Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Final Report from Lambeth by Bishop Mark Lawrence

“What does it matter?

Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way…” (Philippians 1:18)

Lambeth 2008 is finished. We have only the packing of our bags, some time to try to digest what is happening and then the flight back to Charleston on Tuesday. I am eager to return. This morning while saying Morning Prayer in my dorm room and having my meditation time before the final day’s session, I begin to write down a few impressions forming in my mind. Before the day was out I had read them before my Indaba Group and was later dragged reluctantly in front of a TV camera and reporters, one of whom went a little further with the interpretation then I might have gone, but “stories” have that sort of life to them. I share my scrawl with you here because I come back home to South Carolina with these words very much in mind. They colored how I perceived the moving events of this last day of Lambeth 2008. Here’s what I wrote in my journal. For me it is primarily a metaphor of hope.

Canterbury, England
I am glad I came here for this Lambeth and worshipped one last time in the Cathedral home of Augustine and Dunstan, Anselm and Becket, Cranmer and Laud, Temple and Ramsay. I had come to speak a word of hope and perhaps to intervene on behalf of our beloved, but in the last resolve the family refused the long needed measures. So he just slipped away, our noble prince, one dreary morning in Canterbury with hardly even a death rattle.

The new prince was born last month in Jerusalem. I was there—arriving late, departing early. I was never quite sure what I was witnessing. It was an awkward and messy birth. He hardly struck me as I gazed upon him there in the bassinet as quite ready to be heir to the throne. I even wondered at times if there might be some illegitimacy to his bloodlines. But that I fear was my over wedded ness to a white and European world. May he live long, and may his tribe increase—and may he remember with mercy all those who merely mildly neglected his birth.

As for me my role for now is clear, to hold together as much as I can for as long as I can that when he comes to his rightful place on St. Augustine’s throne in Canterbury Cathedral he will have a faithful and richly textured kingdom.

It is hard for me to convey the peace and providential perspective through which I have come to see the crisis we find ourselves in as Episcopalians and Anglicans. We are not primarily in some North American struggle. This is a far bigger matter than the Episcopal Church (TEC). And although we face more than a few difficult questions in maintaining a vital, yet differentiated, life within TEC, I am convinced our Lord has a unique role for the Diocese of South Carolina to play as Anglicanism comes to its global maturity. These ideas are still gestating in my mind after this intense summer’s course in the Anglican Communion. To have this at the beginning of my episcopacy is a privilege I can hardly even begin to fully appreciate. Now I’m looking forward to meeting with the Standing Committee, the deans and other key leaders as we look ahead at the opportunities that await us in mission and ministry.

Since it is now past midnight, and I have an early morning tomorrow, and more than a little reflective work to do before I am able to offer a more far reaching evaluation of the time at both Gafcon and Lambeth, let me for now share with you a few of the highlights of the Final Plenary Session this afternoon, and then the Closing Eucharist.

The Plenary began with what you would expect: Reflections on the Spouses Program, then brief responses from two of the ecumenical participants. These were surprisingly stirring, particularly Metropolitan Kallistos words. “Your questions” he said, “are our questions, or if they are not already they will be. The double headed eagle is one of our symbols. Not the double headed ostrich! I ask two questions of your time: Did they clearly proclaim Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior of the world? And did the bishops uphold marriage and the sanctity of the family? How should I answer? To the first question, Yes, Christ was proclaimed as Lord. There was the uniqueness of the incarnation. To the second question I’m still wondering. Where is there a plain statement of the sanctity of marriage? What about Lambeth 1.10? Does not Truth matter more than outward unity?” Here were profound questions and observations posed by one of our ecumenical participants. Those with whom I was sitting were heartened—but of course they were theological conservatives.

