I’m not planning to join the “blogging bishops” with daily accounts from the Lambeth Conference. I have too much work and too poor a wireless connection for that!
I do agree with some of my colleagues that we are off to a good start. The spirit is good and Rowan Williams is providing thoughtful and strong leadership. It is much “whiter” conference than in 1998 due to the absence of nearly 200 bishops mainly from Nigeria and Uganda. That is a great sadness and we include them in our prayers every day.
There is still much diversity however in the over 600 bishops who are here, and the Bible Study groups are, as usual, rich and deeply moving as we share stories of ministry and open the Word together. The two day retreat in Canterbury Cathedral was a great way to begin. It was nice to spend “quality time” there, free of tourists, to really pray and explore the space.
Many ecumenical guests here: of course our full communion partners like the Church of North and South India, the Old Catholics in Europe, the Philippine Independent Church, and the Lutherans. I am “host bishop” for Mark Hanson, the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA and President of the Lutheran World Federation. We will be joined by many others next week, including Cardinals Diaz and Kasper among others.
I am hopeful for this conference…and for the communion. We won’t solve all our problems here, but it can be a healing time…At least that is my prayer.
That We All May Be One 
July 19, 2008 at 2:01 am |
While I wish you all the best and my prayers have included yourself and my former TEC Bishops and my current Anglican Primate and a bishop I signed up for in our CANA parish prayer list, I am hard pressed to see how any progress towards reconciliation can be made when everyone is bound and determined to have their own way. If Lambeth comes off without further fracturing of the Anglican Communion that would be the best that could be hoped for — I suppose it’s a good thing we have a God who works miracles.