It would be tempting for me today to give a review of the last ten years that I have had the privilege of serving as your secretary general. However, I promise I will resist that temptation in this report. Instead I would like to share with you where I see the Anglican Communion today and the great potential we possess as we respond to the different concerns and needs of the 38 Member Churches that make up our global family.
Frequently when I am called upon to speak at a forum following a Sunday service, I will always weave into my remarks that we are indeed the “Avis of Communions”. When I arrive back at Heathrow, as I go to the underground I often pass the Avis Rent-A-Car booth. There on the button each staff person wears is the slogan of Avis: “We Try Harder”, reminding us that Avis is the second largest major rent-a-car company, behind Hertz, which is number one. In our global family of Churches the Roman Catholic Church is number one, both in size and the number of churches, but the Anglican Communion is the Avis, for we are in 164 different countries around the world. And the slogan of Avis can also be the slogan of the Anglican Communion, “We Try Harder”.
St. Andrew's House
Please forgive me for this moment of “reflection”. I remember nine years ago, the day after Archbishop George Carey installed me in the Office of Secretary General of the Anglican Communion at Lambeth Palace. At that time the staff at the Anglican Communion Office had a retreat for two days led by the then Bishop of Texas, Claude Payne. As Claude and I entered Partnership House and got into the lift, Claude said something to me that I have never forgotten. He said, “John, we need a more welcoming place for the Anglican Communion Secretariat.” I agreed and so did others. It has taken nine years to fulfil this vision, but today we can be proud, as well as grateful, for St. Andrew's House.
Since the last meeting of the Joint Standing Committee, a year ago here in Canterbury following Archbishop Rowan’s Enthronement, many of us have been preoccupied with St. Andrew's House, its renovation and the growing pains of moving into our new working space.
As with every building project, the bid we received and ultimately accepted went way over budget. This has caused no little consternation and actually meant that the Trustees of the Anglican Consultative Council had to have a conference call in October 2003 to approve what were large overruns.
During that conference call, the members of the ACC Standing Committee chose to proceed and the end result is the magnificent structure we now inhabit. We look forward to this Friday when Archbishop Rowan will come to bless the House.
The campaign to “name” different rooms in St. Andrew's House is only now “taking off”. The Compass Rose Society has taken on the renovation of St. Andrew's House as one of its projects and I am indebted for the support we have already received. Last October when the society held its annual meeting in London, we brought members over to St. Andrew's House to see the building site amid much disapproval from the contractors. As a result of that, the real fundraising effort for the house was launched and many Compass Rose Society members have responded generously. They, along with many other donors, will be present on Friday for the blessing.
While we are indebted to those who are naming rooms, I must above all, recognise the Province of Hong Kong and its Archbishop, Peter Kwong. Not only did Archbishop Peter respond with the first major gift to the Anglican Communion Centre, but when we needed to take out a bridge loan, the Chairman of the ACC, John Paterson, went to Archbishop Peter and asked him if Hong Kong would be willing to help us. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Hong Kong responded generously by giving us a loan, interest free with no scheduled date for repayment, for £500,000. When I emailed John Paterson to tell him the fruits of his conversation with Archbishop Peter, his response to me was “your chairman will sleep well tonight”.
In this report I want to acknowledge the outstanding work of Andrew Franklin, the Financial Officer of the Anglican Communion, who has de facto represented the Communion in all the negotiations, as well as in the move. I also want to acknowledge the contribution Mark Pellew, the Chief Executive to the Secretary General, made to this project, working with Andrew Franklin to ensure the Communion was being well represented. I would also like to recognise the staff committee put together to advise originally on the design of our new office space headed by Marjorie Murphy. Throughout all the negotiations and legal contracts, John Rees has served the Communion with distinction.
When such an enormous project is completed, hindsight is always a wonderful thing. If we were to do this again, I would definitely have a site manager representing our interest on site all the time. While Derek Potter, who served as architect, also took on the responsibility of being the site manager, it was impossible for him to be on site every day. The other thing I would definitely do differently would be to appoint an interior designer from the inception of the project. The interior design of the building is brilliant today, thanks to Sally Thomas, who also has been responsible for the interior design of St. George’s College in Jerusalem and the Anglican Centre in Rome. Sally came to us as a volunteer and she has given literally hundreds of hours to St. Andrew's House. I just wish we had had her on board from the beginning of the project.
