Grace be unto you and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is again with a sense of great privilege and rejoicing that I stand before you as the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion to share with you, the members of the Anglican Consultative Council, where we are at this moment as a world-wide Communion of churches as scenes of our global family pass in front of your eyes. As we approach the next millennium I hope to be able to share with you some of the hopes, dreams and expectations which I have been privileged to experience in our Anglican family since our last Council meeting in Panama. But with the joy there are some painful and hurtful moments that individuals and churches have experienced. Our days here in historic Scotland will be revealing and a blessing if we are open to the Holy Spirit's call to each of us.
As we are virtually on the eve of the millennium I have learned one thing over the past few years and that is that we are in God's time. God has a plan for us, both as individuals and as a Church. Life is not magic, but it is a mystery.
I want to begin my remarks today by remembering some of the faithful servants of Christ who now rest from their labours. I want to remember before God the extraordinary work and episcopate of Bishop Daniel Zindo of the Sudan who died tragically in a car accident just after the Lambeth Conference last year. He will be remembered forever as a great servant and soldier of Jesus Christ in the midst of such hostility, pain and difficulty. We are privileged to have at this ACC meeting, Daniel's son, Manassah, who is a part of the Communication team.
I want to remember the ministry of Bishop Alastair Haggart, one time Primus of this church. Alastair was one of the early leaders in the Anglican Consultative Council and he served the ACC with distinction as its Vice Chair. He firmly believed in the Synodical form of government in the ACC. Through his vision and leadership he helped to mould the ACC into what it is today. In the early 80's Alastair participated in the Eloff Commission and he went to South Africa in support of Desmond Tutu's struggle against the horrors of apartheid. Today his widow, Mary, has joined us and I would like all of us to recognize her.
When we met in Panama for ACC-10, Archbishop Brian Davis of New Zealand, Co-chaired the Design Group along with Diane Maybee. Little did we know at that time that soon Brian's body would be wracked with cancer. Brian loved the ACC. He truly believed in lay and clergy participation in the church and he always wanted the ACC to be a strong voice for the whole church. I had the great privilege to represent you at a special celebration for Brian in Wellington Cathedral just before he, Maria and Fiona moved to Napier. At that celebration there was a great outpouring of love by the whole church, giving thanks for Brian's visionary ministry.
And although there are many, many, many others that are now at rest from their labours, I particularly want you to remember one of the great lay leaders of this Church who has died, Berta Sengulane. Berta, age 43, was a sign of joy, peace and faithfulness, a loving wife, a true proclaimer of God's goodness and love to her people and those beyond. Her life on this earth was tragically ended in a car accident while she was touring parts of Mozambique with guests from their Companion Diocese of London. The party had no way to call for emergency help. A sad reality in Mozambique is that there are no emergency services. She left behind her husband, one of the shining lights in the episcopal office of this Communion and wonderful children, two of whom, have serious medical problems, but who persevere knowing that as Christians, life changes, but it does not end at death. How my heart aches for Bishop Dinis and his children, knowing the difficulty they must face without the love, care and support of Berta. She helped establish congregations, and she was a leader of women's work. Now Bishop Dinis wants to open a health post near the scene of the tragic accident. If you have not done so already, might I urge you to read Berta's own story in Eileen Carey's book, The Bishop and I, which was written for the Spouses Conference last year.
As your Secretary General it has been my privilege to visit several Provinces since we last met. I have seen first hand the challenges faced by Anglicans in Nigeria. I have witnessed the incredible ministry of Bishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon and his wife, Comfort. The church in Kaduna is in desperate need of resources to make Christ's love known to the people in northern Nigeria. The Bishop has pleaded with me to help him find the means to provide medical care in the scores of villages in the bush where the Kaduna Diocese is planting churches. Can you imagine a place where 60% of the children born will die before they reach the age of three years? Can you imagine that one out of every eight mothers will die in childbirth? I travelled with members of the Compass Rose Society, the Society which so generously supports the ongoing ministry of the Anglican Communion Office. This visit has left an incredible impression upon me. It gets me on my knees in prayer and it also inspires me to want to inspire others to help. Perhaps the greatest gift I have received since becoming your Secretary General is when Bishop Josiah wrote to me after the Compass Rose Society visit and said,
"A major thing has taken place as a result of your visit; the small congregation at Rafin Rimi where we intend setting up a health clinic has suddenly grown. The non believers there were encouraged by your visit to them that they have decided to become Christians. We had a congregation of 16 at the time of the visit, but we are now having to cope with between 36-40 members! Would you please get the team back please? The visit has also affected this year's Mission positively, we were able to plant two more congregations in the same Kwassam area and the cry now is for education."
