NB: Headings in capitals are for reference only and were not delivered as part of the address.

Thanks to Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hoi

What a great privilege it is for the Twelfth Council Meeting of the ACC to be meeting here in Hong Kong, the youngest of all Provinces in the Anglican Communion and yet a Province that is rich in history. The hospitality and the support which have been given to this Council meeting by the Provincial Office of the Church in Hong Kong have been absolutely outstanding. Certainly I know I express your gratitude when we thank Archbishop Peter Kwong for inviting this Council meeting to be held here in Hong Kong.

There are a great many people to thank as well, including all seven hundred volunteers from the Church of Hong Kong, and yet I can name only four today. The Revd Dr. Dorothy Lau, ordained priest last Saturday, and her assistant Sally Law have given countless days working with our office. At the same time, the Reverends Andrew Chan and Paul Kwong have also been very much involved. I know I express the gratitude of the entire Council to you all for your outstanding contributions.

September 11

Since our last meeting in Dundee, we have all experienced an event from which all other events over the next few years will be measured. That, of course, was September 11, 2001 and the attack in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

The impact of September 11 came home visibly to me at the Joint Standing Committee Meeting when we met in the Province of Ireland in February. This morning I would like to share with you two snapshots, two cameos, from that meeting. The Revd Dr Jae-Joung Lee, the representative from Korea, who believes his role as priest and politician is important, spoke eloquently about the negative impact that President Bush's State of the Union Address has had on the peoples of both North and South Korea. The President had named three countries that he described as the "axis of evil", Iraq, Iran and North Korea. The Anglican Church in Korea has been diligent in seeking reconciliation and reunification between both countries. Jae-Joung pointed out that the United States "war on terrorism" was in itself terrorism as it impacted the efforts to bring reconciliation and understanding between the peoples of North and South Korea.

The second snapshot from that Standing Committee is of Judy Conley, the representative of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Judy shared with us the impact that September 11 had on her. She had three friends working in the Twin Towers that day. Fortunately all three were able to escape, but the fear and the trauma had definitely affected her. Judy is a strong person who has dedicated her life to social justice issues. But as she shared her experience that day, she was in tears as she relived the horrors of the attack in New York.

The reason I share these two snapshots with you is because each of us carries our own memories of that day. The impact that day has had on the global community cannot possibly yet be known. The impact that day has had on the Anglican Communion cannot possibly yet be known. It is within this context that much of this report is given.

Tribute to Bishop John Howe

Since our meeting in Dundee, two Archbishops of Canterbury and one Secretary General have died. In a tribute written to Bishop John Howe, the first Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Canon Sam Van Culin wrote, "Bishop John Howe was responsible for bringing the Anglican Consultative Council into being", as a result of a resolution which was passed at the Lambeth Conference in 1968, which approved the constitution for the Anglican Consultative Council. It ultimately came to fruition when Bishop Howe organised the first meeting of the Council in Limuru, Kenya in 1971. As we gather here today in Hong Kong, we are indebted to John Howe, for his vision of what a synodical body would mean to the Anglican Communion.

Tribute to Archbishop Coggan

Lord Donald Coggan died on 17 May 2000 at the age of 90. At his memorial service, eulogies referred to Archbishop Donald's passion for mission and evangelism, his preaching based on biblical exposition, his concern for the unity of the church, as well as his commitment to Jewish-Christian relations.

One of Archbishop Coggan's lasting legacies was his inauguration of the Personal Emergencies Fund for the Anglican Communion. So far just this year, 23 people from 11 countries around the Communion have received £28,000 from the Personal Emergency Fund to help with their medical expenses.

Tribute to Archbishop Robert Runcie

The last time I saw Archbishop Robert Runcie was on December 17, 1999, some six months before he died in July 2000. I asked him, "How are you doing?" and his response to me was, "John, I am dying gracefully". That comment, "I am dying gracefully" was so Robert Runcie and so reflects the person he was: graceful.

Robert Runcie raised the profile of the Office of Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican Communion by his international travels. The first visit the Archbishop made after his enthronement in 1980 was to Ghana, which began his many visits throughout the Communion, perhaps highlighted by his famous visit to Rome as he searched for visible unity with our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church. Archbishop Runcie had an enormous capacity for friendship, a marvellous sense of humour and a wit that endeared him to world leaders, church people and ordinary folk.

Tribute to the Revd Canon John Rye

This last month The Revd Canon John Rye, formerly a World Mission Partner Officer for the Anglican Church of Canada, died. I would like to recognize his special ministry to the Communion during the Lambeth Conference in 1998, when he distributed the bursary funds fairly and with a great deal of integrity. We give thanks for John's life and for the important support he gave to us.

