Tim Davies, Ian Ferguson and Lee McMunn were consecrated on Friday 21st October at a service in Hull by Archbishop Foley Beach (Primate of the Anglican Church in North America and Chair of Gafcon), Archbishop Laurent Mbanda (Primate of the Anglican Church of Rwanda & Vice-chair of Gafcon) and Archbishop Henry Ndukuba (Primate of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion).
Coming directly from the Gafcon Primates’ meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, the presence of these Archbishops (along with other bishops from New Zealand, the USA and Canada) sends a strong and clear message that the global church stands shoulder to shoulder with their authorised home for historic, orthodox, faithful, Biblical, confessional Anglicans across Europe. Archbishop Foley Beach said, “We are here to say ‘you are not alone’, and as representatives of the majority of Anglicans in the Anglican Communion, we recognise what the Lord is doing in this emerging province.”
In the light of unsettling pluralism within Canterbury-aligned Anglican structures, those seeking a safe home will be reassured that there is a genuine and authentic Anglican alternative to compromise and cultural capitulation.
The Gafcon Primates’ communique celebrated the “consecration of three missionary Bishops for the Anglican Network in Europe to engage in church planting and to care for those clergy and congregations who have committed to promote biblical faith, in the context of other churches who are increasingly rebelling against the clear teaching of Scripture.”
In his sermon, Archbishop Mbanda encouraged the new bishops to take care of their own physical and spiritual lives, to beware of the wolves and to protect the people they serve through the faithful preaching of the gospel.
These consecrations (along with Stuart Bell who is due to be consecrated in March) not only provide for growth across the Network, they will also enable a relational model of episcopacy which many have never yet experienced. Instead of remote organisational management, the Network offers personal prayerful support and encouragement, oversight and accountability to both ministers and congregations in holding out the hope of the gospel to our needy continent.
Archbishop Ndukuba said “The mission field is clear. As Jesus said, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest (John 4v35). We are here to encourage you.”
Others involved in the consecration included Bishop Jay Behan from New Zealand, Bishop Julian Dobbs from America and Bishop Charlie Masters from Canada.
