wfn.org | ACNS3305 Global Mission leaders gather in Cyprus

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3305     |     CYPRUS     |     13 FEBRUARY 2003

Global Mission leaders gather in Cyprus

by Margaret S Larom

Delegates from 45 countries are travelling to Cyprus for the Anglican
Mission Organisations Conference, scheduled for 12-18 February in the
seaside town of Larnaca, Cyprus.

The 120 delegates, representing almost every province in the Anglican
Communion, have leadership roles in voluntary agencies, mission boards and
church structures. They were invited because they incarnate in their very
lives and work the conference theme, Transformation and Tradition in Global
Mission.

The conference was organised by the Anglican Communion Office in London and
a planning team selected by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on
Mission and Evangelism. The aims of the week are:

To renew our vision for mission through biblical and theological reflection,
worship and prayer

To gain a better understanding of contemporary mission issues and changing
patterns in mission

To challenge new church models in mission and evangelism

To encourage the development of new networks among mission organisations

The Most Revd Clive Handford, bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf and president
bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, will
welcome his fellow Anglicans to the conference but is unable to enjoy the
fellowship for long. With US threats against Iraq mounting daily, the shadow
of war looms over the entire region he serves. Prayers for peace will be
part of the worship services every morning and evening.

Bible studies will be led by Professor John M G Barclay, Head of School of
Divinity, University of Glasgow, Scotland, on The First Missionary Journey
of St Paul. Everyone will go to Paphos (on the west coast of Cyprus), to
see where Paul preached, view archaeological remnants of the civilization he
entered, and try to understand the boundaries he crossed to get there. More
poignantly, the other trip will be across the Green Line into the northern
part of Cyprus, occupied by Turkey for decades. Tradition has it that St
Barnabas is buried there, but the conference participants will be relating
to the heartache of a divided nation where visits are governed by daily
curfews. Local Anglican congregations, a small minority in this
predominantly Greek Orthodox country, will be visited en route.

The other days will be packed full of speakers and workshops. The theme will
be set by the Revd Dr Christopher Duraisingh, who organised the World
Council of Churches World Conference on Mission and Evangelism in 1996 and
presently teaches at Episcopal Divinity School in the USA.

In presentation and response format, four other mission leaders will address
the goals in plenary sessions. These include:

The Rt Revd Simon Chiwanga, bishop of Mpwapwa, Tanzania, and former chair of
the Anglican Consultative Council

The Rt Revd John Chew, bishop of Singapore and former principal of Trinity
Theological College there

Ms Edwina Thomas, head of SOMA-USA (Sharing Our Ministries Abroad) and a
founding member of the Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission in the USA

The Revd Dr Zac Niringiye, formerly with Scripture Union in Uganda and now
the Africa region director for the Church Mission Society in England.

The question 'What Is the Anglican Communion?' will be addressed by the Revd
Canon John L. Peterson, secretary general for the past 10 years. The newly
elected Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Revd Benjamin Nzimbi, will offer the
sermon at the closing Eucharist and commissioning service.

Workshops will address the challenges facing the Anglican Communion in
respect to three broad areas - theological education, leadership and
management, and working together in partnership - as well as issues
impacting mission such as HIV/AIDS, Christian-Muslim relations, and peace,
reconciliation and justice.

[Margaret S. Larom is the World Mission Interpretation and Networks Officer
at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. She represented her province on
MISSIO from 1994 to 1999.]

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