INTERNATIONAL ANGLICAN YOUTH NETWORK
GATHERING 1997
LAMBETH CONFERENCE THEMES:
REFLECTION AND COMMENT
Context and Introduction
The International Anglican Youth Network (IAYN) were able to gather together Provincial Youth Officers and Young Adult representatives, a total of 138 participants, from 33 Provinces (including the United Churches of Bangladesh and North India) and from 47 countries for a programme in the United Kingdom including:
- A Residential Conference addressing the "Lambeth Themes"
- Diocesan Placements and Visits in England, Wales and Scotland
- Meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury for a "question time", visit to Lambeth Palace and a closing Eucharist at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster
During the Conference, the Young Adults were addressed by speakers focusing on the Lambeth Conference Themes:
- Called to Full Humanity
- Called to Live and Proclaim the Good News
- Called to be Faithful Church in a Plural World
- Called to be One
This paper is submitted for consideration by bishops of the Anglican Communion as they prepare for the Lambeth Conference. The paper reflects the concerns and comments of those Young Anglicans present at the IAYN Gathering and Conference.
Called to Full Humanity
On Hospitality:
- The importance of hospitality was stressed and concern expressed that hospitality was not being lived out in many of our Churches.
On World Debt:
- The Church should speak out boldly to condemn International Debt and the injustice of current international lending policies. A unified statement on world debt from the Anglican Church would be supported.
- Jubilee 2000 was supported as a means of influencing policy makers and leaders of multi-national corporations.
- The poor should be enabled to have a voice.
- We must always remember that "God shared with us, we should share with others".
- The Church should plead for justice and call for change.
On the Environment
- As Christians we should be especially active in protecting and restoring God's earth, remembering that we are all God's creation.
- Live simply.
On Homosexuality
- Homosexuals should not be hated or persecuted but accepted as God's children. Our over-riding concern should be to speak openly even if it makes us feel uncomfortable. The glory of God is realised in human life, fully realised. Dialogue should continue on this subject.
Called to Live and Proclaim the Good News
- We feel that as youth we have a special joy in living and proclaiming the Good News
- Living the Gospel is harder than proclaiming it - there are sacrifices to make and it calls for respect, forgiveness, understanding and reconciliation.
- We need to proclaim Jesus in our daily life - how we live.
There is a great need to transform the liturgy - it must be more flexible, more spontaneous and more joyful. - Our Anglicanism does give us great freedom born out of our diversity - but our diversity must not become an excuse to dilute the Good News
- The Church must take its young people more seriously, not simply push them aside
- The Church needs to be stronger in educating its members to deal with issues of faith and to be equipped to tell and teach others about it.
- Take worship outside of the church into the community.
- Liturgy should not bind or impede our worship of God
Called to be Faithful Church in a Plural World
- Church and home are places for Christian Education.
- As Christians we should reach out to each other and have more dialogue with others from different religions in order to learn about, and understand, our differences.
- We need to find out issues which other faiths are facing and discuss these issues with them, perhaps through interfaith mediation groups.
- We see pluralism as a challenge and not a threat.
- Pray for freedom of people in countries who cannot worship or preach.
- We must both live and proclaim the Gospel.
- We are called to be "salt and light", we are called to be peacemakers, we are called to live unconditionally.
- We accept and acknowledge that God works through all people, all faiths. We call for interfaith workshops and interfaith worship so that we celebrate our commonalties, not dwell on our differences.
- The Anglican Church needs to be much more definite about what it means to be Anglican.
- Paul calls us to be in the world but not of it. He calls us to stand apart from the rest of humanity who do not share our Christian faith. We must bring this to people with strength and courage but most of all in love.
- We must show interest in and study other faiths.
- We must live the word of God and show that God's word is alive in us.
- The Church needs to look at its values - stop creating buildings and build people.
- We must be a believing, witnessing and sharing community.
- Jesus was faithful in a plural world - so should we be.
- More support is needed for Christian young people in countries where Christianity is a minority faith.
- We call for love and sympathy towards those who are not Christian.
Called to be One
- The starting point for unity is that Jesus died to save each and every one of us.
- Diversity is something to love, not fear. The rainbow represents our diversity, various colours, cultures, gifts The sun represents Christ whose light shines to give the colours of the rainbow their brilliance.
- We must affirm that Christ came for the whole of humanity.
- As Christians, we must set the pace for world peace and unity.
- We are God's children, we are love, we are Anglican, we are still one.
- We are different from each other in many ways - every way - but we are all one in Christ
- Guided by people of all faiths, human beings can begin to learn to live together in harmony and in peace: that peace which the spirit of the living God wills for everyone.