As the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), meeting in Dundee, Scotland [TLC, Oct. 10], came to its close, the focus of meetings turned to the challenges facing churches in large cities everywhere.

Council members attended the opening of St. Matthew's, a non-residential rehabilitation center in Possilpark, which is one of the most economically deprived areas in Glasgow. St. Matthew's is part of a larger project helping in the regeneration of the Possilpark area.

During the ceremonies, the Most Rev. Richard Holloway, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, spoke to those in attendance of the "harrowing descriptions" the council had heard "of the effect of the global economy on the poor of the Third World." He said, "we also have to acknowledge that the Third World is with us in the midst of the developed world." Using examples of economic imbalances in Scotland, he said, "the system that has made most people in this country more prosperous has plunged a significant proportion of our fellow citizens into poverty and despair."

On the last day of the meeting, members discussed how churches in the United States, Mexico, Uganda and Hong Kong witness in neighborhoods coping with crime, unemployment and unsatisfactory housing. The council made a resolution asking for the formation of an Anglican Urban Network as a resource for the Communion and for a commission to work with ecumenical bodies to be called "Faith in an Urban World."

Other resolutions included:

• Agreement that the two priorities for the Anglican Communion are mission and ecumenism;
• An expression of deep concern for the tragedy in East Timor.

Anglican Communion News Service contributed to this article