“Let the Anglican world be united and be a normal, respected Christian body.”
Wouldn’t that be so awesome? Normal. Heck, I’d love to feel normal about my church again. I haven’t felt that way in about six years…
Archive for July 22nd, 2008
I think the Bishops could all use a little air conditioning, cookies, cold milk, and a nap with a soft blankey. Everyone seems a bit grumpy from reports.
Based on what +Howe said, it looks like +Bruce is now the leader of the Communion Partners movement.
Oh, and the Lambeth Conference is bankrupt according to David Virtue:
It’s official. The Lambeth Conference is deeply in debt approaching $4 million dollars and church officials are scrambling to find the money.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the English bishops are ultimately accountable for finding the money and as of today they don’t have it. Media spokesperson Archbishop Philip Aspinall said a check for $100,000 had been received, but this is only the tip of what is needed if Anglican leaders want to hold off Bailiffs from Kent University appearing at their door looking for full payment.
Costs to bring the 600 bishops here from the four corners of the globe total $8.8 million plus travel costs. The Spouses conference is $2.4 million plus travel costs. There are 600 bursaries at $7,000 per head and more than half the money has yet to be raised to cover the full costs.
The speculation is that had the orthodox bishops come they could have covered the costs quite easily, but as they are not in tune with the theological Lambeth mindset, and have voluntarily withdrawn themselves, the liberals are hard-pressed to come up with the cash.
Apparently the American Episcopal Church has not been asked to cover the shortfall, and probably wouldn’t, as the bishops here are angry at the non-invitation of V. Gene Robinson the homosexual Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.
Reminds me of the old saying of Mr. Miagi in the inestimable movie, the Karate Kid:
Walk on left side of road, okay, walk on right side of road, okay, walk in middle of road, get squeshed like grape.
Oh. They have 12 more days of this conference still to go. 12 more days. I don’t think they will make it. Plain and simple.
Hopefully, +Bruce will drop us an email to let us know how things are going, but, if I know him, and assuming the reports below are correct, he’s probably under a great deal of stress right now. I ask that folks keep him in your prayers, in the hopes that the Lord Jesus will comfort and strengthen him.
Bishop Howe Had This To Say About Day 2 Of The Lambeth Conference
Published July 22, 2008 Uncategorized Leave a CommentInteresting stuff:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the second day of “Indaba” groups, there seems to be an incipient revolt stirring among us. Many of the Africans are saying, “This isn’t ‘Indaba’ at all! First of all, we are not a village, and we don’t know each other. And secondly, we are not attempting to solve a problem; we are talking in small groups about minor issues of little consequence.”
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu (himself an African, I believe from Uganda) is reported to have said, “If Indaba is such a great idea, why is Africa in such a mess?” There seems to be the beginning of some rumbling that we need to get to a decision-making moment in the life of the Conference.
Continue reading ‘Bishop Howe Had This To Say About Day 2 Of The Lambeth Conference’
Ruth Gledhill Reporting That Lambeth Is Almost Derailed
Published July 22, 2008 Uncategorized 1 CommentA snippit:
It’s about a hundred degrees and getting hotter in the Big Top at Lambeth but the £1 million black hole in the budget at the Lambeth Conference means they can’t afford air conditioning. Expect fainting bishops to be ferried out by ambulances any moment now, if they don’t start shooting each other first. The press conference this morning was a farce. Excommunications officers declined to comment on who is here for reasons of ’security’ but declined to say what the ’security’ issues were. Apparently there are some Nigerian bishops at the conference but we are not allowed to know who they are. Even the totally harmless and innocuous Church Press here are being denied access to the evening Eucharists.
****
The conference is falling apart and it is only day two of official business. The Sudanese bishops, who were, astonishingly, stationed as Salisbury with the US Presiding Bishop and her team before the conference, have almost derailed the whole thing by virtually calling for Gene Robinson’s resignation.
