The Archbishop of Canterbury, in an article for the Lambeth Conference, has shared updates and hopes for the 15th Lambeth Conference.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, in an article for the Lambeth Conference website, has shared updates and hopes for the 15th Lambeth Conference.
In the article, he has said that “the journey to the Lambeth Conference has started with listening.” During 2021, Bishops from around the Anglican Communion have been meeting online to consider how to be “God’s Church for God’s world” in the 21st century. He explains that the second phase of the journey will be during the conference in 2022, which will start on 27 July and finish on 7 August. This second phase will focus on “walking together”. A third phase will be “witnessing together” and will involve online follow-up work for the following two years.
Archbishop Welby said: “Next year’s event will be the first Lambeth Conference since 2008. The normal ten-year cycle would have seen a conference held in 2018, but it was recognised, after extensive consultation, that to hold a conference then would be premature. The deep divisions that have existed for many years go far wider than simply the issues of sexuality and derive in many ways from the structure of the Anglican Communion and the need for a continued journey towards a postcolonial model of global church. These required more work and preparation. As a result, the conference was rescheduled for 2020. Then, in 2020, the Lambeth Conference was postponed again to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“At this time, we continue to plan for an in-person event to be held in Canterbury in 2022, with relevant COVID-19 health and safety measures in place. It is our hope and prayer that as many people that can, will join us. Meeting in person will be the most fruitful way to build relationships and discuss important themes in our life as the Anglican Communion.”
“Given the ongoing changes in travel and quarantine requirements, or the challenges of equitable vaccine distribution around the world, it might still be difficult for some bishops to travel to the UK next year. So the conference planning team are also working to enable some parts of the event to be available online. Every effort is being made to bring people together and hear all voices equally.”
In terms of his hopes for the conference, Archbishop Welby notes that bringing together bishops and spouses from around the world “is to gather those who know the cost of the call to episcopal ministry and carry the burden of servant leadership”. He hopes that all will “receive fresh resilience, new vision, refreshment and joy” as they “encounter the God who meets us in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
To read the full article, please click here.
It is also available in French, Spanish and Portuguese.