Visits in the Anglican Communion 

Cuba

In June 2000, members of the Compass Rose Society visited Cuba. We experienced a country that has faced the brutality of an embargo, an embargo which has had a devastating impact on the life of the country as well as the church. But what is absolutely remarkable is that the embargo has not "broken" the people. Recently the Cuban Government has been more open to the Church and as a result the Church is experiencing new growth with young and energetic clergy and lay people.

Every church we visited was packed. But the Church has no Prayer Books, people have no medicine, people have no medical supplies, children are in need of shoes, hospitals do not even have sheets for their beds.

The needs of the Church in Cuba are many. We are asked to reach out to them. But I hope they will reach out to us as well because they can teach us some very important lessons. They can teach us what it means to live under an embargo. As a Communion this is an important lesson as we struggle with all of the embargos which enslave us.

Jerusalem

At the beginning of the second Intifada, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church inaugurated the Jerusalem 2000 initiative. This initiative has been extremely successful. In England alone, over a million pounds has been raised for different projects within the Diocese of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, of course, has been very much in our thoughts and prayers since our Dundee Meeting. Many of you have made pilgrimages to stand in solidarity with the Church in Jerusalem, particularly as it faces discrimination and economic pressures. The Archbishop of Canterbury made an historical Pastoral Visit to Jerusalem in July 2001. The purpose of that visit was to stand in solidarity with the Church in Jerusalem, but that visit also laid a foundation stone for a peace initiative which the Archbishop would make some six months later. The Archbishop visited President Arafat in Gaza and Prime Minister Sharon in his Jerusalem Office. Such high level initiatives are really important because the Church in Jerusalem is living more and more in a minority position in its homeland. Soon there will be very few Christians remaining in Jerusalem, in Palestine and in Israel. Jerusalem must be one of our concerns. We need to support the Christian community in Jerusalem and this must be a priority. During this Council Meeting we shall have an opportunity to hear from Bishop Riah of Jerusalem.

Australia

Last July I was invited to participate in the second National Anglican Conference in Australia, sponsored by the General Synod of that Church. The theme of the Conference was "Making Connections." Australia has its own unique issues concerning "Making Connections" and how a church that is so provincially run relates to the national church as a whole.

The organisers of the Conference invited me to address the issue of making connections in interfaith relations within the Anglican Communion. This topic has taken on new dimensions since September 11. One of the important vehicles we have in the Anglican Communion for making connections with our interfaith family is NIFCON, the Network for Interfaith Concerns, but also initiatives which have been taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This topic will be discussed during this Council Meeting and it is my hope that we will be able to receive the report of NIFCON as well as two important initiatives which have been initiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the al-Azhar Agreement and the Alexandria Declaration.

Kenya

This last May when the Inter Anglican Mission and Evangelism Commission met in Nairobi, the Archbishop of Kenya at that time, David Gitari, invited me to participate in the inauguration of KAMA, the Kenya Anglican Men's Association. Today I want to acknowledge the important initiative that KAMA represents in the Church of Kenya. That Saturday morning at St. Stephen's Church in the Diocese of Nairobi, some 620 men, individually, became members of KAMA. Two of the reasons for KAMA are to help men live a faithful Christian life as well as encourage Anglican lay men and women to play a positive role as Christians in the political, social and economic life of the nation.

Archbishop David Gitari

While I am speaking about Kenya I would also like to recognise the recent retirement of Archbishop David Gitari, a Primate who has been fearless in his struggle for social justice in Kenya. One of the great Anglican prophetic voices of our time, David has served the Church in Kenya with distinction. Just this last week David was once again subjected to a threat on his life when a police car rammed his car. Thank God David was not hurt seriously.

Reports from the Communion

Anglican Observer at the United Nations

Since our Dundee meeting, the Anglican Communion has appointed a new Anglican Observer at the United Nations in the person of Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea. One of the criteria of the Selection Committee was that the new Observer would be very much involved in "knocking on the doors" at the United Nations, which would support the different Provinces in the Communion when particular needs arise.

