Lambeth Conference
will focus on equipping
bishops for mission
First of a nine-part series on the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Communion
By Matthew Davies
W
hen the bishops of the Anglican
Communion convene in Canterbury this summer for the
2008 Lambeth Conference, they will find
a gathering differing in many ways from its
predecessors and one that is intended to
strengthen their sense of a shared Anglican
identity and
help to equip
them for their
roles as leaders
in mission.
Archbishop
of Canterbury
Rowan Williams has invited more than
800 bishops to
attend the July
16 – August 3
conference on
Rowan Williams
the campus of
the University of Kent in southeast England. A separate conference for the bishops’
spouses will run concurrently.
Unlike previous conferences, the 2008
gathering will include fewer plenary sessions, opting instead for smaller study
groups where the bishops can interact on
a more personal level.
The conference will begin with three
retreat days “in which we can spend time
together in quiet and begin to direct our
minds towards the central issues of faith,"
said Williams.
The main conference days are split into
four sections: group Bible study, expanded
group meetings, self-selecting groups and
optional “fringe” events. Bible study groups
will include about eight bishops and will
be followed by expanded groups of about
40 bishops.
For the self-selecting groups, the bishops may choose between various workshops, seminars or discussions that will
focus on a particular conference topic.
Fringe events will provide an opportunity
for entertainment and fellowship through
film screenings, theater productions, dinners and discussions.
According to the Lambeth Conference
Design Group, which has met regularly
since February 2004 in preparation for the
2008 gathering, the bishops will address issues such as the Millennium Development
Goals, HIV/AIDS, ethical/green living,
Anglican identity and the Anglican covenant, the Listening Process, and ecumenical and interfaith relations.
The conference “will not resemble a parliamentary debating chamber with a string
of resolutions but will aim to provide time
and space for spiritual reflection, learning,
sharing and discerning,” the group notes.
Lambeth Conference
will focus on equipping
bishops for mission
First of a nine-part series on the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Communion
By Matthew Davies
W
hen the bishops of the Anglican
Communion convene in Canterbury this summer for the
2008 Lambeth Conference, they will find
a gathering differing in many ways from its
predecessors and one that is intended to
strengthen their sense of a shared Anglican
identity and
help to equip
them for their
roles as leaders
in mission.
Archbishop
of Canterbury
Rowan Williams has invited more than
800 bishops to
attend the July
16 – August 3
conference on
Rowan Williams
the campus of
the University of Kent in southeast England. A separate conference for the bishops’
spouses will run concurrently.
Unlike previous conferences, the 2008
gathering will include fewer plenary sessions, opting instead for smaller study
groups where the bishops can interact on
a more personal level.
The conference will begin with three
retreat days “in which we can spend time
together in quiet and begin to direct our
minds towards the central issues of faith,"
said Williams.
The main conference days are split into
four sections: group Bible study, expanded
group meetings, self-selecting groups and
optional “fringe” events. Bible study groups
will include about eight bishops and will
be followed by expanded groups of about
40 bishops.
For the self-selecting groups, the bishops may choose between various workshops, seminars or discussions that will
focus on a particular conference topic.
Fringe events will provide an opportunity
for entertainment and fellowship through
film screenings, theater productions, dinners and discussions.
According to the Lambeth Conference
Design Group, which has met regularly
since February 2004 in preparation for the
2008 gathering, the bishops will address issues such as the Millennium Development
Goals, HIV/AIDS, ethical/green living,
Anglican identity and the Anglican covenant, the Listening Process, and ecumenical and interfaith relations.
The conference “will not resemble a parliamentary debating chamber with a string
of resolutions but will aim to provide time
and space for spiritual reflection, learning,
sharing and discerning,” the group notes.
Not a lawmaking body
The gathering, which has been convened roughly once every 10 years since
1867, “has never been a lawmaking body
in the strict sense, and it wasn’t designed
to be one,” Williams said at the January
launch of the conference program. “Every
local Anglican province around the world
has its own independent system of church
law, and there is no
supreme court,”
During a preconference hospitality initiative, every
bishop and spouse
attending the Lambeth Conference and
Spouses Conference
will enjoy the hospitality of an English,
Scottish or Welsh
diocese.
