Although the council has no governing authority, it is regarded by Anglicans as one of the three main focuses of authority and unity in the worldwide Anglican Church. At the opening, the council welcomed two new provinces, Mexico and South East Asia. Provinces are geographic regions in the church, headed by a chief bishop called a primate, and usually comprised of several dioceses. The council maintains offices and staff in London and assists Anglican churches throughout the world in a variety of ways, including patterns of worship, ecumenical talks with other churches and faiths and helping Anglicans around the world understand each other better through various kinds of communication. The world-wide Anglican Communion was issued a challenge today to get its own house in order quickly so it can carry out its mission work throughout the world in the next millennium with confidence.
Some places have literally no food, no medicine, no nothing.
He addressed the twin problems of spiritual and physical deprivation, he said evangelism needs to have a holistic approach. Others, he pointed out, are providing their own solutions. New Age religions and fundamentalism of many kinds are staking their claims in many societies today. Ours is a timely and vibrant faith, ours is a living God, ours is a powerful testimony, ours is a global family. With respect to social and justice issues, Canon Peterson noted that Anglicans are already involved deeply in helping meet some of the world's problems.