The 2008 Anglican Gathering and Lambeth Conference Design Group has been appointed and met for a series of meetings in London this week. The brief of the Design Group is to plan for the proposed Anglican Gathering in 2008 and the next Lambeth Conference. The chairman of the group is the Most Revd Sir Ellison Pogo, Archbishop of Melanesia.

The group, which met at the new Anglican Communion Office in West London, also spent time with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, at Lambeth Palace. They will report their findings to the Archbishop and the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates in March.

The Anglican Gathering continues the tradition of the Anglican Congresses of 1908 London, 1954 Minneapolis, and 1963 Toronto. Lay people, priests and bishops from each diocese in the Anglican Communion participate. The Lambeth Conference is a convocation of all bishops in the Anglican Communion that meets every ten years at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The last Lambeth Conference was held in 1998 in Canterbury.

The members of the design committee are:

The Revd Dr Ian T. Douglas
Prof of Mission and World Christianity, Episcopal Divinity School

The Rt Revd Ian Ernest
Bishop of Mauritius

The Rt Revd Thabo Makgoba
Bishop of Grahamstown

The Most Revd Sir Ellison Pogo KBE
Archbishop of Melanesia & Bishop of Central Melanesia

The Rt Revd Miguel Tamayo
Bishop of Uruguay and Interim Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Cuba

The Rt Revd James Tengatenga
Bishop of Southern Malawi

Ms Nomfundo Walaza
South Africa

Ms Fung-Yi Wong
Registrar, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui