Departing New Zealand congregations not seeking GAFCON oversight

The Gafcon movement has yet to close a sale with congregations quitting the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Anglican Ink has learned. A congregation that quit the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki last month tells AI that it has yet to decide whether it will remain Anglican.

The Rev. Michael Hewat, the former vicar of West Hamilton Anglican Church in Dinsdale, New Zealand stated he had had informal talks with an Australian leader in the Fellowship of Confession Anglicans (FCA) movement before the split, but no action has been taken so far. “We haven’t decided yet whether we want to remain Anglican,” he wrote in an email message to AI.

In a letter published last month in the Waikato Times, Mr. Hewat said he was withdrawing from the province as a consequence of the May vote by General Synod to begin the process towards authorizing gay marriage. Motion 30 approved by synod set in place a two year process towards finding a theological rationale for revising the church’s doctrine on marriage. Read more

A not uncommon view of GAFCON in the Anglican Church in North America is that the organization is too evangelical. A number of ACNA clergy have voiced disappointment in the number of GAFCON bishops supporting the General Synod's approval of the appointment of women bishops in the Church of England. However, the 2008 Jerusalem Declaration acknowledges freedom in secondary matters. The Nairobi Communique recognizes that the members of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans have differing views of the role of men and women in church leadership. These clergy should not be surprised by the statements of these bishops.

While GAFCON has extended its recognition to the ACNA and the ACNA has accepted its recognition, one finds little support for FCA aims in the ACNA. The ACNA leadership has in a number of doctrinal statements shown that it does not support these aims. The differing views of women bishops in the FCA and GAFCON provide another convenient reason for folks in the ACNA to be luke-warm at best in their support of the FCA and GAFCON.

On the other hand, the conservative evangelical Church Society Council has criticized GAFCON for inferring that Roman Catholics share the same faith as Anglicans and glozing over major doctrinal differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church. They have also criticized GAFCON for not using stronger language on key issues such justification by grace through faith in Christ alone. From the standpoint of the Church Society Council GAFCON may not be evangelical enough. The failure of GAFCON bishops to recognize and address the major differences between ACNA doctrinal statements and the Jerusalem Declaration would appear to support this view.

I would be speculating if I suggested that Michael Hewat and his congregation share the same view of GAFCON. At the same time it is a possibility.

Photo: Mark Tylor