"What I would really most like to see in this years Lambeth Conference is the sense that this is essentially a spiritual encounter," said the Archbishop of Canterbury in a video statement Wednesday. "A time when people are encountering God as they encounter one another, a time when people will feel that their life of prayer and witness is being deepened and their resources are being stretched.
"Not a time when we are being besieged by problems that need to be solved and statements that need to be finalised, but a time when people feel that they are growing in their ministry."
The Lambeth Conference is a once-a-decade gathering that will take place at the University of Kent from July 16 through August 3. The conference is primarily for bishops from across the 77-million member Anglican body.
In the months ahead of the global gathering five Anglican archbishops from Africa and South America threatened to boycott Lambeth, protesting the participation of bishops from the United States who supported the controversial consecration of V Gene Robinson, an openly gay bishop, in 2003.
They and a group of other Anglican conservatives have scheduled an international gathering of their own, GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference), in June. Although some bishops plan to attend both conferences, the June meeting is seen as a alternative to Lambeth.
