Anglican Consultative Council’s Standing Committee meets in Jordan
[Anglican Communion News Service] The Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council is in Amman, Jordan, Oct. 13-15 for its annual in-person meeting.
The Anglican Consultative Council is one of the four “instruments” of the Anglican Communion. It advises on the organization and structures of the Anglican Communion and seeks to develop common policies concerning the world mission of the church.
The Standing Committee serves as the executive arm of the ACC, charged with advancing its work between its plenary meetings every three years.
The meeting is being hosted by the Rev. Maggie Swinson, chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, and by the Most Rev. Hosam Naoum, vice chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, as well as the archbishop in Jerusalem and primate of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
The meeting began on Oct. 13 with a pilgrimage to Al-Maghtas, or “Bethany beyond the Jordan.” A place of spiritual and historic significance, it is believed to be the location where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. While there, members worshipped together and met with the general director of the Baptism Site Commission, Rustom Mkhjian.
Earlier that day, the group also attended a worship service at the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, located in Salt, Jordan, and supported by the Diocese of Jerusalem. The school offers young people who are deaf or deaf-blind the opportunity to access therapeutic services, academic studies and vocational training programs.
During its meeting, the committee will discuss matters relating to the Anglican Communion, hear updates from Anglican Communion Office staff and spend time in prayer and Bible study. The Rev. Wadie Far, a priest at St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem and originally from Jordan, is facilitating Bible Studies during the meeting.
The committee will also discuss plans for the next meeting of the full Anglican Consultative Council in 2026, which will be hosted by the Church of Ireland in Belfast.
Looking ahead to that meeting, Swinson said, “Among the things that we’ve been doing is to plan for our ACC meeting in Belfast next year, which is very exciting…. we’re going to be in a place that understands reconciliation and repentance …because of its relatively recent history….it will be good for us to learn from and to engage with those things while we’re there.
“I’m also looking forward to us being able to further some of the work that we are doing as an Anglican Communion, as we set new visions and goals for our various networks and commissions and staff programs.”
Naoum described the Standing Committee meeting as “wonderful” and said that he is “looking forward to the meetings to come later this year and also next year in preparation for the next ACC meeting in Belfast.”
Naoum invited Anglicans to “continue to pray for the Anglican Communion, for the Anglican Consultative Council and for all the people who are doing fantastic ministry for the mission of God in this world.”
Speaking about the meeting, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said, “It’s good to meet with members of the Standing Committee as they hear reports of what we have been doing, but also as we prepare for the next meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council.”
He added, “One of the memorable things for me was to go to the baptismal site in the River Jordan and the renewing of our baptismal vows, which was an important part as we prepared ourselves at the start of this meeting.”