Today we have a brilliant new home, thanks to the generosity of the Trustees of the St. Andrew's Foundation and the Sisters of St. Andrew. We have a wonderful Centre that will serve the Communion well for at least the next two decades.
Another gift we have been given is Sister Teresa who lives at St. Andrew's House and is one of the pioneers in the Distinctive Diaconate movement. Sister Teresa has accepted the responsibility to be the Chaplain in the House.
Visits in the Anglican Communion
After ACC-12 in Hong Kong I appointed Fung-Yi Wong, James Tengatenga, Robert Thompson and John Rees to the West Africa Committee. Archbishop Robert Okine had notified the Secretary General that Ghana wanted to become an autonomous Province in the Anglican Communion and the remaining Dioceses would become the new Province of West Africa. Last July those four ACC members and I visited Sierre Leone and Ghana to look at the viability of dividing the present Province of West Africa. A report and our recommendations were given to the Archbishop of Canterbury and it has been sent to all those who were involved in this process in West Africa.
None of us on the West Africa team will ever forget that visit, not least because of the time we spent on our two-and-a-half hour flight between Freetown, Sierra Leone and Accra practising the brace position for an emergency landing. James Tengatenga and Robert Thompson were chosen to sit in the exit seats to help with the emergency evacuation if that were necessary. Thank God the plane landed safely, which enabled most of us to fly back to London that night. Thank goodness, because the next afternoon I had the privilege to preach at Archbishop Barry Morgan’s installation as the new Archbishop of Wales. I would have hated to have missed that event!
In September I was in Nairobi to attend the CAPA meeting and the opening of the new CAPA House. During this time a special meeting had been arranged to meet with representatives from the different provinces in Africa and donor organisations that are involved in the Anglican Communion response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the continent of Africa. One can only be proud of the good work that is being done at CAPA House on HIV/AIDS and the important way they are supporting each of the provinces in Africa. I will have more to say about that later in this report.
The Anglican Observer at the United Nations
Since our meeting last year here in Canterbury, the ministry of the Anglican Observer at the United Nations has continued to flourish. Later in this meeting we shall be receiving a report from the observer, Archdeacon Tai. Her report will be a comprehensive one, dealing with the many different programmes of the Anglican Observer's Office.
One of the major concerns the Joint Standing Committee has had to face over the last ten years is the financial reality of that office. The Anglican Observer's Office has always been a “hand-to mouth” operation. When the office was first established, it was originally funded through a grant from Trinity Church Wall Street and later by the funds raised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the Advisory Council of the Anglican Observer. When the funding from Trinity Church came to an end, we faced a real crisis. As a result, in 1997 the Joint Standing Committee placed in its budget for the first time a line item for $40,000 or £25,000 for the ministry of the Anglican Observer. By doing so the Advisory Council was informed that it was their responsibility to raise the rest of the monies for that office.
When the history of that office is written, at least two or three chapters in that book will have to be entitled “Marnie Dawson Carr” for she has been a major fundraiser and she is really the person who has enabled that office to exist. However, the reality is that Marnie will not always be there to raise the necessary funds. Therefore, as a part of the Compass Rose Society Endowment, a special Advisory Council Endowment Committee was formed to help raise the $6 million for the Anglican Observer's Office. I am pleased to report today that we have already secured over half a million dollars for that endowment and in the next two or three weeks the case statement for that programme will be finalised. A week ago today we had a conference call that put the “final touches” on the case statement. Hopefully within the next two or three years the Anglican Observer's Office will realise some income from the endowment, which will take the pressure off the Advisory Council for raising all the annual funds.
In the meantime, however, the Archbishop of Canterbury has agreed to speak at a major fundraising dinner in Greenwich, Connecticut on June 18 at which time we are hoping to raise half a million dollars for the Anglican Observer's annual operating expenses. Once again, this is the initiative of Marnie Dawson Carr and two weeks ago during the Advisory Council meeting at Lambeth Palace, a commitment was made by the council to support this important initiative. The success of this programme is essential to ensure the financial stability of the Anglican Observer's Office over the next two years.
