Bishop Eric Menees
A blessed St. Francis Day to you all!
With this Bishop’s Note, I conclude my presentation on the
“Jerusalem Declaration.” We began this journey fourteen weeks ago upon my
return from the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem. We examined the
fourteen individual points of the declaration and their importance to us in
both the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Diocese of San
Joaquin. The “Jerusalem Declaration” ends with the following concluding
statement:
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future
Conference, were summoned by the Primates’ leadership team to Jerusalem in June
2008 to deliberate on the crisis that has divided the Anglican Communion for
the past decade and to seek direction for the future. We have visited holy
sites, prayed together, listened to God’s Word preached and expounded, learned
from various speakers and teachers, and shared our thoughts and hopes with each
other.
The meeting in Jerusalem this week was called in a sense of
urgency that a false gospel has so paralyzed the Anglican Communion that this
crisis must be addressed. The chief threat of this dispute involves the
compromising of the integrity of the church’s worldwide mission. The primary
reason we have come to Jerusalem and issued this declaration is to free our
churches to give clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ.
It is our hope that this Statement on the Global Anglican
Future will be received with comfort and joy by many Anglicans around the world
who have been distressed about the direction of the Communion. We believe the
Anglican Communion should and will be reformed around the biblical gospel and
mandate to go into all the world and present Christ to the nations.
Jerusalem
Feast of St Peter and St Paul
29 June 2008
Our participation in GAFCON, and more specifically our
subscription to the “Jerusalem Declaration,” is fundamental and foundational to
our understanding of what it means to be Anglican in the 21st Century. At the
present time, the liberal provinces, including the Church of England, have
failed to sign onto the “Jerusalem Declaration.” I believe that is a very sad
statement because, in the end, the “Jerusalem Declaration” simply affirms the
key tenets of what it means to be Anglican. I would venture to say that one
hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago, no province would have hesitated to
sign this declaration.
We in the ACNA and the ADSJ affirm this declaration, and
will continue to do so as a part of who we are as Anglican Christians;
Christians called within this diocese to fulfill our mission: "As the
Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, We Will Call and Equip Laity and Clergy to
Bring People to, and Disciple Them in, a Saving Relationship with Jesus
Christ."
I pray you all a blessed week!
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