Members of the Lambeth Conference Design Group met April 16-20, continuing their planning for next year’s conference of bishops from throughout the Anglican Communion.

The design group, appointed by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, is chaired by the Archbishop of Melanesia, the Most Rev. Ellison Pogo. Archbishop Pogo said the design group’s hope is that bishops attending the conference will “discover a new level of trust and have greater understanding of the special contribution Anglicanism can make to the Church and the world.”

In a change from past Lambeth gatherings, the 2008 conference will have less debate and voting on resolutions and instead will emphasize spiritual reflection and discernment. The stated purpose of the conference is to enable bishops to discern and share their Anglican identity and become better equipped as leaders in God’s mission.

Among the topics scheduled to be discussed are the Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS, Anglican identity and covenant, the “Listening Process” with gay and lesbian Christians proposed by the 1998 Lambeth Conference, and ecumenical relations.

“We feel excited as we prepare through prayer and meditation on the time the bishops will spend together in July 2008,” Archbishop Pogo said. “Perhaps most important will be the many opportunities for encounter, fellowship and conversation that gathering provides.”

Anglican Communion News Service contributed to this report.

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