I look at the challenges I have seen in our Church in Japan. How over the years since World War II they have become a Church of love and reconciliation. A church that demands of itself reconciliation and penitence. A church that has been able to say "We're sorry". And at the same time having to face a certain amount of economic instability in a country that most people think is one of the most stable in the world.
Bishop Michael Mayes recently wrote a fascinating article in the Church of Ireland Gazette on the Peace and Justice Network meeting in Seoul, Korea. I knew about the outstanding work that the Church in Korea is doing trying to build bridges between north and south, but I did not know about the serious problems of unemployment and homelessness faced by the people. Korea does not have a social security net and if someone loses one's job, so goes all your income, so goes your house, and as often as not, so goes your wife and children as well. The Anglican Church in Korea has 25-30 social mission centres in the poverty-stricken parts of Seoul. I am so glad that the Seoul Cathedral features so prominently in the current Anglican World.
When the Compass Rose Society had its meeting last year in the Diocese of Texas, where Claude Payne is Bishop, we were introduced to a creative new evangelism programme that promotes a vision of the Diocese as a missionary church. The programme is called the Community of Miraculous Expectation and it confronts the different cultures in Texas today. Its purpose is the active transfiguration of lives instead of a static emphasis on culture and membership. As a result of transforming lives the Diocese is expecting to double its membership in six years. Already in two years they are well on their way.
To change cultures, there must be a miracle. One attribute of the Diocese of Texas is that they are an enormously diverse diocese. Think of the vast expanse of Texas, its big cities, it country settings, and all the people of Spanish speaking origin in its cities. What this Community of Miraculous Expectation programme has already done is reduce racism and it has enabled the Church to confront divisive issues in a most positive way. No longer is the Diocese afraid to look at divisive issues; instead when the parishes do, Bishop Payne says they become "miracle parishes". It is always exciting to be in the Diocese of Texas because miracles are taking place there.
The Episcopal Church in the United States has taken new strides in support of the Inter-Anglican Budget under Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. Today the Episcopal Church is giving 100% of its asking, along with all of the other Communion programmes which it supports. This is something for which all of us can rejoice and give thanks. As the Anglican Communion Office we live within the Province of the Church of England. The generosity of that Province is so evident, and I would like to mention the important lead they took in the Lambeth Conference Bursary Fund.
Our Church is growing in leaps and bounds throughout the world. If you read church papers stating that is not the case, maybe you are reading the wrong papers. If you want to know what is happening, I encourage you, and I encourage others to read Anglican World, to visit our web site and to regularly check the Anglican Communion News Service.
The Bishops of the Church gathered last year at the Lambeth Conference along with 600 spouses. Lives have been changed, challenges have been set before us. The Lambeth Conference has asked the Anglican Consultative Council to consider many Resolutions and requests. In your preparatory mailings you have received much of this material and in the next few days many important presentations will be made to you and important decisions will have to be made by you.
At the Lambeth Conference The Virginia Report was welcomed and given to the Communion for reception. At this ACC meeting, Bishop Mark Dyer will be help us to understand how we can shape our structures and Communion life in light of The Virginia Report. Certainly critical issues like the relationship of the Four Instruments of Unity as well as ecumenical concerns will be put into focus because of this important document.
The work of our small, but dedicated Anglican Communion staff continues to be a blessing to the Church around the Communion. I speak for the staff in our thanksgiving to our President, The Archbishop of Canterbury, our Chairman, Bishop Simon Chiwanga, to our Vice Chairman, Presiding Bishop John Paterson, all of whom have given much time and effort so that we can exercise our ministry on your behalf. The members of the staff are, of course, here at this ACC meeting and they are eager to hear from you about the work happening in your own Province. We look to you, the ACC members, to be our primary source for information gathering and sharing in the Communion. The Anglican Communion is only a phone call, a fax, an e-mail or a letter away. We want to hear from you and on a regular basis. You are our major link with the Provinces.
