I am

The Lambeth Conference that is occurring here is most certainly for the bishops, but we spouses are having a conference also. Many of the themes and activities overlap. At times we worship together or meet together and at times, we are in separate places.

The spouses meet daily with a plenary session. The general topic is ''Who am I?'' Who am I as a person, as a partner, as a Christian? Each day a new topic is presented to us for consideration and time is allowed to share our own experiences.

After the plenary, the spouses meet for bible study in small groups. The lessons are all based on the gospel of John, particularly on the ''I am'' statements. The bishops are using the same series of lessons but in groups separate from the spouses. These lessons were developed especially for Lambeth and are particularly rich.

My group consists of spouses from Central America, South America and the United States. We are mostly a Spanish speaking group with a translator available. I think it is surprising to most of us, including the translator, that most of her work is from Spanish to English. I certainly did not come to England expecting to speak Spanish!! In our group we use both Spanish and English translations of scripture as well as the text of the lessons. Especially interesting to us is how the scripture has been translated into English and Spanish with different nuances and meanings. All of us have benefited from the diversity of culture and language.

The weaving of the personal ''I am'' and the ''I am'' of Jesus is an interesting perspective for all of us and one that is sure to carry on with us long after Lambeth itself is over.

Lynn

From Central Africa to the Vatican

Greetings to one and all! Today has been an interesting spectacle. I just read the summaries of the media reports from Lambeth and many of them make me wonder if I've been to the same meeting. I cannot believe some of the twisting and turning of the day's events I've been reading about!

As always, we began with a Eucharist celebrated according to the tradition of the Anglican Church in Central Africa. The music was wonderful and we were blessed by a stirring sermon from Bishop James Tengatenga of Southern Malawi. Bishop James and I have known each other for some time and it was a wonderful gift to the Conference to hear him preach. Our morning continued with our daily Bible study and prayer, today focusing on the bread of life passages in John 6.

Today's Indaba group engaged us in conversation about mission issues that have impact upon the whole Communion: ministry with youth, migrant workers, immigrants and displaced persons, HIV/AIDS, racial reconciliation, etc. (This is only part of the list, but you get the idea.). We will be returning to many of these matters because they are important "on the ground" concerns for many of our people around the world.

Over lunch I met with the bishops of New York and Bishop Mhogolo of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika to discuss our continuing partnership in mission and ministry. It was wonderful to be able to talk about the work that the Cathedral of St. Philip is engaged in to help finish a parish church in Tanzania to meet the needs of its congregation! Way to go, St. Philip's! I am proud of the work you are doing. I was also able to spend some good time with Bishop Mhogolo talking about my next visit to the Diocese of Central Tanganyika and his next visit later this year to the Diocese of Atlanta.

Later in the afternoon I had good conversation with Bishop Filadelfo, the bishop coadjutor of the our companion diocese in Brazil, Rio de Janiero. I have invited him to be with us for annual council this year to "re-launch" our companionship in mission and ministry with the Diocese of Rio. His presence among us will be a blessing. Evening prayer was also led by our good friends in the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil. The church in Brazil, as in much of Central and South America, is a result of the mission work of The Episcopal Church in the United States. As one Brazilian bishop regularly reminds me, "You are our mother church!" It is always a special joy for me to be with our friends and colleagues from Brazil.

This evening Ivan Cardinal Dias, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, addressed the Conference on Mission, Social Justice, and Evangelization. While I can easily imagine hearing myself say almost everything he said, what I would mean with those same words would differ substantially in meaning. But such is the nature of "official" communiques: many folks can agree on the words but everyone has a slightly (or sometimes substantially) different understanding of what's being said. Nonetheless, it was good to be pleasantly and substantively "greeted and encouraged" by the Vatican.

There are lots of folks around the edges who are spending time, effort, and significant amounts of money to attempt to disrupt the Lambeth Conference. Although there is no one reason to blame for the mess we're in the Anglican Communion, the largest single fracture in the fabric occurred at the Lambeth Conference 1998 because of those who rebelled and hijacked the carefully thought out agenda that had been proposed by Archbishop Carey. I believe that this meeting can go a long way toward mending the broken fences and restoring trust if we can resist the pressure from outside the Conference and work with care and deliberateness through the agenda as Archbishop Rowan has set it out. Pray for us.

Blessings!

Bishop Neil

July 22, 2008

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Another beautiful day at The University of Kent, all that is good about English summers. Today was the first day of what will be the "normal" for the rest of the conference (except Thursday, which is the queen's tea.)