Geneva Advisory Committee

One of Faga's initiatives has been to start a Geneva Advisory Committee like the Advisory Council she has in New York. Much of the work of the United Nations takes place in Geneva, particularly with regard to UNAIDS, World Health, Social Development, the International Labor Organisation and the Human Rights Commission. Faga asked the Revd Canon Samir Habiby, priest-in-charge of Christ Church, Lausanne, Switzerland to put together a Geneva Committee to respond to the social needs that have been identified in the Anglican Communion. The Geneva Advisory Committee has met on five different occasions and has enabled us to make significant introductions, particularly to UNAIDS. As soon as the Provincial structures are put in place in Africa, and in other parts of the Anglican Communion as well, we will be able to apply for grants from UNAIDS to support the work of the different dioceses and parishes within the Communion which are doing grassroots work in this pandemic.

Anglican Observer's Advisory Council

I would also like to recognise the significant work that is done by the Advisory Council because they have basically accepted the responsibility to find funding for that office. The Archbishop of Canterbury has been tireless in his support and the UN Advisory Council has done a tremendous job enabling the Anglican Observer's Office to exist. It is my hope, however, it will not have to continue to be a hand-to-mouth operation, but that we can get substantial Endowment funding to enable the office to do its work.

HIV/AIDS

At the Primates Meeting at Kanuga in 2001, the Archbishop of Cape Town offered a challenge to the Communion regarding HIV/AIDS. One of the presenters at that Primates Meeting was the Revd Gideon Byamugisha, a priest living with AIDS from Uganda. His eloquence and his depth of spirituality moved the Primates to make HIV/AIDS a top priority in the Anglican Communion. Out of that meeting came a Conference in Johannesburg in August 2001 that has changed the face of our Communion with regard to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Canon Ted Karpf, from the Province of Southern Africa and the co-ordinator of the HIV/AIDS programme in Southern Africa, will be giving a report to this Council meeting on the initiatives which have been taken, both by the Primates on the continent of Africa as well as by the local churches in Africa.

One thing I must say, however, is that I am bitterly disappointed how slowly this whole process has unfolded. To be honest we were promised funds to establish this programme in each one of the African Provinces, but the promised funds never came through. It is only because of a generous replacement grant which we were given last week by the Parthenon Trust that at long last this programme will be established. This programme will enable the Provinces in Africa to apply for grants so that the Provinces can have an effective programme to combat HIV/AIDS. In Africa AIDS will not be defeated by the Governments, but by the Church.

St. Andrew's House

When ACC-11 met in Dundee we reported that the Anglican Communion had been approached by the Sisters of St. Andrew's and the Tavistock Trust who wished to give their building in Westbourne Park, London, to the Anglican Communion so an Anglican Communion Centre could be established. Over the last three years we have been in conversation with the Sisters and the Trust, and a decision was taken by the ACC Standing Committee last February in Ireland that the ACC should accept the generous offer of St. Andrew's House. We have been given St. Andrew's House for a "peppercorn rent" with a lease for 20 years.

St. Andrew's House will provide the Anglican Communion with a Centre which will include sufficient office space not only for our present office staff, but also the Lambeth Conference staff who will join us in 2005. In addition, it will also provide accommodation for temporary staff members as well as some rooms for visitors from around the world. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Canon John Rees as he has been working with the Tavistock Trust, Andrew Franklin, our Financial Officer, who has been dealing with many of the financial and personnel issues concerning St. Andrew's House, and an Anglican Communion Office team headed by Marjorie Murphy who has been looking at space utilisation.

Endowment Fund - Compass Rose Society

In my tribute to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the latest edition of Anglican World, I wrote that the Compass Rose Society was born out of a vision and dream that Archbishop George Carey had for the Anglican Communion. That vision was that we would communicate more effectively with each other as well as putting the structures of the Anglican Communion on a more stable economic footing.

Out of this dream came the Compass Rose Society. The Society now has members from Canada, China, England, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay and hopefully soon, Australia.

This last year the Compass Rose Society committed itself to raise a $20,000,000 Endowment for the Anglican Communion. The interest from this Endowment will enable the Communion to be financially viable in relation to new initiatives and special projects.

It is my hope that you as a Council will reaffirm the decision of the Joint Standing Committee by giving your support to this Endowment initiative for the Anglican Communion. My goal is when ACC-13 meets in 2005 it will be reported to you that the 20 million dollar endowment has been raised.

Because of the importance of the Compass Rose Society's $20 million Endowment campaign and the need to put this Endowment in place within the next two years, the Anglican Communion has received a generous grant from the Parthenon Trust which will enable us to hire a retired diplomat to help support my work in the Anglican Communion Office. His coming will free me so I can be more involved in the Endowment campaign. To this end we have invited the recently retired British Ambassador to the Holy See, Mark Pellew, to assume this responsibility. Not only is Mark well versed in the international scene, but he also has a keen interest in ecumenism.

