wfn.org | Dates for 2008 Lambeth Conference announced by Archbishop of

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     ACNS 4086     |	  ACO	  |	13 DECEMBER 2005

Dates for 2008 Lambeth Conference announced by Archbishop of Canterbury

ACNS Special Report
Lambeth Conference 2008 Press Media Release no.01

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams has officially 
announced the Lambeth Conference dates in an Advent Letter to the 38 
primates around the world. Archbishop Williams, at whose invitation the 
bishops come to the Conference, outlined his hopes for this global meeting 
of Anglican bishops. He spoke of the Conference as an opportunity for 
"individual Christian pastors to meet Jesus afresh, for our Church to be 
renewed in mission, for the world to hear good news."

The Conference, which meets every ten years, will take place at the 
University of Kent in Canterbury from 16 July to 3 August, 2008. Archbishop 
Rowan emphasised the enabling for ministry aspect of the Conference. He 
said, "The main focus I long to see at this Conference is the better 
equipping of bishops to fulfill their task as agents and enablers of 
mission, as co-workers with God's mission in Jesus Christ."

A Design Group for the 2008 Lambeth Conference, appointed by the Archbishop 
of Canterbury and
comprised of one Archbishop, five bishops, one lay-woman and one priest 
from different churches throughout the Anglican Communion, met in London 
from 6 to 9 December 2005 with staff of the Anglican Communion Office and 
Lambeth Palace to continue planning for the Conference.

Under the Chairmanship of the Most Revd Sir Ellison Pogo, Archbishop of the 
Anglican Church of Melanesia, the Design Group made significant headway in 
helping the Archbishop of Canterbury to further articulate his hopes, aim, 
and shape for the 2008 international gathering of bishops.

Archbishop Ellison said, "We are working very hard to orient the Conference 
around God's mission of transformation and reconciliation, seeing the 
bishops themselves as primary resources in this task. Through experiences 
provided in small bible study and expanded conversation groups, we expect 
that the bishops will encounter God's word anew, be engaged with one 
another at a very deep level, and then empowered in their vocation as 
leaders in God's mission. In keeping with Archbishop Rowan's vision, the 
Conference process will be relational not confrontation in its approach 
with a minimum of resolutions."

Sue Parks, the Lambeth Conference Manager, expressed her own enthusiasm for 
the planning process. She said, "We are very excited by the planning and 
work of the Design Group so far. The Archbishop of Canterbury's desire for 
this next Lambeth Conference to be more responsive to the needs of the 
world for which Christ died and rose is inspiring. The Conference will be 
different and fresh as it serves this vision."

The Design Group will next meet in Canterbury to survey the venue at the 
University of Kent in April 2006.

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