Anglican Communion News Service

Sue Parks, Manager of the Lambeth Conference 2008, and the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, at the Anglican Communion Office this morning

Photo Credit: ACNS

Sue Parks is to become the Lambeth Conference 2008 manager. Currently Director of SPCK Worldwide (the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), she is to work with the Lambeth Design Group and have overall responsibility for the conference's planning and organisation. The Design Group is chaired by the Most Revd Sir Ellison Pogo, the Archbishop of Melanesia.

Sue Parks, 55, told ACNS that she was an Australian from the Diocese of Sydney, and that she had come to the UK 20 years ago. She has had wide-ranging experience of the Anglican Communion through work with Church Mission Society (CMS) and as a member of the steering committee of Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC). In addition to her work with SPCK, she is also director of 'Feed the Minds', a communications agency that makes grants for theological resources, Christian communication programmes, literacy and HIV/AIDS education. She was present at the last Lambeth Conference in 1998 as a staff worker for SPCK.

"My abiding memory of the 1998 conference is the vibrant worship that took place, reflecting the many different backgrounds and cultures encompassed by the Communion," she said. "I am really looking forward to working with people from across the Anglican Communion and putting into practice my experience of the Church worldwide to ensure the smooth running of this 2008 conference."

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon, said of the appointment: "I am very grateful that such an important event will benefit from Sue's abilities and talents, and am sure that our expectations for 2008 will be met and surpassed."

The Lambeth Conference, which draws together Anglican Communion bishops from around the globe, is convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury normally once a decade. The last conference took place in 1998. The city of Canterbury has been the venue for the last three conferences. The Conference takes its name from the first meeting, which was convened at Lambeth Palace by Archbishop Longley in 1867. The 2008 conference will be the fourteenth such gathering.

Sue Parks will maintain an office at St Andrew's House, London, becoming a member of the Anglican Communion Office staff. She begins in her new post on 1 May 2005.

For the Lambeth Conference 1998, click here