This was followed by more appreciations and introductions, and then came Archbishop Rowan Williams’ Third Presidential Address. I thought it was brilliant. A clear and bold affirmation of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and of a unity that is inseparable from the Truth. He was not forcing others to conform but he was strongly urging us toward a covenanted future, possibly making of us more of a Church. Very importantly he added his weight to Lambeth 1.10 and the moratoria—no same-sex blessings, no consecration of active gay bishops, no diocesan incursions. All of which I can abide by. Likewise I was encouraged by his vision of a global church with international commitments; not merely as a colonial relic, but as a global communion. I suppose I resonated with it because it is where my thoughts have been for so long. It is the only viable and godly way through our present problems—which, I might add, I see as things God has allowed both to judge and move us towards greater faithfulness in this new and challenging century.

Several things towards the end of his address I found particularly intriguing. He acknowledged, at Lambeth ’08, we have not overcome our problems, (which as obvious as it is, I’m grateful it was acknowledged). Nor have we established new structures, (that, however, was done by GAFCON therein dramatically reframing the landscape). Before the ACC’s meeting next May he will call a Primates Meeting early in 2009. (Thank God!). He affirmed the Pastoral Forum recommended by the Windsor Continuation Group; (Windsor is not dead); and he held out an olive branch towards GAFCON, (A crucial and gracious overture at the conclusion of Lambeth). Unlike some conservatives I’ve spoken to, I see these as anything but timid or insignificant developments. Frankly, as I heard them within the framework of my morning meditation, I was personally heartened, not because it solves any of our local or provincial problems in TEC. Unfortunately that is one thing it doesn’t do, at least immediately. That is, will the Episcopal Church hear the call for restraint? As the Sudanese say, “Let us go and see.” I’ve come to see so many of these challenges in a more global perspective.

Finally, the Closing Eucharist was one of the most memorable services I’ve been a part of. The highlight was when the names of the Melanesian martyrs were received by the Archbishop and were added in the Chapel of Saints and Martyrs of Our Own Time. Members of the religious communities of Melanesia then sang the Litany of the Saints and Martyrs as they carried the list of names into the Chapel. We could hear chanting as they made their way unseen through the Quire and on into the East Apse of the Cathedral. It seemed a picture of the martyrs ascending out of sight and into heaven serenaded by the heavenly chorus. The service was concluded with Matthew 28: 16—20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations….” So off we go. Allison and I take with us new friends, heart shaping relationships with bold witnesses for Christ from Sudan, Ireland, Ghana, South India and elsewhere. We return with gratitude to the clergy, parishes, and people of South Carolina for the privilege of representing you in the counsels of the Communion. I tried to speak the truth with boldness. Maybe at times I was too bold. But the hour is now. It was very taxing. Yet I am strangely refreshed and eager to come home.

Your servant in Christ,

+Mark Lawrence
Bishop of South Carolina

Fourth Report from Lambeth by Bishop Mark Lawrence


July 31, 2008

“I thank my God every time I remember you….”
(Philippians 1:3-5)

Allison and I have just come from a lovely reception with the Archbishop and Mrs. Jane Willams at the Old Palace in the shadow of Canterbury Cathedral. It was a relatively intimate affair—maybe 75 people, Lambeth staff, bishops and spouses. I mention this because I’m mostly in a generous mood. I can’t say I’ve been like that most of the afternoon. I’ll come back to this momentarily. But first let me give you a brief run down of this past week.

I write to you on Thursday evening. It is well past 10:00 p.m. Much has happened since my last letter to those of you in the Diocese of South Carolina. There have been many ups and downs for me in this conference—more than a little spiritual oppression at times. How could one expect anything else given what is at stake here! And as St. Paul reminds us “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers,” so thus there is the need to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10—20), yet always remembering “above all, to clothe yourselves with love….” (Colossians 3:14).

