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ACNS 1879 · 16 September 1999 · Dundee [ACC-11/14]
REPORT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL
To ACC-11 In Dundee, Scotland
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is again with a sense of great privilege and rejoicing that I stand
before you as the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion to share with
you, the members of the Anglican Consultative Council, where we are at this
moment as a world-wide Communion of churches as scenes of our global family
pass in front of your eyes. As we approach the next millennium I hope to be
able to share with you some of the hopes, dreams and expectations which I
have been privileged to experience in our Anglican family since our last
Council meeting in Panama. But with the joy there are some painful and
hurtful moments that individuals and churches have experienced. Our days
here in historic Scotland will be revealing and a blessing if we are open to
the Holy Spirit's call to each of us.
As we are virtually on the eve of the millennium I have learned one thing
over the past few years and that is that we are in God's time. God has a
plan for us, both as individuals and as a Church. Life is not magic, but it
is a mystery.
I want to begin my remarks today by remembering some of the faithful
servants of Christ who now rest from their labours. I want to remember
before God the extraordinary work and episcopate of Bishop Daniel Zindo of
the Sudan who died tragically in a car accident just after the Lambeth
Conference last year. He will be remembered forever as a great servant and
soldier of Jesus Christ in the midst of such hostility, pain and difficulty.
We are privileged to have at this ACC meeting, Daniel's son, Manassah, who
is a part of the Communication team.
I want to remember the ministry of Bishop Alastair Haggart, one time Primus
of this church. Alastair was one of the early leaders in the Anglican
Consultative Council and he served the ACC with distinction as its Vice
Chair. He firmly believed in the Synodical form of government in the ACC.
Through his vision and leadership he helped to mould the ACC into what it is
today. In the early 80's Alastair participated in the Eloff Commission and
he went to South Africa in support of Desmond Tutu's struggle against the
horrors of apartheid. Today his widow, Mary, has joined us and I would like
all of us to recognize her.
When we met in Panama for ACC-10, Archbishop Brian Davis of New Zealand,
Co-chaired the Design Group along with Diane Maybee. Little did we know at
that time that soon Brian's body would be wracked with cancer. Brian loved
the ACC. He truly believed in lay and clergy participation in the church and
he always wanted the ACC to be a strong voice for the whole church. I had
the great privilege to represent you at a special celebration for Brian in
Wellington Cathedral just before he, Maria and Fiona moved to Napier. At
that celebration there was a great outpouring of love by the whole church,
giving thanks for Brian's visionary ministry.
And although there are many, many, many others that are now at rest from
their labours, I particularly want you to remember one of the great lay
leaders of this Church who has died, Berta Sengulane. Berta, age 43, was a
sign of joy, peace and faithfulness, a loving wife, a true proclaimer of
God's goodness and love to her people and those beyond. Her life on this
earth was tragically ended in a car accident while she was touring parts of
Mozambique with guests from their Companion Diocese of London. The party had
no way to call for emergency help. A sad reality in Mozambique is that there
are no emergency services. She left behind her husband, one of the shining
lights in the episcopal office of this Communion and wonderful children, two
of whom, have serious medical problems, but who persevere knowing that as
Christians, life changes, but it does not end at death. How my heart aches
for Bishop Dinis and his children, knowing the difficulty they must face
without the love, care and support of Berta. She helped establish
congregations, and she was a leader of women's work. Now Bishop Dinis wants
to open a health post near the scene of the tragic accident. If you have not
done so already, might I urge you to read Berta's own story in Eileen
Carey's book, The Bishop and I, which was written for the Spouses Conference
last year.
