Anglican Communion News Service

At the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Gerald West (University KwaZulu-Natal, Southern Africa) has convened an international group to prepare Bible studies for the Lambeth Conference. Members of the group came from DR Congo, USA, UK, Tanzania, and India.

Bishops and spouses will pursue the same studies, though in their own separate groups at the July Lambeth Conference. The focus is on the ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus in John’s gospel

Prayer and preparation before and around the conference are important. The Archbishop of Canterbury has encouraged as many as possible in the Communion to make such preparation a priority. 

Two particular measures available to do this:

1.         Meditative readings of John’s gospel using a book published by the Bible Reading Fellowship by Dean Richard Burridge of King’s College, London (see additional text below). The material is already available for use on their website to enable maximum participation in the studies for the Lambeth Conference.

2.         Bible Studies, specially prepared by the Bible Study group on the “Signs in John’s Gospel”, will be available in May on the Lambeth Conference website,   designed as a series of studies for use in the Communion around the time of the Conference.

Bible Study, the Daily Office and the celebration of the Eucharist are key moments in the daily schedule of the bishops and spouses in the forthcoming conference.

For further information please contact:

Office of Communications,
Canon Jim Rosenthal

Email: jim.rosenthal@aco.org
Phone: (0)20 7313 3909

Notes for Editors

Bible Reading Fellowship - Lambeth Conference 2008

BRF is pleased to have completed the People's Bible Commentary in 2006. We were delighted when the Archbishop of Canterbury recommended the PBC Commentary on St John's Gospel by Richard Burridge as preparatory reading for the Lambeth Conference, due to take place in July 2008.

The Archbishop suggests reading John's Gospel as the biblical focus for this gathering of Anglican bishops worldwide, which happens once every ten years. He describes the PBC John commentary as 'one of the finest and most accessible of modern studies'.

The PBC Commentary on John's Gospel is a combination of excellent, yet accessible scholarship with BRF's expertise in daily Bible reading. Following recent developments in academic research on the gospels, it stresses the narrative of the Gospel, studying it section by section, rather than verse by verse. It is also designed for daily use with prayer and meditation.

If you would like to follow the reading plan of John for the Lambeth Conference, you can download the pdf here.

Download a daily reading plan (pdf) here.

About the Author

The Revd Dr Richard A. Burridge is Dean of King's College London, where he is also Director of New Testament Studies. Among other books, he has written Four Gospels,

One Jesus? (SPCK/Eerdmans, 2005), What are the Gospels? (Eerdmans, 2004) and Imitating Jesus: An Inclusive Approach to New Testament Ethics (Eerdmans, 2007).

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