Our journey so far
In 2007, leaders of churches and development departments and agencies from across the Communion met in South Africa for the TEAM Conference – Towards Effective Anglican Mission. Hosted by Archbishop Ndungane of Southern Africa, this conference highlighted inspirational missional responses to poverty, inequality and environmental issues, showing the wealth of expertise across the Communion. It was framed around the Millennium Development Goals. Its vision was a forerunner of the Anglican Alliance.
The following year at the Lambeth Conference, Bishop Godfrey of Peru spoke about the earthquake in Peru. “But where was the Communion?” he asked. The aspiration for a Communion-wide body to connect on relief, development and advocacy was born through that discussion. No province or diocese should feel alone at a time of crisis: this is an expression of being part of the Body of Christ.
In 2017, Peru had another humanitarian disaster. This time the Anglican Alliance was there to connect the Church in Peru with the wider Communion for prayer and support. “Thank you once again for your help in connecting our appeal with others around the communion,” said Paul Tester, CMS Mission partner, Anglican Church of Peru.
This section presents the key highlights of the Anglican Alliance’s journey since its inception at the 2008 Lambeth Conference through to the 2022 Lambeth Conference. The journey continues….
2007
- TEAM Conference in South Africa gave inspiration for the Anglican Alliance
2008
- Lambeth Conference envisions setting up body to support development, relief and advocacy in the Anglican Communion
2009
- Communion-wide consultation on purpose and shape of an Anglican Alliance
- Resolution for forming Anglican Alliance at ACC 14 in Jamaica
2010
- Anglican Alliance mandate and operational plan agreed
- Lambeth Partners commit start-up funds
2011
- Anglican Alliance secretariat established at the ACO with Sally Keeble as first Director
- Relief responses included: Japan earthquake, Horn of Africa
- Regional consultations establish thematic priorities
- Young peace-builders exchange
2012
- Regional facilitators recruited in Latin America, Asia, the Pacific and Africa (with CAPA)
- Global consultation on economic development
- ACC-15 in New Zealand
- Commonwealth Fellowship for Education professionals
2013
- Board of Trustees established with Archbishop Albert Chama as Chair
- Relief responses included: Philippines cyclone, Brazil floods
- Launch of Agents of Change distance learning programme for community development skills
- Commonwealth Fellowship for Health professionals
- First webinar series
2014
- New Co-Executive Directors, Rachel Carnegie and Andy Bowerman, appointed
- Post-conflict visit to South Sudan
Global Advisory Council meets in Kenya - Relief response: South Sudan conflict, West Africa Ebola, DR Congo, Iraq
- Global consultation on church responses to human trafficking in Rome
- Climate justice advocacy campaign for the Pacific at G20 summit in Australia
- Regional forum meet in Latin America
Support Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, meeting in London - Commonwealth Fellowship for Education professionals
- Refugees and disability project, Burundi and Zambia
2015
- Regional forums meet in Africa, South Asia and Pacific
- Relief response: Melanesia cyclone, Nepal earthquake, Burundi conflict, Pakistan bombing, Tanzania drought, Syrian refugees in Europe
- First Europe regional consultation in Wales
- Regional facilitators for Caribbean and East Asia appointed
- Agents of Change consultation and workshop in Solomon Islands
2016
- Presented on Sustainable Development Goals at Primates’ Meeting
- Regional consultation for the Middle East held in Cyprus
- Europe-wide consultation on refugees and migrants held in Germany
- Africa and South Asia consultations on human trafficking
- Disability inclusion in CCMP Training of Trainers for East Africa
- Alliance presents at ACC 16 in Lusaka, Zambia a Relief responses included: South Sudan and DR
- Congo conflict and refugees in Europe
- Agents of Change course strengthened with asset-based approaches
- Caribbean: Workshops on Agents of Change and Church & Community Transformation
2017
- Africa-wide consultation with CAPA on Church & Community Transformation
- Latin America consultation and support to workshops in Canada on tackling human trafficking
- East Asia forum visit to the Philippines to study Asset-Based Community Development
- Agents of Change workshops in Zambia and Zimbabwe
- Relief responses included: Caribbean hurricanes, refugees in Jordan, Pacific cyclones, Peru floods
- Advocacy on localisation of aid at World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul
- Forum on localizing response to humanitarian need and role of faith communities as first responders convened in Sri Lanka.
