A series of online “Bishops’ Conversations” will be held to prepare bishops for the once-a-decade gathering of Anglican bishops in 2022.

The journey to the 2022 Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops will begin in July this year with the start of a series of online “Bishop’s Conversations”. The Lambeth Conference is a once-a-decade gathering to which all bishops in the Anglican Communion around the world are invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was to have been held at Canterbury Cathedral and the University of Kent in Canterbury in July and August 2020 but was postponed until 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bishops are now being invited to a series of pre-Lambeth Conference online meetings. During the “Bishops’ Conversations” they will begin to explore the Lambeth Conference theme – “God’s Church for God’s World”. During the meetings, bishops will reflect on the biblical book of 1 Peter, which is the chosen biblical theme for the conference.

The “Bishops’ Conversations” will include time for prayer and Bible study, the sharing of ministry experiences and stories, and discussions about how the Anglican Communion can respond to the needs of a fast-changing world.

Organisers say that the “Bishops’ Conversations” will “help to discern shared priorities and hopes in advance of the face-to-face conference” and will also “shape and enrich the conference programme planning”.

“The Lambeth Conference provides a once-a-decade opportunity for Anglican bishops worldwide to meet with one another for prayer, fellowship and dialogue”, the Lambeth Conference Working Group Chair, Bishop Emma Ineson, said. “With the conference now meeting in 2022, meeting online in advance provides a special opportunity for bishops to start to prepare, meet one another and discuss conference themes. We know that the life of a bishop is hugely busy, but hope that bishops will take the opportunity to join in the pre-event conversations.”

Phil George, the Chief Executive of the Lambeth Conference, said: “The Anglican Communion is diverse, with a wide range of languages spoken. The conference team is working hard to set up groups that enable bishops from different provinces to meet together, catering to different time zone and language / interpretation considerations. We are really looking forward to the pre-event Bishops’ Conversations getting underway.”