Inter Anglican FInance Committee

This morning I would like to recognize the important work that is being done by the Inter Anglican Finance Committee, which is Chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames. Working with Archbishop Eames on the Committee are Archbishop Peter Akinola, Judy Conley, Gahzi Musharbash, Fung-Yi Wong and Bishop Simon Chiwanga, an ex-officio member as the Chair of the ACC. This Committee works diligently to examine ways to utilize the resources available to it to fund the programmes of the Communion.

While we are all appreciative of the generous support of the Compass Rose Society and Trinity Church, Wall Street, the major source of income for the Anglican Consultative Council and therefore for the work and witness for our Communion family is, and must remain, the Provinces of the Anglican Communion and the United Churches. The Joint Standing Committee has recognized over the last eight years that many of the new initiatives which it has been given, either by the Council itself, the Primates, or the Lambeth Conference, are not provisions that have been within the budget of the Communion.

For example last year the Joint Standing Committee requested an additional 4% from each Province to pay for new ecumenical initiatives and the Inter Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission. Only two Provinces responded. The Joint Standing Committee recognizes the economic problems many Provinces are facing.

We only need to look at the economic pressures facing the Church of England and the fact that they are freezing their 2003 and 2004 commitment to the Inter-Anglican Budget at their 2002 level. We all know the difficult time that South Africa is having as the Rand loses its value, as has been the case in New Zealand with their dollar as well. We must also face the difficult reality that the Diocese of Sydney does not pay a portion of their budget to the General Synod of the Australian Church and therefore the Church in Australia contributes only 58% of their asking every year to the Inter Anglican Budget. Regardless of the reasons, these shortfalls have a devastating effect on the ministry of the Communion and our inter-relatedness to each other.

If we are going to be responsible to each other as a global family, if we are truly going to be inter-dependent, then we will have to be more financially responsible to each other as a Communion. The Inter Anglican Finance Committee has looked seriously at our finances and will be challenging us to remember that the member churches are the major source of income for the ACC. If each Province contributed its due share, there would not be a deficit - and at the same time the Council would be able to serve the Anglican Communion in the way it is requested to do by the ACC, the Lambeth Conference and the Primates.

Four New Networks

During this Council Meeting you will receive a recommendation from the Joint Standing Committee that the Anglican Communion accept four new Networks as official Networks of the Communion. They are the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, the Network of Francophone Dioceses in the Anglican Communion, the Anglican Communion Environmental Network and the Legal Advisers of the Anglican Communion. It is my hope you will support these Networks by giving them official recognition in the life of the Communion.

The Francophone Dioceses in the Anglican Communion are the second largest language group and they have established outstanding programmes to support each other. Our support to their network initiative will affirm what is already a reality in the Communion.

This last July I had the opportunity to attend the meeting of the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion in Tokyo. In discussing their application to the ACC to become an official Network of the Anglican Communion, there was much enthusiasm amongst the members. The potential here is enormous. One of the things I urged CUAC to consider was establishing continuing education programmes for laity, clergy and bishops within their local provinces. That suggestion was well received and I believe that we have here yet another significant route for theological continuing education.

The Anglican Communion Environmental Network has its roots both in the commitment of individual provinces to environmental stewardship, and in the Lambeth Conference, which in 1998 requested the formation of a Commission on the Environment with staff support. The proposal before you is an attempt to respond to these initiatives in ways that are consistent with the structural and financial capacities of the ACC. It also reflects the urgency of the issues before us. Anglican delegates from 21 Provinces met near Johannesburg immediately prior to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and they gave resounding support to this network. They asked that this ACC give the Environmental Network official status.

I was present for much of the Legal Advisers Consultation at Canterbury in March 2002. It was held at the initiative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and drew together principal legal advisers from 17 Provinces of the Communion. Its report and recommendation went to the Primates Meeting in April, and will be brought to the ACC by our Legal Adviser, John Rees. The Consultation made a number of important findings about the things that unite us as a Communion, as well as identifying a range of legal problems that face individual provinces.

Your support of these Networks to become official Networks of the Council would be very much appreciated.

Decade to Overcome Violence

The decade to overcome violence began in 2001. Throughout this period, 2001-2010, the World Council of Churches encourages churches and Christian World Communions to acknowledge and address all aspects and issues of violence in their own contexts, and to work together for peace, justice and true reconciliation. The Anglican Communion must continue to embrace efforts to fight against all forms of violence and abuse. We must reflect on biblical and theological perspectives that affect our attitudes and behaviours in our daily lives.

