Moving the Anglican Communion

This chapter explores Anglican ethical and ecclesiological responses to migration under such headings as hospitality to the stranger and justice. Following an historical discussion of Church of England responses to refugees, the chapter argues that two motifs—incarnate responsibility and strange grace—lie at the heart of Anglican moral responses to migrants today. It then discusses the way in which migration is calling the Anglican Communion to rediscover its ecclesiological identity as a ‘moving church’ or via ecclesiae, and presents an ethnographic glimpse of contemporary Anglican practices at San Pedro/St Peter’s in Salem, Massachusetts. This congregation embodies responsibility towards migrants, delights in strange grace, and enacts a dynamic understanding of church.