A number of evangelical bishops and clerics in the Church of England have established the Anglican Mission in England “dedicated to the conversion of England and biblical church planting” with the encouragement of the GAFCON primates. They even have a trio of Kenya-ordained English priests to serve “ready to serve the wider Anglican communion” in England.
Thinking Anglicans says that it appears that the AMIE is a repacking of an existing group. Here is the press release from GAFCON’s New Anglican Mission in England:
The Anglican Mission in England (AMIE) held its inaugural event on Wednesday June 22 during an evangelical ministers’ conference in central London.
AMIE has been established as a society within the Church of England dedicated to the conversion of England and biblical church planting. There is a steering committee and a panel of bishops. The bishops aim to provide effective oversight in collaboration with senior clergy.
The AMIE has been encouraged in this development by the Primates’ Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) who said in a communiqué from Nairobi in May 2011: “We remain convinced that from within the Provinces which we represent there are creative ways by which we can support those who have been alienated so that they can remain within the Anglican family.”
The AMIE is determined to remain within the Church of England…
While they say they are determined to remain part of the Mother Church, they have brought in a few friends to the party. According to AMIE…
…three English clergy who have been ordained in Kenya for “ministry in the wider Anglican Communion” with the support of the GAFCON Primates’ Council were welcomed and prayed with by bishops and church leaders in support of their ministry.
“Wider Anglican Communion” is code for those who subscribe to the Jerusalem Declaration and have set up congregations and denominations not necessarily in communion with Canterbury. So, can we assume that “biblical church planting” will mean establishing non-conforming churches that appear outwardly Anglican in the Church of England, perhaps in liberal dioceses? More likely, the Society will support existing evangelical parishes and ministries already in place.
Lionel Deimel says, “sound familiar?”
Does this really sound helpful, or is AMIE simply subverting the local church? I thought the Church of England was the Anglican Mission in England.
In the U.S., of course, NACDAP morphed into the Anglican Church in North American, poaching congregations, liberating property from The Episcopal Church, and declaring itself to be an Anglican Communion “province in formation.”
More history is offered in this paragraph:
The launch of AMIE follows four and a half years of discussions with senior Anglican leaders in England about ways in which those who are genuinely in need of effective orthodox oversight in the Church of England can receive it.
Need I point out that Bob Duncan and his merry men were encouraged in their nefarious enterprise by none other than Rowan Williams?
The landscape of the Church of England is very different than the Episcopal Church and within the CofE party-mindedness is a long-standing tradition, so there may be less here than meets the eye. That nose under the tent may belong to a chihuahua.