LAMBETH CONFERENCE 2008

Lambeth Conference 2008
16 July to 4 August 2008
University of Kent, Canterbury, England

In 2008 Anglican bishops from every Province of the Communion are expected to join in worship, study, conversation, and discussion on the campus of the University of Kent at Canterbury, England, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Rowan D Williams.

The official Lambeth Conference website is at www.lambethconference.org.

Changing Attitude and Lambeth 2008

Changing Attitude is preparing a strategy for Lambeth 2008, to bring the experience of LGBT Anglicans from the wider Communion to the attention of the bishops gathered in Canterbury. We would also like to ensure that the bishops recognise the integrity of LGBT Anglicans and honour the commitment made to listen to our experience.

Changing Attitude is preparing this strategy in consultation with our sister groups in the international LGBT Anglican network, Inclusive Communion, and as a member organisation of the UK-based group Inclusive Church.

Changing Attitude and Integrity have booked two stalls, A2 and A3, in the Market Place during the 2008 Lambeth Conference. The Conference market place will be available all day, every day, during the main conference. It will open on July 21 and close on August 2. The exhibition will be open to members of the public, as well as conference delegates.

Changing Attitude and Integrity will host other events, lectures and seminars during the conference.

Additional information

Relevant events

Relevant news items

Lambeth Conference 2008

Conference Aims

Lambeth Conference 2008 – Equipping Bishops to Fulfil Their Leadership Role in God’s Mission

The aims of the Conference are that all bishops attending will:

• be restored and refreshed spiritually
• gain deeper knowledge of each other
• be more aware of the spiritual and physical resources that God has given them to meet missionary challenges in different parts of the world
• have greater understanding and appreciation of life together in the Anglican Communion
• address conflict
• discover a new level of trust in common service to God
• gain greater understanding of the contribution Anglicanism can make to the worldwide church and the world
• These will be reached through spending time together in spiritual reflection, learning, sharing experiences and discerning their particular role in God’s mission for the world.

Organisation

Ms Sue Parks is the Conference Manager and is based at the Anglican Communion Office in London. She is responsible for organising the Marketplace and events and seminars, assisted by Mr David Craig and Mrs Anna Potts, Conference Administrators.

The members of the Design Group for the 2008 Lambeth Conference are:

• The Most Revd Sir Ellison Pogo KBE, Archbishop of Melanesia and Bishop of Central Melanesia, Church of Melanesia (Chair)
• The Most Revd Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean and Bishop of Mauritius, Province of the Indian Ocean
• The Rt Revd Colin Fletcher OBE, Bishop of Dorchester, Church of England
• The Rt Revd Thabo Makgoba, Bishop of Grahamstown, CPSA
• The Rt Revd Miguel Tamayo, Bishop of Uruguay, Province of the Southern Cone, Interim Bishop of Cuba
• The Rt Revd James Tengatenga, Bishop of Southern Malawi, Province of Central Africa
• The Revd Dr Ian Douglas, ECUSA
• Ms Fung-Yi Wong, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui

Programme

10–15 July Pre-Conference – The Hospitality Initiative

The Hospitality Initiative – when every bishop and spouse coming to the Lambeth and Spouses’ Conference is invited to enjoy the hospitality of an English, Scottish or Welsh diocese.

16 July Arrivals in Canterbury

17–19 July Bishops’ retreat at Canterbury Cathedral

The retreat is being led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Its title is: God’s Mission and Bishops’ Discipleship: the Way of the Cross.

20 July Opening Celebration in Canterbury Cathedral

21 July Anglican Theology of Episcopacy

22 July Bishops and Evangelism

23 July Transforming Unjust Structures of Society – poverty, corruption, etc

24 July London Day

25 July Engaging with World Faiths plus Plenary on Environment

26 July Safeguarding the Integrity of Creation

27 July Cathedral Day

28 July Gender Inequalities – meeting with spouses – women’s issues of abuse

29 July Nurturing Christian Unity – Ecumenism

30 July Listening to God and to each other – human sexuality

31 July Teaching and Nurturing the People of God – Bishops and Anglican hermeneutics

1 August Fostering Anglican Identities – the Anglican Covenant

2 August Final Conference Day

3 August Closing Celebrations

Daily Schedule

The day will start and end in worship, with a morning eucharist and evening prayers. These will be celebrated each day, including on retreat days, in communion with the Spouses Conference.

On a typical day, conference business will run as follows:

9.30–11.00 Indaba group bible study

Indaba is a SiZulu word. It refers to a small group that gathers, without time pressures and constraints, to ‘chew over’ important issues. This name closely conveys what the Lambeth Conference small groups, made up of 8 bishops, will do as they gather for bible study at the start of every conference day.

The groups will be put together on the basis of:

• Language

• The need to represent the rich cultural variety in the Anglican Communion.

The bible study material will be based around the I AM statements made by Jesus in John’s gospel.

11.30–13.00 Expanded group meeting

Bishops will meet in larger groups, of around 40, for the latter part of the morning. These groups will be made up of about five Ndaba groups.

Every expanded group session will have the same input for discussion. This might be a DVD presentation or a document, or the expanded groups may join together for a plenary session. These different kinds of ‘input’ will always relate to one of the conference topics. The expanded group will then be led in an activity or discussion that addresses the topic for the day.

All group members will have the chance to contribute to these meetings and will be able to feed back into the whole Conference.

Like the Ndaba groups, each expanded group will remain the same throughout the Conference. Translation facilities will be available.

14.45–18.30 Self-selecting groups

Each afternoon, various activities will happen around the campus. Bishops will be able to choose which to attend.

Each workshops, seminars, discussions or other afternoon activity will focus on a particular conference topic. Many will be repeated on more than one day, so that bishops do not have to choose between two activities that they want to attend.

A variety of groups and individuals from around the Communion and from outside it will be asked to resource the afternoon activities.

Evening Optional fringe events

By the end of a busy conference day, bishops may appreciate having the evening to themselves. No formal conference activity will take place after the evening meal and prayers.

However, for those who still have the energy for entertainment, fellowship and information, a wide range of fringe events will be staged each evening. These will include films, theatre, dinners and discussions.

Any bishops, archbishops or other groups that want to host a fringe event themselves, such as book a room for a meal or drinks reception for particular guests, should contact the Fringe Event co-ordinators, Affinity Events.

See also archive material from the Lambeth Conference 1998.

Telephone 01380 724908
E-mail office@changingattitude.org

This page was last updated on Monday, 25 February 2008