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Hopes, fears, and expectations for Lambeth ’08

Staff reporters asked a variety of overseas bishops just what they wanted from the Conference

Joyful celebration: the Most Revd Daniel Deng at his enthronement as Primate of the Church of the Province of the Sudan, at All Saints’ Cathedral, Juba, Sudan, on 20 April © not advert
Joyful celebration: the Most Revd Daniel Deng at his enthronement as Primate of the Church of the Province of the Sudan, at All Saints’ Cathedral, Juba, Sudan, on 20 April RICHARD JUBB

Sudan

THE Archbishop of Sudan, the Most Revd Daniel Deng, is unequivocal in his view that everyone, including those affiliated to the GAFCON group, should attend the ten-yearly meeting.

“Everybody who is Anglican has to come. It is the work of Anglicans to persuade the others to come. We should look at their needs: whatever is making them not come needs to be addressed. They have a case. They have said they are not breaking away from the Anglican Communion.”

He said that the demands of GAFCON ought to be on the Lambeth agenda. “If these questions are addressed properly, it will be easier for them to come back. Unity ought to be more on the agenda, too. It is good to be part of a big family. Lambeth is a place to air your views.”

The Archbishop also called for the environment to be discussed, a pertinent issue for Sudan, which has the potential to be a breadbasket for Africa were it not for the conflicts and environmental problems.

“There is still fighting in Darfur and southern Sudan. The Anglican Communion should make an appeal to those fighting there. This can’t be ignored. The Church has a big part to play in resolving the conflict.”

He described the Archbishop of Canterbury as a “special person”, and said it was his “duty” to keep the Communion together.

“GAFCON criticised him. He has to look at that. It is his job to show that he is right. If you’re a leader, you have to look at this. It is up to him to prove that this criticism is not correct. We should accept Archbishop Rowan as a leader.”

Archbishop Deng predicted that there would be a Conference in 2018 if the current difficulties were resolved, but, if not, GAFCON would not attend the next gathering. As to whether the next Conference will be in Africa, he said this was a “decision for later”.

He said the highlight of his trip so far had been the visit to their link diocese of Salisbury. “For 35 years, we have been together. We were very joyful to come.” RB

West Indies

THE Bishop of Trinidad & Tobago, the Rt Revd Calvin Wendell Bess, stayed in the diocese of Chelmsford, with which his diocese is linked.

The Bishop confirmed that he had “worked through the differences” he had experienced with the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd John Gladwin, after he cancelled a visit by Bishop Gladwin to Trinidad and Tobago in October 2006.

The diocese of Chelmsford had declared itself in “full sacramental communion” with the Churches in North America, while the Province of the West Indies declared it was in impaired communion with them.

He said he saw the Conference as an opportunity to hear the stories of other members of the Communion, and to discuss the development of the Anglican Covenant.

“It will be interesting to see how the Covenant develops. I hope God will lead us in as we look at it. It’s quite an open process and an unusual approach.”

He said he felt the Archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership would be “crucial to the direction of the Conference”, and described him as a “very capable leader”.

Regarding the next Lambeth Conference, he was confident it would take place in 2018. “We’ve gone through previous storms and we’ve survived.”

He said that he had not read the GAFCON statements, and no one from his Province had participated. “I don’t think the most effective way for transformation is from the outside, but from within. I believe in evolution, not revolution.” EB

Southern Africa

THE Bishop of Matlosane in South Africa, the Rt Revd Stephen Diseko, said that he hoped the Lambeth Conference would help build bridges between the disparate groups.

Attending his first-ever Lambeth, Bishop Diseko called for environmental issues to be prominent in their discussions. “In my country, many people are farmers and depend on farming for their food, and the issue of global warming really affects them. The Church needs to speak up about this.”

