Message to the Primates of the Anglican Communion and the Members of the Anglican Consultative Council
Episcopal News Service. September 21, 1995 [95-1248]
(ENS) From the delegates of the Communion gathered to undertake the mid-point review of the Decade of Evangelism at Kanuga, North Carolina, USA, 4-9 September 1995.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We send you our joyful greetings in the name of our risen Lord. We praise God for you and for the leadership you provide for us. We have prayed for you.
As you requested at the Primates'/ACC Joint Meeting at Cape Town in 1993 we have met for the last five days to review the Decade of Evangelism in the Anglican Communion, and to look to the future.
Our discussions have been set in a context of vibrant worship which has blended songs, liturgies, prayers, music and dance from many parts of the Communion and which has inspired us. It has also shown us how rich is our heritage in the Communion and what the possibilities of worship can be. It has been backed by a team of valued intercessors.
We have been especially encouraged by the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury here and his addresses to and dialogue with us. His presence signaled to us and to the whole Communion his commitment to mission and evangelism. We appreciated his wish to see four gifts of God in the Communion - the ability to say sorry; the humility to receive from others; the capacity to give and receive; the gift of risking failure, for that is when God steps in.
We find it hard to overstate the impact of this Conference on us as delegates, not only because of the breadth of representation and experience, but also because of the challenge to repentance, reconciliation and closer working together that we have received. We hope there will be further opportunities for members of our Communion to engage in consultations of this nature.
Our hearts have been encouraged as we have heard and discussed many stories from all Provinces of the grace of God at work in evangelism and mission. In and through these He is speaking to His Church.
We have been challenged as we have heard of the witness of Christians caught up with their peoples in war, poverty and the effects of global inequality. We recognize too the challenges of witness among peoples of other faiths and the struggles of Churches facing decline in Europe, North America and Australasia.
We give thanks to God for many reports of growth in numbers of Christians, for development of Christian spirituality, and, as part of the witness of faith, of Christians taking seriously their engagement with the social needs and the cultures of the societies in which they are set.
When the decade began the idea of evangelism was threatening to many Anglicans. There are still tensions and differences of understanding and approach among us. We believe, however, that the four principles of the Lambeth Quadrilateral provide a sufficient basis to hold those tensions together.
From all the reports we have heard we believe that there is clear evidence of a growing commitment to fulfil Resolutions 43 and 44 of the last Lambeth Conference.
Because of your call for the Decade, evangelism is taking a more central and accepted place in the life of our Churches.
We are particularly concerned both to release the ministry of evangelism throughout the Church and to challenge many aspects of our Church's life that are indifferent to evangelism.
We attach great importance to the role of lay people in evangelism, particularly women, from whom we heard a special presentation. We call for attention to be given to evangelism among children and young people.
We have asked the Conference Planning Committee to prepare a full report of our consultations. MISSIO, the Communion's Mission Commission, will make recommendations from it.
We look to you as leaders of our Church in evangelism to receive these reports and reflect on the lessons we have learned and the proposals we make.
We call on you to lead us forward in a renewed commitment to evangelism in the second half of this Decade and into the next millennium. We need your leadership now.
We recognize that this will involve risks and ventures of faith, but as a Church we are called to walk by faith and trust in a God who so loved the world that he risked His Son to reconcile all things to Himself.
Your sisters and brothers in Christ,
The delegates gathered at Kanuga.