THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH
The Re. Rey. Jack L Her, DD. Bishop of Fort Words
‘ebruary 28, 2018
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Psalm 133:1
RE: Appointment of Elizabeth Awut as Bishop
‘To the GAFCON Primates:
Greetings in the strong name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In advance of the GAFCON meeting in
Jerusalem this summer, we renew our gratitude for the many sacrifices the international body of
Anglican Christians has made to maintain a community where “the faith once delivered to the
saints” may be practiced and preached to the glory of God, the edification of the Church, and the
conversion of the world. Indeed, the GAFCON movement has come to the aid of many groups,
such as the Diocese of Fort Worth, in our hour of need, for which we maintain an attitude of
thanksgiving in prayer and fellowship.
Atthe same time, we write to express our deepest concerns over the actions taken by the Episcopal
Church in South Sudan in consecrating Ms, Elizabeth Awut to the office of Bishop. Firstly, we
raise the concern of the mixed messages between “a senior member of GAFCON who asked not
to be named” declaring this consecration to be akin to a “wartime expedieney” and the quote
attributed to the Most Rev. Daniel Deng that “he had long hoped to be able to appoint a woman
as bishop and was pleased with the innovation.” Indeed, itis difficult to maintain the thought that
both sentiments can be true. While we recognize that the moratorium against the consecration of
women to the episcopate established by the GAFCON Primates is of a voluntary nature, yet the
disparate and conflicting public statements being made concerning her consecration ate deeply
troubling. To speak plainly, which is it, some kind of anomaly or a theological conviction?
Moreover, we struggle to understand why it is that the consecration of Ms. Awut has been
seemingly kept as a secret within the GAFCON community for over a year. If itis the belief of
the South Sudanese that women are rightly consecrated to the episcopacy, why was this not more
openly celebrated from the start? Given that her consecration is an innovation within GAFCON,
it would seem that this news would naturally be much more public than it has, yet itis not. Why
is it only now ~ over a full year after the fact - being made so public and widely distributed? Why
is it that a senior member of GAFCON is making public statements only on the condition of
anonymity? Is there something to hide within the broader GAFCON community? If so, what and
why? Are we not called to live in the Light?
Having now fought our way through decades of precisely these kinds of trials and tribulations,
where various groups have acted unilaterally in similar fashion, not only within The Episcopal
Church in the United States, but elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, as is well-known, we
find the divergency of public statements being made over this issue distressing. We find the
seemingly veiled nature of the consecration for over a year, along with the accompanying
questions it raises, deeply disconcerting in the Diocese of Fort Worth, and particularly
{troublesome in light of the trust we are all trying to establish among us, which is foundational to
‘our common life as brothers and sisters in Christ.
2900 Alemed, Fort Worth, TX 76108 plone 817.244.2885 fix 817.244.3363 warwfivepscopa.ong contact dlocs@vepicopaong,
"Equipping the sins fr minisWith every effort to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” we find ourselves in
agreement with the statement offered by the Most. Rev. Peter Jensen of 9 Feb 2018 which states,
“sethis issue poses a threat to the unity we prize...,” not only on the basis of our biblical and
traditional theological convictions, but also as it concerns the events surrounding Ms. Awut’s
consecration, as articulated above. Therefore, we respectfully submit our objection in advance of
the 2018 GAFCON meeting, in the hopes that this unhelpful irregularity will swiflly be addressed
and resolved in a manner that honors the nature of the Body of Christ and the interdependency of
what it means to be a Communion.
In Christ,
Fi ithe Coppa tnd Z Vim,
Fr. Christopher Culpepper ‘The Rt. Rev, Jack L. Iker
Standing Committee, President Bishop, The Diocese of Fort Worth