On Monday afternoon I spoke during the hearing before the Windsor Continuation Group. There were 300 or more bishops in a stuffy sweltering hot room. I was one of the first at the microphone—feeling that we on the conserving end of the church were caught off guard at the first hearing. The thrust of my argument was that there was a profound amnesia among some of my fellow bishops in The Episcopal Church regarding the prior resolutions of Lambeth Conferences and I recounted some of these resolutions from 1968, ’78, ’88, and ’98. That to suggest these resolutions now were not relevant to our life in TEC was specious— a failure to face the facts and even more sadly, an obstacle to the global mission of the Anglican Communion. A failure to face the facts because a majority of the Bishops of TEC voted for these resolutions that established the ACC and the Primates Meeting (and their enhanced role in mediating crisis), and that even a quick review of the math will show that even a majority of TEC Bishops voted for Resolution 110 itself. To suddenly now take refuge in our provincial polity and resist the Instruments of Unity as they attempt to mend the bonds of affection—strained and broken by the actions of TEC—is bad enough. But more grievous still, to resist the covenant is to thwart the Anglican Communion’s appointment with a God-given destiny. Such retreat into provincialism is the wrong response to this present crisis….To embrace the covenant will not only strengthen the bonds of affection, it will further our mission in Jesus Christ—helping us to live respectfully and responsibly with one another. It brings the inspiration that comes from a godly responsibility freely embraced…. Well I won’t give my entire speech but you get the drift of it. What such speeches accomplish beyond getting certain thoughts registered with the Windsor Continuation Process, and getting something off one’s chest, who knows.

The Bible Study and Indaba Groups have continued to delve into issues one after another. I attended a Self-Select Session on the St. Andrew’s Draft of the Covenant on Monday afternoon and today one on “Culture and Homosexualities”. I have the dubious distinction of having attended more of these “Listening” sessions on Human Sexuality than any other bishop in the conference. Imagine, I a conservative! I also gave an interview with the Religion & Ethics Journal (PBS). Walking back to my dorm room I thought of all the things I should’ve said in front of the camera. Thankfully, I had so many other things to tend to I didn’t have much time to dwell on my dismal performance before the TV camera.

Now back to what I began this Report home with, my generous mood, as opposed to what was my attitude much of the afternoon. The Indaba Groups today took up the subject of “Listening to God and Each Other: The Bishop and Human Sexuality.” It was a vigorous, respectful and honest speaking and listening to one another. I was the last one to speak in the time allotted. As I rose to speak I said, “I’m more than a little frustrated as I begin to speak my mind, because I am aware there are others here who want to speak and now we are all but out of time.” Well I won’t tell you all I said, or even anything of what I said after that, just that I spoke my mind before some 40 bishops of the Anglican Communion, some nine of which were bishops of TEC. I was grateful for the hearing. But I left frustrated, no, even angry that everyone didn’t get a chance to speak. Our Indaba leader, a TEC bishop who has done a great job of guiding our sessions suggested that we spend some time tomorrow allowing others to share. We all agreed. The down side of this however is now we’ll have even less time in our Indaba group to deal with the all important matter of the Anglican Covenant & the Windsor Process. As I said to someone this evening, even a blind man could have seen we would need more than one session on the presenting issue of this present crisis in the Communion—the impact on the church’s mission from the blessing of same-sex unions in dioceses in U.S. and Canada. So what was the Design Committee thinking on this one?

There are those who do not want us to make any resolutions whatsoever at this Lambeth. There are also those of us who think that to leave this Conference with no resolution on this crisis before the Anglican Communion will be worse than if we had never come. By the time you get this ENewsletter our Friday Sessions will be mostly over and we will have only Saturday to do whatever hard work we can do to bring some clarity on these matters that affect us all, causing some 250 bishops out of conscience, and representing millions of Anglicans, not even to attend.

The Archbishop has urged us all to grant one another a generous love. A noble thought that few would argue with. Please forgive me, however, if I raise the concern that we may not have left at this Lambeth 2008 such a generous amount of time to exercise such generous love as is necessary to mend the fabric that has been torn. Yet still I trust that our times, as is our love, are in His hands.