Canon David Hamid has led the Anglican Communion Ecumenical work for the last three years in the Anglican Communion Office. He has been tireless in his ecumenical efforts as the Communion participates in 12 different conversations, dialogues and Informal Talks.
The Anglican Communion maintains dialogues with as broad a spectrum of Christian Churches as any other denomination. Our official dialogues are with the Lutherans, Methodists, Oriental Orthodox, Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholics. These dialogues have been running for several years. The Lambeth Conference reaffirmed the importance of these and mandated new dialogues with Baptists, Pentecostals, New Churches, and Independent Church Groups. In the report of the Director of Ecumenical Affairs you can read in more detail what has been happening in these relationships over the past three years since Panama.
The dialogues with Lutherans, internationally and regionally in North America, Europe and Africa are moving from theological agreement to changed relationships called full communion or visible unity. The dialogue with the Orthodox continues to make steady advance on some important matters of Trinitarian theology which provides a solid base for future work on topics of ecclesiology and ministry. On the remarkable progress in the dialogue with the Roman Catholics, we shall be hearing more in the ARCIC presentation on Tuesday, 21 September.
The new work which will begin shortly with the Baptists and potentially with the Pentecostals and New Churches and Independent Christian Groups will break new ground for Anglicans and open some yet unexplored horizons in the search to reveal the unity of Christ's Body. Work will resume in the near future with Methodists, Oriental Orthodox and the Reformed Churches. For the first time in the history of the Anglican Communion we will have a mechanism to begin to relate these dialogues one to another, and to give guidance in the context of the ever more complex ecumenical map. The mechanism to which I refer is the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, the IASCER.
The process is now underway to appoint members and plan for the first meeting of the IASCER. I am delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury has invited Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies to chair this important Commission. It is a sign that our ecumenical work is advancing and making progress when we come to the stage that such a Commission is needed. It is important that we strive to be consistent in our conversations with different partners, and that there be some mechanism at the level of the Communion to monitor the fruitful work happening at regional and provincial levels. It is important to encourage such progress to benefit the whole Communion. The Commission will hopefully give leadership in identifying issues to be addressed by the Communion as a whole in its ecumenical work. It will help with the complex task of reception, beginning with facilitating the circulation of documents and ecumenical resources throughout the Communion.
If there is one challenge I would highlight which is facing the whole ecumenical movement today, including the Anglican Churches, that is the challenge related to the question of reception. How do we receive the fruits of all these bilateral dialogues, not to mention the important multilateral dialogue of the Faith and Order movement, with which Anglicans have been associated since its inception? How do we effect change in our lives as Churches, based upon the agreements we have reached? The Virginia Report is one clear example of how our ecumenical conversations are beginning to shape how we structure and order our life as a Communion of Churches.
Those of us who are gathered here as leaders of the Communion from every part of the world have a key role to play in the ongoing process of reception of ecumenical agreements. Anglicanism, by its very nature, perhaps has some particular challenges in this regard. Our "dispersed authority" makes any decision-making process a little "untidy". The various contexts in which we live means that receiving the fruits of a particular dialogue might seem odd. For instance, in the Pacific Islands, how does the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue achieve reception? Sometimes, sadly, there are "non-theological" factors which impede reception. Historical and cultural prejudices do get in the way! And of course, our people are facing other issues each day. Some are life-threatening: famine or war. But nevertheless, Anglicans hear God's call to unity, and we must strive to be obedient to it, and I am grateful for your commitment to this call.
In March of this year, the Rt Revd James Ottley completed his contract as the Anglican Observer at the United Nations. His dedication to the mission of the Observer's Office was greatly appreciated by the staff, Advisory Council, and many supporters of this ministry throughout the Anglican Communion. The Advisory Council recommended that the Rt Revd Paul Moore, Jr. supervise the operation of the Office until an interim Observer was appointed. The day-to-day business of the Office is handled by Yasmeen Granville, the officer manager, and Richard Sabune from Rwanda who also attends NGO briefings at the UN on a regular basis. The Revd Canon Jeff Golliher continues in his environmental work for the Observer's Office.
