Annual lecture to salute Rowan Williams

A new international lecture series in honour of the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, will be launched this year by Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC).

The “Dr. Rowan Williams Annual CUAC Lecture” will commemorate Williams’ 10 years as Archbishop of Canterbury. He steps down in December.

Williams will deliver the inaugural lecture at Canterbury Christ Church University, which was established in 1962 and specializes in the public services. The archbishop’s talk will focus on the role of Anglican universities.

This high-profile lecture will take place Sept. 28 in downtown Canterbury at Augustine House, the university’s library and student services centre. It will form part of the university’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The address will also be video-linked to CUAC institutions across the world. Information on how to access the video link will be released before the event.

In subsequent years, the annual CUAC lecture will rotate among different regions and be hosted by member colleges and universities.

“This annual lecture will be a means for CUAC to strengthen the identity of Anglican universities globally,” said the Rt. Rev. Henry Parsley Jr., former Episcopal bishop of Alabama and the CUAC board member who proposed the lectureship.

The Rev. Canon James Callaway, CUAC’s general secretary, added, “By rotating among the regions of the CUAC chapters, this will be a global voice seeking the commonalities of Anglican higher education that take shape in such diverse cultures. Because of the gospel, we all have common roots.”

CUAC is a worldwide association of more than 130 institutions of higher education that were founded by and retain ties to branches of the Anglican Communion. With institutions on all five continents, CUAC promotes cross-cultural contacts for the exchange of ideas and the joint development of educational programs among member institutions.

As a network of the Anglican Communion, CUAC leverages its global presence to help the faculty and students of its member institutions become better citizens of an increasingly diverse world.