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
And such a Life, as killeth death

Your servant in Christ,

+Mark Lawrence
Bishop of South Carolina


Third Report from Lambeth by Bishop Mark Lawrence

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Dear Friends,

A bishop asked me this morning while we were sitting in Canterbury Cathedral waiting for the Eucharist to begin, “What has been the biggest surprise for you?” I thought about it for a moment and said, “The way my heart has been broken and broadened.” I suppose it goes without saying that as a new bishop of the Church I hardly needed any more challenges then I already had before I came here. Yet somehow I must trust that God gives us the grace necessary to sustain us in the responsibilities to which he calls us. Bishop Charles Henry Brent used to say, “Responsibility keeps pace with spiritual development. The more a man carries, the more he is capable of carrying. God fits the back to the burden and the burden to the back.” So, for instance, how can I pray and share meals with these bishops from the Sudan or Ghana who have such needs for their people and then forget them when I return home? How can I reconnect with an old friend like Bishop Tito Zavala from Chile and not sense that God brought us together for his purposes years ago when I was the diocesan liaison between the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Chile and not feel that this relationship should be cultivated afresh? I have met so many bishops of kindred spirits from England, Ireland, India, and elsewhere that it reaffirms my conviction that we need one another to carry out the mission Jesus Christ is calling us to in this global age. It is clear to me that they face challenges that we can help them with—and we challenges for which their clarity and forthrightness is a strengthening balm.

One of the highlights of these past few days was our day in London—the Witness Walk from Whitehall to Lambeth Palace where the Prime Minister of England addressed us with passionate conviction regarding the need for people of faith and good will to work together towards the goals of eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and bringing educational opportunities to all. After his speech and that of the Archbishop I wandered into the Lambeth Library seeing documents of the Virginia and Carolina colonies. From there we went by coach to the Garden Party with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. I found it only natural while in this setting of royal majesty to reflect upon the splendor of the heavenly realms which our Lord left in order to sojourn among us in humility and with his body hung in shame upon a cross to purchase our salvation. The Father, in his will to redeem a slave like me, sent his Son, who in his humiliation, revealed his glory and our redemption.

We enter now into the final and crucial week. The Bible Study and Indaba Groups have begun to peel away layers of caution and hesitation therein laying bare many difficult issues. This has been painful at times as we’ve faced the chasm that divides us. Like many of you, particularly those who have been to General Convention or provincial gatherings of one kind or another, I have lived with this chasm for so many years that it is easy to forget that for Christians elsewhere it is hardly the most pressing issue they face. For some of them it is the need for food, shelter, clean water, coping as refugees or holding firm to the gospel in the midst of persecution that dominates their ministries. Yet the crisis that The Episcopal Church threw the Anglican Communion into in 2003 has not only complicated our lives as Episcopalians but has made it increasingly difficult for them to do their ministries in what were already demanding cultural contexts. A conference such as Lambeth must address many concerns and these are often interconnected and multilayered. Perhaps I can share some of our discussions with you later, but for now there is a verse in the Mosaic Law that comes to mind as I write about these two seminal groups of the conference: “You shall not uncover your sister’s nakedness.” That is, it would be inappropriate in my mind to discuss in any detail what is transpiring in the Bible Study and Indaba Groups. Beyond saying it is the striving of people from diverse cultures to engage one another respectfully yet honestly in order to understand what the challenges are that dominate the lives of our people.

The last two meetings of the Self-Select Session, The Bible and Human Sexuality, I attended (Wednesday and Friday) were much improved over the first. We looked at certain Old Testament passages regarding human sexuality in the second session and New Testament passages in the third session. Some of each session was spent in a lecture format, some in small group work and some in larger group discussion. The time was hardly sufficient for the subject at hand. At the end of our final meeting an Australian bishop made a statement that was in a way a question, but there was hardly any answer that seemed sufficient with which the presenter could reply—“Surely a loving Heavenly Father would not leave his children confused about something so fundamental as human sexuality…if so, I’ve been wasting my time for forty-three years!” I suppose some were put off by the force of his words, but it seemed to me a necessary and poignant pause with which to end our time.