- Regional facilitator for Middle East recruited
2018
- Agents of Change courses run in Pacific
- Sport for Peace & Development events in East Africa
- Second Africa consultation on human trafficking held with CAPA in Nairobi
- East Asia and Pacific consultation on human trafficking with The Salvation Army in Cambodia
- Advocacy on Compact on Global Migration; speaking at Caritas Internationalis event at United Nations in New York
- Alliance joins Renew our World leadership team on environmental advocacy
- Relief responses included: South Sudan, Colombia, Sri Lanka, N.E. Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Fiji and Tonga, Madagascar, Vanuatu, Gaza, Papua New Guinea
2019
- Asia consultation meets in Myanmar on Asset- Based Church & Community Transformation
- Latin America migration forum meeting
- Middle East workshop on safe migration and human trafficking held in Jordan
- Workshop on Contextual Bible Studies on Anglican Marks of Mission and UN Sustainable Development Goals, held with Ujamaa Centre in South Africa
- Agents of Change course: 24 graduates in Pacific. Workshop in Kenya
- Lambeth Palace roundtables on people displaced by climate change, plastics pollution, and on human trafficking
- Africa anti-human trafficking consultation (with CAPA) in South Africa
- Disaster Preparedness and Resilience workshop in Caribbean and PNG Advocacy supporting Anglican voice at COP25 in Madrid, Spain
- ACC17 in Hong Kong – presentation and resolutions
- Relief responses included: Cyclones – Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique – including trauma healing with MU, Bahamas hurricane, Mexico migration, Ebola in DRC, South Sudan conflict
- Post-disaster technical and pastoral accompaniment in Zimbabwe
- Photo workshop with trafficking survivors in the Philippines
2020
- Global Senior Adviser appointed
- Inter-regional consultation on safe migration and anti-human trafficking, with Middle East, South Asia and East Africa, held in Dubai
- Post-disaster technical and pastoral accompaniment in South Sudan and Bahamas
- Global Covid-19 Pandemic declared: Alliance immediately re-orients its work to support the Communion
- Covid-19 response: global task force formed; online resource hub in four languages; 15+ global and regional consultations on different aspects of the response
- Supported relaunch of Anglican Health & Community Network to support shared capacity in health sector, on Covid-19 and other issues
- Supported relaunch of Anglican Health & Community Network to support shared capacity in health sector, on Covid-19 and other issues
- Supported relaunch of Anglican Youth Network to help equip emerging leadership
- Relief responses included: Covid-related humanitarian issues globally, Philippines (earthquake, volcano and typhoons), Lebanon explosion, Fiji cyclone, South Sudan, DRC
- Resilience Course launched online in 6 languages with 150+ participants from 43 countries promoting asset-based approaches
2021
- Covid-19 response continues: 10+ global and regional consultations; advocacy on vaccine equity; national meetings and communication on vaccine confidence; collaboration with WHO
- Supporting development and delivery of Lambeth Conference Bishops’ and Spouses’ online conversations
- Resilience Course completes. Partners in Resilience and Response training of Resource Persons started
- Church & Community Transformation contextualisation process begins in Diocese of Jerusalem
- Facilitating webinars to help equip Anglican leadership in advocacy on climate justice, working with Anglican UN office
- Co-writing policy document and part of Anglican delegation at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
- Relief responses included: Tonga, South Sudan, DRC volcano and conflict, Myanmar, Mozambique conflict, Gaza, St Vincent volcano, Haiti earthquake
2022
- Freedom Fridays in February online course for Asia-Pacific and for Africa (with CAPA) on tackling human trafficking with 100+ graduates
- Middle East group study tour to Northern Ireland on Church & Community Transformation
- Relief responses included: SE Africa, South Sudan, DRC, Ukrainian refugees, Brazil, Madagascar
- Communion Forest initiative developed with Anglican Communion Environment Network and Eco-Bishops and launched at Lambeth Conference as a key legacy
- Supporting drafting group of bishops for the Lambeth Call on Environment and Sustainable Development
- Major support for Lambeth Conference to plan and facilitate 8 seminars related to our work and the London Day with its focus on environment and sustainable development
- Working with the Anglican UN office and the Archbishop of Alexandria on preparation for and participation in COP27 in Egypt in late 2022
- Partners in Resilience and Response initiative finalised with completion of the accompaniers programme guidelines
- Relief responses included: Pakistan floods; Ukraine Conflict; South Africa floods and landslides; Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar; floods in Malawi; Brazil floods and dam bursts; Hurricane Fiona in the Caribbean; Tonga Tsunami.
