Lambeth 5

Wednesday, July 30


Dear Friends in Christ:

Grace and peace!

The work of the Conference has been going forward steadily--since we resumed last Friday, the topics for study/discussion have been "The Bishop and Other Churches," "The Bishop and the Environment," and "The Bishop, Christian Witness, and Other Faiths, and, together with the Spouses, "Abuse of Power." Today was to have been "The Bishop and the Bible in Mission," but the growing pressure in and around my Indaba Group was such that we set aside the directions and the prepared material, and plunged deeply and honestly into the subject of the Church and homosexuality. Since tomorrow's official topic is "The Bishop and Human Sexuality," I think it's safe to say we'll see a continuation of today's very intense but very respectful discussion.

Outside, at lunch, things were also intense--just a bit less respectful: I was confronted by one of my fellow U.S. bishops who, as an Irish bishop at our table later observed, seemed highly interested in finding an opponent to publicly demolish. He struck me as being on a theological search and destroy mission. Actually, after some give and take, it ended up being friendly enough, but it brought to mind what several bishops from around the Communion have expressed after having observed TEC bishops addressing each other in the various hearings and forums: they are often appalled at how we too-often treat each other. I hear from them surprise at discovering how extremely diverse we are, and shock that we are often so harsh with one another.


These are gross generalizations, of course. But it is all part of being helped to see yourself through the eyes of others. One of the very great gifts of a gathering like this is that it offers us such a lens. The Pre-Lambeth Hospitality Initiative, which took us to Bristol, was a most gracious preparation for just this sort of thing. Frequently, we are finding that fellow Anglicans have a seriously incomplete, misinformed or even distorted understanding of TEC and its actions. Add to that much latent resentment towards the U.S. in general, and considerable antipathy towards the Bush administration in particular--both of which abound here--and it makes for some pretty challenging conversations. Still, I find that most people I have encountered here really want to have those conversations, and are really open to what we have to say. They want to talk, they want to stay together, they want to work together in mission, and they want to know that we want these things also.

I believe God has been gracing this work so far. May God continue to do so, as these final days are given to a continuation our discussion of human sexuality, serious work on the Covenant, and to the crafting of our 'mind of the house' statements. I deeply appreciate your prayers.

God bless and keep you.

+Barry