wfn.org | [ACNS] Anglican Franciscan Third Order meeting - Canterbury

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

ACNS 4031     |     ENGLAND	|     6 SEPTEMBER 2005

The Anglican Franciscan Third Order meeting - Canterbury

The Anglican Franciscan Third Order meeting at the Franciscan
International Study Centre in Canterbury, UK, grew by over a hundred
members overnight. Its international Chapter voted enthusiastically for
the inclusion of The Order of St Francis from the Episcopal Anglican
Church of Brazil as part of its Province of the Americas.

The Brazilian Franciscans' provincial secretary, the Reverend Francisco
Sales, was welcomed to the meeting, and the Brazilians were formally
admitted to the Anglican Third Order at the liturgy on Wednesday 31
August.

The Third Order have elected Dorothy Brooker, a priest in Aotearoa / New
Zealand, as their Minister General in succession to Keith Slater, Bishop
of Grafton in Australia who has completed a six-year term. Dorothy is
the first woman elected as its Minister General.

The meeting of Franciscans from the worldwide Franciscan family took
place at the Centre from 25 August to 5 September. Brothers and Sisters
of the First Order held their own Chapter meetings at the same time.
Abbess Patricia of the Anglican Community of St Clare, part of the
Society of St Francis and George Connor, Bishop of Dunedin in the
Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Melanesia, Protector General of
the three Franciscan Orders were present.

Speaking to all of them have been members of Roman Catholic Franciscan
Orders: Fr Adam Bunnell of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) Conventual
spoke about the work and ministry of the Franciscan International Centre
for Dialogue in Assisi of which he is the Director; Fr John Quigley OFM
told the Chapters about the work of Franciscans International (FI) of
which he is executive Director, a non-governmental organisation working
at the United Nations in Geneva. Significantly, FI is the one body which
brings together all branches of the worldwide Franciscan family. Sr
Frances Teresa of the Order of St Clare led the Chapters' thinking on
Holistic living in the Style of Francis and Clare. The Very Revd Jim
Puglisi SA, vice president of the Association of Third Orders Regular,
also shared in the gathering.

The Third Order numbers around three thousand members worldwide, some
2200 of them in its European Province alone. There are also Provinces
of: the Americas, Australia, Aotearoa-New Zealand and Africa. The
Order's members seek to live out their Christian discipleship in the
inspiration of the way of St Francis and St Clare of Assisi.

Editors:

The Society of St Francis, of which the First, Second and Third Orders
are constituent parts, is a religious community within the Anglican
Communion.

Contact Alan Williams, Third Order communications coordinator for
Europe, on 07976 056886 in the first instance for clarification or
further information

Web site: http://orders.anglican.org/tssf/index.htm

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