This last week the Office of the Anglican Observer hosted a significant panel discussion entitled Principalities, Powers and Peace. You will be receiving recommendations from the Inter-Anglican Finance Committee and from the Joint Standing Committee on the future of the Anglican Observer's Office at the United Nations.
For some years the Anglican liturgists who meet as the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation have been working their way through the great themes of baptism, eucharist, and ministry, to which particular focus was given in the Lima document of the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC. Members of the IALC have tried to identify the cutting edge of an Anglican understanding of these themes, and to suggest ways in which that understanding must shape and influence the liturgical texts and practice of the future as the process of liturgical renewal goes on.
A conference of Anglican liturgists met in Finland in 1997 under the auspices of the IALC and began work on the theology and practice of ministry and its implications for our rites of ordination, installation, appointment, etc. The purpose of the Finland conference was to set the agenda for a larger and fuller Consultation in 1999 in Kottayam, India. A great deal of effort was expended by some members of the IALC to raise money which would enable Anglican liturgists in under-funded countries to attend the Consultation and guarantee the fullest possible representation.
The Steering Committee of the IALC met in 1998 to put finishing touches on the agenda of the 1999 Consultation. They distinguished among topics on which some consensus had been achieved, topics on which further work was needed, and topics which had not yet been addressed in depth. Papers were solicited on these latter subjects, especially on episcopacy and authority, on the use of the terms priest and presbyter, on the role of bishops with non-diocesan constituencies, and on indelibility.
Unfortunately, the intentions of the Steering Committee to implement a challenging and productive program were in some measure frustrated by unforeseen events. About 12 of the 63 intending participants who had registered for the Consultation (approximately 1/5th of the whole) were unable to attend because they did not receive or were denied visas to enter India. Almost of all these were members of Provinces in under-funded countries. Their absence seriously affected the balance of participation and the Steering Committee, in a pre-Consultation meeting, asked if the intention of the body to be as representative as possible had been seriously frustrated.
These problems were sharpened when the chair of the Consultation received written notice that foreigners were forbidden to attend the Consultation as planned. The Steering Committee recommended to those present that the Consultation as such be abandoned and that those present meet informally in a hotel near the intended site of the event. They agreed.
In spite of these problems the members present attacked their subject with vigour. Meeting in three groups, they addressed the theology of ordination as it relates to liturgical acts, the structure of ordination and related rites, and the relationship of the processes of discernment of vocation and ministerial formation for ordination rites. The groups reported regularly to plenary sessions and the whole body agreed on a process by which their preliminary reports will be edited, circulated for comment and amendment, and presented in documentary form to a full Consultation, which has been deferred until August 2001 when it will meet in California, U.S.A.
It would be premature to anticipate the completion of work which is still very much in progress, but it is possible to report that the meeting approached the subject of ordination in the church from the point of view of a baptismal ecclesiology in which the People of God are engaged in ministry and in which specific orders of ministry find their place. Areas of consensus and areas of disagreement will be addressed within this framework.
In accordance with IALC Guidelines, The Steering Committee, under its chair, Ronald Dowling, whose term of office would have been completed if a full Consultation had been held, will remain in office until the deferred Consultation in 2001. Paul Gibson assists the Steering Committee as Coordinator for Liturgy for the Anglican Consultative Council. This last Sunday the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC renewed Paul Gibson's contract until 2001 when the Liturgical Consultation will meet in San Francisco.
When I visited Brazil two years ago I saw first hand the impact that the Decade of Evangelism has had on the Brazilian Church under the leadership of its Primate Dom Glauco Soares de Lima. In Brazil I found the dioceses engaged in forming a cohesive and integrated ministry, where all are encouraged to participate, and where bishop, clergy and people work together in proclamation and service. So many of the great global challenges to human life and dignity are found in Brazil today: globalisation of the marketplace, migration of peoples to the cities, increased marginalisation of the poor, and threats to the delicate ecosystem.
The Church in Brazil continues to take bold and creative steps to address these challenges. Each parish of the Church is encouraged to explore new ways of engaging in ministry and mission which address the realities of the socio-cultural context, be it supporting landless farmers or working with street children. Archbishop Glauco has continually stressed that the strength of his Church is the diversity of gifts and insights: evangelicals, anglo-catholics, charismatics, supporters of liberation theology, all have a place and all share in a fundamental unity, because the Church is clear about its role: the calling of the people of God to worship, nurturing community, and engaging in outreach and mission and evangelism.
