Anglican Communion News Service

By Alyson-Barnett Cowan

Leaders and representatives of a very broad spectrum of world Christianity are meeting in Manado, Indonesia October 4-7. The Global Christian Forum (GCF) brings together all the great streams of modern Christian faith: Anglican, Charismatic, Evangelical, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Protestant, Roman Catholic, mega churches and contemplative communities.

The overall theme of the meeting is ‘Life together in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit’. A central feature of Forum gatherings is the telling of personal stories of faith in small groups. There have also been addresses on a central topic: major trends and changes in world Christianity.

Members of the Anglican family met together to consider the impact of these changes within the Anglican Communion, together with the Archbishop of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht, whose church is in communion with the Anglican Communion. Participants in the Forum are selected by regions and by various Christian organizations, not by their global communions, so the Anglicans did not prepare as a group. Rather, they were glad to discover one another here. They come from New Zealand, Polynesia, Sri Lanka, India, England, Canada, the US, Nigeria and South Africa.

The Rev’d David Hilborn, representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, brought greetings to the gathering from the Archbishop.

Group Photograph

Photo Credit:Rt Rev Hans Stiglund

Photo: top to bottom, left to right: Bharat Kumar (World Student Christian Federation/Church of South India), Bishop Victoria Matthews (New Zealand), Neill Ballantyne (WSCF/New Zealand), Bishop Gabriel Sharma (Polynesia), Natasha Klukach (World Council of Churches/Anglican Church of Canada), Archbishop Joris Vercammen (Old Catholic International Bishops’ Conference), David Hilborn (Church of England), Peter Crossing (Anglican Church of Australia), Jennifer Aturupane (Church of Ceylon), Alyson Barnett-Cowan (Anglican Communion Office), Sarah Rowland Jones (GCF Committee/Anglican Church of Southern Africa), Leela Manasseh (World Evangelical Alliance/Church of South India).

Other Anglicans not in the photo: Andrew Hartropp (Oxford Centre for Mission Studies/Church of England), Christine Housel (WSCF/The Episcopal Church) and Heoma Amadi (WSCF/Church of Nigeria).