Anglican Communion News Service

'Justice and celebration belong together, in the prophets and the Gospels.' 'God's plan is one in which all human beings are called to be both givers and receivers.' Two brief examples of remarks made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, as he addressed the World Mission Conference held 23-25 November 2004 in Swanwick, England. Just under 200 participants gathered at the conference, which had developed out of the annual Diocesan Companion Links conference which has been held regularly each November over the last few years, organised by the Church of England's Partnership for World Mission. The theme of the conference was interaction of the global and the local in mission: how the global and local dimensions of mission could and should inform and strengthen each other.

Most of the participants were from the Church of England (mission agencies, dioceses, parishes), but there were also representatives from the Episcopal Church of Scotland, the Church of Ireland, the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA), and the Anglican Church of Canada, as well, ecumenically, from the Methodist Church of Britain. Speakers represented a variety of continents and theological positions: as well as the Archbishop, participants heard from Christopher Duraisingh (India and the US), Gottfried Osei-Mensah (Ghana, Africa, the leader of 'African Enterprise') and Graham Kings (currently Vicar of St Mary's Islington, London, but with mission experience in Kenya and at the Henry Martyn Centre in Cambridge.)

One of the currents that surfaced in several of the talks was the importance of allowing space for difference. Christopher Duraisingh dug deep into the meaning of the word 'catholicity', and challenged participants to realise that if the church is to be truly catholic, there needs to be both an honouring of local contexts, allowing them to interweave with each other, set alongside a vision of people from 'all tribes and languages' worshipping God together. Gottfried Osei-Mensah's Bible study, linked to the letters of Paul, reminded the conference that Christians in the Western world are both rich - and poor. Archbishop Rowan spoke of the need to allow others to help us discover more of the face of Christ, more of the gospel through our encounter with them, 'Finding Christ in the really different.' Graham Kings ably and powerfully fulfilled his task of summing up the conference on the last morning; in the process reminding us to value and care for our mission history.

A period of time at the conference was given over to consideration of the Windsor Report, with a number of participants sharing their views as to how the Church of England mission agencies might respond to it.

A particular highlight of the conference was the worship: the combination of the Revd Rob Jones, an exceptionally creative and liturgically sensitive priest from Worcester Diocese in England, and Geoff Weaver's multicultural musical talents came together with a special serendipity and helped enfold this worthwhile event with prayer and spiritual celebration.

Article from the Partnership for World Mission Committee (PWM) www.pwm-web.org.uk