Staff Reports

Ecumenical

The ecumenical and studies department of the ACO is one of the busiest sections of our office in London, and there has been significant progress in a number of areas since ACC-11.

The formation of the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations will help us present a coherent face in conversations with all our ecumenical partners.

Among the several bilateral relationships which we support, I would like to point out the significant new developments in three areas. First of all, as a result of the historic meeting of Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops in Mississauga Canada in 2000, the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission has been formed, which will complement the theological dialogue carried out by ARCIC. The establishment of the Unity and Mission Commission signifies that Anglican-Roman Catholic relations have reached a new level, when leaders of our Churches are now committed to finding ways to make our Communion in Life and Mission more visible.

Our relations with the Lutheran World Federation have also reached a new milestone. The Anglican-Lutheran International Working Group has completed its task of reviewing all the regional dialogues which have taken place or which are currently taking place around the world. Our dialogue with the Baptist World Alliance is now in full swing, and will produce a report which will be ready for ACC-13 in 2005.

Remarkable progress continues to be made in our dialogue with the Orthodox Churches, and a new commission with the Oriental Orthodox Churches will have its first meeting this November.

Each year there are more than a dozen ecumenical international consultations or meetings. These meetings include interchurch relations, department staff meetings as well as the Inter Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission, which has just had its second meeting. The commissions of dialogue and the Doctrine Commission undertake careful, technical and sensitive work on behalf of the Communion as a whole.

I urge the members of the ACC to help promote and support the ecumenical and doctrinal work of the Communion in your home Churches, particularly encouraging bishops, clergy and lay leaders to become better acquainted with the dialogues and particularly with the fruit of many years of patient work.

Tribute to David Hamid

For almost six years Canon David Hamid has been the Ecumenical Affairs and Studies Officer of the Anglican Communion. David has served in that position with distinction. Therefore, the announcement on July 19 that David had been appointed the Suffragan Bishop in Europe, was a cause for rejoicing. Although his appointment is a tremendous loss for the Ecumenical Desk in the Anglican Communion Office, David's outstanding gifts will certainly serve the Diocese in Europe well.

No single Diocese in the Anglican Communion covers more countries, a larger geographical spread, more languages, more ethnic traditions and more national churches, than the Diocese in Europe. David is a gifted linguist and he will bring to that office not only his language skills, but a deep commitment to ecumenical work. I know all of you will want to join me in extending our appreciation to David for his outstanding work as the Ecumenical Officer of the Anglican Communion and our prayers as he assumes his new responsibilities in the Church of England.

I would like to announce to the Council that Bishop John Baycroft, retired Bishop of Ottawa, and recently the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, has accepted our appointment as Interim Director of Ecumenical Affairs and Studies until June 2003.

Liturgics

The International Anglican Liturgical Consultation completed its long-term project on baptism, eucharist, and ministry (the agenda of the 1982 Lima Conference of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches).

The Consultation based its concluding work on ministry and ordination to ministry on a theology of the baptismal nature of the church, emphasizing that the people of God are revealed in baptism to be a holy people ministering to the world, to whom a variety of gifts have been given to build up the body of Christ and enable its mission.

The Consultation also engaged in a lively discussion of the elements of the Eucharist and recommended that a survey be conducted to discover current practice in the Communion. The recommendation also suggested that the ACC form a small working group to study the data and draft a report with Guidelines for further consideration by the Consultation and the ACC Standing Committee. The Joint Standing Committee subsequently agreed and recommended that in the light of such a survey, it should establish a working group to study the data and present a report with suggested guidelines to the Committee.

Might I extend your thanks to the Revd Paul Gibson for all that he does as the Liturgical Officer of the Anglican Communion.

Mission and Evangelism

Since our meeting in Dundee, the new Inter Anglican Commission on Mission and Evangelism has met on two different occasions, earlier this year in St Andrew's, Scotland and last year in Johannesburg, South Africa. There are 21 persons on this Commission, representing all of the different Regions in the Anglican Communion.

One of the major concerns of the Mission and Evangelism Commission is equipping the Communion for ministry. Theological education has been identified as one of the major mission concerns of the Commission, both in the training and formation for mission in the Communion. When the report of the Standing Committee on Mission and Evangelism is given, the Anglican Consultative Council will be asked to endorse the Commission's role in its work on leadership training and the formation for Mission. Might I add that the Commission sub-committee for theological education wants to work closely with the Primates' initiative in theological education.

