[Ely Announce] Lambeth Conference - From the Bishop of Ely

Wed Aug 6 14:59:59 GMT 2008

LAMBETH CONFERENCE 2008 

On returning home - impressions from the Bishop of Ely

It is too early to gauge the consequences and long-term effects of the Lambeth Conference, though no doubt much will be written in the months to come. What follows is a report written  shortly after returning to Ely.

Along with a number of other Dioceses, we offered hospitality before the Conference. Most visiting Bishops were with us for the whole five-day period, but a number came and went. Our total number was nine, including Bishops from the USA, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Australia, South India and Japan. The pre-Lambeth gathering was an important part of the whole Conference, and gave the opportunity to get to know a number of Bishops well before we were submerged in a Conference of 1,500 people. Can I thank all those who played a part in receiving and providing hospitality for this group. We continued to meet and share and exchange our impressions of the Conference as it proceeded.

There can be no doubt that, as a leading article in The Times recently said, 'the Conference has gone far better than the Archbishop or even the most optimistic Anglicans could have imagined'. It was a remarkable and in many senses unexpected success. The Press, who arrived ready to file their obituaries of the Anglican Communion, found they were writing a very different story. It is clear that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the vision and spiritual stature of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Conference has been a considerable success, and that the Anglican Communion has made remarkable and unexpected progress.

With memories of the 1998 Conference still in his mind, the Archbishop was determined that this time, it should not be a quasi-political occasion. The Lambeth Conference was to be a meeting under God, where the single agenda item was the Lordship of Christ and the extension of his Kingdom in mission. There were 650 Bishops present, called together to listen as much as to speak. It was sad that there were some absentees. The figure used by the Press of 230 includes those who were ill, those dioceses which have no current appointment, and those too elderly to travel - the number of those who actually declined the invitation was much smaller, though sadly included three English Bishops.

A number of Bishops were present who had attended the GAFCON Conference, and one said to me that he was surprised at GAFCON by the breadth and generosity of that Conference, and by its congruence with large parts of the Lambeth Conference.

By beginning the Lambeth Conference 2008 with a three-day retreat in Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop signalled that worship, prayer, and the development of our spiritual life should lie at the centre of this Conference. Throughout, his theme was that we should choose life, and that we should speak words of life to one another, rather than those of death. Unity was preferable to schism, and unity was a prize well worth struggling for. The Conference was characterised by a spirit of friendship, a willingness to learn and understand the different contexts in which we work, but above all, a determination by the majority of Bishops to hold together and to seek God's will as we move forward.

After the retreat, there followed twelve days which had a similar pattern. First, morning prayer (6.15 a.m.), followed by the Eucharist, celebrated by different Provinces. This was followed by an hour and a quarter of Bible Study. The Bible Study groups were one of the deepest and most important experiences of the Conference. 

The group I was in included Bishops from Zululand, the Seychelles, South East Florida, Nelson (New Zealand), North California, and Bishop Winston Halapua (Principal of the Theological College in Auckland, New Zealand, for the Polynesian Province). Each day, we studied the Gospel reading from St John's Gospel containing one of the 'I am' sayings. This was seen as the focus of each day, on which we had a homily at the Eucharist and helpful notes.

Half-way through the morning, four Bible Study groups formed into one Indaba Group. 'Indaba' is a Zulu word for 'a purposeful meeting to address matters of common concern'. Those Bishops who are more naturally used to speaking than to listening found this a difficult experience, and it took some time for the Groups to settle. A combination of daily topics and well-prepared leadership eventually made the Groups function successfully. Each Indaba Group had a designated 'listener', who conveyed the content and nature of the discussion to the central Reflection Group, who produced the document which is a record of where the majority of those at the Conference felt they stood on the central issues (see Lambeth Indaba www.lambethconference.org/reflections/document.cfm). 

In the afternoons, there was a wide variety of groups addressing other issues, and in the evening there was a major lecture. A seventeen-and-a-half hour day if you were present for everything.

