from our diocesan website:
Greetings to you all from Lambeth 2008.
It is a truly incredible experience to be here; there is so much to tell you and even more that we will explore together over the months to come.
In this first letter I would like to highlight a few things and commend them to your prayers.
Firstly, we were blessed by the ministry of ++Rowan in a three day retreat for the Bishops, two of which were in Canterbury cathedral. He spoke with great sincerity and depth on the issues facing us in the communion and of the role of the Bishop in the church. To be present in a place where Christian men and women have prayed together for hundreds of years was overwhelming and as we lifted our voices in the Lord's prayer - each in our own language, it was a truly Pentecost moment. Try to imagine the feeling yesterday morning as we sang the hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life”; we raised our voices (and some of us our hands) and sang "Yes Lord we believe that you are the Christ the Son of God" This is a place of prayer, Christ is active here and we are blessed daily.
Much has been said in the press of the need for decision and outcomes. I would remind you all that this is a long conference and we are being called over and over again to deep prayer, conversation and debate and we are truly waiting on God. As we all know, God's time, kairos, is not always our time, chronos. Therefore, each day we are called deeper into a confident trust in Jesus Christ to be present in all our words and in all our encounters. Please be patient as we present at Lambeth are called to be patient as we work together for a common mind in Christ.
The daily Bible studies have been a time of rich blessing as we consider various passages in the gospel of John and of our own contexts and situations.
By now I am sure you would like something more to give you a taste of Lambeth. I share with you some reflections taken from a variety of sessions and addresses. The following comments are reflections from my own notes but full texts of many addresses are on the Lambeth website.
We are called here to conversation where we acknowledge one to another the importance of this Anglican Communion. We believe in the communion as an inclusive community but where inclusivity does not equal anything goes. Even as we celebrate unity in diversity, we are challenged to ask ourselves what the limits are of such diversity, and to hold before us at all times the thought that God has called this Communion into being and has a purpose for it. We have been reminded that a divided church cannot with integrity preach a gospel of reconciliation to a broken world.
We are not here to reinforce one another's anxieties, but to fix our hope upon Jesus and to remind each other of the hope of what God has done, is doing and will do, in opening a new and living way in Jesus Christ. We are continually called to look at God's mission in the world and our part in that mission.
Each person at this conference and in the wider communion is called to be a place where God is revealed. For each one of us we ask 'where have you seen the Son of God revealed?' "How did you recognize him?"
I am more aware as the days go by of this precious time together, of being given a glimpse of the breadth and richness of the Anglican Communion and of the many faithful men and women giving their whole life to proclaiming the good news of Christ.
I ask each one of you reading this to please pray, pray for the body of Christ gathered here in Lambeth and for one another at home.
Pray for transformed relationships
Pray for new habits of patience, respect and understanding
Pray that we might be attentive and obedient to the liberating gift of God in Jesus
Pray with confidence that our beginnings and endings are in the hands of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen
+Jane
For readers interested in a view of Lambeth from another Canadian bishop, The Rt Rev Greg Kerr-Wilson has a blog here. Bishop Greg has been posting highlights from his days at the conference.
Ann Marie in the comments also points us to the daily updates of Bishop George Bruce of Ontario. His blog can be accessed via the Diocese of Ontario site.
The Right Reverend George Bruce is also blogging. You can get to his blog through the Diocese of Ontario website.
Love and Prayers,
Ann Marie
Posted by: Ann Marie | July 24, 2008 at 08:59 PM
thanks Ann Marie - I'll add a link in the post.
Posted by: joseph | July 25, 2008 at 01:34 PM