18th September 2002

The Chairman's Address to ACC-12 with the Secretary General's Report to the 12th Meeting of the ACC

Canon John L Peterson, Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, presented to the twelfth meeting of the ACC a wide-ranging and comprehensive report on the activities of the ACC, its networks and staff since its last meeting in Dundee in 1999. Later in the day, Bishop Simon Chiwanga gave his farewell address to the ACC.

Canon Peterson commenced his address with a warm tribute to the hospitality and generosity of the Anglican Communion’s newest Province, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui which is hosting this recent ACC meeting.

The Secretary General also paid tribute to a former Secretary General, Bishop John Howe and two Archbishops of Canterbury, Archbishop Donald Coggan and Archbishop Robert Runcie, who have all died since ACC-11 met in Dundee.

HIV/AIDS

Prominent in the Secretary General’s report were his comments on developments regarding to the Archbishop of Cape Town’s challenge to the 2001 Primate’s Meeting. The Primates responded by making HIV/AIDS a top priority for the Communion.

A consequential meeting held in Johannesburg in August 2001 "changed the face of our Communion with regard to HIV/AIDS," Canon Peterson said. "One thing I must say, however, is that I am bitterly disappointed how slowly this process has unfolded." A recent grant from the Parthenon Trust has enabled funds to be available to resource grants to Provinces so that they can have an effective programme to combat AIDS.

"In Africa, AIDS will not be defeated by Governments, but by the Church," Canon Peterson predicted with certainty.

A New Anglican Communion Centre

The successful conclusion of a series of conversations over three years with the Sisters of St Andrew and the Tavistock Trust enabled the Secretary General to announce that the Anglican Communion Secretariat will soon move to St Andrew’s House in Westbourne Park, London. This property will provide the Anglican Communion with a Centre that will include sufficient office space for the Secretariat's needs, accommodation for temporary staff members as well rooms for visitors from around the Communion.

[A detailed report on this development will be posted on ACNS in the near future]

Endowment Fund – Compass Rose Society

The Archbishop of Canterbury had earlier announced to ACC-12 that the Secretary General’s contract of employment had been extended until 31st December 2004. This will allow Canon Peterson to focus, in co-operation with the Compass Rose Society, on the raising of 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," the Secretary General said. This additional focus will require further staff assistance to Canon Peterson who will be involved in intensive negotiations and travel across the Communion as he builds this endowment.

Consequently another grant from the Parthenon Trust will allow the appointment to the Secretary General’s office of a recently retired former British Ambassador to the Holy See, Mark Pellew. He will assist Canon Peterson in his work on international issues in the Anglican Communion, and will work closely with his Executive Assistant, Deirdre Martin particularly in the Secretary General’s absence in the running of the office. This appointment is funded by a two-year grant.

"I am most enthusiastic about this appointment. We believe it work well in the service of the Anglican Communion," Canon Peterson said.

The Visits in the Anglican Communion

Canon Peterson reported on his many visits to Anglican Provinces, singling out in particular, Cuba, Jerusalem, Australia and Kenya.

"Soon there will be very few Christians remaining in Jerusalem, in Palestine and in Israel," Canon Peterson said. "Jerusalem must be one of our concerns. We need to support the Christian community in Jerusalem and this must be a priority."

Inter Anglican Finance Committee

Pressure in the finances of the Communion received careful attention in this address. Canon Peterson noted the economic problems many Provinces face, unfavourable exchange rates, as well as the difficult reality of one Australian diocese, Sydney, not paying a portion of their budget, all result in a significant shortfall in finances available to the ACC Secretariat.

"These shortfalls have a devastating effect on the ministry of the Communion and our inter-relatedness to each other," Canon Peterson said.

ACC Staff changes

The appointment of Canon David Hamid, Anglican Communion Ecumenical Affairs and Studies Officer, as Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Europe, means a vacancy in that staff position. Canon Peterson announced that Bishop John Baycroft, retired Bishop of Ottawa, and until recently Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, has accepted an appointment as Interim Director of Ecumenical Affairs and Studies until June 2003.

Bishop Simon Chiwanga – The ACC Chairman’s Address

ACC-12 sees the stepping down of the Rt Rev Simon Chiwanga, Bishop of Mpwapwa, Tanzania, as Chairman of the ACC. Bishop Chiwanga has served for 18 years on the ACC, first as a representative from the Province of Tanzania, then as Vice Chairman and finally as ACC Chairman.

In response to a request from the ACC Standing Committee, Bishop Chiwanga presented an overview of the ACC successive meetings he had attended, while noting the change in emphases that had occurred over those years.

"The one thing of which I have been most proud is the general orientation of the ACC toward mission, constantly reminding the Church to be a Church turned inside-out: outwardly-focussed, transformative, prophetic," he said. "The world is longing for the redemption of Christ, and only such a mission-focussed Church can bring that message to the world."

Tributes to Archbishop George and Mrs Eileen Carey

Both Canon Peterson and Bishop Chiwanga paid generous tributes to the contribution and witness of retiring Archbishop George Carey and Mrs Eileen Carey to the ACC and the world-wide Communion.

"As I travel round the Anglican Communion today there is a far greater awareness of our independence and that we are a family. During your eleven years as Archbishop you have travelled endlessly throughout the Communion sharing our stories," Canon Peterson said. “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 been the voice of the voiceless."

[The complete text of the Addresses of the Secretary General and the ACC Chairman will be posted on ACNS]

(From the ACC-12 News Team: Dan England, Margaret Rodgers, James Rosenthal)