Connecting our Mission of Anglican Schooling Globally
The Revd Peter Laurence OAM, Chief Executive Officer
What makes a school Anglican?
It sounds like a simple question, but when you bring together Anglican education leaders from 11 Provinces and 12 countries, the answers aren’t necessarily the same. How very ‘Anglican’ not to agree!
This was one of the key questions explored at the inaugural Anglican Communion Schools’ Network (ACSN) Symposium, held in London from 30 September to 2 October.
I have the privilege of serving as Convenor of ACSN and our symposium, alongside our very own Archbishop Kay, who is the Chair of the Global Network.
Under the theme Anglican Schools as Places of Mission and Ministry, we gathered to share our experiences of Anglican schools’ education across the Communion and explore what we may learn from one another.
Each participant reported on Anglican schooling in their Province. These reports revealed the remarkable range of contexts in which our schools serve and the common challenges and convictions which unite us. They sparked discussions about the place of faith in our schools and what Anglican Identity looks like in practice…when it is truly lived.
One highlight of the symposium was our visit to Lambeth Palace, where the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, addressed us on the place of schools in the Church’s mission. She encouraged us to be confident in the mission and ministry of Anglican schools, discussed the importance of building connections across the Communion and affirmed our schools’ contribution to the mission of the Church.
Dame Sarah led Evening Prayer in The Crypt at Lambeth, truly a privileged experience for delegates.
Prayer and theological reflection were central to our three days together. The Reverend Canon Dr Stephen Spencer, Director of Theology and Implementation at the Anglican Communion Office, led our daily Bible studies, focusing on the role of young people in Scripture.
We also heard from The Reverend Dr Jamie Hawkey, Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey, who drew on the Rule of St Benedict and its influence on communities of hospitality and education, while also challenging us to consider contemporary issues, including artificial intelligence and its growing place in the lives of students and schools.
The symposium also reminded me of the value of relationships across the Anglican Communion. Here in Australia, we are fortunate to have built relationships across over 160 Anglican schools through the peak body Anglican Schools Australia, a Network of our General Synod. The ACSN offers an opportunity to extend these relationships globally, bringing together people who work in very different contexts yet share a common mission and purpose, therein having much to offer one another.
It is also valuable to hear how colleagues in other countries approach similar challenges. Likewise, Australian Anglican schools have opportunities to share their experiences and help shape Anglican education more broadly.
The symposium was an important first face-to-face gathering for the Network, but our work is only beginning. We will continue to meet online to share developments, explore common interests and consider how the Network can best support Anglican education across the Communion.
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We will hold our next symposium in New York in November 2027, aligned with an Episcopal (Anglican) Identity Summit hosted by the National Association of Episcopal Schools.
Our time together at this inaugural symposium was truly blessed by God. Although our schools differ considerably, we share a commitment to living out our Anglican identity every day. It allowed us to explore that commitment together. I look forward to seeing where these conversations lead in the years ahead.