As your Secretary General it has been my privilege to visit several
Provinces since we last met. I have seen first hand the challenges faced by
Anglicans in Nigeria. I have witnessed the incredible ministry of Bishop
Josiah Idowu-Fearon and his wife, Comfort. The church in Kaduna is in
desperate need of resources to make Christ's love known to the people in
northern Nigeria. The Bishop has pleaded with me to help him find the means
to provide medical care in the scores of villages in the bush where the
Kaduna Diocese is planting churches. Can you imagine a place where 60% of
the children born will die before they reach the age of three years? Can you
imagine that one out of every eight mothers will die in childbirth? I
travelled with members of the Compass Rose Society, the Society which so
generously supports the ongoing ministry of the Anglican Communion Office.
This visit has left an incredible impression upon me. It gets me on my knees
in prayer and it also inspires me to want to inspire others to help. Perhaps
the greatest gift I have received since becoming your Secretary General is
when Bishop Josiah wrote to me after the Compass Rose Society visit and
said,
"A major thing has taken place as a result of your visit; the small
congregation at Rafin Rimi where we intend setting up a health clinic has
suddenly grown. The non believers there were encouraged by your visit to
them that they have decided to become Christians. We had a congregation of
16 at the time of the visit, but we are now having to cope with between
36-40 members! Would you please get the team back please? The visit has also
affected this year's Mission positively, we were able to plant two more
congregations in the same Kwassam area and the cry now is for education."
I look at the challenges I have seen in our Church in Japan. How over the
years since World War II they have become a Church of love and
reconciliation. A church that demands of itself reconciliation and
penitence. A church that has been able to say "We're sorry". And at the same
time having to face a certain amount of economic instability in a country
that most people think is one of the most stable in the world.
Bishop Michael Mayes recently wrote a fascinating article in the Church of
Ireland Gazette on the Peace and Justice Network meeting in Seoul, Korea. I
knew about the outstanding work that the Church in Korea is doing trying to
build bridges between north and south, but I did not know about the serious
problems of unemployment and homelessness faced by the people. Korea does
not have a social security net and if someone loses one's job, so goes all
your income, so goes your house, and as often as not, so goes your wife and
children as well. The Anglican Church in Korea has 25-30 social mission
centres in the poverty-stricken parts of Seoul. I am so glad that the Seoul
Cathedral features so prominently in the current Anglican World.
When the Compass Rose Society had its meeting last year in the Diocese of
Texas, where Claude Payne is Bishop, we were introduced to a creative new
evangelism programme that promotes a vision of the Diocese as a missionary
church. The programme is called the Community of Miraculous Expectation and
it confronts the different cultures in Texas today. Its purpose is the
active transfiguration of lives instead of a static emphasis on culture and
membership. As a result of transforming lives the Diocese is expecting to
double its membership in six years. Already in two years they are well on
their way.
To change cultures, there must be a miracle. One attribute of the Diocese of
Texas is that they are an enormously diverse diocese. Think of the vast
expanse of Texas, its big cities, it country settings, and all the people of
Spanish speaking origin in its cities. What this Community of Miraculous
Expectation programme has already done is reduce racism and it has enabled
the Church to confront divisive issues in a most positive way. No longer is
the Diocese afraid to look at divisive issues; instead when the parishes do,
Bishop Payne says they become "miracle parishes". It is always exciting to
be in the Diocese of Texas because miracles are taking place there.
The Episcopal Church in the United States has taken new strides in support
of the Inter-Anglican Budget under Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. Today
the Episcopal Church is giving 100% of its asking, along with all of the
other Communion programmes which it supports. This is something for which
all of us can rejoice and give thanks. As the Anglican Communion Office we
live within the Province of the Church of England. The generosity of that
Province is so evident, and I would like to mention the important lead they
took in the Lambeth Conference Bursary Fund.
Our Church is growing in leaps and bounds throughout the world. If you read
church papers stating that is not the case, maybe you are reading the wrong
papers. If you want to know what is happening, I encourage you, and I
encourage others to read Anglican World, to visit our web site and to
regularly check the Anglican Communion News Service.
The Bishops of the Church gathered last year at the Lambeth Conference along
with 600 spouses. Lives have been changed, challenges have been set before
us. The Lambeth Conference has asked the Anglican Consultative Council to
consider many Resolutions and requests. In your preparatory mailings you
have received much of this material and in the next few days many important
presentations will be made to you and important decisions will have to be
made by you.
At the Lambeth Conference The Virginia Report was welcomed and given to the
Communion for reception. At this ACC meeting, Bishop Mark Dyer will be help
us to understand how we can shape our structures and Communion life in light
of The Virginia Report. Certainly critical issues like the relationship of
the Four Instruments of Unity as well as ecumenical concerns will be put
into focus because of this important document.
The work of our small, but dedicated Anglican Communion staff continues to
be a blessing to the Church around the Communion. I speak for the staff in
our thanksgiving to our President, The Archbishop of Canterbury, our
Chairman, Bishop Simon Chiwanga, to our Vice Chairman, Presiding Bishop John
Paterson, all of whom have given much time and effort so that we can
exercise our ministry on your behalf. The members of the staff are, of
course, here at this ACC meeting and they are eager to hear from you about
the work happening in your own Province. We look to you, the ACC members, to
be our primary source for information gathering and sharing in the
Communion. The Anglican Communion is only a phone call, a fax, an e-mail or
a letter away. We want to hear from you and on a regular basis. You are our
major link with the Provinces.
Canon David Hamid has led the Anglican Communion Ecumenical work for the
last three years in the Anglican Communion Office. He has been tireless in
his ecumenical efforts as the Communion participates in 12 different
conversations, dialogues and Informal Talks.
The Anglican Communion maintains dialogues with as broad a spectrum of
Christian Churches as any other denomination. Our official dialogues are
with the Lutherans, Methodists, Oriental Orthodox, Orthodox, Reformed, and
Roman Catholics. These dialogues have been running for several years. The
Lambeth Conference reaffirmed the importance of these and mandated new
dialogues with Baptists, Pentecostals, New Churches, and Independent Church
Groups. In the report of the Director of Ecumenical Affairs you can read in
more detail what has been happening in these relationships over the past
three years since Panama.
The dialogues with Lutherans, internationally and regionally in North
America, Europe and Africa are moving from theological agreement to changed
relationships called full communion or visible unity. The dialogue with the
Orthodox continues to make steady advance on some important matters of
Trinitarian theology which provides a solid base for future work on topics
of ecclesiology and ministry. On the remarkable progress in the dialogue
with the Roman Catholics, we shall be hearing more in the ARCIC presentation
on Tuesday, 21 September.
The new work which will begin shortly with the Baptists and potentially with
the Pentecostals and New Churches and Independent Christian Groups will
break new ground for Anglicans and open some yet unexplored horizons in the
search to reveal the unity of Christ's Body. Work will resume in the near
future with Methodists, Oriental Orthodox and the Reformed Churches. For the
first time in the history of the Anglican Communion we will have a mechanism
to begin to relate these dialogues one to another, and to give guidance in
the context of the ever more complex ecumenical map. The mechanism to which
I refer is the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations,
the IASCER.
The process is now underway to appoint members and plan for the first
meeting of the IASCER. I am delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury has
invited Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies to chair this important
Commission. It is a sign that our ecumenical work is advancing and making
progress when we come to the stage that such a Commission is needed. It is
important that we strive to be consistent in our conversations with
different partners, and that there be some mechanism at the level of the
Communion to monitor the fruitful work happening at regional and provincial
levels. It is important to encourage such progress to benefit the whole
Communion. The Commission will hopefully give leadership in identifying
issues to be addressed by the Communion as a whole in its ecumenical work.
It will help with the complex task of reception, beginning with facilitating
the circulation of documents and ecumenical resources throughout the
Communion.
If there is one challenge I would highlight which is facing the whole
ecumenical movement today, including the Anglican Churches, that is the
challenge related to the question of reception. How do we receive the fruits
of all these bilateral dialogues, not to mention the important multilateral
dialogue of the Faith and Order movement, with which Anglicans have been
associated since its inception? How do we effect change in our lives as
Churches, based upon the agreements we have reached? The Virginia Report is
one clear example of how our ecumenical conversations are beginning to shape
how we structure and order our life as a Communion of Churches.
