Anglican Consultative Council meets under the title, "For the Life of the World"
The 12th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will take place from 15-26 September, hosted by the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. The meeting will bring together representatives from the 38 Provinces of the Anglican Episcopal Communion around the world.
Presiding for the last time will be the Most Revd George L Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, who retires at the end of October. The chairman, the Rt Revd Simon Chiwanga, Bishop of Mpwapwa, Tanzania will also step down after this meeting. A new chairman is to be elected.
Archbishop Carey will preach at an ordination of a priest and two deacons, on Holy Cross Day, 14 September. His Grace will preside at the Opening ACC Eucharist on 15 September in the downtown St John’s Cathedral and then preach at a Eucharist at Holy Trinity Parish, Kowloon on 22 September. (Press and media welcome).
The ACC includes laity, bishops, priests, deacons and has co-opted members from various other parts of the Communion in its membership. New members include the Rt Revd Carlos Lopez Lozano, Bishop of Madrid, Spain, and the Rt Revd Catherine Roskam of New York.
The Most Revd Peter Kwong, Archbishop of Hong Kong, warmly welcomes the ACC to his Province and nearly 200 volunteers have been working to make the event perfect for the colourful array of international visitors. The meeting will take place at the Salisbury Hotel (YMCA), Kowloon.
Although a small Province, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui ministers to a wide variety of people in the greater Hong Kong area. Canon John Peterson, ACC Secretary General, calls the work done in the Diocese of Hong Kong itself "as exceptional and a model for other parts of the Anglican Communion."
The organisation of the ACC includes the adoption of resolutions on various topics arising from the people in our churches around the world and also is a time for sharing resources and information from ACC Members, people who are influential in their own Provinces and therefore can carry back the message of the meeting to their constituencies that either elected or appointed them to their posts as an ACC member.
The principal guest speaker will be the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Revd Dr Ishmael Noko of Geneva, Switzerland.
Reports will be issued on Anglican Communion News Service and Anglican World on line as required and it is expected that Morehouse Publishing, in the USA, will produce the traditional report sometime in the near future.
The Standing Committees of the Primates (Chief Archbishops, Bishops) and the ACC will meet prior to the main assembly from 12-14 September.
Press and Media are welcome to attend certain sessions and liturgies of the ACC-12 Meeting. Requests should be directed to Canon James M Rosenthal:
Tel: 00 852 2367 4331
Fax: 00 852 2366 6512
Mobile: 00 852 6221 1284
Email: [email protected]
The majority of the sessions are open only to members and staff.
Assisting Canon Rosenthal will be Canon Dss Margaret Rodgers of Anglican Media Sydney, Australia; the Revd Dan England, Episcopal Church USA, Director of Communications; and the Revd Paul Kwong of the host province.