Time off at the Conference

Saturday afternoon and Sunday have been quieter days here-a chance to stand back from the routine of the conference and take stock. Where have we got to and what do we want from the remaining week?

So far we have had some space to be reflective during the opening days of the retreat in the Cathedral. We have settled well into the rhythm of Bible Study and we are trying to make the indaba process work, although most of those groups have decided in one way or the other to adapt the timetable in order to make space for real encounters. We have also had a huge quantity of special sessions of one sort or another covering every subject from global warming to ministry appraisal and some high profile plenaries on evangelisation.

So where are we now? Some appear to be feeling that the conference must now start to identify the main messages to send to the Anglican Communion. Others feel that the process of relationship building still has further to go before we shall be in a position to make a clear statement on behalf of all the members.

But certainly the next few days are going to be demanding and tiring as we seek as faithfully as we can to craft something which can represent the mind of the conference. We shall need an atmosphere of trust and prayer if we are to achieve that.

Marching for Justice

It’s not every day that Parliament Square sees a demonstration quite like yesterday. Hundreds of us in purple cassocks making our way to Lambeth Palace with placards calling for an end to poverty certainly attracted attention. But we walked with questions in our minds. Was a short walk in the sun really costing us anything except perhaps a slight loss of dignity? And could you justify the cost of all the coaches from Canterbury to London and the lunch for 1600 afterwards?

Well, the questions were answered by the Prime Minister in an impassioned speech. It is people of faith who can make the difference to the world more than others, he said. After 20 minutes of speaking in the broiling sun without notes he had convinced us all that on the issue of justice for the world’s poorest people, Gordon Brown is a conviction politician. And on his face we could see the evident genuine concern and determination to press the United Nations to move forward as quickly as possible to achieve the Millenium Development Goals.

This was the part of the Conference I had been waiting for since we were able to see for ourselves the power of a worldwide Communion when it speaks out with a common voice for those who have no voice. This above all is what the Communion is for, and this is the reason why we must do all we can to preserve and develop the Communion in spite of our differences.

Conference gets real

After a week on site here at Kent University campus it feels as if the debate is beginning to get down to the difficult issues which have so divided the Anglican Communion over the last 5 years. The first of the big “hearings” took place with several hundred bishops present as some were speaking about their concerns and hopes for the way the Communion might be held together. And it becomes clear as we did this that both sides of the “argument” have deep seated and genuine convictions about what should be done.

How do we live with these differences? It remains to be seen what answer emerges, but what is already clear is that there is no way forward without being ready to listen to each other very carefully. After all it is only during my lifetime that it has become lawful for gay people to have sex. In many African countries it remains a serious offence. No wonder they have difficulties understanding how this can be permitted of a bishop in North America. Yet for the Americans the issue is about mission. How, they ask, can you be a credible church in the States, speaking effectively to young people when the church is seen to homophobic?

Interlaced with all this is an ongoing debate about the authority of scripture which has been running for many years.

My question is this. Is there something about the Anglican Communion worth preserving even when we disagree profoundly about so much? And at this point in the Conference the answer is clear. Yes we have something immensely precious here which would be tragic if it were to be dismantled.

Tomorrow the focus changes as we all make our way to London to march through Parliament Square on the way to Lambeth Palace to draw attention to the Millenium Development Goals and turn our attention to the world’s poor instead of to ourselves.

Lambeth Day two

The sun has finally smiled on the Lambeth Conference and bishops from around the world are beginning to relax here. Today has seen an uplifting eucharist celebrated by the province of Central Africa including Zimbabwean bishops praying with us for the urgent talks in that troubled country. We have worked hard in our groups at understanding the role of bishops in evangelism, and we have heard this evening from Cardinal Diaz who is responsible in the Vatican for leading on evangelisation for the worldwide Catholic Church.

Archbishop Rowan with the diocesan young people

But best of all has been the presence of young people from Leicester at the Conference who came to share with some of the bishops the conversation called “The Lambeth Talk” which took place in Leicester during the week before the Conference. Amongst a choice of 30 self select groups today the Archbishop of Canterbury chose to join our young people for over an hour listening to their account of the international conversation of the previous week. And the media people came to interview some of the Youth Council for the Lambeth Journal to be shewn in tomorrow’s TV account of events.

Of course the notorious disputes of our Communion lie not far below the surface, but our young  people have helped to put much of that in perspective today.

Day one of the Lambeth Conference

It seems like a long time since 650 bishops arrived here at the University of Kent in Canterbury, but after a period of retreat and a magnificent opening service in Canterbury Cathedral, we finally got the conference proper under way today. Each day begins with the eucharist at the challenging time of 7.15 a.m. which means an early 20 minute walk for most of the english bishops from our rooms a mile or so from the “Big Top” where the worship takes place. Then comes a 75 minute Bible Study in small groups of 8 and then the brand new idea for this conference: the Indaba or Village Gathering where groups of 40 or so meet on the theme of the day. Today’s theme has been around Anglican Identity. So, as the newspapers ask- are we seeing the end of the Anglican Communion? It certainly doesn’t feel like it here where the energy, the pride in the Communion and respect for the Archbishop of Canterbury are everywhere to be seen. But we have 2 weeks still to go and most of the difficult questions are still to be discussed. Watch this space…