Besides financial concerns, the Anglican Observer's Advisory Council has also been keenly aware that the observer’s staff is tremendously over-stretched in New York. In essence, we have the observer herself, along with her main support staff in the person of Brother William. She is assisted by Canon Jeff Golliher who works for the office one day a week on environmental and ecological concerns. Therefore, when the Advisory Council met last November in retreat, a new volunteer programme was established for the office. A volunteer will assist the observer in attending meetings and helping with the different needs arising in her office. In many respects the word “volunteer” is not adequate at all, because these are professional people who are giving their time to support this critical ministry. At the Epiphany Service during the Advisory Council’s meeting last January, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold commissioned the first four volunteers. Hopefully when we have a similar gathering next September, there will be many more volunteers commissioned to support the ministry of the Anglican Observer. In addition to the volunteers, final arrangements are being made to have another volunteer staff person who will support the ministry of the Anglican Observer on a ¾ time basis. This will be a great addition to the work of the office. Just this last week the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed the Very Revd Donald Brown, Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento, California, to be the new Chair of the Advisory Council and Mrs. Anita Timmons from Christ Church, St. Simons Island, Georgia to be the Vice Chair of the Council.
Theological Education
Since the last meeting of the Joint Standing Committee, the Primates’ Initiative on Theological Education has become a reality. Chaired by Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables, co-ordinated by Mrs Clare Amos also the Revd Robert Paterson from Wales, this task group is developing and establishing a programme that will have a long-term impact on the Anglican Communion. This last November the committee came together with the chairs of each of its four subdivisions to formulate a strategy to carry the work of Theological Education forward. Archbishop Rowan came to this residential meeting and he expressed his commitment to and interest in the work of the Theological Education in the Anglican Communion Task Group. The Archbishop was specifically interested in the Anglican Way subgroup, a group to which Clare Amos will be referring in her report. In Clare’s report she will be reporting on the many different strategies being developed by the Theological Education in the Anglican Communion Task Group.
Lambeth Conference and Anglican Gathering 2008 Design Group
Last year the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed a Design Group to follow through with the resolutions that came out of ACC-12 in Hong Kong, dealing with the Anglican Gathering and the Lambeth Conference 2008. This committee is headed by the Most Revd Sir Ellison Pogo, Archbishop of Melanesia. Last month the Design Group met and the following members were present to prepare the report for this meeting: the Revd Dr. Ian Douglas of the United States, the Rt Revd Ian Ernest, Bishop of Mauritius, the Rt Revd Miguel Tamayo, Bishop of Uruguay, the Rt Revd James Tengatenga, Bishop of Southern Malawi and Ms. Fung-Yi Wong of Hong Kong. I know we all look forward during this Joint Standing Committee meeting to receive their report.
Compass Rose Society Endowment Fund
Earlier in this address I mentioned the new Endowment Programme of the Compass Rose Society. Today we have present at this meeting Dr. Albert Gooch, President of Kanuga Conferences, who represented the Compass Rose Society at the Inter Anglican Finance Committee meeting this last week at St. Andrew's House. I want to pay tribute to the society for the outstanding support it gives to the Anglican Communion. It goes without saying that many of the programmes in the Communion that we take for granted today would not happen if it were not for the generosity of the society. The Compass Rose Society strongly supports communication and it has been responsible for the greater portion of the communication budget for the Anglican Communion for the last four or five years. Many programmes requested of the ACC by the wider Communion have been made possible only because the communication programme has been paid for by the Compass Rose Society. The Compass Rose Society, if it has not come to age, is coming of age.
As it comes to age, the Compass Rose Society has also accepted the challenge to raise a $25 million endowment for the Communion. In Hong Kong it was announced that the Society would raise $20 million, but at the Annual Meeting of the Society last October in London that goal was raised to $25 million to include St. Andrew's House and other economic necessities.
While I would have liked to have seen the entire $25 million raised during my tenure as Secretary General, I know that is going to be impossible. However, I commit myself to raising as much of the $25 million as I can while I am still Secretary General. My own personal priorities in this fundraising endeavour will be to raise as much money as possible for St. Andrew's House, to complete the Endowment Programme for the Anglican Observer and to go as far as we can with the Communication Endowment for the Anglican Communion. If those three programmes can be endowed, the economic situation of the Communion will be much stronger.