A mainstay in the life of the Anglican Communion Office in London is the work done by Marjorie Murphy. I believe I would not be too inaccurate if I were to say that Marjorie is one of the most "Anglicanized non-Anglicans" within the geographical boundaries of the Anglican Communion. I know all of us appreciate the wonderful job Marjorie is doing as the Director of the Secretariat here at ACC-11.
Since January 1998 the portfolio of Mission and Evangelism has been carried by the Secretary General with the capable support of Marjorie who has been co-ordinating mission and evangelism affairs for the Communion. The work of the department has included responding to everyday inquiries, maintaining data of Companion Relationships throughout the Communion, (including resource material for the Decade of Evangelism and a list of Provincial Evangelism and Mission Co-ordinators), extensive preparation for the Lambeth Conference, the co-ordination of the Anglican Communion Mission Commission (MISSIO) and the gathering of information on the progress of the Decade of Evangelism throughout the Provinces of the Communion. An effort has been made to be kept informed of developments in mission throughout the Communion.
MISSIO has met twice since ACC-10, in Recife, Brazil September 1997 and Harare, Zimbabwe in April 1999 with arrangements made by the Anglican Communion Office. Two reports have been made, first the interim report entitled 'Sing a New Song', for the Lambeth Conference, and second MISSIO's final report, 'Anglicans in Mission: A Transforming Journey', with an Executive report for ACC-11. Plans are being made for the reports to be published and distributed in book form.
As the MISSIO meeting in Harare was the last meeting of this term of MISSIO, a Chairs Advisory Group has been formed to operate until new members of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission are appointed.
A questionnaire survey on the Decade of Evangelism was sent to the Provinces and to some dioceses around the Communion. This survey explored the strengths and weaknesses of the Decade of Evangelism and the lessons learnt and the future direction as we look forward to the new Millennium. The signs of 'shifting the Church from a maintenance mode to a mission orientation' are evident. The data gathered has been compiled together and summarised in the MISSIO report. The MISSIO report and recommendations will be presented to ACC-11 on Monday, 20 September.
One often incredibly difficult task - - and one that receives not much glory - - is that of the work of the Treasurer. Besides his professional skill, Mike Nunn also brings to his office his own personal Christian testimony as well as a sense of humour. I am grateful for his exactitude and the attention which he and his staff gives to detail. Every single pence which is received Mike makes sure is properly used for the mission of the Anglican Communion.
During the last three years, the major challenge has been to manage the financial administration of the Lambeth Conference. We were very grateful to have the assistance of Canon John Rye, of the Anglican Church of Canada, who joined the Secretariat for three months during 1998 to administer the distribution of the Lambeth Conference Fund. The generous response to the Lambeth Conference Fund Appeal, which made it possible to provide help with Conference attendance costs to all those who needed it was a source of great satisfaction. Because of this Fund the costs of the Conference were completely covered by the income provided.
Of utmost importance to our life as a Communion is our communication programme. Jim Rosenthal brings to Communication his personal devotion and love for the Anglican tradition, his excitement and care when he can share our good news with our fellow Anglicans and others. The opportunities abound, but the limitations which the Communication programme faces are great. So much is accomplished in this realm with such few resources.
This work is very humbling at times. Jim recently received an extraordinary letter.
"I always gladly and gratefully receive your magazine. The spirit is willing, but the pockets are weak (confer. Mat. 26:41). Our Diocese is located in the Western region of Uganda which is ravaged by the civil war, which destabilise our Christians. So we fail to get money of even buying essential commodities of our families, but the Lord has mercifully sustained us.
"Let me hope that you will continue to send the magazine to me, and I promise that by God's Grace, we shall stabilise and contribute towards the continual publication of our precious, impressive, informative and educative magazine.
"May Our Good Lord richly bless your efforts."