This morning we began with worship led by the Church of Central Africa. Our bible study theme for today was from the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, "I am the bread of Life." We were asked to consider the relationship between the bread for life and the bread of life in our context. The we were asked to consider "How does the Eucharist bring life, both in worship and in ordinary life?" In my group, we were blessed with some wonderful insights into African culture and how it differs from our own. In our culture, the Eucharist is a place where relationships are reconciled. We set aside differences, if only for a time, and celebrate our commonality. In the African cultures described in my group that is not possible. Two parties at emnity cannot share the Eucharistic meal or any meal until the conflict is resolved. This certainly helped me understand much of the behavior toward the American Church after the 2003 General Convention.

The rest of the morning was spent in Indaba groups. Our topic today was "The Bishop and Evangelism." Our conversations were organized around two questions: "As a bishop, how am I encouraging evangelism in my diocese?" and "What are the challenges I face in being a leader in Mission?" My group was only three, a bishop from Spain, a bishop from Ireland, and myself. What difference in the situations we face concerning growth in the church.

The afternoon was scheduled to be "self-select" groups, opportunities to meet with other bishops to have conversation around limited subjects. My choice was, from necessity, laundry. Imagine 580 people in a building - 2 working washing machines, no working dryers. Talk about scheduling.

This evening we gathered in the Big Top to hear Cardinal Ivan Dias [Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples at the Vatican] speak to us about the role of the bishop in evangelizing the world. He reminded us of the role of social ministry in carrying out the mission of Christ. Though the cardinal's style was quite different from last night's program with Brian McClaren, his message was powerful.

At the end of another long day of many, many conversations, I reflect and see the Church of Christ in all its glory and in all its broken humanity as we struggle for wholeness. I think it is a struggle most of us endure willingly for the sake of the Gospel because we know that the Risen Lord dwells with us, in us, and through us and that finally He will lead us to His purpose.

God's good blessing on you,

Bishop Keith

From Seoul, to Indaba, to MacClaren

Greetings from Canterbury!

Today began with a Holy Eucharist offered according to the Korean Anglican tradition. A special treat was music by the Seoul Mother's Union Choir. Then came our morning time of Bible study and prayer. Today we studied a portion of John 6 about Jesus walking on the water. In that passage Jesus tells his disciples not to be afraid. The conversation became quite deep and intense when we thought about what it might mean if we took Jesus' admonition seriously and set out to do God's mission without fear.

Today was also the first two meetings of our Indaba groups. Indaba is a Zulu word that means deep, intentional conversation. This morning's session focused on Anglican identity and the particular role(s) that bishops play in that. This afternoon we turned to good conversation on the four "signposts" of the Anglican tradition: scripture, liturgy and sacraments, the "ordering" of ministry, and God's mission in the world. Both conversations were rich and stimulating. It is such a gift to be with bishops from all around the world where we do "the same things in very different ways," according to local culture, local priorities, and local needs. One bishop in my group said that after listening to his sister and brother bishops talk all day about being a bishop in their context, that the only thing we might have in common is a love for Jesus and purple shirts! In spite of what we sometimes like to think, there is nothing "uniform" about Anglicanism. Instead it is a colorful tapestry of enormous depth held together by a love for Jesus, faithfulness to common prayer (but not a particular prayer book!), and strong commitment to engaging God's mission. "Diversity is no cause for division; unity is not uniformity," was echoed over and over through the day in a thousand different ways.

This evening we listened to a presentation from Brian MacLaren, a pastor and well-known writer from Maryland. He talked about the challenges of evangelism in our current contexts. He explained in very clear terms why European churches are largely empty, American churches are half full, and African churches are full . . . and it has nothing to do with doctrine or discipline! If you've not read it already, I heartily commend (among several good books by him) A Generous Orthodoxy. During the question and answer period, someone asked him about the sexuality quagmire the church finds itself in. He gave a very thoughtful response by suggesting that we might be trying to respond to a missiological question with a theological answer. I think he's on to something.

Let me commend to your prayers, in particular, Bishop and Irene Mhogolo and their youngest son, Wendo. Word reached us today that Wendo is quite ill and in the hospital in Australia. As a result, Irene will be departing Canterbury tomorrow to be with him. Please pray for Wendo's healing, for Irene's safe travel, and for Bishop Mdimi who will continue to be here, but will no doubt be very concerned about his son's well-being.

To God be the glory!