Those of us who are gathered here as leaders of the Communion from every
part of the world have a key role to play in the ongoing process of
reception of ecumenical agreements. Anglicanism, by its very nature, perhaps
has some particular challenges in this regard. Our "dispersed authority"
makes any decision-making process a little "untidy". The various contexts in
which we live means that receiving the fruits of a particular dialogue might
seem odd. For instance, in the Pacific Islands, how does the
Anglican-Orthodox dialogue achieve reception? Sometimes, sadly, there are
"non-theological" factors which impede reception. Historical and cultural
prejudices do get in the way! And of course, our people are facing other
issues each day. Some are life-threatening: famine or war. But nevertheless,
Anglicans hear God's call to unity, and we must strive to be obedient to it,
and I am grateful for your commitment to this call.
In March of this year, the Rt Revd James Ottley completed his contract as
the Anglican Observer at the United Nations. His dedication to the mission
of the Observer's Office was greatly appreciated by the staff, Advisory
Council, and many supporters of this ministry throughout the Anglican
Communion. The Advisory Council recommended that the Rt Revd Paul Moore, Jr.
supervise the operation of the Office until an interim Observer was
appointed. The day-to-day business of the Office is handled by Yasmeen
Granville, the officer manager, and Richard Sabune from Rwanda who also
attends NGO briefings at the UN on a regular basis. The Revd Canon Jeff
Golliher continues in his environmental work for the Observer's Office.
This last week the Office of the Anglican Observer hosted a significant
panel discussion entitled Principalities, Powers and Peace. You will be
receiving recommendations from the Inter-Anglican Finance Committee and from
the Joint Standing Committee on the future of the Anglican Observer's Office
at the United Nations.
For some years the Anglican liturgists who meet as the International
Anglican Liturgical Consultation have been working their way through the
great themes of baptism, eucharist, and ministry, to which particular focus
was given in the Lima document of the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC.
Members of the IALC have tried to identify the cutting edge of an Anglican
understanding of these themes, and to suggest ways in which that
understanding must shape and influence the liturgical texts and practice of
the future as the process of liturgical renewal goes on.
A conference of Anglican liturgists met in Finland in 1997 under the
auspices of the IALC and began work on the theology and practice of ministry
and its implications for our rites of ordination, installation, appointment,
etc. The purpose of the Finland conference was to set the agenda for a
larger and fuller Consultation in 1999 in Kottayam, India. A great deal of
effort was expended by some members of the IALC to raise money which would
enable Anglican liturgists in under-funded countries to attend the
Consultation and guarantee the fullest possible representation.
The Steering Committee of the IALC met in 1998 to put finishing touches on
the agenda of the 1999 Consultation. They distinguished among topics on
which some consensus had been achieved, topics on which further work was
needed, and topics which had not yet been addressed in depth. Papers were
solicited on these latter subjects, especially on episcopacy and authority,
on the use of the terms priest and presbyter, on the role of bishops with
non-diocesan constituencies, and on indelibility.
Unfortunately, the intentions of the Steering Committee to implement a
challenging and productive program were in some measure frustrated by
unforeseen events. About 12 of the 63 intending participants who had
registered for the Consultation (approximately 1/5th of the whole) were
unable to attend because they did not receive or were denied visas to enter
India. Almost of all these were members of Provinces in under-funded
countries. Their absence seriously affected the balance of participation and
the Steering Committee, in a pre-Consultation meeting, asked if the
intention of the body to be as representative as possible had been seriously
frustrated.
These problems were sharpened when the chair of the Consultation received
written notice that foreigners were forbidden to attend the Consultation as
planned. The Steering Committee recommended to those present that the
Consultation as such be abandoned and that those present meet informally in
a hotel near the intended site of the event. They agreed.