When it comes to Communication, the last couple of years have been milestones in many ways. Anglican World through the generosity of the Compass Rose Society has taken on a new lease of life. Thanks to the good advice of Mandy Murphy, formally a magazine co-ordinator from New York, fresh ideas have been shared with the Editor and now Anglican World offers feature sections in each issue. So far we have had successful features on icons and stained glass that featured works from parishes around the Communion. Local people are very proud that they are in Anglican World. The current issue has a refreshing look at the new Christianisation of the St. Nicholas custom and the last issue in this year will focus on Jesus Christ 2000. The comments we continuously receive are very supportive and yet so few of the 70,000,000 Anglicans actually see the magazine. Anglican World now increasingly puts us in touch with the "real" folk at the parish level. It also addresses timely and critical issues through the family network section, a foundational part of the magazine.
Another wonderful experience over the last few months has been a children's page to celebrate St. Nicholas. Hundreds of drawings have come in and they are on display for you to see how beautiful they are. Yes, through this competition we have reached another level of communication with the local congregations, which must be our goal. The people whom we have never really reached before are now being reached. This is something I want to hold up as a sign of the good work that has been done. Maybe we can maintain these links and expand our relationships not only to reach children, but young adults and especially the neglected elderly.
The accomplishments in Telecommunications at the Lambeth Conference under the direction of the Revd Dr. Joan Butler Ford and the volunteer staff, were phenomenal. The co-operation of these two units meant that people at home, those who were able to retrieve information by e-mail and the World Wide Web, were informed instantaneously of what was happening at Lambeth. The Communications department's role was to serve our constituency and they did that with great vigour, enthusiasm and expertise. For this we are grateful. Dr. Ford has now retired and, due to financial limitations, she has not been replaced. However, the important programme that she put in place is being continued by the Communication staff and in particular I want to mention Christopher Took from Ireland who is helping to maintain our web site. Chris's very part-time work is being sponsored by Trinity Church, Wall Street. We hope to have an intern from Africa in early 2000.
We were very fortunate to welcome the Revd Canon Raphael Hess, the newly appointed Communication Officer to the Archbishop of Cape Town, to the Communication Department for a short internship programme. The experience proved to be helpful as Canon Hess assumed his new ministry. This is an example of how our work in the Communication Department can be shared with the different Provinces in the Communion that need the expertise and training.
I am continually grateful for the ministry of Deirdre Martin who has now been at the Anglican Communion Office for over 23 years. Her role is ever changing, but one to which she adjusts with a great sense of alacrity and goodwill. There were additional staff members brought on board for the Lambeth Conference, but the core staff remains small and dedicated. I want to extend my special thanks to Frances, Graeme, Rosemary, Barbara, Veronica, Helen, Christine, Ian and also to Canon Geoffrey Cates who, although retired from active parochial ministry years ago, still takes the train from Ipswich once a week and volunteers and helps us with the Communion Archive work. Canterbury Cathedral chorister, Jon Williams, works on a commission basis as the advertising person for Anglican World.
One of the comments I heard most in Jerusalem following the 1988 Lambeth Conference had to do with travel for the 1988 Conference. Little did I know then that I would have something to do with the Lambeth Conference ten years later. But when that became a reality I knew I wanted to do something about travel. If people can travel to meetings without hassles, if there is always someone at the end of the telephone line who understands your problem, and who cares about you, travel will go much better. As a result a Travel Office was set up in the Anglican Communion Office in 1997 staffed by Ann Quirke. It has been a marvellous success story. However, we could not do it on our own.
The Office was set up with the help of Menno Travel Service in New Jersey. With their help, Galileo Focalpoint, a globally recognised system of airline booking, was installed. Because of UK laws, ticketing facilities are not available to the ACO so we rely on MTS to print most of our international tickets for us. For our local tickets we also work closely with Voyageur Travel, Covent Garden. But regardless if MTS or Voyageur prints the tickets, the bookings are done by Ann in the ACO Office.
In view of the ever-changing face of technology and to make the ACO Travel Office more cost-efficient, MTS is planning to install a programme which will allow access to airline bookings via the Internet. It is expected that this will be up and running soon after ACC-11. Shortly it is hoped that some information regarding the Travel Office will be available on the Anglican Communion webpage.
Ann Quirke is here in Dundee and if you have any travel problems, go and see her. She has been known to perform more than one miracle.
