wfn.org | ACNS DIGEST 20 Jan 2006

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

The following is a roundup of the recent ACNS Digest stories, with
reports from the USA and The Middle East. The ACNS Digest can be found
here:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm

(546) 16-January-2006 - 'Communion in Mission' document tapped for
study, litany - USA

Executive Council asks General Convention to act on inter-Anglican
initiative

Citing the document's role as 'a vision for Anglican faithfulness to the
mission of God,' Executive Council on January 12 proposed that General
Convention join the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in commending 'A
Covenant for Communion and Mission' for widespread study and response.

Executive Council's Committee on International Concerns, chaired by New
York Bishop Suffragan Catherine Roskam, drafted the resolution that will
come before the 75th General Convention, meeting June 13-21 in Columbus,
Ohio. At its own January 9-12 meeting in Des Moines, Council further
used the document to adapt a litany prayed during Eucharist (see text at
end of this release).

The proposed resolution affirms the 'Communion and Mission' document
developed by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and
Evangelism and affirmed by ACC in 2005.

Following is the text and explanation of the resolution proposed to
General Convention:

Resolution (A000 number to be assigned): Covenant for Communion in
Mission

Resolved, the House of concurring, That the 75th General Convention of
the Episcopal Church recognize the call of the Anglican Consultative
Council at its 13th meeting in Nottingham, England, in June 2005 for all
churches of the Anglican Communion to study and apply the document 'A
Covenant for Communion in Mission' that was presented to it by the
Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism; and be it
further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention commend 'A Covenant for
Communion in Mission' as a vision for Anglican faithfulness to the
mission of God for study by parishes, dioceses and seminaries; by
networks such as the Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission, the
Global Episcopal Mission Network, and the Companion Diocese Network; by
the House of Bishops; and by the Standing Commission on World Mission,
the Standing Commission on International Peace with Justice Concerns,
the Standing Commission on Ministry Development, and the Standing
Commission on Constitution and Canons; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention request the Standing
Commission on World Mission to gather responses to 'A Covenant for
Communion in Mission' from groups within the Episcopal Church and
include reflections and recommendations concerning application of the
covenant in its report to the 76th General Convention.

Explanation

The Anglican Consultative Council established the Inter-Anglican
Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism (IASCOME) at its 11th
meeting in Dundee, Scotland, in 1999. IASCOME is the latest in a series
of commissions, committees and working groups with responsibility to
maintain a global overview and provide international coordination of
mission and evangelism in the Anglican Communion. IASCOME's report to
ACC-13 in Nottingham, England, in June 2005 is titled 'Communion in
Mission.' It opens with an introduction, reproduced below, which
contains 'A Covenant for Communion in Mission.'

A Covenant for Communion in Mission

The Lambeth Commission in its Windsor Report 'recommended and urged the
primates to consider the adoption by the churches of the Communion of a
common Anglican Covenant which would make explicit and forceful the
loyalty and bonds of affection which govern the relationships between
the Churches of the Communion' (Windsor Report, pp. 62-64).

IASCOME has discussed ways to take forward the mission imperatives in
the Communion following the Partners in Mission process and the Decade
of Evangelism. The idea of a Covenant for Communion in Mission has
emerged as a key proposal. We believe that a Covenant enshrining the
values of common mission that could be used as a basis for
outward-looking relationships among the churches, mission organizations
and societies, and networks of the Communion would provide a significant
focus of unity in mission for the Anglican Communion.

In Scripture, covenants are central in the Old Testament to God's
relationship to Noah, Abraham, Moses and to the people of Israel.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel foretell the coming of a new covenant - in which
God will give God's people a new heart and new life and will walk with
them, and they with him. In the New Testament Jesus inaugurates this New
Covenant. It was marked by the breaking of his body and the shedding of
his blood and celebrated in the central Christian meal of the Eucharist
and effected through the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ for all people
for all time.

IASCOME considered in depth the nature of covenant. We recognized that
within our cultures a covenant is a serious and significant agreement.
Covenants are fundamentally about relationships to which one gives
oneself voluntarily, while contracts can be seen as a legally binding
document under a body of governing principles. Covenants are free-will
voluntary offerings from one to another while contracts are binding
entities whose locus of authority is externally to oneself. Covenants
are relational: relational between those who are making the covenant and
relational with and before God.

As Anglican churches, we have a tradition of covenants that help to
clarify our relationships with other ecumenical churches, such as the
Porvoo agreement between the Church of England and the Baltic Lutheran
churches, and Called to common Mission between the Episcopal Church and
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

We recommend for consideration by the ACC and testing within the
Communion, the following nine-point covenant. We believe it provides the
basis for agreements between Anglican churches at the national level -
but also may be used by local parish/congregations, mission movements
and networks, companion diocese links, etc. We believe the Covenant for
Communion in Mission thus provides a focus for binding the Communion
together in a way rather different from that envisaged by the Windsor
Report.

