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1. We, the Primates and representatives of 17 Global South Provinces, met in Bangkok, Thailand, from 18-20 July 2012, in conjunction with the Global South Conference on the Decade of Mission and Networking.
2. The theme of Conference called the Church to “Be Transformed by the Renewing of the mind to Obedience of Faith for Holistic Mission in a Radically Changing Global Landscape”, offering our sanctified bodies and renewed minds as living sacrifices for our Lord’s glory.
3. We are grateful to the Lord for the convivial fellowship, the insightful discussions and the spirit of unity that we enjoyed at this assembly. It is truly a demonstration of the Holy Spirit at work across diverse cultures and backgrounds to shape “a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9) for His glory in the salvation of humankind.
4. The Conference, with delegations from the Global South as well as orthodox Anglican churches in the West, explored the trends in mission in the 21st century amidst the post-1989 global landscape, and evaluated the effectiveness of Anglicans in missions. The challenges of the unfinished work of mission were intensively discussed in four tracks, namely Economic Empowerment, Emerging Servant Leaders, Theological Resourcing and Inter-faith Relations, as well as various regional networking sessions.
5. We are committed to implement the recommendations of the Conference. In order to do so, we have appointed the following Task Forces to follow up the progress.
5.1 Economic Empowerment, coordinated by the Most Rev Dr Eliud Wabukala.
5.2 Theological Resourcing, coordinated by the Most Rev Bolly Lapok.
a) Evangelism and Discipleship
b) Mission
5.3 Emerging Servant Leaders, coordinated by the Most Rev Ian Ernest.
5.4 Inter-faith Relations, coordinated by the Most Rev Nicholas Okoh.
6. We note with great sadness the passing of Resolution A049 at the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church which authorized a liturgy for blessing same-sex unions. This action confirms our disappointment that The Episcopal Church has no regard for the concerns and convictions of the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide.
7. We stand in solidarity with our brethren in the Communion Partners who have dissented from this action. We uphold them in prayer and support them in fellowship as they continue in their commitment to the evangelical faith and catholic order of the Church, as expressed in their Minority Report known as The Indianapolis Statement.
8. We also appreciate and support all the faithful in Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) as well as those in the Anglican Church in Canada who remain true to our biblical and historic faith.
9. We deeply respect and appreciate our historical and spiritual relationship with the See of Canterbury. We have written to the Crown Nominations Commission with concerns from the Global South and important principles for consideration as it nominates candidates for the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury.
10. We have appointed a new Global South Primates Steering Committee (GSPSC) comprising:
10.1 The Most Rev Dr Mouneer Anis as Chairman
10.2 The Most Rev Nicholas Okoh as Vice-Chairman
10.3 The Most Rev Ian Ernest as Honorary Secretary
10.4 The Most Rev Bolly Lapok as Honorary Treasurer
10.5 The Most Rev Stephen Than as an Elected Member
10.6 The Most Rev Henri Isingoma as an Elected Member
10.7 The Most Rev Hector Zavala as an Elected Member
10.8 The Most Rev Dr Eliud Wabukala as an Elected Member
10.9 The Most Rev Daniel Deng as an Elected Member
11. We have also invited the Primates of the Provinces of West Africa and Melanesia to be co-opted members of this Steering Committee.
12. We deeply appreciate the Right Rev Dr John Chew who served as Secretary and Chairman of the last twoSteering Committees respectively, especially for his untiring efforts in focusing the Global South on the vital tasks of missions and transformation of society through the Gospel of Jesus Christ culminatinh in this Conference.
13. We have the pleasure of nominating the Right Rev Peter Akinola and the Right Rev Dr John Chew to be Honorary Members of the Global South Steering Committee.
14. We also appreciate the Venerable Wong Tak Meng and the Rev Canon Terry Wong for their work in the Global South Secretariat.
15. Now, as we launch the Decade of Mission and Networking, we seek God’s guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit to expand God’s kingdom. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Primates Present or Represented:
The Most Rev Dr Mouneer Anis, Primate of Jerusalem & the Middle East
The Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, Primate of Nigeria
The Most Rev Ian Ernest, Primate of the Indian Ocean
The Most Rev Bolly Lapok, Primate of South East Asia
The Most Rev Dr Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya
The Most Rev Stephen Tan, Primate of Myanmar
The Most Rev Henri Isingoma, Primate of Congo
The Most Rev Daniel Deng, Primate of Sudan
The Most Rev Bernard Ntahoturi, Primate of Burundi
The Most Rev Onesphore Rwaje, Primate of Rwanda
The Most Rev Valentino Mokiwa, Primate of Tanzania
The Most Rev David Vunagi, Primate of Melanesia
The Most Rev Joseph Kopapa, Primate of Papua New Guinea
The Right Rev Dr Johannes Seoka representing Southern Africa
The Right Rev Matthias Medadues-Badohu representing West Africa
The Right Rev Dr Chad Gandiya representing Central Africa
The Right Rev Peter Bartlett representing the Southern Cone
For further information or query on GSFA, please email secretariat@thegsfa.org
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