Tomorrow we have another hearing on the Windsor process and the Covenant. We’ve already been told that nothing will be definitively decided on the Covenant at this Lambeth, but I suspect that what we do decide will play a role in this ongoing process towards a covenant that unites us in a deeper fellowship or the lack of a covenant that will surely lead to greater division than we already have in the Communion. I need to prepare what I’m going to say at this hearing, or, if I do not get the opportunity to speak, then to turn in my written words to the Windsor Continuation Committee, so I will leave off writing to you for tonight. It is 10:00 p.m. and I have this other work to do.

But if I may say in conclusion, Allison and I joined many other bishops and spouses at Canterbury Cathedral for worship this morning. We enjoyed a lovely luncheon given to us by the Cathedral congregation, and then she and I walked over to St. Martin’s Church, the oldest Church in England. Afterwards we visited the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey before catching the bus back to the University of Kent and to our dormitory rooms. The three sites which are almost contiguous with one another are World Heritage Sites. They are also reminders that forms and structures may change—yet the Lordship of Christ will abide forever. But some embodiments of the Church and its mission abide, changing faithfully with the culture, and some entirely collapse, or exist merely as relics of prior generations’ faith. These three places were a stark reminder to me of the gravity of the issues before us in Anglicanism and in The Episcopal Church. Can Anglicanism adapt to the opportunities and challenges of a Global age? I, for one, believe it can—and what we do at this Lambeth Conference will either further us towards this opportunity or drag us back into an overly autonomous provincialism that will only thwart the call of Christ for us today and the movement of the Holy Spirit in shaping a church that is sufficient for tomorrow. As I’ve begged you before so I do now, keep us in your prayers.

In Christ,

+Mark Lawrence
South Carolina

Second Report from Lambeth by Bishop Mark Lawrence

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Dear Friends in Christ,

Greetings, again, in the name of our Lord. Allison and I miss all of you in South Carolina, pray for you, and carry you in our hearts while we’re here!

It is already past midnight, but I want to give you some highlights from these last couple of days. We finished today’s sessions (Tuesday) by hearing Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples at the Vatican, at the Plenary Session. Frankly, both Allison and I thought it was the clearest and boldest proclamation of the Gospel we have heard thus far at the Conference. Dr. Brian McLaren’s presentation last evening was perhaps more engaging, but it was more of an analysis of the changing contexts of the modern, post-modern, and post-colonial world in which we find ourselves doing mission in these first years of the 21st Century. This context is challenging for all Anglicans in our global family, but particularly for Episcopalians.

For now I’ll leave it to others to talk about the Indaba process that we are experiencing here at Lambeth. I’m trying to be patient with it, as it unfolds, but to say there is more than a little unrest from all corners would hardly be an overstatement.

There was a gathering of over a hundred bishops this afternoon from diverse provinces—TEC, U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Sudan, to name a few who gathered with some of the Primates of the Global South. Bishops from Common Cause and Communion Partners were present. I found it quite encouraging. Most of you know that I have strong convictions regarding the need for a Covenant to guide our common life as Anglicans and many of us are here not least because the Archbishop has said that Lambeth is about the Windsor Process and the Covenant. I have not, in the least, weakened in my resolve or commitments to that—or to helping shape an Anglicanism sufficient for the Twenty-first Century. But I need to tell you there is far more to this conference than what we might call the North American problem, (which, you may remember, I believe has revealed the Achilles heel of the Communion). Nevertheless, I cannot possibly convey to you in this short report the incredible witness to Jesus Christ and the gospel that is made on a daily basis in our small group Bible studies and the Indaba sessions by bishops from various parts of Africa, North and South India, South America and elsewhere. The need to partner with these people for the spreading of Christ’s Kingdom, the alleviation of suffering and deprivation, and for mutual prayer and support grows in me on a daily basis.