One of the great gifts of the Compass Rose Society is its total support of mission. While the Anglican Communion is involved in heated debates over the issue of human sexuality, the Compass Rose Society has kept its focus on what the mission of the Church is all about. Therefore, its members represent widely contrasting positions, for example, people like Canon Martyn Minns of Truro Parish in the Diocese of Virginia and Canon Harold Lewis of Calvary Church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The Compass Rose Society has always transcended, and hopefully will continues to transcend, all differences and will always hold the needs of the Communion at heart. To achieve its goal, the society recently hired Robert Allen as the society’s main consultant for fundraising. After Robert was contracted, he was so impressed by the mission of the Compass Rose Society, that he and his wife have become members of the Society. I do not expect that happens very often, when the fundraiser makes a $10,000 commitment to the work of the institution to which he or she is raising money.
Last October also saw a transition taking place in the Compass Rose Society. The Rt Revd Francis C. Gray, who had been President of the Society for four years, resigned. Elected to take his place was the Revd Canon Philip Poole from Trinity Church, Aurora, Ontario, Canada. This is the first time a Canadian has held the presidency and his election helps to underline the international nature of the Compass Rose Society. At the end of April I will be returning to Canada and Philip is hoping to have six or seven new Canadian memberships for the society. I must also add quickly that the Revd Dr. Dorothy Lau from Hong Kong has arranged a visit for me to Hong Kong next month and she tells me that there will be a number of people in Hong Kong who will be joining the Compass Rose Society as well as people who are prepared to support the Endowment Fund. All this bodes well for the future of the Compass Rose Society.
The Inter Anglican Finance Committee
This morning I would like to pay tribute to the important work done by the Inter Anglican Finance Committee, which is chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames. While the Compass Rose Society provides 15% of the income for the inter-Anglican budget, the major sources of income for the Anglican Consultative Council, and therefore for the work and witness of our Communion family, are, and must remain, the Provinces of the Anglican Communion and the United Churches. The Joint Standing Committee has recognised over the last nine years that many of the new initiatives it has been given, either by the council itself, the Primates, the Archbishop of Canterbury, or other bodies in the Anglican Communion, are not provisions that have been within the budget of the Communion. Therefore, outside funding has become necessary and while outside funding is important, I believe it is crucial for the council to ensure that the funding of the Communion always remains the responsibility of the member Churches in the Anglican Communion.
The financial report you will be seeing tomorrow shows a deficit this year, the first time we have had a deficit since my second year as Secretary General. This, of course, does not make me happy. However, last year we had two Primates’ Meetings and the budget of the Inter Anglican Finance Committee simply did not allow for that. The contributions requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury to help support the two Primates Meetings did not cover what ultimately became a significant deficit.
One of the real problems we face today in the Communion is that the United States dollar is so weak against the pound sterling, the currency in which we keep our accounts. A $10,000 gift last year in US dollars would have bought £6250. Today that same $10,000 is worth only £5300. In other words, as we buy pounds from US dollars we have literally lost almost £1,000 today for each $10,000 we would have bought just one year ago. My friends here in England tell me this will not be reversed for quite some time and therefore the economic outlook is difficult to say the least. I know that countries like Canada, Australia and Hong Kong are feeling the impact of the strong pound when making their contributions. I suspect local churches, who are all facing their own economic problems, may think that someone else will make up the difference, but in reality today that responsibility rests with the provinces themselves.
As I said at ACC-12 in Hong Kong, if we are going to be responsible to each other as a global family, if we are going to be truly interdependent, we will have to be more financially responsible to each other as a Communion. This is one of the challenges we face as a Communion.
Archbishop Robin Eames
Tomorrow you will be receiving the report from the Inter Anglican Finance Committee, but today I would like to pay tribute to Archbishop Eames. As a point of personal privilege I want to say how deeply indebted I am to Robin for his eight years as the chair of this most important committee. He has been a faithful friend and a wise adviser to me and I am most grateful he has been willing to continue as the chair for as long as he has. It is not a state secret that two years ago Robin asked if he could be relieved of these responsibilities and I asked him to please stay on through my term as Secretary General. He has now agreed to stay on until ACC-13 in 2005 in spite of his new responsibilities as the chair of the new Lambeth Commission. We are all indebted to Archbishop Robin for his commitment to the Communion. Archbishop Robin has suggested that Archbishop Peter Kwong be elected to the finance committee to fill the current vacancy on that committee. That is a recommendation I personally hope will be accepted by the Primates’ Standing Committee.
