For the first time in 14 years, hundreds of bishops from the Anglican Communion will gather for the Lambeth Conference. Originally set to take place in 2020, the conference will address key issues facing the Church and the world at present, as well as offering a time of fellowship, prayer, and reflection.
The theme of the conference is ‘God’s Church for God’s world', and will cover a wide range of topics, including: Mission and Evangelism, Safe Church, Communion, Reconciliation, Environment and Sustainable Development, Christian Unity, Interfaith Relations and Discipleship.
New this year will be ‘declarations, affirmations, and common calls to the Church’ shared by bishops who are taking part in the conference. These have been named the 'Lambeth Calls'. The conference website describes them as follows:
•A declaration, summarising what the Christian Church has always taught about these matters.
•An affirmation, summarising what the bishops want to say on these matters in the present time.
•A series of ‘calls’ to future witness, sharing actions or challenges that the bishops want to give to each other, to fellow Christians and to the world.
Please do pray for Bishop Stephen,Bishop Andrew, and Bishop Karen as they attend the conference in Canterbury. We look forward to hearing from them as they return, and of course welcoming the bishops of Sudan and South Sudan following the conference, in August. You can read about their upcoming visit here.
There is also a prayer pack available, and lots more information about the Lambeth Conference, on the official website.
The Archbishop of Canterbury says:
“The Lambeth Conference theme of ‘God’s Church for God’s World’, reminds us that we are called upon as Christians to pray for the needs of the world. There are many calls upon our prayers at this time: World peace, the global climate crisis, the effects of the pandemic – to name but a few.
“I invite you to call all those in your care to pray for the Lambeth Conference. Please pray that as we meet and consider our shared mission and ministry, that we may hear the call from God. In turn, that we might add our voices to call others to make a difference for Christ in the world.”