2023
- Resilience Course regional rollout in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Global launch and roll out of Reimagining Our World Together Contextual Bible studies
- Continued incubation of the Communion Forest, with ACEN
- Contribution to and delivery of sessions on the environment, gender justice and asset-based development, at ACC-18 in Ghana
- New facilitators for East Asia and Pacific appointed
- Agents of Change global roll out begins with a grant from Trinity Church Wall Street
- Relief responses included: earthquake in Syria & Turkey; wildfires in Chile; floods in South Africa, Mozambique & Zambia; Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand; DRC conflict and floods; Cyclone Freddy in Malawi, Mozambique & Madagascar; Canada wildfires; Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Bangladesh; Cyclone Yaku in Peru; floods in Ghana; Israel-Palestine conflict; Malawi cholera outbreak; Papua New Guinea earthquake; South Korea floods; Sudan conflict; Maui wildfires in Hawaii, United States; Tanzania floods and landslides; cyclone and earthquake in Vanuatu; Uganda terror attack; Greece shipwreck; train accident in India.
2024
- Roll out of Agents of Change in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and with the Anglican Communion Youth Network executive council. New theology of leadership modules written and tested
- Engaging with and empowering youth through the Anglican Alliance Council of Youth (ACYN Executive), Agents of Change for ACYN, supporting VTS Anglican Youth Leaders, supporting ACYN across the 5 Marks of Mission
- Completion of the Resilience Course in Latin America and the Caribbean region (2023/2024), commencement and completion of Resilience course in the Pacific (2024) and commencement of Resilience course in Africa region (2024/2025); establishment of regional steering group in the Pacific
- PiRR Accompaniment in South Sudan and Malawi and a PiRR study visit in Kenya; PiRR Regional Steering Group meeting in Latin America & the Caribbean in Panama
- Delivery of webinars and advocacy presence at the UN Convention on the Status of Women; Anglican Communion Youth Network training/capacity development on gender justice in Jordan; engaging the Anglican Communion in the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence, Thursdays in Black and the Red Chair project
- Support of peace and advocacy initiatives in Sudan, South Sudan and DRC; orientation training of newly appointed Diocesan Peace and Justice desk officers in the Province of DRC
- Restarting the Anglican Global Migration Working Group and launching the Freedom Sunday resource
- Colloquium on Indigenous Theologies and Advocacy held in Brazil; developing anti-slavery and de-colonial readings of the Bible; delivery of a training of trainers for Reading the Bible with New Eyes – Contextual Bible Studies in the Philippines
- Contributing to the deepening of ethical conversations on emerging themes: legacy of colonialism and the slave trade; the Church and migration; climate change and the role of faith leaders; what is enough?
- The Communion Forest continues to flourish: launch in Central America; Francophone webinar, summer exhibition at Westminster Abbey; Communion Forest presentation at World Council of Churches; contribution of case study for UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16); Restor taken up as mapping tool for Communion Forest initiatives across the world; funding support from Westminster Abbey (UK) and the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (Canada)
- Contributing to the 2024 Season of Creation materials; participation in the global seminar for the Feast of God the Creator – a theological, liturgical and advocacy conversation in Assisi
- Rachel Carnegie steps down and Rob Dawes takes over as executive director
- Relief responses included: floods in Kenya, Brazil and Burundi; drought in Zimbabwe and Malawi; Hurricane Beryl in Barbados, Windward Islands and Jamaica; Cyclone Remal in Bangladesh; DRC Conflict; floods in Korea; Japan Earthquake; continued support of the response to the conflict situation in Gaza and West Bank, Sudan, and DRC.
2025
The story continues…
- Communion Forest facilitator for the Americas appointed