In spite of these problems the members present attacked their subject with
vigour. Meeting in three groups, they addressed the theology of ordination
as it relates to liturgical acts, the structure of ordination and related
rites, and the relationship of the processes of discernment of vocation and
ministerial formation for ordination rites. The groups reported regularly to
plenary sessions and the whole body agreed on a process by which their
preliminary reports will be edited, circulated for comment and amendment,
and presented in documentary form to a full Consultation, which has been
deferred until August 2001 when it will meet in California, U.S.A.
It would be premature to anticipate the completion of work which is still
very much in progress, but it is possible to report that the meeting
approached the subject of ordination in the church from the point of view of
a baptismal ecclesiology in which the People of God are engaged in ministry
and in which specific orders of ministry find their place. Areas of
consensus and areas of disagreement will be addressed within this framework.
In accordance with IALC Guidelines, The Steering Committee, under its chair,
Ronald Dowling, whose term of office would have been completed if a full
Consultation had been held, will remain in office until the deferred
Consultation in 2001. Paul Gibson assists the Steering Committee as
Coordinator for Liturgy for the Anglican Consultative Council. This last
Sunday the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC renewed Paul
Gibson's contract until 2001 when the Liturgical Consultation will meet in
San Francisco.
When I visited Brazil two years ago I saw first hand the impact that the
Decade of Evangelism has had on the Brazilian Church under the leadership of
its Primate Dom Glauco Soares de Lima. In Brazil I found the dioceses
engaged in forming a cohesive and integrated ministry, where all are
encouraged to participate, and where bishop, clergy and people work together
in proclamation and service. So many of the great global challenges to human
life and dignity are found in Brazil today: globalisation of the
marketplace, migration of peoples to the cities, increased marginalisation
of the poor, and threats to the delicate ecosystem.
The Church in Brazil continues to take bold and creative steps to address
these challenges. Each parish of the Church is encouraged to explore new
ways of engaging in ministry and mission which address the realities of the
socio-cultural context, be it supporting landless farmers or working with
street children. Archbishop Glauco has continually stressed that the
strength of his Church is the diversity of gifts and insights: evangelicals,
anglo-catholics, charismatics, supporters of liberation theology, all have a
place and all share in a fundamental unity, because the Church is clear
about its role: the calling of the people of God to worship, nurturing
community, and engaging in outreach and mission and evangelism.
A mainstay in the life of the Anglican Communion Office in London is the
work done by Marjorie Murphy. I believe I would not be too inaccurate if I
were to say that Marjorie is one of the most "Anglicanized non-Anglicans"
within the geographical boundaries of the Anglican Communion. I know all of
us appreciate the wonderful job Marjorie is doing as the Director of the
Secretariat here at ACC-11.
Since January 1998 the portfolio of Mission and Evangelism has been carried
by the Secretary General with the capable support of Marjorie who has been
co-ordinating mission and evangelism affairs for the Communion. The work of
the department has included responding to everyday inquiries, maintaining
data of Companion Relationships throughout the Communion, (including
resource material for the Decade of Evangelism and a list of Provincial
Evangelism and Mission Co-ordinators), extensive preparation for the Lambeth
Conference, the co-ordination of the Anglican Communion Mission Commission
(MISSIO) and the gathering of information on the progress of the Decade of
Evangelism throughout the Provinces of the Communion. An effort has been
made to be kept informed of developments in mission throughout the
Communion.
MISSIO has met twice since ACC-10, in Recife, Brazil September 1997 and
Harare, Zimbabwe in April 1999 with arrangements made by the Anglican
Communion Office. Two reports have been made, first the interim report
entitled 'Sing a New Song', for the Lambeth Conference, and second MISSIO's
final report, 'Anglicans in Mission: A Transforming Journey', with an
Executive report for ACC-11. Plans are being made for the reports to be
published and distributed in book form.