The interim report you have been given is entitled "Traveling Together in God's Mission" and in that report there are six broad areas of mission which are being given to the different Provinces of the Anglican Communion for consideration and comment. It is important for me to mention the six points here:

• Islam and Islamination
• Developing Anglicanism: A Communion in Mission
• The journey towards wholeness and fullness of life
• Mission as justice making and peace building
• Money Power and Christian Mission
• Evangelism

Please give consideration to these six points so the Council will be able to support wholeheartedly the work that has been done by the Mission and Evangelism Commission.

Statement on Marjorie Murphy

Over the last few years Marjorie Murphy has carried the title of Executive Assistant to the Secretary General for Mission and Evangelism. During that time for all effective purposes, Marjorie has been the Director of Mission and Evangelism, fulfilling her responsibilities extremely well. When the Mission and Evangelism Commission met earlier this year in St. Andrew's, Scotland they recommended that Marjorie should become the permanent Director of Mission and Evangelism. I was more than happy to regularise what in fact had already become "the reality on the ground" for the last several years. I know the members of this Council will want to recognize Marjorie in appreciation for her dedication to Mission and Evangelism as well as her willingness to take on the responsibility as Conference Co-ordinator here at ACC-12.

Communications

Over the last several years the Communication programme under the direction of Canon Jim Rosenthal has been strengthened enormously because of support from Trinity Church, Wall Street and the Compass Rose Society. Today the Anglican Communion is able to provide a real service to the many Churches in the Communion that have no other means of telling their story except through instruments like Anglican World, the Anglican Communion News Service and our new Telecommunications programme which includes our web site. The Communication Department provides an important service for the all the Provinces in the Anglican Communion. It is my hope that Anglican World will be supported and numbers increased in each one of the Provinces of the Anglican Communion. Also a new format for the Anglican Cycle of Prayer will be launched in 2003.

During this Council meeting you will be presented with a new Telecommunication concept, totally funded by Trinity Church, Wall Street. For the last four years we have been working to put this Telecommunications programme together as well as an Inter Anglican Commission on Communications. Within the last nine months this dream has been moving towards reality. We look forward to welcoming the Reverend Canon Ogé Beauvoir next Monday, along with Jim Rosenthal, who will be presenting this important new initiative to the Communion.

One of the recommendations from the first tele-communication group that met and recommended a Commission two years ago was that we hire a full time Web Manager. This has now come to fruition in the appointment of Christopher Took who has joined the staff in London full time for the next two years. However, he is not new to the Anglican Communion Office having worked part-time for us from Ireland "on-line". The web pages for the Anglican Communion are being developed by the introduction of a web portal, which will enable the Churches in the Communion to share their news. The design and appearance of some of the new web pages will be presented to the Council next Monday.

We have already written to the Primates and the Provincial Secretaries to solicit names of people who could serve on the new Inter Anglican Commission on Telecommunications. It is anticipated at the next meeting of the Joint Standing Committee of the ACC and the Primates that this Commission will be named.

This Commission will support the important ministry of the Department of Communications as it looks forward to serving the Communion in the future. Indeed, we are grateful to Trinity Church and the Compass Rose Society for their strong commitment to excellence in communications.

It was announced at the Joint Standing Committee that met last week that Jim Rosenthal will be taking a sabbatical to do some writing from October through December this year. We have invited Bishop Onell Soto, retired Bishop of Venezuela, to act as the Director during Jim's sabbatical. Onell comes to us after years of communication work in the Anglican Communion. His main task will be to formulate a translation grant request.

Travel Office

The travel office is now in its fifth year of operation, and 2002 has been the busiest so far (excluding, of course, the 1998 Lambeth Conference). A number of new meetings in Mission and Evangelism, and the annual meeting of the Primates has considerably increased the work of the department. Travel is arranged throughout the year for regular Ecumenical commissions and consultations as well as for the extensive global travel of the Secretary General, the Director of the Ecumenical Department, and the Director of Communications.

The Travel Manager also helps to administer the Compass Rose Society and organises the Annual Meeting of the Society in London for members and guests. Lynne Butt also accompanies the Secretary General on Mission Visits with society members and frequently writes accounts of the experiences for Anglican World and the Compass Rose Society publication, the Communicator.

ACO Staff Changes

Since ACC-11 in Dundee numerous changes have taken place on the staff at the Anglican Communion Office. Earlier this year we said good-bye to Mike Nunn who had been the Financial Officer of the Communion since 1994. Replacing Mike is Andrew Franklin who for many years worked for Kawasaki.

