There’s no absolute measure for achievement.  In critical times quite small things may be quite large achievements.  And so, if we reflect on what we’ve done in the last ten days, then it may be that even some apparently very routine things are real achievements.  We’ve got up every morning; and we’ve prayed every morning; we’ve read scripture together; we’ve affirmed our will to stay in relation; and we’ve done some planning.  We have sent forward work on the aid and development alliance, on theological education, on evangelism and church growth, on the Bible in the Church.  We’ve agreed on the follow-up to the work of the Windsor Continuation Group.  We’ve even agreed on the substance of the Covenant, including, and we should remember this, the timescale for that work… 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today sent a letter to the bishops of the Anglican Communion, setting out his personal reflections on the Lambeth Conference.

Where will the work be done? Before the ACC meeting next year - which will be a significant element in implementing our vision - I intend to convene a Primates’ Meeting as early as possible in 2009. I shall look within the next two months for a clear and detailed specification for the task and composition of a Pastoral Forum, and I shall ensure that the perspectives of various groups looking at the Covenant and the Windsor process, as well as the Design Group for this Conference help to shape the implementation of the agenda outlined in the Reflections document, and are fed into the special meeting in November of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC. We may not have put an end to all our problems - but the pieces are on the board. And in the months ahead it will be important to invite those absent from Lambeth to be involved in these next stages. Much in the GAFCON documents is consonant with much of what we have sought to say and do, and we need to look for the best ways of building bridges here.

Where does this leave us as a Communion?  Because we have no single central executive authority, the answer to this is not a simple one.  However, it is important to try and state what common ground there is before we attempt to move forward; and it is historically an aspect of the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury to ‘articulate the mind of the Communion’ in moments of tension and controversy, as the Windsor Report puts it (para. 109).  I do so out of the profound conviction that the existence of our Communion is truly a gift of God to the wholeness of Christ’s Church and that all of us will be seriously wounded and diminished if our Communion fractures any further; but also out of the no less profound conviction that our identity as Anglicans is not something without boundaries.  What I am writing here is an attempt to set out where some of those boundaries lie and why they matter for our witness to the world as well as for our own integrity and mutual respect.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams gave a public lecture on 6th December 2007 in Singapore, speaking on the topic “Religious Diversity & Social Unity.” The lecture was jointly hosted by Diocese of Singapore and MUIS (The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore). The Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, chaired the lecture. Many diplomats, MPs, community and religious leaders were present amongst the 800 participants at Ritz-Carlton.

There was a lively Q & A session after that.
Lecture: audio & text
Q&A: audio & text

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams gave a public lecture on 6th December 2007 in Singapore, speaking on the topic “Religious Diversity & Social Unity.” The lecture was jointly hosted by Diocese of Singapore and MUIS (The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore). The Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, chaired the lecture. Many diplomats, MPs, community and religious leaders were present amongst the 800 participants at Ritz-Carlton.

During a 40-minute address, he made the point that having strong religious convictions does not mean the end of social unity. In fact, the more conviction that people have in their religion - regardless of their faith - the less they can justify violence. The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church also defended the role that religion can play in public life.

Lecture: audio
Q&A: audio & text

After the Archbishop of Canterbury’s public lecture ‘Public Religion and the Common Good’ at St Andrew’s Cathedral (Singapore, 12th May), there was a Q & A Session. The transcript is posted here for your reading.  

During the Archbishop Rowan Williams’ recent visit to Singapore, he shared his thoughts in an interview with Lucilla Teoh for the Diocese of Singapore’s Diocesan Digest.

Archbishop Rowan Williams gave this public lecture in Singapore at the St Andrew’s Cathedral on 12th May 2007.

(After the lecture, there was a Q & A Session. The transcript is posted here.)

...the Church’s public use of the Bible represents the Church as defined in some important way by listening: the community when it comes together doesn’t only break bread and reflect together and intercede, it silences itself to hear something. It represents itself in that moment as a community existing in response to a word of summons or invitation, to an act of communication that requires to be heard and answered.