This afternoon during the Self-select Session I attended the unit on Human Sexuality and the Witness of Scripture. I wanted to engage the listening process and see if there was anything new in the debate. I’ve lived with this issue of homosexuality and the church since my years in seminary back in the late 1970s. It is something circumstances seem to have continually thrust me into during my thirty years of ordained ministry in the church. Still I thought, “Let’s see if there’s anything new.” But when I saw a format at work which I would describe as the Hegelian process—thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis—I was compelled to name what I perceived as a strained “set up.” That is, the session began with a cursory painting with an overly broad brush of the Anglican approach to Scripture during the Reformation era. Why this need to subtly undermine the place of Holy Scripture in our tradition? Frankly this made me impatient quite quickly. Cursory descriptions of Sola Scriptura; Puritans; Scripture, Tradition & Reason; what’s Anglican and not Anglican, (you know the gig as well as I). “My goodness,” I thought, “aren’t we bishops in the Church? It is a bit more complicated than this isn’t it?” Well anyway, the session was moderated by one person, and featured Dr. Richard Burridge as the key attraction. (One of the reasons I attended this session among others is that I’ve enjoyed his commentary on John’s Gospel that was sent to us to help prepare for our daily Bible Study Group). After what, to my mind, was a straw-man-rendition of the Anglican approach to the Bible, the moderator introduced a professor from Kenya who presented a plain reading, “traditional” hermeneutic as a model for interpreting the Bible. This was followed by a pro-gay/lesbian interpretation of certain key texts by a gay man trained, we were told, in the “evangelical tradition” though there wasn’t much I’d say that resembled the hermeneutical tools I learned in seminary under Dr. Peter H. Davids and Prof. Stephen Noll. The “planned contrast” for various reasons didn’t work. After this the moderator had Dr. Burridge address us. Well to make a long story short, the whole thing seemed a bit forced and contrived to me and I said so. To the moderator’s credit, I felt I did get a hearing if not an acknowledgement. So I suppose I’ll go back for the next session tomorrow to once again engage the listening process. Having been converted to Christ in college by reading Soren Kierkegaard, I do believe there are times for an Either-Or. I come by my suspicions of the Hegelian process quite naturally.

Those of us who hold the “orthodox” understanding are working hard in many different venues to respectfully, but forthrightly, engage our brother and sister bishops from around the world, to further the mission of the Christ, and, as we promised in our vows, guard the faith.

Do keep Allison and me in your prayers. There is so much going on here, so much to keep up with, and I hardly need to tell you, it is important. I really do sense I am carrying The Diocese of South Carolina with me into these sessions—whether Bible Study Group, Indaba, meal time conversations, plenary group, or the Self-Select Sessions. Well it is really late—I’ll write more later.

Blessings to you in our Lord Jesus Christ,

+Mark Lawrence
South Carolina

First Report from Lambeth by Bishop Mark Lawrence

July 20, 2008 (11:03 p.m.)


Dear Fellow Clergy and Members of the Diocese of South Carolina,

I just came in from a short half-hour jog. It is a full moon and the walking paths are semi-lighted. It’s not raining and I needed some vigorous exercise. I have some reading to do before tomorrow’s Indaba sessions—the first of the Conference. Our first few days were spent primarily in retreat mode. Archbishop Rowan Williams presented five addresses over the two and a half day period. Each was around a half-hour followed by substantial time for reflection, prayer, mediation and freedom to wander around Canterbury Cathedral and its hallowed close. The meditations and time for personal prayer, mediation and reflection passed all too quickly for me. The Archbishop’s addresses were (at least for me) both positively and negatively like entering into the “Cloud of Unknowing”. I should tell you that I spent more than a few years of my early Christian life reading the mystics of the church—Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Merton, Francois Fenelon, St. John of the Cross, the desert fathers, Gregory the Great, St. Augustine, St. Anselm just to name a few. And still come back to them periodically. So I am not unfamiliar to this terrain of the spiritual life. I spent most of the reflective time journaling—(perhaps if I have time I’ll type out some of this and share it with you—though most of it is highly personal and hardly altogether prudent to share). Praying in various corners of Canterbury Cathedral (which was closed to all outside visitors for Thursday and Friday), to stumble upon the chapel of the incarnation dedicated for obvious reasons to former Archbishop William Temple or to pray alone in the Thomas a Beckett chapel where the Archbishop was martyred—that troublesome cleric of King Henry II, then wander up as if guided by an unseen Docent to the chapel set apart for modern martyrs and note that some of the windows are left with clear glass for other eras to mark the future seeds of the church gives one pause. It was indeed a privilege to be in this cradle of Anglicanism for so lengthy a time— St. Augustine, Lanfranc, Anselm, Cranmer, Matthew Parker, William Temple, Michael Ramsey to name just a few of the luminaries whose lives and writings I’ve read and admired is no un-weighty exercise for heart, mind and spirit. But I’d better move on to other developments.