In the few months that Andrew has been on the Anglican Communion Office staff he has been able to grasp the nettle and he is doing an outstanding job. In Andrew we have been blessed with excellent continuity as well as another fine Financial Officer for the Communion. Graeme Smith, who for many years was Mike Nunn's assistant, accepted a missionary appointment with the Salvation Army to serve in Eastern Europe. After a long search The Revd Dorothy Penniecooke joined the staff and once again we have received a great gift in Dorothy. A priest in the Church of England, Dorothy not only does her job as the assistant to the Financial Officer extremely well, but she has become the Chaplain in the Anglican Communion Office.

Shortly after ACC-11, Ann Quirke resigned as the Travel Officer of the Anglican Communion and she was replaced by Lynne Butt. Lynne was immediately thrown into the depths of the job, but she has done an outstanding job in the Travel Office.

Replacing Jon Williams as the Sales Officer for Anglican World is Matthew Davies, who has also taken on some responsibilities for the Anglican Communion News Service as well as working as an assistant to Canon Jim Rosenthal. Anglican World is produced with a very small staff and Matthew is becoming an important person in that process.

Responsible for the database today is Michael Ade who replaced Helen Bates who left the employ of the Anglican Communion Office after 14 years of service. Michael brings an extensive knowledge of the database and our records are being kept well today under his care.

During ACC-11, Frances Hiller was the receptionist in the Communion Office, but since that time she has taken on the responsibilities of Information Officer as well as a member of the Ecumenical team. She has been an enormous support to Canon David Hamid's ministry.

Thanks to the Parthenon Trust NIFCON, the Network of Interfaith Concerns, now has a part time administrator, Susanne Mitchell, who is directly responsible to Clare Amos, the Co-ordinator of NIFCON, and already in the few months that Susanne has been in post, there is a greater awareness of different interfaith concerns throughout the Anglican Communion.

I would also like to share with you some news about other staff members. This year Deirdre Martin celebrated her 26th anniversary in the Anglican Communion Office. I personally find her an invaluable executive to me and I am grateful for the enormous support she gives to the Office of the Secretary General and to the Communion as a whole.

I also want to acknowledge other support staff in the Anglican Communion Office for the outstanding work that they do. In Administration and Finance, Rosemary Palmer; in Ecumenical Relations, Christine Codner; in Communications, Veronica Elks; and in Information Technology, Ian Harvey. Both Veronica and Ian are also working in the Secretariat here at ACC-12. I would also like to mention my wonderful secretary, Barbara Stanford-Tuck, who works with me and all my myriad tasks and correspondence. The Anglican Church in Canada has seconded Canon Eric Beresford to the Anglican Consultative Council to co-ordinate our efforts in Technology and Ethics and we look forward to receiving Eric's report during this Council meeting.

Tribute to the standing committee members who are retiring

At this meeting of the Council six of the seven members of the ACC Standing Committee will be retiring. This Standing Committee has been a very active Committee and I would like to say a few words of appreciation about each person. I have already spoken about Judy Conley, but I would also like to mention that she has been an excellent liaison person between the Inter Anglican Finance Committee and the Joint Standing Committee. Judy was also very helpful in dealing with St. Andrew's House.

Professor George Koshy was for many years the General Secretary of the Church of South India. He brought to the Joint Standing Committee a passion for the poor and the oppressed and a new awareness for many of us in the Anglican Communion of the sub-continent.

The Revd Dr. Jae-Joung Lee from Korea has not been able to be an active member on the Standing Committee because of his position in the National Assembly in the government of Korea. However, when Jae-Joung has been present, he has always made significant contributions to the life of the Council representing well the interests of Southeast Asia.

Mr. Ghazi Musharbash was put on the Council as an At Large member from Jordan. Ghazi has served as the liaison for NIFCON and he has always been willing to accept responsibilities to Chair different sub-committee groups, including the group which reported on membership to ACC-11 in Dundee.

Mr. John Rea from Scotland has had an influential voice on the Joint Standing Committee. He has been very much involved in the Office of the Anglican Observer at the United Nations. John has served on each one of the Council Design Groups for both the Dundee as well as the Hong Kong meeting and he has recently been serving on the St. Andrew's House Committee.

Canon Maureen Sithole has also been an active member of the Standing Committee, most recently serving as one of the co-Chairs of the Lambeth Conference/Gathering 2008 Committee which was formed as a result of an ACC resolution from Dundee. Maureen has also been the liaison person from the Standing Committee to the Inter Anglican Commission on Mission and Evangelism.

It has been a great pleasure working with each member of the Standing Committee and each in his/her own right has represented you well as members of the Standing Committee. Please take a few moments to say your own personal thanks to each one of these members because they have given much time to represent you on the Standing Committee.

