Episcopal News Service Monday, October 16, 2006
Anglicans worldwide prepare strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
TEAM mission conference is set for March 2007 in South Africa
By Matthew Davies
[ENS] Preparations are well underway for "Towards Effective Anglican Mission" (TEAM) -- a global conference on prophetic witness, social development and HIV and AIDS, set for March 7-14, 2007 in Gauteng, South Africa -- since Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town convened with national and international planning committee members October 5-6.
Four hundred representatives from each of the 38 provinces in the Anglican Communion will meet in a context of prayer and theology, to share experiences on issues related to the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an eight-prong declaration that has at its core the eradication of extreme poverty by 2015.
Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori has asked Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold to lead the official Episcopal Church delegation. The other members are President of the House of Deputies Bonnie Anderson; the Very Rev. Pascual Torres of the Diocese of Honduras; Laura Amendola, a youth representative from the Diocese of Minnesota; and the Rev. Canon Eugene Sutton of Washington National Cathedral.
A delegation of Episcopal bishops and staff from the Episcopal Church Center will also participate in the conference. Limited invitations are expected to be available later this year after the Provinces have responded to the initial invitations to send delegations. All primates, representatives from Anglican networks, numerous development organizations and a number of ecumenical guests have also been invited.
The Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director for Peace and Justice Ministries and a TEAM planning committee member, said the recent meeting, which included representatives from Burundi, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Uganda, the United States, and Zambia, generated a lot of enthusiasm.
"Already, 200 of the 400 people to attend from around the Communion have accepted invitations," he said, "and the financial support of Episcopal Relief and Development, the Episcopal Church Center and the bishops of the Episcopal Church has been very encouraging."
More than $500,000 so far has been committed from around the Communion.
Full story and photographs:
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