Citing the work
of Anglican organizations such as
the Mothers’ Union
and the partnership
relations
between
bishops and dioceses
from different parts of the communion,
Williams said, “These close and personal
relationships, which are not often in the
headlines because they simply carry on doing the work they set out to do, are part of
the solid ground that helps us cope with
the turbulence in other areas. The program
of pre-Lambeth hospitality which is being offered by local churches here in the
United Kingdom will help to consolidate
these relationships for the future, in ways
that will respect the integrity of all.”
Some bishops and primates have indicated their intention to boycott the Lam-
beth Conference. But Williams has said
that, “in spite of the painful controversies
which have clouded the life of the communion for the last few years, there remains,
as many people have repeatedly said, a very
strong loyalty to each other and a desire to
stay together.”
New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly gay man ordained a bishop
in 2003, has not been
invited to attend the
conference as an official participant, but
he plans to visit Canterbury.
Expressing
his
gratitude for the hard
work of the Design
Group and Sue Parks,
Lambeth Conference
manager, Williams described the program as
“unusually varied and
original” and said it
would provide “a fresh
style of working which
will allow us both to
confront differences
honestly and to be focused anew on our primary tasks of service
and mission.”
The Rev. Ian Douglas, a member of the
design group and Angus Dun professor of
world Christianity at Episcopal Divinity
School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said,
“Conversation across differences for the
sake of building up the body of Christ and
strengthening the Anglican Communion is
exactly what we need right now.”
Matthew Davies is editor of Episcopal
Life Online and Episcopal Life Media correspondent for the Anglican Communion.
Episcopal Life Focus
Online video reports on the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church
See it all at http://episcopalchurch.org/ELifeFocus
Not a lawmaking body
The gathering, which has been convened roughly once every 10 years since
1867, “has never been a lawmaking body
in the strict sense, and it wasn’t designed
to be one,” Williams said at the January
launch of the conference program. “Every
local Anglican province around the world
has its own independent system of church
law, and there is no
supreme court,”
During a preconference hospitality initiative, every
bishop and spouse
attending the Lambeth Conference and
Spouses Conference
will enjoy the hospitality of an English,
Scottish or Welsh
diocese.
Citing the work
of Anglican organizations such as
the Mothers’ Union
and the partnership
relations
between
bishops and dioceses
from different parts of the communion,
Williams said, “These close and personal
relationships, which are not often in the
headlines because they simply carry on doing the work they set out to do, are part of
the solid ground that helps us cope with
the turbulence in other areas. The program
of pre-Lambeth hospitality which is being offered by local churches here in the
United Kingdom will help to consolidate
these relationships for the future, in ways
that will respect the integrity of all.”
Some bishops and primates have indicated their intention to boycott the Lam-
beth Conference. But Williams has said
that, “in spite of the painful controversies
which have clouded the life of the communion for the last few years, there remains,
as many people have repeatedly said, a very
strong loyalty to each other and a desire to
stay together.”
New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly gay man ordained a bishop
in 2003, has not been
invited to attend the
conference as an official participant, but
he plans to visit Canterbury.
Expressing
his
gratitude for the hard
work of the Design
Group and Sue Parks,
Lambeth Conference
manager, Williams described the program as
“unusually varied and
original” and said it
would provide “a fresh
style of working which
will allow us both to
confront differences
honestly and to be focused anew on our primary tasks of service
and mission.”
The Rev. Ian Douglas, a member of the
design group and Angus Dun professor of
world Christianity at Episcopal Divinity
School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said,
“Conversation across differences for the
sake of building up the body of Christ and
strengthening the Anglican Communion is
exactly what we need right now.”
Matthew Davies is editor of Episcopal
Life Online and Episcopal Life Media correspondent for the Anglican Communion.
Episcopal Life Focus
Online video reports on the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church
See it all at http://episcopalchurch.org/ELifeFocus