Lambeth Journal

As I sit at my desk this morning preparing for the trip to England, I feel the excitement of the coming days. There are many tedious details to be worked out. Packing to do -- what will I forget? Some final travel arrangements to make. Who knows where St. Paul's Wordsworth is? Two sermons to prepare for this weekend. And yet, I know, at some deeper level, that I may in fact be getting ready to participate in an historic event, not unlike the first council in Jerusalem described in the acts of the Apostles. The Church was struggling mightily around issues of inclusion, interpretation, culture - sound familiar? As the Christians from various viewpoints gathered there, they were able to hear the voice of the Lord calling them into new and different relationships. The fledgling Church not only survived its first crisis, this event became the launching point for the first great missional era in Christianity. the Church not only went on, it thrived.

My prayer as I busy myself with the business of travel is that the Spirit will fill my heart and open my ears as I engage in this holy and wonderful enterprise for the sake of the Mission of Christ. Please keep Bishop Neil and me in your prayers as we go to add our voices and our ears to the Lambeth Conference 2008.

Bishop Keith