In October 2013 GAFCON II will meet in Nairobi. GAFCON (Global Anglican Futures Conference) might be described as the illegitimate brainchild of Rowan Williams when he was archbishop of Canterbury and it may yet turn out to be his most enduring legacy. The reason for this is that it emerged out of a series of so-called primates’ meetings, chaired by Archbishop Williams, that culminated in the one held in Dar-es-Salaam in February 2007. There it was agreed that the American Episcopal Church and its allies would be given until 30 September 2007 to reverse their policies on homosexuality or else face ‘serious consequences.’ What those consequences might be was not spelled out, but since the only thing that the archbishop of Canterbury could do was to exclude them from the next Lambeth Conference (in 2008), it was generally assumed that they would not be invited if they failed to comply with the primates’ demands. To the surprise of many, invitations went out to the American bishops in July 2007, inviting them to Lambeth before the deadline for compliance had passed and without any such commitment on their part. When a number of primates expressed their shock at what they saw as a betrayal, they were told that they had misunderstood the procedure and that they should accept the invitations as a fait accompli. Realising that there was no hope of disciplining the American liberals, the conservative ones withdrew and organised an alternative conference in Jerusalem. The prevarication and dishonesty of the archbishop of Canterbury had unexpectedly given birth to GAFCON and a new chapter in the history of global Anglicanism was begun.
GAFCON I suffered from short notice and a certain amount of confusion. A number of bishops who were sympathetic to its aims stayed away and attended Lambeth out of loyalty to Canterbury, while others felt that they could not be seen at GAFCON for political reasons. Some went to both. At the time, nobody knew whether GAFCON was a permanent innovation or a one-off protest, and so it is hardly surprising that reactions to it varied accordingly.
Five years later things have moved on. Not only does GAFCON still exist, but it has acquired a more permanent feel to it. The hesitation and even opposition that greeted its emergence among some who were basically sympathetic to its position is gradually being overcome and there should be a broader representation this time round. The fact that there is no competition with a Lambeth Conference simplifies matters, and perhaps some bishops who felt that they could not attend in 2008 will turn up this time. On the other hand, GAFCON II will be more selective in whom it invites and it should have a greater sense of purpose. If it is to survive in the longer term it cannot afford to be seen as nothing but a protest group; it must have a strategy and programme of its own that it can offer to the wider Communion as a serious way forward for the future of the global church.
This time round we must hope that the organisers will have learned that some of their conservative American backers are just as wacky as the liberals in the Episcopal Church and not allow them to set the agenda. The last thing the Anglican Communion needs is a forum in which the internal battles of American Episcopalianism are played out on a world stage in front of an audience that has no idea what is going on and is not really sympathetic to either side. Keep reading
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