HIV/AIDS
At the Primates’ Meeting at Kanuga in 2001, the Archbishop of Cape Town issued a challenge to the Anglican Communion on HIV/AIDS. In record time for anything to happen in the Communion, a major All-African Conference was convened in Boksburg, in the Diocese of Highveld, in August 2001. It was out of this conference that the Primates of Africa accepted the responsibility to put together in each of their respective provinces an infrastructure to deal with HIV/AIDS. The outstanding work of Canon Ted Karpf must be recognised and we are grateful for all that Ted did to enable this programme to be established in Africa.
As a result of this Conference, CAPA took on the responsibilities, working with each province in Africa, to establish a programme that would help eradicate AIDS on the continent. The Parthenon Trust, through the Compass Rose Society, gave a major funding gift to enable this infrastructure to be developed. Working with the General Secretary of CAPA, Canon John Kanyikwa, is Mrs. Nema Aluku who happens to be the daughter of Archbishop Malango. I want to pay tribute to Nema for the outstanding work she is doing, often with her hands tied behind her back because of the lack of financial resources. One of the great challenges I see ahead is to provide adequate funding for this significant AIDS programme which will ensure that the monies will not only get to the grass roots in the Provinces, but will also make a significant difference in the life of the people. Today we can point to both Southern Africa and Uganda as examples of what a good infrastructure means in the development of such an HIV/AIDS programme. It is my belief that in Africa, AIDS will not be defeated by governments, but by the Church.
Network Reports
In this address, I want to acknowledge the work of some of the networks of the Anglican Communion.
Youth Network
It has been a long time since the Youth Network has been named in a list of successes, but I am pleased to announce that because of the hard work of Douglas Fenton from the Episcopal Church in the United States and Peter Ball of the Church of England a meeting will take place in April in an attempt to evaluate the Youth Network. This meeting deserves the support of the Joint Standing Committee as well as the entire Anglican Communion. It is my hope that this meeting will be successful and that a way will be found for this network to once again become one of the active networks in the Communion.
NIFCON (Network for Inter-Faith Concerns)
The outstanding work of NIFCON must be acknowledged. Ever since NIFCON received a grant from the Parthenon Trust to hire a part time co-ordinator, this network has done significant work. Under the leadership of Mrs. Clare Amos, its Co-ordinator, NIFCON has become an important voice in the Anglican Communion for inter-faith concerns. Furthering the Al Azhar Dialogue has now become a part of the brief of NIFCON. In a time when there is contention and strife between the different faiths, NIFCON is working hard to build bridges. Clare, in her report, will be presenting a re-organisational structure, which I hope the Joint Standing Committee will support.
Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion
One of the new networks, the Network of Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, is working closely with the Task Group on Theological Education. In 2002 when the Network of Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion met in Tokyo, one of the results of that meeting was to include theological colleges and seminaries in their network. By doing this, the Network of Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion and its General Secretary, Canon Don Thompson, will be an important resource for the Theological Education in the Anglican Communion Task Group.
Family Network
One of the great success stories is the Anglican Family Network. This network, also funded in part by the Parthenon, has made significant contributions to the Communion over the last several years, particularly because of the outstanding work of Dr. Sally Thompson. In three out of the four issues of Anglican World each year, the Family Network is the centrefold. The Family Network, not afraid of facing controversial issues, has been able to draw the entire Communion together by telling the story of our global family. Since our meeting this last year, the Network has published newsletters in Anglican World dealing with subjects such as Violence and the Family and Abandoned Children. Last summer, Sally Thompson's husband, Bishop Jim Thompson, died suddenly and unexpectedly. It is appropriate that we pause here for a few seconds to give thanks for his life and for the wonderful way in which Sally continues to do her ministry for the Family Network.
Women’s Network
After seven years of being mostly dormant, I would like to recognise the good work now being done in the Women’s Network. The Revd Canon Alice Medcof, from Toronto, is now the co-ordinator of this network and she is now involving women from around the Anglican Communion in its work. Their major means of Communication is through e-mail and the web, which is tied in the Anglican Communion Portal. Working with a very small budget, but with the dedication of Alice, who has recently retired, I believe we will see great things happen in this network over the next several years.
Francophone Network
This last July I had the privilege to go to Mauritius to attend the Francophone Network meeting, which was organised by the Revd Canon Oge Beauvoir. It was their first Network meeting to be held since it became an official network of the Anglican Communion at ACC-12 in Hong Kong. It was an outstanding meeting at which the network committed itself to providing more French material to the Communion. One of the realities in the Anglican Communion today is that the vast majority of Anglicans, if they speak English at all, speak it as a second, third or fourth language. One of the challenges this Communion will face in the years to come is how to communicate with the different language groups as we become a more and more diverse global family. Today the Anglican Communion is not bound together by our common language.
