Anglican Communion News Service

The "Fourth Trumpet" statement from the Global South to South Encounter has called called for greater holiness, purpose and discipline after acknowledging two decades of conflict and controversy has affected their ability to fulfil the Great Commission.

Delegates at the Fourth Anglican Global South to South Encounter meeting said today that for two decades they have been "distracted by conflicts and controversies" that had kept them from effectively fulfilling the Great Commission. However, they stated a "renewed determination" to assist each other "...to make disciples of all nations and to do all that Christ has commanded."

In the meeting’s "Fourth Trumpet" statement, the more than 130 attendees from 20 Provinces at the Singapore meeting called for a "new quest" for personal and corporate holiness in the Communion. They also encouraged Provinces to both develop plans and structures for Church growth in today’s post-Christendom context and to find ways to better understand and reach out to young people.

"The future of the Communion lies in winning the next generation for Christ," said the statement. "We urge each region to adopt initiatives to better understand the needs and characteristics of this new generation so that we might better communicate the Gospel and Christian values to them. It is essential that the ethos and traditions of the Church be imparted to the youth in creative and dynamic ways so that they will be equipped to live for Christ for their generation and beyond."

The group said that during their plenary sessions, bible studies and small group discussions they were "drawn back to a fresh vision of God, of the Church and of Christian leadership."

"We saw God in His stunning holiness and absolute sovereignty through Isaiah’s vision (Is 6: 1-13), and correspondingly saw our own ingrained sinfulness and utter foolishness in trusting man rather than God alone. We caught a " big" vision of the Church from her role as ‘servant of the Lord’ (Is 42: 1-9) to bring God’s justice or ‘right order of living’ to the nations of the world. This established the absolute necessity and priority for the Church to disciple her members under the authority of the inspired Scriptures so that they may transform their societies and reach the nations with the Gospel. The fresh call upon the Church’s leadership, from the Servant of the Lord’s costly obedience (Is 50: 4-9), is to be courageous and fully confident of the Lord’s sustaining grace and final vindication."

The final statement from the Encounter also underscored the group’s "grief" regarding decisions made by The Episcopal Church USA, and the Anglican Church of Canada. In particular they said the election and intended consecration of a priest in a same-sex relationship as a Bishop in Los Angeles demonstrated a "total disregard for the mind of the Communion". There then followed a call for Provinces in the Global South to reconsider their communion relationships with the aforementioned churches.

The statement concluded with a call to review the entire Anglican Communion structure, in order to achieve what they believed would be, "an authentic expression of the current reality of our Anglican Communion."

To read the entire statement visit http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/

ENDS