God’s Church for God’s World

Author Stephen Spencer (ed.)
Publisher SCM £19.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334065517

This book is a transcript of the Lambeth Conference held in summer 2022, comprising reports, keynote addresses (three good, wide-ranging speeches from Archbishop Welby); and what are known as ‘Lambeth Calls’ – policy statements and debates on important Anglican issues. I found the book alternately inspiring and bland – sometimes bold, sometimes understandably cautious. It is difficult to imagine how several hundred bishops from a range of cultures, from communities of affluence and poverty, could hold collective views. Yet, to paraphrase our Archbishop, there was unity in filling ‘our hearts with desire for friendship with Jesus’. This was evident in the excellent Bible studies (on 1 Peter) and in the worship and imaginative liturgies in Canterbury Cathedral. Another significant unity was the day spent at Lambeth Palace – a time of prayer and commitment to the environment. The book is a snapshot of current Anglican thinking – valuable for all who take our world strategy to heart. But will it chime in the pews of rural England and South Sudan, to name but two parts of our Communion?

Reviewed by LEONARD RICKARD

Anglican Communion