As I write this the Archbishop of Sudan Dr Daniel Deng Bul is sitting behind me in the press room, calling for Gene Robinson to resign. If God had wanted men to be with men, he said, ‘He would have created two Adams.’ He has just come from a meeting of the 150-plus Global South bishops at the Lambeth Conference, representing 17 provinces. And this has just come in from Bishop of Fort Worth Jack Iker: ‘Those Bishops who stand in solidarity with Gene Robinson should withdraw themselves from further participation in the Lambeth Conference. Having failed in several attempts to include Gene in the Conference, his supporters should themselves feel a sense of rejection from the Conference itself. Integrity and honesty would dictate that they should stand with Gene – excluded from full participation in the Lambeth Conference. Is this all talk, or is it backed up by action?’ This represents the hard-line conservative-traditionalist stance at the Lambeth Conference and it is widespread. I wish I wasn’t writing this but things here are really not looking good. The Anglican Communion seems to be falling apart in front of our eyes and it is not a pretty sight.
Lambeth Conference 2008
University of Kent at Canterbury
Sunday July 21 and Monday July 22, 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This epistle is being started Sunday evening, however, I will not send it out until tomorrow night in order to include information on our first actual day of Lambeth. Up until now there has not been a great deal to report, and this is evidenced by the comments from home that folks are not seeing much in the media about the Lambeth Conference.
My journey here was uneventful having left Alexandria at 12:25 p.m. Monday a week ago, and arriving at Gatwick Airport, London at 7:00 a.m. the next morning (there is a six hour time difference). At this juncture we were advised that we would sit on the runway for a bit as our assigned gate had another aircraft at it. For those who travel much, you know this can be rather normative. Well, after about an hour, the pilot advised us the aircraft at the gate had a fuel problem and would be there for some time, and rather than hold us longer we were going to be diverted. This diversion went on for some time as we taxied across the United Kingdom. It seemed as though we must have stopped somewhere between Ireland and Scotland, and then were bussed back into the terminal.
The journey from the airport to Kent University in Canterbury was fascinating as shuttle driver got lost numerable times, and those on board the shuttle thought the meeting would take place without us. More important was our prayer that we would be found and eventually end up back home. You can rest assured that our location is now known and God willing, there is a journey to Alexandria in the plans for me come August 4th.
After getting checked in and registered – we are staying in dorm rooms (one person per room and five people per restroom) – we had a brief introduction to the retreat that was going to be the beginning of Lambeth.
We spent the first three days “in retreat” with five talks being presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and with the theme focusing on “Bishops and Discipleship. I must state this was good and did provide a pause before the rush of things before us. Every day since our arrival, we have started with Eucharist and Bible study, and I am blessed with a great Bible study group. Not only an opportunity for some sound theological reflection on Scripture, but faithful prayer time. There are eight bishops in each Bible study group and most groups represent bishops from eight different countries.
Early yesterday morning we were loaded up and bussed to Canterbury Cathedral for a service of worship in this grand 1,700 year old historical space with some 650 bishops and primates, to say nothing of the various dignitaries. Elements of the service, with about 2,000 people present, were magnificent, and it was amazing how they got us all in and out so smoothly.
Following Sunday worship at Canterbury Cathedral, we returned to the university campus for lunch and then had our opening session for the introduction of that which is before us. I must state there have been a myriad of rumours as to whether we would be addressing the “creative tension” (and I am not making light of what we are in the midst of in the wider church, but rather, endeavouring to be polite). Based on what we heard in the reporting made to us, we will indeed be dealing with this. Needless to say, this came as encouraging news.
Today was spent with two major portions of the day engaged in our “Indaba” groups, which are each made up of five Bible study groups, thus approximately forty people per group. The design of an “Indaba” group is to provide the setting for a purposeful discussion, and it is in these sessions that we will begin to address the challenges that face our Communion. In between the two sessions today, each of the Provinces met by Province and spent time in a provincial meeting. I will state the meeting of The Episcopal Church consisted primarily of comments, questions, and expressed concerns on the part of some.
Needless to say, this is all very early in a gathering and process that will continue on for another thirteen days.
In keeping with the tenor of the meeting, it is good to report the Communion Partners plan (see last month’s ALIVE!) continues to unfold in a good way, and we are pleased with the development and support of this that is evident here on a number of fronts. As you may have seen, the public media over here is also talking about it. I will share more later on this.
Thus, this is where we are at the end of Day One.
What can you do in Western Louisiana? Please continue to keep me and those participating with me in your prayers. Know also that my day begins and ends each day with prayers for each of you, and thanksgiving for the ministry we share.
Blessings in abundance.
+Bruce MacPherson
The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson
Bishop of Western Louisiana
and President of Province VII
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