Photo: Bishop Chuck Murphy near entrance to Lambeth Palace


The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, this morning warmly greeted the leadership of the Anglican Mission in The Americas (AMiA) and welcomed them to Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop's official residence and office in London. Following a few minutes of informal conversation over coffee, Archbishop Williams invited the two AMiA bishops, the Rt. Rev. Chuck Murphy and the Rt. Rev. TJ Johnston, to share the work and ministry of the Anglican Mission with an advisory council that he has established to gather information on developments within the Anglican Communion. While that meeting was occurring, the Archbishop of Canterbury consulted privately with the two sponsoring Primates of the Anglican Mission, the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda and the Most Rev. Yong Ping Chung of South East Asia. At the conclusion of the conversations, Archbishop Williams again connected briefly with the AMiA bishops as they departed Lambeth Palace.

Bishop Murphy, the Anglican Mission's Chairman, felt the time was very helpful. "We're very grateful for the opportunity to meet and talk with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to share with his advisors the growing work and ministry of the Anglican Mission in The Americas. I feel the conversations created increased understanding and were constructive." Archbishop Yong shared the positive evaluation: "Our meeting was very warm and covered a wide range of topics. Archbishop Kolini and I are thankful, especially, for the opportunity we had to pray, together again, with Archbishop Williams."

Last year the Archbishop of Canterbury invited Archbishops Kolini and Yong to arrange for a conversation with the leadership of the Anglican Mission. The original meeting, scheduled for last October, was postponed due to an emergency meeting of the Anglican Communion's top leaders that same week, called after the confirmation, by the Episcopal Church USA, of the election of Gene Robinson as bishop in New Hampshire—the first openly gay bishop in the history of the church.

The Anglican Mission in The Americas is a missionary outreach of the Province of Rwanda, under the oversight of two Anglican Primates that is focused on the 130 million un-churched people in the United States. Committed to church planting and evangelism, the AMiA currently numbers 65 congregations nationwide.

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