Two aspects that formed a continuing thread through the Conference were those of mission and support for the Millennium Development Goals. This is what the Anglican Communion does in its day to day life in the wider world. The march down Whitehall past Parliament to Lambeth Palace was deeply impressive. As one policeman said to Sheila and me, it is rare to have a demonstration in favour of something. The significance of the Millennium Development Goals was reinforced at many points in the Conference, and when the Bishops gathered in front of Lambeth Palace, we were addressed by the Prime Minister. It was a remarkable speech, in which he demonstrated his deep concern and great knowledge of these issues; it was greatly appreciated by the Bishops.

As the Conference proceeded, it was impossible not to be aware that we had the privilege of being present at a very significant occasion - an occasion at which it can truly be said that the Holy Spirit had led the Church through and around its difficulties into a new place.

Many expected that the Anglican Communion would not survive the Conference, but it was clear that the vast majority were determined that we should stay together within the Communion, and behind the Archbishop's leadership. Whilst there was no expectation that all the problems would be solved, there was a confidence that a new way of being the Church was emerging, based on a willingness to listen and participate in the struggle to grapple with these issues. This made the absences all the more painful.

Ten years ago, the Conference concluded with three days in which the Resolutions developed by the various Sections were debated in a plenary session and voted on. Hurriedly written and densely worded Resolutions were passed by an assembly of people, many of whom could not have been aware of the implications of the actions, and were unable to follow the proceedings or take part in them. A moment lodged in my memory, is the occasion when a Sudanese Bishop tried to speak about violence and warfare (his wife had been killed a month beforehand), but was prevented from doing so because he had not put his name down to speak two days beforehand. It was the Archbishop's determination that the end of this Conference should be different that shaped its structure.

The Anglican Covenant, has been developed since the Windsor Report of 2004, and has been refined at various subsequent meetings. This document was examined by the Bishops, they did not vote on it, and the process of refining the Covenant goes on (possibly for some years). It was surprising that there was such broad support for so much of the Covenant, and it is now referred to the Anglican Consultative Council in September, and will be seen by the Provinces and Dioceses after that - so that we will see it in due course.  

Alongside the Covenant, there are proposals for a Faith and Order Commission to deal with matters of doctrine, and for a Pastoral Forum to deal with matters of discipline. In addition, there will be an Anglican Development Fund. There was much discussion of the four means by which the Anglican Communion is bound together (the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lambeth Conference; the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates' Meeting). In some quarters, there is concern that the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in all this needs further examination. This is not the first time such issues have been raised, but this is work that will have to be addressed in the future.

 A part of the Covenant process was to agree that there should be a moratorium in three areas: 

  a.. on the election and consent to the consecration of a candidate for the episcopate living in a same-gender relationship

  a.. on public rites of blessing of same-sex unions

  a.. on further intervention by Bishops in Provinces, Dioceses and parishes other than their own

Whilst there were still a very few Bishops willing to step outside and seek a platform elsewhere (their comments were duly relayed by the Press), the level of consensus on the proposed Covenant came as a surprise to the Conference organisers. Whilst the problems that beset the Communion have not been overcome - and there are certainly Bishops who are saying that they are not able to accepts of the moratoria - nonetheless, it was clear that there was a strong determination by the majority that it should work, and that the means to guarantee this end should be provided. 

So what does this mean for us in Ely?

  a.. First, and perhaps most important, the Lambeth Conference 2008 has established a new way in which the Church can conduct its business. Bounded by prayer and attention to the Bible, the Conference adopted a method which, though initially the subject of some criticism, allowed substantial progress to be made.

  a.. The Lambeth Conference has put new heart into the Anglican Communion, significantly raised its profile, and strengthened its internal structures. The widespread agreement of the moratoria indicates some change of direction in the thinking of many in the Communion. 

  a.. Those who attended had the privilege of meeting Bishops from around the world, of learning a great deal about the context of their work, and sharing in prayer and study with an inspiring and deeply committed group of people. 

  a.. When the Covenant eventually reaches its final draft and is adopted across the Provinces, the Church will have been placed in a new position. As one Bishop said, 'We have never really had an Anglican Communion. It's starting now.' Another Bishop in my Bible Study group said, 'The Bishops did not allow matters of sex and gender, schism and separation to dominate the agenda. Whilst the difficulties and the burdens remain, we now feel that they are bearable because of the fellowship that has been developed, and because there is in view a structure through which they can be addressed, and a hope that we can proceed forward together.' 

+Anthony

August 2008 