Telecommunications Commission
After several years of discussion, the new Telecommunications Commission met here at the International Study Centre in January. The Revd Kris Lee, the Staff Director for Telecommunications in the Anglican Communion Office, organised the meeting. Kris recently retired from his work at the Episcopal Church Centre and he now serves us, working from his home in New York. You will recall last year you approved the appointment of the members of this Commission. We are looking forward to the report of the Telecommunications Commission on Wednesday. Like so many things in the Anglican Communion, we are grateful to Trinity Church Wall Street, New York for providing the funding for this Commission and although the Commission will be meeting online most of the time, the Commission has been promised continued support by Trinity Church after the initial three year grant. Most likely in five years time, however, this will have to become a line item in the Anglican Communion budget.
The Staff of the Anglican Communion Office
I would now like to acknowledge the staff members who serve the Anglican Communion so well. In Administration and Finance, the Revd Dorothy Penniecooke and Rachel Ward; in Ecumenical Relations, Christine Codner; in Inter Faith, Suzanne Mitchell; in IT Administration, Ian Harvey; in Data Communications, Michael Ade; and, of course, in travel, Lynne Butt who also does a great job as the PA responsible for the Compass Rose Society.
There have been some Anglican Communion staff changes since our last meeting. Last year during Holy Week, Barbara Stanford-Tuck who had served as my secretary for six years retired and moved to France. In our search for a permanent replacement, we were blessed to find Rowena Bayliss, a recent graduate from Cambridge with a degree in Theology. Rowena is willing to work incredible hours and she has brought enormous energy to the office, including being the principle pancake flipper on Shrove Tuesday.
In the Communications Department, three changes have occurred. Veronica Elks resigned and has taken a job with the Church of England Department of Education. Matthew Davies, who was Managing Editor for the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS), under a Trinity Church Wall Street grant, has taken a position working for the Episcopal News Service at the Episcopal Church Centre in New York. Michael Craske joined the communication staff this last month and has already made an important contribution. In the area of telecommunications, Chris Took has returned to be a consultant to the Anglican Communion.
Joining the Ecumenical Relations staff this year has been the Revd Terrie Robinson who is working alongside Canon Gregory Cameron and Christine Codner. Terrie joined the staff having a keen interest in ecumenical work and she brings a great deal of knowledge to her position.
Since moving into St. Andrew's House we no longer have the support staff that Partnership House once provided for us. I want to acknowledge the new staff who are taking care of St. Andrew's House for us. Ann Quirke has been appointed the Warden of St. Andrew's House and I am sure those of you who have stayed in the House have appreciated Ann's warm welcome and her breakfasts. Nydia Cleghorn is our primary housekeeper and she works a split shift each day, in the morning cleaning the rooms where our guests have been staying and in the evening cleaning the offices. For those of you who will be joining us for the Dedication on Friday, you will be in for a treat because Nydia’s partner Dave will be catering the reception. He provides wonderful food and we are pleased with the great promise for the type of hospitality the office will be able to offer the Anglican Communion when we have meetings in the house.
Finally in this report, I would like to pay a few tributes to people who have been instrumental over the last ten years in my ministry as your Secretary General. Earlier I paid tribute to the support staff of the Anglican Communion Office. We have an excellent staff today and I feel privileged to have been able to work with them. If I can be so bold, I believe we now have assembled the best staff that the ACO has had in the ten years that I have been Secretary General.