As the MISSIO meeting in Harare was the last meeting of this term of MISSIO,
a Chairs Advisory Group has been formed to operate until new members of the
Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission are appointed.
A questionnaire survey on the Decade of Evangelism was sent to the Provinces
and to some dioceses around the Communion. This survey explored the
strengths and weaknesses of the Decade of Evangelism and the lessons learnt
and the future direction as we look forward to the new Millennium. The signs
of 'shifting the Church from a maintenance mode to a mission orientation'
are evident. The data gathered has been compiled together and summarised in
the MISSIO report. The MISSIO report and recommendations will be presented
to ACC-11 on Monday, 20 September.
One often incredibly difficult task - - and one that receives not much
glory - - is that of the work of the Treasurer. Besides his professional
skill, Mike Nunn also brings to his office his own personal Christian
testimony as well as a sense of humour. I am grateful for his exactitude and
the attention which he and his staff gives to detail. Every single pence
which is received Mike makes sure is properly used for the mission of the
Anglican Communion.
During the last three years, the major challenge has been to manage the
financial administration of the Lambeth Conference. We were very grateful to
have the assistance of Canon John Rye, of the Anglican Church of Canada, who
joined the Secretariat for three months during 1998 to administer the
distribution of the Lambeth Conference Fund. The generous response to the
Lambeth Conference Fund Appeal, which made it possible to provide help with
Conference attendance costs to all those who needed it was a source of great
satisfaction. Because of this Fund the costs of the Conference were
completely covered by the income provided.
Of utmost importance to our life as a Communion is our communication
programme. Jim Rosenthal brings to Communication his personal devotion and
love for the Anglican tradition, his excitement and care when he can share
our good news with our fellow Anglicans and others. The opportunities
abound, but the limitations which the Communication programme faces are
great. So much is accomplished in this realm with such few resources.
This work is very humbling at times. Jim recently received an extraordinary
letter.
"I always gladly and gratefully receive your magazine. The spirit is
willing, but the pockets are weak (confer. Mat. 26:41). Our Diocese is
located in the Western region of Uganda which is ravaged by the civil war,
which destabilise our Christians. So we fail to get money of even buying
essential commodities of our families, but the Lord has mercifully sustained
us.
"Let me hope that you will continue to send the magazine to me, and I
promise that by God's Grace, we shall stabilise and contribute towards the
continual publication of our precious, impressive, informative and educative
magazine.
"May Our Good Lord richly bless your efforts."
When it comes to Communication, the last couple of years have been
milestones in many ways. Anglican World through the generosity of the
Compass Rose Society has taken on a new lease of life. Thanks to the good
advice of Mandy Murphy, formally a magazine co-ordinator from New York,
fresh ideas have been shared with the Editor and now Anglican World offers
feature sections in each issue. So far we have had successful features on
icons and stained glass that featured works from parishes around the
Communion. Local people are very proud that they are in Anglican World. The
current issue has a refreshing look at the new Christianisation of the St.
Nicholas custom and the last issue in this year will focus on Jesus Christ
2000. The comments we continuously receive are very supportive and yet so
few of the 70,000,000 Anglicans actually see the magazine. Anglican World
now increasingly puts us in touch with the "real" folk at the parish level.
It also addresses timely and critical issues through the family network
section, a foundational part of the magazine.
Another wonderful experience over the last few months has been a children's
page to celebrate St. Nicholas. Hundreds of drawings have come in and they
are on display for you to see how beautiful they are. Yes, through this
competition we have reached another level of communication with the local
congregations, which must be our goal. The people whom we have never really
reached before are now being reached. This is something I want to hold up as
a sign of the good work that has been done. Maybe we can maintain these
links and expand our relationships not only to reach children, but young
adults and especially the neglected elderly.
The accomplishments in Telecommunications at the Lambeth Conference under
the direction of the Revd Dr. Joan Butler Ford and the volunteer staff, were
phenomenal. The co-operation of these two units meant that people at home,
those who were able to retrieve information by e-mail and the World Wide
Web, were informed instantaneously of what was happening at Lambeth. The
Communications department's role was to serve our constituency and they did
that with great vigour, enthusiasm and expertise. For this we are grateful.
Dr. Ford has now retired and, due to financial limitations, she has not been
replaced. However, the important programme that she put in place is being
continued by the Communication staff and in particular I want to mention
Christopher Took from Ireland who is helping to maintain our web site.
Chris's very part-time work is being sponsored by Trinity Church, Wall
Street. We hope to have an intern from Africa in early 2000.
We were very fortunate to welcome the Revd Canon Raphael Hess, the newly
appointed Communication Officer to the Archbishop of Cape Town, to the
Communication Department for a short internship programme. The experience
proved to be helpful as Canon Hess assumed his new ministry. This is an
example of how our work in the Communication Department can be shared with
the different Provinces in the Communion that need the expertise and
training.
I am continually grateful for the ministry of Deirdre Martin who has now
been at the Anglican Communion Office for over 23 years. Her role is ever
changing, but one to which she adjusts with a great sense of alacrity and
goodwill. There were additional staff members brought on board for the
Lambeth Conference, but the core staff remains small and dedicated. I want
to extend my special thanks to Frances, Graeme, Rosemary, Barbara, Veronica,
Helen, Christine, Ian and also to Canon Geoffrey Cates who, although retired
from active parochial ministry years ago, still takes the train from Ipswich
once a week and volunteers and helps us with the Communion Archive work.
Canterbury Cathedral chorister, Jon Williams, works on a commission basis as
the advertising person for Anglican World.
One of the comments I heard most in Jerusalem following the 1988 Lambeth
Conference had to do with travel for the 1988 Conference. Little did I know
then that I would have something to do with the Lambeth Conference ten years
later. But when that became a reality I knew I wanted to do something about
travel. If people can travel to meetings without hassles, if there is always
someone at the end of the telephone line who understands your problem, and
who cares about you, travel will go much better. As a result a Travel Office
was set up in the Anglican Communion Office in 1997 staffed by Ann Quirke.
It has been a marvellous success story. However, we could not do it on our
own.
The Office was set up with the help of Menno Travel Service in New Jersey.
With their help, Galileo Focalpoint, a globally recognised system of airline
booking, was installed. Because of UK laws, ticketing facilities are not
available to the ACO so we rely on MTS to print most of our international
tickets for us. For our local tickets we also work closely with Voyageur
Travel, Covent Garden. But regardless if MTS or Voyageur prints the tickets,
the bookings are done by Ann in the ACO Office.
In view of the ever-changing face of technology and to make the ACO Travel
Office more cost-efficient, MTS is planning to install a programme which
will allow access to airline bookings via the Internet. It is expected that
this will be up and running soon after ACC-11. Shortly it is hoped that some
information regarding the Travel Office will be available on the Anglican
Communion webpage.
Ann Quirke is here in Dundee and if you have any travel problems, go and see
her. She has been known to perform more than one miracle.
I come to this ACC meeting with mixed emotions. I come with a wish list, not
my own wishes, but the wishes of those who write, telephone, FAX and e-mail
me day by day, week by week, month by month, year after year. Some of that
communication has come from people in this room. I am grateful for it, but I
often wish that we as a Communion could respond in a more fulfilling way and
most of all, in a more practical way. The challenge is before us. The
challenge is to you as the ACC, not just to me as the Secretary General. As
we seek to implement the programme that the ACC puts before the Communion, I
am increasingly aware of the importance that the ACC brings to the Anglican
forum of discussion. Here in the ACC you are the representative voice of the
whole Church. We represent all orders of ministry, bishops, priests, deacons
and laity. Many of you are leaders by your own right in your own Provinces.
