Contents divided into five main sections: Introduction -- Section I: The Local Context -- Section II: Far-Reaching Concerns -- Section III: The Church in Areas of Civil/Regional Conflict -- Section IV: Principles Shaping Work in the Communion.
Contents: APJN Participant -- A Beginning -- Report from Aotearoa/New Zealand -- A Special Place -- Globalization and Poverty -- HIV/AIDS -- Justice and Peace Issues in the World -- Young People in the Anglican Church -- Environmental Issues -- Justice for Women -- Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances (CEDC) -- Death Penalty -- Overview: Areas of Special Concern -- Great Lakes Region -- Burundi -- The Zimbabwean Situation -- Role of the Church in the Sri Lankan Conflict / Kumara B.S. Illanasinghe i.e. Illangasinghe -- Overview: Principles Shaping Work in the Communion -- Theological Education -- Toward Interfaith Understanding.
The Anglican Church of Canada was represented by Ms. Cynthia Patterson and the Rev. Canon Eric B. Beresford who is also "Ethicist for the ACC" i.e. Anglican Consultative Council.
"[M]ore than 50 Anglican women from 11 provinces of the Anglican Communion represented the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) at the 48th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) held in New York, 1-12 March [2004]. The group participated under the auspices of the Anglican Observer to the United Nations, Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea of Samoa. The UNCSW meeting examined two themes: `Men and boys in gender equity' and `Women's equal participation in conflict management, resolution and post-conflict peace building'." Representatives of the International Anglican Women's Network (founded in 1996) also participated in the meeting. In a statement issued after the meeting ended the delegates "challenged the ACC to work towards a 30 % representation of women in all decision-making bodies in the Anglican Communion". Phoebe Griswold said: "My frustration is that somehow the voices of women and their experience is seen as only belonging to the home and the power of women's voices to mend and heal the Anglican Communion is not taken seriously". Other participants included Rita Simeni, a delegate from Papua New Guinea who founded that province's Women in Ministry Program; Nema Aluku of Kenya, HIV/AIDS program coordinator for the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa; and Soledad Longid from the Philippine Episcopal Church.
See also "Statement from the Anglican Consultative Council delegates' gathering a the 48th Session of the United Nations Commission on the status of women", p. 25.
Profile of three Anglican clergy involved in peacemaking: the Rt. Rev. William Moses, Moderator of the Church of South India; the Rev. Canon Patrick P. Augustine, born in Pakistan but now a rector in the Episcopal Church, and a notable proponent of interfaith dialogue, especially between Christians and Muslims; and the Most Rev. Robin Eames, Primate of the Church of Ireland.
"Around the world men and women are involved in peacemaking and reconciliation and the church often plays a significant role in bringing warring sides together. .... A report last year from the International Peace Institute, called 'Reimagining Peacemaking: Women's Roles in Peace Processes', found that women had a vital role to play in the peacemaking process, but more importantly, when women were involved an agreement was more likely to be reached and it was also more likely to last" (p. 14)". "Members of the Anglican Church and the Mothers' Union (MU) in the Solomon Islands have many stories of how women play a key role in reconciliation. Anglican Alliance Facilitator for the Pacific, Tagolyn Kabekabe, says in the matriarchal society of the Pacific Islands women command respect and their maternal instincts make them seek and negotiate peace, whatever the cost" (p. 14). "Regional Development Manager at the Mothers' Union in London, Johanna Fadipe, said the MU have a prized place in many communities and can bring peace about because of their respected position" (p. 15). "Sarah Snyder said, 'We need to stand alongside women in their suffering but we also need to recognize and stand with them in the front line. They have a moral influence that allows them to sensitively address growing anger and shift into non violent forms of expression" (p. 15).
"On 27 October 1986 all the major religious leaders of the world came together in Assisi, Italy, to pray for peace and to commit themselves to seeking a world where peace and harmony would prevail. In November [1996], there was a prayer reunion at Westminster Cathedral in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the meeting.The reunion brought together leaders frrom different world faiths who read passages on peace and reconciliation. The Rt. Rev. Lord Runcie, who represented the Anglican Communion at Assisi in 1986, read passages from the Christian tradition."
A dozen Christian, Jewish and Muslim children spent time together in July 2002 at Camp Allen, the diocese of Texas camp. Kids4Peace is a program developed by Henry Carse, director of special programs at St. George's College, Jerusalem. "Kids4Peace was a natural extension of the `sheer weight of the fear shared by Israelis and Palestinians,' Henry Carse said, adding that he is convinced that the initiative will improve communication and understanding. `We have a chance to touch future leaders while they are still forming opinions'."
"From ENS. Thomas Blanton is assistant editor of the `Texas Episcopalian', newspaper of the Diocese of Texas. More information on the program and a selection of photos are available at www.kids4peace.org."
"In their second meeting [16 June 2014] within eighteen months Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby have recommitted themselves absolutely to the struggle against modern slavery and human trafficking. Following their first meeting last year[14 June 2013] the two global leaders have continually spoken out to challenge this crime against humanity, and have acted decisively to support the foundation of the new faith-based Global Freedom Network. Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin also spoke about areas in conflict and how churches around the globe are called by Christ our reconciler, to act as peacemakers. They described their Christian passion for peacemaking in places torn apart by war, and pledged their ongoing commitment to act as agents of reconciliation". [Text of entire article.] [Article includes photo of Archbishop Justin Welby and Pope Francis, both men laughing.]
"A group of Anglican women taking part in the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) assembled 7 March [2004] on the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where the Episcopal Diocese of New York hosted a gathering of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) representatives to speak of their future goals as a united body and their individual work in ministering to women and children throughout the world". The gathering included: Phoebe Griswold, Episcopal Church U.S.A.; Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea, Anglican Observer to the United Nations; Mrs. Jane Williams, Canterbury, Church of England; Jenny Te Paa the Ahorangi/Dean of Te Rau Kahikayea and constituent of St. John's Theological College in Auckland, New Zealand; Jyotsna Rani Patro, President of the Women's Fellowship for Christian Service and the All India Council of Christian Women (Unit IV); Nema Aluku, and HIV/AIDS programme coordinator with the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa; Clair Malik, Director of the Deaf Unit at El Malek el Saleh in Cairo, Egypt; and the Rev. Margaret Rose, Director of Women's Ministries for the Episcopal Church U.S.A.
"So, Williams' writings are difficult in two distinct ways. Much of his writing exhibits real academic difficulty -- difficulty of style, of range, of reference, of argument. Nevertheless, this academically difficult writing serves a simple message: all of it, that is, tries to proclaim the good news of God's utterly gracious, utterly gratuitous love, and raises the question of what difference that love makes to us. And that simple message is the most difficult one we can ever hear, in a rather different sense of 'difficult': it is difficult not because it will demand our most painstaking intellectual skills but rather it will demand everything". -- Intro., p. 5.
"This book provides a clear and simple guide to all the main themes of [Williams'] theology, and shows how they are related to his reading of the Bible, his careful and wide-ranging engagement with the Christian tradition, his grappling with contemporary culture. It shows how the Archbishop's ideas about peace or about popular culture, about sexuality or about evangelism, relate to his understanding of the nature of the life of God, and of the challenging good news of Jesus Christ. The book is designed especially for those who have no academic expertise or formal training in theology, but are interested in finding out more about what Rowan Williams stands for". -- back cover.
Contents: Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: Difficult Gospel -- Disarming Acceptance -- The Source of Life -- Cloud of Witnesses -- Adulthood and Childhood -- Politics and Peace -- Sex and the Gospel -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Subject and Name Index.