Lambeth Conference 2020


Without great fanfare news of a planned Lambeth Conference for 2020 has become available. The site for the conference has gone live and so we look for much hope.

The theme set for the Conference is 'God's Church for God's World' which is a timely reminder not to be overrun simply by the organisation of the Church but rather to focus on the Mission of the Church.

The name Lambeth Conference derives from the name of the ArchBishop of Canterbury's residence, which is Lambeth Palace, across the Thames from The Palace of Westminster. The first Conference met in 1867. All the Bishops of the Communion are invited.

The Conference has met generally every ten years, with some disturbance due to the World Wars. Since 1978 the Conference has happened at the University of Kent, a couple of kilometers north of Canterbury Cathedral.

Prior to the 2008 Lambeth Conference was the assembly of the GAFCON Churches (anglican in tradition and having issues with the Ordination of Women, and what is seen as a liberal agenda), and a number of them then did not attend Lambeth.

In 2014 ArchBishop Welby decided to cancel the 2018 Lambeth Conference, essentially because he wanted to see unity rather than division. He, and others have worked hard in this space to restore some sense of unity to the Anglican Communion. ArchBishop welby said:

“It will be a time of addressing hurts and concerns; of deepening existing relationships and building new ones; of grappling with issues that face the Church and the world. We will listen to each other; we will seek God’s wisdom to find ways to walk together; we will build each other up as leaders.
“It’s my prayer that, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Lambeth Conference will reinvigorate the Communion with the vision and resources to bring the transforming love of Jesus Christ to every level of society across the world.”