church life / faith and order
anglo-german
exchange visit
In May 1908, over 130 German church representatives - Protestant, Roman Catholic and Free Church - visited England and Scotland, which was followed by a similar visit by British churches to Germany the following year. It was at a time of rising tensions and military competition between the two countries, and the exchange visits aimed to help the churches promote better understanding and peace between the two peoples.
Between 28-29 May 2008, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, in partnership with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen (ACK) 
, will be hosting a celebration of this important centenary in London and Cambridge (with a similar event for next year in Germany).
A background paper to this event, written by the Revd Dr Keith Clements and first published in the Ecumenical Review, is available for download:
A Notable Ecumenical Anniversary: The Anglo-German Exchange Visits of 1908-09 (PDF) [Help]
A group of 12 representatives of the German Churches have been invited for a 4 day visit. On 28 May a day conference, chaired by the Very Revd Dr John Arnold, will be held at St Katharine's Foundation in East London looking at British and German Identities in the New Europe from a Christian perspective.
There will be two speakers from the visiting German group. The Rt Revd William Kenney, Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, and the Revd Canon Dr Charlotte Methuen, Canon Theologian at Gloucester, will speak from a British perspective.
The following day, 29 May, the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge is hosting two lectures - by Professor Jurgen Moltmann and by Professor Richard Bauckham.
For further details of the programme please contact
.
A report on the exchange visit will appear here after the event.