The covenant is deliberately general in its principles. In its
understanding of mission, it builds on the Five Marks of Mission of the
1984 and 1990 Anglican Consultative Councils. It provides a framework
within which those entering into the covenant can identify specific
tasks and learnings that relate to their particular situations.

A Covenant for Communion in Mission

This Covenant signifies our common call to share in God's healing and
reconciling mission for our blessed but broken and hurting world.

In our relationships as Anglican sisters and brothers in Christ, we live
in the hope of the unity that God has brought about through Jesus in the
power of the Holy Spirit.

The preamble recognizes that the world is one that has been graced by
God but that God's work through Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is
to seek to heal its hurts and reconcile its brokenness. The preamble
reminds us that as Christians we are called to share our relationships
in the mission of God to the wider world, bearing witness to the kingdom
of love, justice and joy that Jesus inaugurated.

Nourished by Scripture and Sacrament, we pledge ourselves to: The nine
points of the covenant are predicated on Scripture and the Sacraments
providing the nourishment, guidance and strength for the journey of the
covenant partners together.

Recognize Jesus in each other's contexts and lives
The nine points begin with Jesus Christ, the source and inspiration of
our faith and calls for those covenanting for mission to look for,
recognize, learn from and rejoice in the presence of Christ at work in
the lives and the situations of the other.

Support one another in our participation in God's mission Point two
acknowledges that we cannot serve God's mission in isolation and calls
for mutual support and encouragement in our efforts.

Encourage expressions of our new life in Christ
Point three asks those who enter into the covenant to encourage one
another as we develop new understandings of our identities in Christ.

Meet to share common purpose and explore differences and disagreements
Point four provides for face-to-face meetings at which insights and
learnings can be shared and difficulties worked through.

Be willing to change in response to critique and challenge from others
Point five recognizes that as challenges arise so changes will be needed
as discipleship of Christ is deepened resulting both from experience in
mission and encounter those with whom we are in covenant.

Celebrate our strengths and mourn over our failures
Point six calls for honouring and celebrating our successes and
acknowledging and naming our sadness and failures in the hopes of
restitution and reconciliation.

Share equitably our God-given resources
Point seven emphasis that there are resources to share - not just money
and people, but ideas, prayers, excitement, challenge, enthusiasm and
calls for a move to fair sharing of such resources particularly when one
participant in the Covenant has more than the other.

Work together for the sustainability of God's creation
Point eight underscores that God's concern is for the whole of life -
not just people, but the whole created order - and so we are called to
strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the
life of the earth.

Live into the promise of God's reconciliation for ourselves and for the
world This last point speaks of the future towards which we are living,
the hope of a reconciled universe - in which 'God's will be done on
earth as it is in heaven' for which Jesus taught us to pray. We make
this covenant in the promise of our mutual responsibility and
interdependence in the Body of Christ.

The conclusion provides a strong reminder that we need each other, are
responsible for each other, and are mutually interdependent in the Body
of Christ.

IASCOME proposes that the ACC commend the Covenant for Communion in
Mission to the churches of the Anglican Communion for study and action
and remits it to the next IASCOME for evaluation of its reception in the
Anglican Communion. IASCOME further proposes that the ACC advance the
Covenant for Communion in Mission to the bodies of the Anglican
Communion tasked to continue consideration of covenants for the Anglican
Communion as commended by the Windsor Report and the 'Communique' of the
February 2005 Primates Meeting. To that end, IASCOME presents the
following resolution for adoption by ACC 13:

ACC Resolution - This Anglican Consultative Council:
1. Commends the Covenant for Communion in Mission to the churches of the
Anglican Communion for study and application as a vision for Anglican
faithfulness to the mission of God; 2. Advances the Covenant for
Communion in Mission to the bodies of the Anglican Communion tasked to
continue consideration of covenants for the Anglican Communion as
commended by the Windsor Report and the 'Communique' of the February
2005 Primates Meeting; 3. Remits the Covenant for Communion in Mission
to the next Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism
for monitoring responses to and evaluating effectiveness of the Covenant
for Communion in Mission across the Anglican Communion.

Prayers of the People, adapted from "A Covenant for Communion in
Mission" Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, January 11, 2006

Litanist - In our relationships as Anglican sisters and brothers in
Christ, we live in the hope of the unity that God has brought about
through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nourished by Scripture
and Sacrament, we pray:

-That we may recognize Jesus in each other's contexts and lives: Lord,
in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may support one another in our participation in God's mission:
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may encourage expressions of our new life in Christ: Lord, in
your mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may meet to share common purpose and explore differences and
disagreements: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may celebrate our strengths and mourn over our failures: Lord,
in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may share equitably our God-given resources: Lord, in your
mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may work together for the sustainability of God's creation:
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-That we may live into the promise of God's reconciliation for ourselves
and for the world: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Celebrant - Father in heaven, you call us into communion with you and
with one another: Bless and strengthen the ties that bind us in the
Anglican Communion, that we may be one as you and your Son Jesus are
one, through the same Jesus Christ, who with you is the author and
unifier of all creation, and who lives and reigns with you, in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens

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(545) 16-January-2006 - The Rt. Revd Riah Abu El-Assal Christmas Sermon
- Middle East

'Glory to God in the highest, Peace on earth, Good-will among men' -
Christmas Greetings from the Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal

The Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal: Allow me first and foremost to wish you
a most blessed Christmas and a peaceful 2006. May it be the year of the
turning-point in relations world-wide, but in particular here in His
Land, in the Land of the Holy One, whose birth in Bethlehem we remember
and celebrate, whom we remember with thanks. For unto us, and unto the
whole world, a child is born, who is the Prince of Peace, whose name
shall always be 'Immanuel' - 'God with us.'

