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Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!
Psalm 31:24
Dear GSFA Family and Friends,
Faithful witness to Jesus Christ always requires courage, especially when God calls us to do new things. This exhortation at the end of Psalm 31 recalls the word of the Lord to Joshua as the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land and David’s words to Solomon as he prepares for kingship and the building of the Temple.
By God’s grace, GSFA is doing a new thing within the Anglican Communion, strengthening the Churches of the Global South in mission, theological formation and sustainability. While we cherish our Anglican history and will always honour the courage of those who brought the gospel to us, often at great personal cost, the growth of the GSFA marks a movement away from patterns of dependency. Such change does not come easily and also requires courage.
This reality of change and courage was evident at ACC19, (the 19th Anglican Consultative Council) which met in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from June 27th to July 5th.
The GSFA delegates met daily as a group and encouraged by this fellowship, they spoke boldly yet with grace in the debates. While some progress was made, GSFA is well aware of the limitations of the traditional Communion structures and I commend the reflection of Canon Berthier Lainirina, a delegate for the Province of the Indian Ocean, on ‘How ACC-19 in Belfast marginalised African voices’.
However, GSFA’s Anglican identity is found in covenanted relationships and does not depend upon decisions of the ACC. Delegates attended primarily as a prophetic presence and abstained from partaking in Holy Communion. This took courage, but it was a necessary recognition that the fabric of the Communion has been torn by false teaching and it is longer united in the one faith.
Equipping leaders of courage and integrity is a major part of GSFA’s work through the Leadership and Ministerial Formation Track, chaired by Bishop Prof. Alfred Olwa. From 14th-20th July we had the joy of welcoming fifteen bishops and their wives, including all nine of the bishops of Burundi, to the Lweza Conference and Training Centre in Kampala for the fourth Bishops Formation Retreat since the First Assembly in 2024.
Looking forward, the Mission Partnerships Track will be holding its third Missions Round Table in Kuala Lumpur 20th-23rd October 2026 led by Track Chairman, Bishop Andy Shie. This strategic gathering which will bring together provincial and diocesan delegates with leaders of our Mission Partner organisations in order to form a GSFA Missionary Alliance which will facilitate the sending and receiving of missionaries in the Global South. Delegates will attend the service of consecration for Canon Jacob Bau Chian Hui as Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of West Malaysia at the end of the conference.
From 7th-10th December, the Leadership and Ministerial Formation Track will be bringing together theological educators from across GSFA Provinces for a special conference in Kampala. The theme is ‘Renewing Anglican Theological Education for Faithful Leadership, Missional Witness and Transformational Service’ and will focus on establishing a specifically Global South framework for theological formation and a network of GSFA theological educators.
Finally, please join with me in praying for our brothers and sisters in such places as Pakistan, Sudan, northern Nigeria and those countries of the Horn of Africa who inspire us with their example of perseverance where courage is required every day just to continue as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Most Rev Dr Justin Badi Arama
Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and
Chairman of the GSFA