I come to this ACC meeting with mixed emotions. I come with a wish list, not my own wishes, but the wishes of those who write, telephone, FAX and e-mail me day by day, week by week, month by month, year after year. Some of that communication has come from people in this room. I am grateful for it, but I often wish that we as a Communion could respond in a more fulfilling way and most of all, in a more practical way. The challenge is before us. The challenge is to you as the ACC, not just to me as the Secretary General. As we seek to implement the programme that the ACC puts before the Communion, I am increasingly aware of the importance that the ACC brings to the Anglican forum of discussion. Here in the ACC you are the representative voice of the whole Church. We represent all orders of ministry, bishops, priests, deacons and laity. Many of you are leaders by your own right in your own Provinces. I know the challenges and the demands that are on you are enormous, but please know how much we count on your participation in the world-wide Church concerning the work of the Communion. You are the ambassadors, the apostles of our communal message. Your apostolate is to share the good news we have as a family, as a Christian family dispersed in 38 Provinces in over 160 countries.
It is with a special sense of thanksgiving and joy that yesterday we welcomed into this ACC meeting members from our two newest Provinces, the Church of the Central America Region and from Hong Kong. I had the privilege of attending both of their inauguration services when they became Provinces. It is undoubtedly one of the greatest gifts that we now have a strong voice from the people of Hong Kong and the people of Latin America in the work of the Communion. We specially welcome Ms Fung Yi Wong from Hong Kong and Mr. Luis R. Vallée from the Central American Region.
The issue of Anglican World you have today shows some exciting pictures of visitors to the Bethlehem Peace Museum as part of the Bethlehem 2000 celebrations in preparation for the millennium. Because of resolutions passed at ACC-10, and at the Joint Standing Committee meetings, Anglicans are a part of the Bethlehem 2000 project. This project is in the capable hands of Compass Rose Society members, the Revd Hamilton Fuller from the Diocese of Southwest Virginia and Mrs. Barbara Payne of Houston, Texas. Our participation in the Bethlehem 2000 project gives us an opportunity for rejoicing and a sense of pride in what we are doing. The basic task assigned through the ACC and the Anglican Communion has been to secure a Crib Museum which is becoming a reality. Already over 80 donations have been received from all over the world. We have received everything from a beautiful Chaucer crib set to peasants crib figures from Taiwan and Japan. Might our gift to Bethlehem always remind us of the gift that Bethlehem gave to the world. Our participation is not only a celebration of the Millennium, but also an affirmation of the faithful ministry and witness of our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem.
This morning I want to make it perfectly clear, as I hope you can see from the reports which I have shared with you, that the purpose of our office is to be a servant, a servant to the on-going work of all Four Instruments of Unity. All of us in the Secretariat prayerfully see our role in this way. When one thinks of servants in the Anglican Communion Office, there is one person whom I have not yet named, namely Joan Christey. For twenty years Joan served the Office as a servant of the servants. When anyone from around the Communion would call the office, Joan would make them feel welcome. Earlier this year Joan experienced a neurological disorder and she had to resign. When Joan resigned, her concern was not about herself, but she was concerned she was "letting the Anglican Communion down". We give thanks for Joan's faithfulness.
Let us think of a verse we all know well from John, Chapter 8, Verse 32:
"And you shall know the Truth
And the Truth shall make you free."
We all know that the Truth is Christ, none other. We all are warned in Scripture not to make idols of anything whatsoever and yet we bring so much baggage with us. In one of the baptismal rites it asks, "Do you turn to Christ?" And the answer is, "I do." But do we? Do we allow Christ to permeate every aspect of our work? Do we listen to His words? Do we believe in His abiding presence with us to this day? Do we truly celebrate His gift to us of Himself in the Eucharist? Do we really come face to face with Him in a living, lively way in this day and age? Do we ask in our hearts and our minds "What would Jesus do?" in those areas that confront us and challenge us as we become a Community of Miraculous Expectation.
The millennium celebrations allow us to re-think this relationship with the Prince of Peace. It allows us time and space to come to grips with whom we are and whose name we bear. May Christ give us the strength to be His hands, His feet, His eyes, and His ears in a world that is aching so much, in a world that also deserves to share in His Good News. Why does the world deserve it? Because the world is God's and God created it and God loved it. God loved the world enough to transform and redeem it by sending Jesus Christ. I ask you to loose the bonds of those who are often hindered in their work by lack of facility or resources. Let us go into the new millennium, with a new start, a new hope, a new beginning and a new challenge. Let us be faithful to Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
John L. Peterson
16 September 1999