Before flying to Singapore for the Fourth Global South to South Encounter in mid April, many of the most prominent anti-gay leaders in the Anglican Communion will spend a holiday in Bermuda as the guests of Emmanuel Kampouris, former CEO of the multi-national American Standard, Co.
Anglican clergy in Bermuda received the following e-mail recently from the Rev. Nicholas Dill. Dill is one of a handful of clergy who voted in the minority when Bermuda, an extra-provincial diocese under the authority of the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, approved the ordination of women to the priesthood in March, 2009.
My dear brothers and sisters,
I hope all is well with you. I have been asked to forward this invitation to you by members of our congregation, Mr. and Mrs. Kampouris, who are sponsoring a meeting of very senior Archbishops of the Anglican Church from the global south, largely Africa – may of whom are at the forefront of extraordinary church growth in the midst of persecution; many of whom have had to work through issues of reconciliation in their own situations. They are here for their own private meetings but wanted an opportunity to meet with Christian leaders in Bermuda to encourage us in our ministries.
Amongst them is the Archbishop of Tanzania, who is also currently the head of the All African Christian Congress – an ecumenical body with over 147 different denominations.
As the hosts of this event will be travelling, they have asked if St. John’s will receive RSVP’s – hence the email address.
Their preference would have been to send out invitations to each one of you, personally, but time is against us in this. Later in the week, Willowbank are hosting an open forum for anyone who is interested on Saturday 9th April from 7:30-9:30 at which three of the Archbishops will be speaking followed by a panel. I am sure more information will be heading your way for that event.
May God continue to bless you in your ministries, and especially as we remember his death and resurrection at this Easter tide.
With every blessing in Christ,
Rev. Nick Dill
PRIMATES OF THE GLOBALSOUTH
OF THE ANGLICANCOMMUNION*
TOGETHER WITH MR.&MRS.EMMANUEL KAMPOURIS
Take great pleasure ininviting you
To meet their Graces and toattend a luncheon held at
The Tucker’s Point GolfClub
On Tuesday 6thApril, 2010
From 1:00pm – 3:00pm
R.S.V.P. (by 30thMarch,2010)
*Senior Archbishops representing 40 million Anglicansfrom Australia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, the Southern Cone, Tanzania, Uganda, TheUnited Kingdom, The United States and WestAfrica
Bishop Patrick White of Bermuda had not previously been informed of the gathering.
Kampouris has emerged as one of the most influential of the Global South’s wealthy American supporters. His credentials are more mainstream than those of Howard Ahmanson, the former Christian Reconstructionist who has also contributed generously to anti-gay churches. He serves or has served on numerous corporate boards, as well as the boards of the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship, The National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
After retiring from American Standard, a New Jersey-based company that makes air-conditioning and plumbing products, he founded the Kairos Journal, an online entity, and took up the cause of anti-gay primates in the Anglican Communion, most notably Archbishops Peter Akinola of Nigeria, Henry Orombi of Uganda and Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone. The Kairos Journal feted those men at a gala in New York City in September, 2005, and presented them with the “first annual” Kairos Journal Awards. It is not clear there have been subsequent awards.
Kampouris and his wife Camille have been active recently, however, signing the Manhattan Declaration, a statement opposing gay marriage from numerous conservative religious figures including Akinola.
At a February luncheon in Washington honoring Akinola, who has recently retired, Kampouris praised him for “telling the hard truth in love and encouraging those facing fiery trials,’’ according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
“He is a Man who fears only God and we thank God for that,’’ Kampouris said.