Worshippers and community leaders will discuss how to create better communities around Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight after hearing from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Rowan Williams

The Most Rev Rowan Williams will visit Portsmouth’s Anglican Cathedral for a day-long conference next Friday (November 17) entitled ‘Seeking the Soul of Community’.

The day was originally designed to be for clergy, but the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Kenneth Stevenson, asked clergy to bring community leaders from their own parishes to hear what the archbishop has to say, ask questions and make their own contributions. Around 500 people are expected to attend.

Representatives from other denominations, other faiths, the police, legal system, education, health service, politics, business, the military, the media and the voluntary sector from across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have been invited, as well as the headteachers of all the Diocese of Portsmouth’s 49 Church of England schools.

It will be the archbishop’s first formal visit to the diocese since he was enthroned in 2003. His predecessor, Lord Carey, made a three-day visit to our diocese during its 75th anniversary year in 2002.

The day takes place at our cathedral between 10.30am and 4.15pm. The archbishop will give two keynote addresses, receive feedback and answer questions. There will also be time for community leaders to talk in groups, and a final panel discussion that will feature the archbishop alongside local community leaders.

It is hoped that the group discussion and the reflections of the specially-invited panel will result in practical steps that can be taken to create or encourage more effective community living in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The day echoes the thinking behind the bishop’s Kairos initiative, which aimed to help the diocese’s 142 parishes and central staff team to re-think the Church’s mission and ministry - with meeting the physical, social and spiritual needs of our local communities the top priority.

Bishop Kenneth, who is suffering from leukaemia, will not be able to attend himself. But he said: “The event will appeal to all who are concerned about the wellbeing of our local society. I believe the archbishop’s visit provides us with an excellent and much-needed opportunity to reflect on the life of our local community.”