipping faithful leaders so we are planning to hold the deferred Kigali Conference for bishops and their wives in the summer of 2021.
As I write, we are just a few days from Gafcon Sunday, 28th June. It is our hope that the Gafcon family around the world will respond in God-honoring prayer and great generosity. Please join me in celebrating before the Lord all that He has accomplished through Gafcon, and petition Him to do more to honor His Name. Let us pray, as Jesus taught us, that the kingdom will indeed come on earth as it is in heaven! The special video produced for Gafcon Sunday gives us a wonderful sense of what a global church seeking the kingdom looks like. If you have not yet seen it please do! It can be downloaded here.
Your brother in seeking first the kingdom of God,
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
