Adapted from ACNS
The Compass Rose Society will soon launch a campaign to raise a $10 million endowment to fund its annual commitment to the work of the Anglican Consultative Council. The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas and president of the society, announced the plan during the group’s annual meeting on Oct. 27-28 in London.
“This Communion is alive,” said the Most Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, recently appointed secretary general of the Anglican Communion. Idowu-Fearon said he was encouraged by his early explorations of the Communion, especially the prospect of adding several new provinces and the favorable response to Archbishop Justin Welby’s call for a Primates’ Meeting in January.
Michael Hart, a financial consultant and vice chairman of the Communion’s finance and administration committee, said that Compass Rose Society donations provided 13 percent of the charity’s unrestricted income in 2014.
The Most Rev. Thabo Makgoba, Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, gave an update on his province’s e-reader project, which the society is supporting. This initiative, launched in January 2014, promotes electronic learning to ordinands in the dioceses of the Western Cape and at the province’s principal residential college. To date, the society has contributed nearly $90,000 to this effort.
Canon David Porter, director for reconciliation at Lambeth Palace, described his work of supporting ways to renew conversations and relationships about deeply held differences within the Communion. Archbishop Welby has made reconciliation a priority for his ministry.
During a visit to Lambeth Palace, members heard from Archbishop Welby about the recently established Community of St. Anselm, reconciliation in the Anglican Communion, and the ministry of Coventry Cathedral. He also highlighted the ministry of payday loan alternatives provided by local church communities in the U.K.
At St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Rev. Canon Mark Oakley, discussed the cathedral’s work in the local community. He spoke about the cathedral’s ministry of reconciliation, describing new sculptures in St. Paul’s and highlighting the plight of those in Gaza, Baghdad, and Damascus. A sung Eucharist followed his remarks.
Bishop Doyle, Bishop of Texas said the society will next meet October 3-4, 2016, followed by a study trip to Rome to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Anglican Centre in Rome.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Consultative Council, and secretary general do not lack opportunities to meet the challenges of reconciliation, mission and the need for ever deepening spiritual growth presented by the global church,” Doyle said. “The question remains: Who will stand in the breach between the needs of the Anglican Communion and the resources to undertake its ministry? The Compass Rose Society is looking for partners to join us and meet this need squarely with the financial donations required to undergird the vision of Communion, to which I firmly believe God has invited us.”
Since its founding in 1997, the society has donated more than $8.8 million to support the mission of the Anglican Communion.
In 2014, the society contributed nearly $500,000, including gifts to the Anglican Consultative Council; the Diocese of South Africa; the Diocese of Cape Coast, Ghana; St. George’s College Jerusalem; the Diocese of Jerusalem; the Diocese of Malawi; and the International Anglican Women’s Network.
The society elected three directors to four-year terms:
The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Bishop of Texas
President of the society
Carlos R. Muñoz
White Plains, New York
James W. Stevens
Houston
The society’s other directors are:
B. Norris Battin
Newport Beach, California
Michael J. Brown
Montevideo, Uruguay
Bruce F. Chambers
Treasurer, Canadian Compass Rose Society
The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope
Provost, Washington National Cathedral
First vice president of the society
David J. H. Gannicott
President, Canadian Compass Rose Society
The Rev. Canon Michele V. Hagans
Associate rector, Grace Church, Silver Spring, Maryland
The Rev. Rick Lord
Rector, Holy Comforter Church, Vienna, Virginia
The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson
Former secretary general of the Anglican Communion
Vice president and past president of the society
Charles M. Royce
Riverside, Connecticut
The Rev. Pamela Cotrell Shier
Rector, Prince of Peace Church, Salem, West Virginia
The Most Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon
Secretary general of the Anglican Communion
Davis Tse
Central Hong Kong
Della Wager Wells
Atlanta
Antonia Wong Tuen-Yee
Central Hong Kong
Beverley Patterson Wood
Aurora, Ontario