This Sunday, May 29, in many parts of the Communion, is Anglican Communion Sunday, a day to raise awareness of and celebrate the Anglican Communion.
The Anglican Communion is composed of 38 worldwide member churches, or provinces, all of which are in communion with the See of Canterbury. Each province exercises jurisdictional independence but shares a common heritage concerning Anglican identity and commitment to scripture, tradition, and reason as sources of authority, worship and practice.
Unity and cooperation in the Anglican Communion are encouraged by the Lambeth Conference which meets every 10 years. The work and vision of the Lambeth Conferences are continued between meetings by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), the Communion's main legislative and only representative body which includes bishops, clergy and laity from Anglican and Episcopal churches throughout the world.
The 12th meeting of the ACC, held in Hong Kong in September 2002, passed a resolution urging provinces to observe an Anglican Communion Sunday in their province, and asked that a special offering be taken for the work of the ACC on that day.
The offering can be non-designated or given for the various programmes such as the Personal Emergencies Fund,Theological Education or Communications.
The Anglican Cycle of Prayer requests that prayers be said this Sunday for the Anglican Communion, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), the Secretary General, the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon, and the staff of the Anglican Communion Office, which is based in London, England at St Andrew's House.
The celebration falls on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury (AD 597-604) and thus helps focus the prayer of the Communion remembering especially the Most Revd and Rt Hon Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Further information about the Anglican Communion can be found online at http://www.anglicancommunion.org. An appropriate prayer appears on our home page as well. In some places Sunday is also Corpus Christi (Thanksgiving for the Institution of the Holy Communion), certainly an appropriate setting for praying for the Church.
ENDS
ENS with ACNS