I know the challenges and the demands that are on you are enormous, but
please know how much we count on your participation in the world-wide Church
concerning the work of the Communion. You are the ambassadors, the apostles
of our communal message. Your apostolate is to share the good news we have
as a family, as a Christian family dispersed in 38 Provinces in over 160
countries.
It is with a special sense of thanksgiving and joy that yesterday we
welcomed into this ACC meeting members from our two newest Provinces, the
Church of the Central America Region and from Hong Kong. I had the privilege
of attending both of their inauguration services when they became Provinces.
It is undoubtedly one of the greatest gifts that we now have a strong voice
from the people of Hong Kong and the people of Latin America in the work of
the Communion. We specially welcome Ms Fung Yi Wong from Hong Kong and Mr.
Luis R. Vallée from the Central American Region.
The issue of Anglican World you have today shows some exciting pictures of
visitors to the Bethlehem Peace Museum as part of the Bethlehem 2000
celebrations in preparation for the millennium. Because of resolutions
passed at ACC-10, and at the Joint Standing Committee meetings, Anglicans
are a part of the Bethlehem 2000 project. This project is in the capable
hands of Compass Rose Society members, the Revd Hamilton Fuller from the
Diocese of Southwest Virginia and Mrs. Barbara Payne of Houston, Texas. Our
participation in the Bethlehem 2000 project gives us an opportunity for
rejoicing and a sense of pride in what we are doing. The basic task assigned
through the ACC and the Anglican Communion has been to secure a Crib Museum
which is becoming a reality. Already over 80 donations have been received
from all over the world. We have received everything from a beautiful
Chaucer crib set to peasants crib figures from Taiwan and Japan. Might our
gift to Bethlehem always remind us of the gift that Bethlehem gave to the
world. Our participation is not only a celebration of the Millennium, but
also an affirmation of the faithful ministry and witness of our brothers and
sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem.
This morning I want to make it perfectly clear, as I hope you can see from
the reports which I have shared with you, that the purpose of our office is
to be a servant, a servant to the on-going work of all Four Instruments of
Unity. All of us in the Secretariat prayerfully see our role in this way.
When one thinks of servants in the Anglican Communion Office, there is one
person whom I have not yet named, namely Joan Christey. For twenty years
Joan served the Office as a servant of the servants. When anyone from around
the Communion would call the office, Joan would make them feel welcome.
Earlier this year Joan experienced a neurological disorder and she had to
resign. When Joan resigned, her concern was not about herself, but she was
concerned she was "letting the Anglican Communion down". We give thanks for
Joan's faithfulness.
Let us think of a verse we all know well from John, Chapter 8, Verse 32:
"And you shall know the Truth
And the Truth shall make you free."
We all know that the Truth is Christ, none other. We all are warned in
Scripture not to make idols of anything whatsoever and yet we bring so much
baggage with us. In one of the baptismal rites it asks, "Do you turn to
Christ?" And the answer is, "I do." But do we? Do we allow Christ to
permeate every aspect of our work? Do we listen to His words? Do we believe
in His abiding presence with us to this day? Do we truly celebrate His gift
to us of Himself in the Eucharist? Do we really come face to face with Him
in a living, lively way in this day and age? Do we ask in our hearts and our
minds "What would Jesus do?" in those areas that confront us and challenge
us as we become a Community of Miraculous Expectation.
The millennium celebrations allow us to re-think this relationship with the
Prince of Peace. It allows us time and space to come to grips with whom we
are and whose name we bear. May Christ give us the strength to be His hands,
His feet, His eyes, and His ears in a world that is aching so much, in a
world that also deserves to share in His Good News. Why does the world
deserve it? Because the world is God's and God created it and God loved it.
God loved the world enough to transform and redeem it by sending Jesus
Christ. I ask you to loose the bonds of those who are often hindered in
their work by lack of facility or resources. Let us go into the new
millennium, with a new start, a new hope, a new beginning and a new
challenge. Let us be faithful to Christ who is the same yesterday, today and
forever.
John L. Peterson
16 September 1999