Frankly the significant experiences for such a recently consecrated bishop as I come so fast and feverishly it is hard to keep up with it all—but between my bishop’s journal where I record daily events, and my personal journal reserved for deeper matters of the soul I’ll revisit much of this latter. I’ve met so many possible links that may provide missional relationships for the Diocese of South Carolina that my mind is running along lines of mission, strategy, and theological alignments that I belief will be mutually beneficial to our diocese and parishes and for dioceses in every direction out from South Carolina—Ireland, England, New Zealand, India, North Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, West Africa, East Africa, et al. Some of these bishops bear names you may well recognize and others humble godly servants of God who have faced incredible challenges and have kept the faith in the midst of astonishing hardship. It heartens the soul to walk with them from one venue to another, to worship alongside them, study the scriptures with them, or share a meal in the cafeteria with them.

This morning was the 10th Sunday after Pentecost. The bishops in convocation robes processed to the Choir while the spouses of the bishops along with various dignitaries—former Archbishop Carey to name one—filled much of the Cathedral nave. As we came through the Great West Door of the Canterbury Cathedral two by two, Bishop Jack Iker with whom I was paired whispered to me something to the effect—“You won’t enter through these doors very often.” It hardly needed a response from me. I trembled for a moment. Certainly not everything in the service was to my liking—and some of it more than a little disturbing. But I’ve moved beyond that for now. What lingers is the processing, seeing my wife Allison in the congregation as I processed in, going forward to receive the sacrament for resoluteness of will, and the gospel procession with the Melanesian Brothers and Sisters dressed in tribal garb dancing from the High Altar to the Compass Rose carrying the gold Gospel Book in a coracle or little boat. All I could think of was the joy that came to aboriginal people as the gospel set them free from ancient fears and now carrying the Holy Scripture as if they were carrying Jesus as their Chief and King. That is of course what the gospel did for the early Celts, Picts, Anglo-Saxons and even Vikings on these Isles, and a thousand other tribes, tongues and nations elsewhere. The gospel always needs to be inculturated into every society and every society needs to be evangelized and transformed by gospel—including ours.

This afternoon we met back at the University of Kent where the main conference is being held. The format was unfolded and explained. I’m suspending judgment for now, though hardly entering into matters unaware of the grave concerns that lie before us. It is a day for vigilance, keenness of spirit, prayer, discernment, forthrightness and honest acknowledgement of the profound differences, fears and challenges we face in the Anglican Communion. I think of a scene from the Lord of the Rings where (I believe it’s) Stryker asks Frodo if he is afraid, and Frodo replies, “Yes.” Stryker then says, “Not nearly enough. I know what hunts you!” There were many signs and protesters as we walked through the narrow medieval streets of Canterbury from the buses that brought us from the University for the Sunday morning Eucharist. One of them was a paraphrase of Amos 6:1— “Woe to you who are at ease at Lambeth!” I can hardly disagree with such a prophetic injunction. Yet even such a searching prophet as Amos concludes his book with hope and promise—“On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old…” Such is my prayer for us. It is past midnight—I have reading to do for tomorrow’s gathering. I will give you updates as I’m able and as the sensitivity of issues seems appropriate.

Blessings in Christ our Savior and Lord,

+Mark Lawrence
South Carolina
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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