He said it was vital that the Communion listened to each other. “I’m aware we have differences, especially on the issue of homosexuality, but the solution is to keep listening to both sides of the debate, pray about the issue, and listen to the Word of God.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury is doing very well. He is committed to the Communion, and trying to listen to both sides. He has been attacked by the GAFCON conference, but we should demonstrate to the world that we in the Anglican Communion are one body.” EB

THE Suffragan Bishop of Natal, the Rt Revd Funginkosi Mbhele, said that he needed the Lambeth Conference to “help resolve the challenges that the Church is facing, and to deepen mutual understanding and growing together”. He thought the agenda had been put together “with great thought and prayerfulness”.

“We are finding that the challenges that face the Church in South Africa and Uganda are things that affect us all globally, and so we should address them as one, and not severally as provinces, parishes, and dioceses. The challenges here in the UK are the same as the challenges in South Africa. For instance, the price-hike in food is affecting everybody — every parish, every congregation, every province. We must never forget where we are coming from, from belonging to Christ.”

He respected and honoured the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he had great confidence that Dr Williams would be able to take the Communion to the next step, he said. BB

THE Bishop of Zululand, the Rt Revd Dino Gabriel, said that it was a privilege to attend Lambeth at a “crucial time in the life of the Church”.

He acknowledged that there was some sadness that some bishops from the Global South would not be attending. “We do have problems, but we’ve always had problems, and the Anglican Church has always been able to find a way to move forward.

“The issue of human sexuality will come up, but I hope we will be able to discuss it with openness, courtesy, and good manners.”

He said he praised the Archbishop of Canterbury for trying to keep dialogue going, but did not know whether such an approach “would satisfy everyone”.

Bishop Gabriel is a facilitator for the small-group Bible studies at the Conference, and has enjoyed visiting his link diocese in Carlisle, and his partner church Emmanuel in Northampton. He was concerned at the length of the Conference: “I think we’ll be exhausted by the end of it.” EB

Central Africa

THE Bishop of Southern Malawi, the Rt Revd James Tengatenga, said that he hoped to be “refreshed and equipped” by the Conference, and to learn more about the mission of the Church and its place in the mission of God. He had been part of the planning team that prepared the Conference and agenda — “our offering to the Communion”.

The very existence of the Lambeth Conference strengthened the Communion. It was “a meeting of bishops for spiritual reflection, for conversation, for sharing ideas of what it is to be a bishop, and for studying our faith together and deepening our understanding of each other”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury “must lead from where the Communion is. He can’t do much. He can’t govern with papal authority. But if we are all willing to work together towards resolving the issues that are before us, he can pursue that leadership that will help us resolve them.

“We are all equals, and as a college of bishops the responsibility is not just his but belongs to us all. It is about collegiality.”

Would there be a Lambeth in 2018? “I have no doubt of that. There will be, but whether it will be big or small, whether it will be the same people, I don’t know. But it is not a question of size: it is the spirit that matters, the sharing in collegiality.” BB

Canada

THE Bishop of Toronto, the Rt Revd Colin Johnson, said that bishops at Lambeth should not expect a “revolution”. They needed to “sit down and talk to each other, and learn from each other, and listen to each other.

“I’m sorry that some bishops have chosen not to come. When people have a fight, it’s not always helpful not to talk to each other. It’s a question of respecting differences and recognising we are diverse, and knowing how to maintain a degree of unity without stifling diversity.”

The Bishop said that non-attendance was nothing new: the 1867 Conference was not attended by bishops from the Province of York. He said that he prayed daily for the Archbishop of Canterbury, and that he would “hate to be in his position”. EB

Australia

THE Rt Revd Kay Goldsworthy was the first woman bishop in Australia, working in the diocese of Perth. She said, after a press conference in Salisbury, that she hoped to learn what were the pressing concerns for ministry and mission.

Many people had made a great effort to get there. “To have a retreat is a wonderful way to start the Conference: to be able to be still and to be with each other in studying the Bible, in prayer, and in worship.”

The Conference would strengthen the Communion, she said. “There is nothing like personal encounter to strengthen the bond of fellowship. The Conference can and will enable this personal encounter, these incarnational moments, and ways to see how much we can offer to each other.”