Tribute to Presiding Bishop John Paterson

Since Panama the ACC has been served brilliantly by our Vice Chair, Presiding Bishop John Paterson. Only those of us who have had the privilege to work closely with John on a day by day basis know how much time he has given to all aspects of the life of the ACC. John really believes in the ideals of the ACC and this is evident in John's dedication to this Instrument of Unity. We all thank you, John, for everything you have done for us.

Tribute to Bishop Simon Chiwanga

For the last 18 years Bishop Simon Chiwanga has served the ACC with distinction. Simon served three meetings as a clerical member from Tanzania. In 1990 Simon was elected Vice Chair and then in Panama, Simon was elected the Chair of the Council. While most of us know Simon for his work in the ACC, which has indeed given him an international profile, I have had the privilege of making two Mission Visits with the Compass Rose Society to Tanzania and to the Diocese of Mpwapwa.

It is when one visits Simon's diocese that one is able to see the very fibre of our Chair. Simon's diocese is a rural diocese. There is only one paved road, and as Simon travels to his different parishes he can never go more than five minutes before hitting gravel and frequent potholes. During the rainy season Simon can be blocked off from his diocese for days at a time because the roads become impassable.

Tanzania is the third poorest country in the world yet I have never experienced such enormous generosity. The generosity of Spirit, the absolute sharing of everything. The commitment to improve the quality of life is at the core of life in the Diocese of Mpwapwa. One certainly sees in this Diocese the face of Jesus in the people of God there. The priest and people, those who lead and serve, those who receive from others and are fed are the true body of Christ.

Simon has brought a Tanzanian experience to the life of our Anglican Communion. Those of us who have had the privilege of working with him over the years have grown enormously as we have witnessed his commitment for the work of the Communion. Simon even taught me how to take a shower with one bucket of water, but he has also taught me what Jesus meant when he spoke about the "poor in spirit." Such poverty as described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount shows that we need to be fully conscious of the poverty of all human resources, and knowing our need and desire for God. The ACC has been blessed by you, Simon, for you have truly been one of the "founding fathers" of its work. We are all indebted to you for your love and support that you have shown to the Council and to us all. We are all going to miss you, but we are grateful that you have shared so richly with us from the very depth of your personhood and your priesthood.

Tribute to Archbishop George Carey

For nearly eight years I have had the privilege to be your Secretary General. No one could have given me a greater gift in the church than the privilege to serve our global family in this office. Also during this time I have had the honour to assist the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey. Therefore it is only fitting that I conclude this Address by extending my deepest thanks and gratitude to the Archbishop for his eleven years as the President of the Anglican Consultative Council. While there will be many public words of gratitude spoken during this meeting, I would like to make my remarks personal.

When I became Secretary General, the Archbishop of Canterbury made a commitment to me during our very first meeting. I remember the day well. It was a Saturday. I had not yet assumed my office, but I had come from Jerusalem for the first meeting of the Design Group for the 1998 Lambeth Conference. I arrived at Lambeth Palace at 9:30. I had no idea where your office was and I was lost in the corridors of Lambeth when all of a sudden you appeared in "mufti" coming down the steps from your residence.

As we began our hour's meeting you said to me, "John, I want you to have total accessibility to me." Throughout our nearly eight years together you have been absolutely true to your word.

Please let me mention but two outstanding gifts you are leaving to us.

The support and encouragement you have given to the Compass Rose Society has been phenomenal. As a result, the Society is strong and on October 9 when we hold our Annual Meeting in London, 104 members from every corner of the world will be coming to say thanks to you and to Eileen. Now we have the responsibility to help the Compass Rose Society "come of age" as we raise the $20,000,000 endowment for the Communion so future generations will be able to grow in independence as they join hands together.

As I travel around the Anglican Communion today there is a far greater awareness of our inter-dependence and that we are a family. During your eleven years as Archbishop you have travelled endlessly throughout the Communion sharing our stories. You had prophetic courage when you were in the Sudan, you grieved with the people of Rwanda as you witnessed the horrors of the genocide, you cried with the victims of the Twin Towers in New York, you rejoiced with the people of Hong Kong when they became a new Province. You have had a ministry of presence. You have been the voice of the voiceless. You have walked the corridors of power urging decision makers to honour the right of every human being.

My last words in this address can only be: thank you for being yourself during these last eleven years, thank you for your gifts, thank you, Archbishop, thank you, Eileen, for your love and care, for your dedication, for your passion as you have supported our great family of Churches, the Anglican Communion. God bless both of you.

John L. Peterson
17 September 2002
Hong Kong