| ANGLICANS fasted and prayed this week in preparation for yesterday’s UN special meeting in New York called by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to boost global commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.
The Archbishop of York was due to join the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the Anglican observer to the UN, Hellen Wangusa, in a walk of witness through central Manhattan to the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza.
Dr Sentamu was due to take part in a panel presentation on education for all at the UN, along with Gordon Brown and Bill Clinton. He was also due to preach at a special service of “Recommitment and Witness to the Achievement of the MDGs”, at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, to be attended by the Secretary of State for Development, Douglas Alexander.
On Wednesday, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a video of the Prime Minister’s call to the Anglican Communion to continue its campaign, begun in July during the Lambeth Conference, in New York, to back the Millennium Development Goals and the fight against poverty.
Dr Williams says in the video that Anglican churches were ready to work “in synergy” with governments and NGOs to deliver the MGDs. The Anglican Communion knew what it was like when one part suffered, he said. “The complications, the controversies and the frustrations of any one Church can affect us all.”
The generosity of one Church could also inspire all. “I cannot actually be happy and prosperous in the long run without my neighbour’s happiness and prosperity,” he said.
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, said it was up to those meeting in New York to live up to their promises made to the world’s poorest people. “We are praying for all leaders, including our own Prime Minister, that they will find the courage and unity needed to get achievement of the MDGs back on track.”
Around the world, other Anglicans held special services, fasted and offered prayers. The Primate of Canada, the Most Revd Fred Hiltz, and his Evangelical Lutheran counterpart, Bishop Susan Johnson, wrote to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ask him to restate his support for the Millennium Development Goals.
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