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2011 Annual General Meeting
By Terry Noble
Oct. 5, 2011
Members of the Compass Rose Society gathered on September 21st and 22nd at St. Andrews House and Lambeth Palace in London for the 2011 Annual General Meeting. A wide range of speakers addressed topics that reminded members of the interconnectedness of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Diocese of Jerusalem was the guest speaker for this year's AGM. In introducing Bishop Suheil, Society President Bishop Philip Poole expressed how thrilled he was to have the Bishop of Jerusalem present, following an incident in 2009 when visa issues prevented Bishop Suheil from attending. Bishop Suheil stated that all people in the region are "exhausted by the political and economic stagnation around them". He described Christians in the region as having an important voice of moderation. The Diocese of Jerusalem, although small, runs thirty institutions that form an important part of the educational and medical infrastructure in the region. In response to a question from the floor asking how the Society could help, he appealed for members to assist in the fundraising for an echo machine for their diabetes clinic, which will cost $150,000.
The Reverend Terrie Robinson from the Anglican Communion Office (ACO) spoke to members on the subject of Gender-based Violence. She described such violence as "the most pervasive and yet least recognized form of human rights abuse". She offered a theological framework for addressing the issue, including both the idea of human beings having been made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and the baptismal theology of us all being one in Christ (Galatians 3:27). Members were encouraged to visit the website www.wewillspeakout.org which is sponsored by the Anglican Communion and others who are working on this issue.
Pauline and Neil Maxwell of Aurora, Canada made a presentation on the April 2011 Communion Visit to Brazil. In his address to the members, Bishop Philip Poole also addressed the Brazil trip. He spoke of how Society members can pray the Anglican Cycle of Prayer with purpose because of having visited many different parts of the Communion. Bishop Poole described how he had received a letter after the trip where it was revealed that one community had been reluctant to host guests because they felt their church building was in poor repair. However, after the trip they expressed that the visit had "shown them that they, as well as those in other communities, are not alone in their faith, but are part of a worldwide family". (A full copy of Bishop Poole's speech may be read here.)
Bob Biehl, Society Treasurer, provided his report with news of revenues increasing and expenditures decreasing in 2010 as compared to 2009. The 2011 year-to-date figures also showed improvement. Mr. Biehl noted that the cumulative givings of the Society now total over US$7 Million.
Secretary General Kenneth Kearon touched on a number of his experiences and the activities of his office over the past year. He told of presiding at a Eucharist in Harare, where a bishop quietly slipped into a back pew during the service. The bishop had been warned not to proceed to the Confirmation service he was to preside at in a different location because police had broken up the service and were waiting to arrest him. Canon Kearon also spoke about the many different dialogues and conversations taking place with other denominations. He explained that the Anglican Communion no longer has formal dialogues with Lutherans and Methodists because no significant theological differences remain.
Sally Keeble, ACO Director for the Anglican Alliance, explained the work of the Alliance. It is not a funding agency and it does not run development programs. Its three mandates are development, relief and advocacy, but its approach is one of grassroots capacity building, facilitating and coordinating. As an example, she outlined a situation where they went into Pakistan following the 2010 floods and assessed the impact. The resulting report allowed funding agencies to focus their efforts in order to make the best use of the available funds. The Alliance also supported the Archbishop of Burundi recently in making a presentation to a parliamentary select committee in the UK, in response to deep cuts to foreign aid to his country.
On the second day, members adjourned the formal meeting at St. Andrews House and moved to Lambeth Palace for dinner and worship as guests of Archbishop and Mrs. Williams. The usual question and answer session saw Dr. Williams addressing a wide range of topics including the royal wedding, his retirement and the nature of church leadership in a post-modern world.
During his homily at Evensong, the Archbishop of Canterbury stated "seeing and bearing witness is at the heart of what the Society does" in reference to how members visit fellow Anglicans in other parts of the world. Evensong was accompanied by the solemn offering of tea as a symbol of peace by Dr. Genshitsu Sen of the Japanese Imperial Court.
The international nature of the Anglican Communion and the ministry of the Compass Rose Society within it was brought home repeatedly throughout these meetings. Members once again returned home to their parishes with examples of how being members of a worldwide Communion leaves us all better equipped to contribute to God's mission for God's church in God's world.
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