Although I have never liked the term, but I know no better word that can describe these people, I want to acknowledge the senior staff of the office. A more dedicated group of people you could not find. I want to recognise the Revd Canon Eric Beresford and the Revd Paul Gibson who continue to be seconded to the Anglican Communion from the Anglican Church in Canada to serve our efforts in Technology and Ethics and in the Liturgical Consultation. Canon Jim Rosenthal for his good work in communications and Anglican World. I want to thank Jim for the support he has given to me in the preparation of my many sermons and speeches and the advice he has given to me. It is also Jim who has taken the responsibility, working with the Revd Dr. Anders Bergquist, Vicar of St. John's Wood Parish, London, for the Service of Blessing this Friday at St. Andrew's House. Marjorie Murphy for being such an enthusiastic supporter of Mission and Evangelism within the Communion. Canon Gregory Cameron for overseeing all the different ecumenical conversations we have within the Communion, as well as the portfolio of the three commissions he carries, including now the new Lambeth Commission. Andrew Franklin for carrying an enormous amount of responsibility this year with St. Andrew's House on top of all the financial responsibilities that he naturally carries for the Communion. Mark Pellew for taking over all the personnel issues in the ACO as well as an important supporting role to Andrew Franklin in the St. Andrew's House project. Purposefully last, Deirdre Martin who has served three Secretary Generals. She is a walking encyclopaedia of information about the Anglican Communion. I could not have possibly done my job without her. To each member of the senior staff, I want you to know how much I appreciate your friendship and the marvellous support you have given to me over these last ten years.
Since becoming your Secretary General I have had the privilege of working with three chairmen, first Canon Colin Craston who was always here for the day-to-day issues confronting the Communion. Because Colin lived in England, we were able to see a lot more of our chairman and consequently as a new Secretary General I was able to draw upon his rich resources freely. Bishop Simon Chiwanga spent the longest time as chairman during my tenure and no one could have ever asked for a more supportive person than Simon. Although communication with Tanzania was not always easy, there was never any question that Simon was always supportive and helped all of us to do our job more effectively. Simon’s wisdom and council was something I trusted implicitly. Since Hong Kong I have served under the leadership of Presiding Bishop John Paterson. John, of course, guided the last two ACC meetings successfully. No one can ever doubt John’s deep commitment to the ACC as a significant Instrument of Unity. One of the great concerns as I leave this office is that because the ACC has not been meeting as regularly as the Primates have been, it has become a “lesser” Instrument of Unity in the Anglican Communion. It is my hope that as the Lambeth Commission issues its report, the ACC will once again take its rightful place in the councils of the Church. With John at its helm, I am sure it will happen.
Finally, I want to thank some Primates. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. For twenty-two years I have been given the privilege of serving the Episcopal Church as a missionary appointment. You, as well as your predecessor Ed Browning, have been absolutely supportive of my ministry. Although the Episcopal Church is going through a turbulent time, no one can ever doubt the faithfulness that you have brought to your office. I want to thank personally the Episcopal Church through you, Frank, for giving me the privilege of serving as a missionary appointment both in Jerusalem and now for the last ten years at the Anglican Consultative Council. You are a wonderful friend. It has been a great ride.
Archbishop Peter Kwong. Thank you Peter for the enormous support you have given to the Anglican Communion. Unselfishly, you have stood by the Communion and you have enabled us to do what we have needed to do so the Communion could be strengthened. I am most grateful to you for your personal support and the support your Church has given to the Anglican Consultative Council.
Lord Carey. Although I paid tribute to the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury in my Address at Hong Kong, today I want to say publicly once again my thanks to him for the outstanding support he gave to me as Secretary General.
And lastly, Archbishop Rowan. The accessibility you have given to the Anglican Communion since you have become the Archbishop of Canterbury is unmatched. No one could ask for more. I appreciate your openness and the way in which you support the Communion. While I said earlier in this address that my biggest disappointment as I leave this office is that the fundraising for the Endowment will not be complete, I must say in all honesty my biggest disappointment is that I will not be able to work with you as closely as we have over this last year and a half. Not to embarrass you, but the Church of England elected well and today, even amidst all the turmoil within the Communion, you bring a dignity and a deep spirituality to the See of Canterbury. My prayers will always be with you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you as your Secretary General.
I have every intention of giving this office everything I have until 31 December this year when my term ends. My commitment and dedication to the Anglican Communion will remain strong to the end.
Many of you have asked what I will be doing this next year. I have accepted an invitation from the Bishop of Washington, John Bryson Chane, to take a leadership role in Global Mission initiatives in the Diocese of Washington and its Cathedral. In this capacity, I would hope to stand in support of the Anglican Communion, whenever it is appropriate, and as the different needs unfold in this global community in which we live.
So to you, the members of the Joint Standing Committee, and to your predecessors, I want to say thank you for giving me the greatest privilege anyone could ever have in the Anglican Communion, which is to have served you as your Secretary General. God bless each one of you. God bless the Anglican Communion.
The Revd Canon John L. Peterson
Secretary General of the ACC
1 March 2004