Bishops of the Anglican Communion are being invited to take part in a new series of Bishops’ discussions in 2022, as part of the journey to the Lambeth Conference.
‘Ministry in a Conflicted World’ will run online in February, March and April 2022, and consider formational habits that can shape leadership and ministry in a complex world.
“The Lambeth Conference theme is all about exploring what it means to be ‘God’s Church for God’s World’. The world we live in today is complex and divided. Bishops around the world are often leading and ministering in situations facing conflict, challenge or polarisation. Our hope and prayer for this new series are that it will provide bishops with a space to share and listen to one another, as they learn from each other’s contexts and the challenges they face.” Said The Right Reverend Anthony Poggo – Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury on Anglican Communion Affairs.
The series will continue the ‘listening phase’ of the Lambeth Conference, which is focused on helping bishops pray, meet, and prepare for the full event in July 2022. During 2021, the Lambeth Conference team we ran a 6-month series of Bishops’ Conversations, where bishops studied the book of 1 Peter and started to tune in to some of the conference themes.
The series is being delivered by The Lambeth Conference in partnership with Difference – part of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s reconciliation ministry.
Through a range of Biblical reflections, films and discussion, the series will offer theological, strategic and practical input on three formational habits that can help to shape ministry and leadership. It will explore what it means to: Be Present, Be Curious and Reimagine.
The series includes video contributions from theologians and practitioners around the world whose ministry has been formed in particularly complex and divided situations.
The Rev’d Canon Dr Joseph Zebedayo Bilal Kenyi, in Juba, South Sudan. Dr Bilal advises church and national leaders on mediation and is Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Episcopal University in Juba.
The Rev’d Dr Manfred Deselaers, in Oświęcim, Poland.
Fr Manfred leads the Programmes Department at the Centre for Dialogue and Prayer in what was the city of Auschwitz.
Pastor Ray Minniecon, in Sydney and Vorpal Mountains, Australia. Ray leads an Aboriginal congregation at St. John’s Anglican Church in New South Wales and is a community chaplain, working extensively with the stolen generation in Australia.
The Rev’d René August, in the lands of The Khoi and the San Peoples, South Africa. Through varied ministries, René seeks to mitigate against the systemic causes of poverty, injustice and conflict in the world.
The Right Rev’d Dinis, in Maputo, Mozambique. Bishop Dinis is former Bishop of Lebombo, who had a leading role in bringing together opposing groups in Mozambique’s civil war for talks that resulted in the 1992 General Peace Accord.
The Right Rev’d Dr Eleanor Sanderson, in Wellington, New Zealand. Bishop Eleanor is Assistant Bishop of Wellington, leading the Diocese’s 3-Dimensional Ministry discipleship programme, and is Fellow in Public Theology at the Centre for Anglican Communion Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary and Research Associate at Victoria University of Wellington.
Bishops are invited to register for three sessions of The Ministry in a Conflicted World series, which will run on the dates below:
- 1 or 3 February 2022 – Session 1
- 1 or 3 March 2022 – Session 2
- 5 or 7 April 2022 – Session 3
All Anglican Bishops are invited to take part in the series and can register through the Lambeth Conference team. Bishops that haven’t yet registered for the Lambeth Conference that would like to take part, can email the Lambeth Conference Team for registration details.
More details can be found here →
For more information contact:
- Janet Miles – Head of Communications, Lambeth Conference. Janet.miles@lambethconference.org / 07595 205 540
Notes to editors
The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of Anglican bishops, scheduled for 27 July – 8th August 2022. Bishops meet for prayer, Bible study and dialogue on church and world affairs. The event will run in Canterbury, in the United Kingdom.
Ministry in a conflicted world will be run by the Lambeth Conference in partnership with Difference – part of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciliation Ministry.
The team behind Difference has designed this formational series specifically for the bishops of the Anglican Communion, drawing on the three habits that are central to the Difference series.
Difference is a tool to support discipleship and mission, mobilising congregations to cross divides, navigate disagreement and pursue just and flourishing relationships. Through a focus on formation and the character of Jesus, church groups around the world have seen change in individual relationships, connections with their community and interactions with wider systems and structures. The Difference series can be run by any church or small group leader. It provides a shared language and framework that enables churches to come together to face the issues most important to their communities and move forward with confidence.