Christmas is not a sermon from a pulpit, or a song from a chair.
Christmas is a spiritual experience that awaits each and every one of us
to have and to enjoy. It is not the memory of days gone by! It is not
the event of yesterday! It is the event of today - day after day! It is
the event of tomorrow and so long we have the new age that came with
Jesus' birth, so long we celebrate the new Genesis, when the word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory.

Much has been written, and still is being written about Christmas.
Thousands of sermons have been preached over the last two thousand
years. The happenings of that wonderful miraculous birth are brought
anew and alive. Neither the angels and the shepherds are missing. Nor
the star -His star-, King Herod with the agenda to kill, and the wise
men from the East with their agenda to come to worship and venerate and
to honor with symbolic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And what
more the lack of space, not only in the inn, but also in the hearts of
so many.

Though newly born and very dependent on His mother, His birth and His
star turned the powerful Herod into an aggressive and blood-thirsty
leader. Whereas Jesus' mission was and is to bring life, new life, Herod
came with a political platform that had on top of its agenda killing,
assassinations, the demolition of homes, the destruction of lives and
spreading of evil here and there.

The drama continues but the actors change. Now that Herod and his
comrades failed to kill Him, the present Herods try to erase His name.
'Let it be 'happy season,' let it be 'happy holidays,' but please stop
greeting each other with 'happy or merry Christmas,' so they say!

Under the title 'Down with the politically correct Puritans' Rowan
Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: 'Politically correct
zealots must not be allowed to destroy the true wonder of Christmas.'
The party that His Grace targeted was not of the old or new Puritans who
argued then and now that Christmas was too human, but those who think
that Christmas is too religious.

He goes on to point out that it is not the only thing that is being
attacked. Christian images, symbols and words are also attacked. The
question is raised: "What is it that is left, if "Christ" is removed
from the "MASS", from the word 'Christmas?' There can be no Christmas
without Him, without all that points to Him, who is the way to God, and
God's way to us human beings. Any such attempt is doomed to failure. For
every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue shall confess Him the
Savior of the world. How? By allowing ourselves to be born again in the
spirit, and by leading others to come and worship Him.

The mentioning of Jesus being the way reminds us of the 'Road Map' that
has been in the news for a number of years. Some time back, I circulated
a letter about it and summed it up by saying that: 'It is a map without
a road and a road without a map.' This is because it is not based on
Truth or Justice. It falls in what may be described as 'wishful
thinking.' This is so because of the many 'holes' in it and the
not-so-innocent intention to avoid the key issues of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

But what has 'Christmas' to do with the 'Road Map?' Certainly nothing
except for the fact that whereas that 'Road Map' was and is a failure,
God's 'Road Map' proved a success for all who walked it. Christmas
presents us and the world with a different map, where Jesus is not only
the Way and the Road, but also the Truth and the Life.

This Christmas map begins by giving Glory to God, which in turn brings
Peace, and peace will bring Security and Joy. And in it what was and is
first came first, the rest follows.

-Glory to God comes first. The less we make Him first, the greater is
our loss. Giving Him what is already His is our duty, for to Him be the
glory now and for ever. Self-righteousness and glorifying oneself is
never a gain! It proves to be a loss.

-Peace is the outcome of giving God the glory. And His peace, which
passes our understanding, is sure to remain with us. 'Let what may
come.' Again, peace is not only a topic for long speeches and sermons.
It is a relationship from which all that caused for hostility, anger,
enmity and conflict is no more. God's peace comes to us through Jesus,
His son, whose main and only mission was and is to reconcile us to God
and God to us.

St. Paul summed it up beautifully, when saying: 'In Christ God was
reconciling the world to Himself and entrusting us with the ministry of
reconciliation.' (II Cor. 5:19) This too is one way of celebrating
Christmas, by being reconciled to God and enjoying His peace. Yes, but
also to reconcile others with God and guarantee them His peace.

-Glory - Peace - Joy and Good - will. God's 'Road Map' takes us through
peace to enjoy Him as we see Him face to face. The shepherds were
over-joyed when they saw Him. The disciples were over-joyed when they
saw Him risen. So also all who would see Him. Yes; Joy to the world. The
Lord has come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him
room and heaven and nature and all of us sing.

Therefore, let us go and see that which the angels have told us, so that
once we see, we go praising and glorifying God to whom be Glory now and
for ever. Amen.

The Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal
Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem

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