e d i to r i a l
Keeping our eyes on the prize THIS IS A season of reflection and self-sacrifice: a time to pause and prayerfully reconsider. I began Lent on a silent retreat with my colleagues at the Anglican Communion Office. It was a valuable day together as we examined Matthew chapter 6 and thought about where our “treasure” is. During Lent, we looked forward. We were on a journey than ended at Easter, that moment in history where the ultimate act of sacrifice was made for us all by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes in our Christian life, our journey of faith is smooth and quick. But often we are on a hard road, where every step forward is a struggle and every victory en route is hard-fought. It is then that we need to keep our eyes fixed on the prize. In this issue of Anglican World, we read several stories from around the world of brothers and sisters in Christ pressing on in very challenging circumstances. The social care ministry of Elizabeth Bustillos Cepeda in north-eastern Mexico is one example. Her parish is caught in the murderous crossfire of wars between drug gangs – sometimes quite literally. She is also working with migrants from Latin America. Elizabeth is sowing seeds of hope that an end to the violence is possible. We also read of Robyn Boosey, a young woman who worked to “The work of reconciliation and building help change the law in the United Kingdom. The odds against her were bridges of understanding can be daunting but she has continued to press on. And we have the second part of our series looking at the Church painstakingly slow.” in the Province of South East Asia. It is encouraging to read how the Church there is growing. The work is hard but it is inspired by the vision to see missionary deaneries in six countries become selfsustaining dioceses that are able to plant churches and sustain themselves. An exciting development has been the creation of the Anglican Inter Faith Commission, which met for the first time in Cairo in February. This work is something particularly close to my heart. You can read more about it on our website bit.ly/AC-AIFN. The work of reconciliation and building bridges of understanding can be painstakingly slow. We have the extraordinary story of a church in Spain using circus skills to teach how young Christians and Muslims can learn to live together. And in this edition, we are introduced to Phil George. It may be early 2018, but Phil’s eyes are firmly focused on 2020 because it is his job to deliver the next Lambeth Conference that summer. It is a mammoth and complex task but Phil is optimistic that the outcome will be positive for the Communion and beyond. I hope you enjoy this edition of Anglican World.
Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon Secretary General of the Anglican Communion
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anglican world issue 148 APRIL 2018