ACNS 4212 | ACO | 14 NOVEMBER 2006
Spouses gathering for Lambeth 2008 plans announced
Lambeth Conference Press Release No 5
At the invitation of Jane Williams, we met in a spirit of prayer and fellowship, to plan for the gathering of the spouses of the bishops of the Anglican Communion. We listened to each other, shared our stores, prayed and broke bread together. We celebrated together and identified common concerns. It is in a spirit of fellowship commended the forthcoming gathering of spouses to our sisters and brothers.
We have identified our overall theme as God's people for God's mission and, with reflection and discussion, have identified four major issues we need to consider:
a.. What it means to be a bishop's spouse
b.. The challenges placed on us for leadership responsibilities
c.. The support of family life
d.. Prayer and Spirituality
We acknowledge the support role undertaken by each bishop's' spouse, but recognise their independent work for the church. We accept a joint ministry but identify that each of us has an independent ministry with leadership roles sought or unsought.
We believe that these independent contributions are real resources upon which the church relies and therefore the wellbeing of the spouses is vital to the equipping the life of the Christian community.
It is with the aim of a better equipping of the bishops spouses for their ministries that we shall gather together at Lambeth in 2008.
ENDS
Contact: Sue Parks, Lambeth Conference Manager, +44 (0) 207 313 3913 Fax: +44 (0) 207 313 3999
Note for editors:
The participants at this meeting at Lambeth Palace and Canterbury Cathedral were from the following Anglican provinces: West Africa, England, Kenya, Myanmar and Australia.
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