Bishop Neil

June 20, 2008

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Today was a bright, sunny day in Canterbury as over 650 bishops of the Anglican Communion and their spouses walked the main street to the Cathedral to spend a Sunday morning worshiping God. The liturgy was what you would expect from Anglicans -- well done and orderly. Yet it brought together voices from all over our world in word and song. (The procession of bishops was 28 minutes long for those of you who think 60 minutes is a maximum service length.) The liturgy, in at least eight languages, was both moving and traditional, yet accessible and contemporary. The gospel procession featured Melanesian dancers in native dress with drums beating and the gospel carried in a canoe to be proclaimed in French. The homily from a bishop from Sri Lanka called us to become a church with no barriers. We made Eucharist together as one voice. It was a truly glorious time and easy to imagine how it must be around the heavenly throne. And yet there were sobering reminders that much hard work lies ahead for us at this Lambeth Conference.

The streets of Canterbury were not only filled with Bishops and spouses but also demonstrators, those who would encourage us to treat some as less than fully human. While they demonstrated in a very reserved and restricted English way, their message to me was clear. We have work to do.

Following the service we bused backed to the University of Kent for a short respite before the orientation for the week ahead. That was a testament to the work ahead of us to help foster healing in our Communion. We are being asked to set aside our expectations of the old way of working together (adversarial, legislative) and give our selves over to a new process (listening and reflecting, giving space for every voice.) It will be both a challenge and an opportunity.

Tomorrow we will begin again. Our first Indaba groups meet around the theme "The Bishop and Anglican Identity." Keep us in your prayers as we now begin our work together. Till now we have only focused on ourselves. Now it is no longer about "me" but about "us."


God's good blessing to all of you,

Bishop Keith

Between Retreat and Conference

This morning the bishops completed two-and-a-half days of retreat in preparation for the Lambeth Conference. Using images from the Letter to the Hebrews, Archbishop Rowan talked about various elements of leadership with particular reference to the manner in which bishops provide leadership that is somewhat different from other kinds of leaders. Not better, to be sure, but different.

Particularly engaging were the Archbishop's ideas about our role in God's mission. He reminded us that "mission is not taking Jesus where he is not." Jesus goes before us and we walk where Jesus leads. His words were very reminiscent of the writings on mission of Bishop Stephen Bayne, the first General Secretary of the Anglican Communion. It was a thoughtful way of bringing our retreat to a close.

Except for daily worship, we have the remainder of today (Saturday) free. This evening Lynn and I will be joining bishops and spouses from around the world who have in common a relationship with The General Seminary in New York. Not only have many bishops of our church studied there, but many from across the Anglican Communion are part of the GTS family.

The Lambeth Conference formally begins on Sunday morning with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist in Canterbury Cathedral. In the afternoon Archbishop Rowan will give the opening address of the Conference, and the formal agenda commences first thing Monday morning. We'll have a review of the major events of opening day Sunday evening.

Love and blessings to all!

Bishop Neil

July 18, 2008

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Another day of meditations by the Archbishop and much time contemplating their content. Lots of conversations with bishops from other parts of the world. My bible study group is made up of two bishops from Zimbabwe, one from England, and three from the US. We are still awaiting the arrival of three others. It is amazing how the bible study has helped us to see that in spite of very differing contexts we have a great deal in common in our ministry as bishops. Today we looked at the figure of John the Baptist in the first chapter of the Gospel according to John and discovered snapshots of our own ministries. One question even asked "Do you ever feel like a 'voice crying in the wilderness?'" Different settings, same answer. Yes!

The Archbishop is leading us slowly through insights into our own ministry of missionary leadership as bishops and how that relates to our need to be in communion. He reminded us that it was Tertullian who said "A single Christian is no Christian." We are in communion as God's gift to us even though that communion might be impaired by our human divisions. We are called to stay together while we work to heal those divisions.

I also spent much of the day meeting and hearing from bishops around the world -- Canada, Ireland, Australia, Sudan, England, South America. I listened with grateful ears as they shared the stories of their life in Christ, and then I was able to share with joy the small part of the Diocese of Atlanta that is mine to give.

Though it, at times, seems like we are not getting to the business at hand, especially after hours of sitting in a beautiful but cold cathedral, I know we are doing what must come first. We are preparing our souls so that we can meet Christ in the sometimes difficult conversations ahead. It is not always easy to remember that all this is not about us. We serve the living, risen Lord who is leading us into all truth.

God's great blessing on you. You continue in our prayers.

Bishop Keith

PS thought you might like some visuals.


St. Paul's Church, Wordsworth Ave., Sheffield