Dr Williams was doing “a remarkably great job”, she said. “This is a time when we need someone who is deeply prayerful, and has the theological breadth and understanding and comprehensiveness that he has. It’s a hard task, and he is the person to whom we look for help as we navigate our way.”

She thought there would be a Conference in ten years’ time. “I think that it would be really exciting to discuss if it should be in Canterbury or somewhere else.” BB

Brazil

THE Bishop of Brasilia and Primate, the Most Revd Maurício Andrade, who has spent the past two months in Britain improving his English, said that he wanted the Conference to be “the moment for the Anglican Communion — as the bishops pray together — to share our story and talk and listen face to face.”

He was happy with the agenda, particularly because it would begin with a retreat. “I believe the Conference offers an opportunity to celebrate and to strengthen the Anglican ethos. We, the bishops from Brazil, come to the Conference to celebrate the diversity and the unity. I want the bishops and the Church to understand that the Lambeth Conference is not a legislative synod of the Church, but a conference for sharing our diversity as Anglicans around the world.”

Dr Williams, he said, “has, for me, been a leader for us, searching to fortify the unity of the Church.

“I believe that the Anglican Communion will be strengthened by this Conference, because it will be a moment for the bishops to stay together around the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to answer to our call of the mission of God in the context of a pluralist society and of many social contrasts and injustices.” BB

United States

THE Suffragan Bishop of Southern Ohio, the Rt Revd Ken Price, said that, although the Primates and those on the Anglican Consultative Council met regularly, Lambeth provided an opportunity for bishops to spend time with one another.

“The value of this gathering is that we have an opportunity to talk, to listen, and to action a level of understanding on a personal level. My hope is that we can arrive, lay aside our preconceived opinions and prejudices, and seek levels of connection that will override our differences.

“We have much to learn from each other, but we must be willing to be open, accepting, and loving beyond our own opinions. We need one another, and if any of us believe life without the other is easier, we will be diminished.

“Although Lambeth statements are not binding, they are a reflection of the wider Communion, and any such statements must be carefully crafted, without haste, and in the context of prayer and reflection.”

He was full of praise for the pre-Lambeth hospitality programme: “The warmth of the diocese of Hereford has done more to prepare me than anything else.” BB

THE Rt Revd Rayford B. High, a suffragan bishop in the diocese of Texas, said he was eager to get to know his sister and brother bishops on a personal and spiritual level.

He also wanted to hear how they carried out the gospel of Jesus Christ in their dioceses; and he wanted to share with them how that faith was lived out in Texas. “I am anticipating a powerful working of the Holy Spirit to draw us together in ministry, fellowship, action, and unity,” he said.

He and his wife Pat had spent nearly a week in Hereford before the Conference. BB

Sri Lanka

THE Bishop of Kurunegala, the Rt Revd Kumara Illangasinghe, reported that his country was “hugely conflict-ridden”. The challenge in his country was to find harmony between different beliefs.

“My only desire is that the whole Conference should not be dominated by just one or two issues: there are so many other issues of priority for us, especially in the whole area of conflict management.”

He wanted to hear how other bishops coped with other faiths. “We in Sri Lanka live in the midst of three other major living religions, and we want to live in harmony in our country because we have had a long tradition [of that].” The anxiety at present was that the political violence would boil over into another religious conflict.

He valued his connections with the worldwide Communion. “We are on a new phase in the Church of Ceylon, because we have just adopted our new constitution, and are now an institution incorporated by Act of Parliament. Until such time as we are able to have more bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury functions as our Metropolitan. For the moment, that keeps us in touch with the rest of the world.”

He noted and approved the shift in the Communion to the Global South. “Especially coming as a person from Asia, I can assure you we have a lot to contribute in the days to come, in the new era. It has been dominated by the northern, Western world for a long time: it may be now the time that it is moving on to the area where there are large populations spread out in the whole world.”

Dr Williams, he said, is “the right man, in the right job, for the right purpose, at the right time.

“Not only Rowan, but all of us together as a Church — we are not amateurs in this job. We have been there long enough, we are old enough, we are mature enough, and I think we will survive all these challenges.” 

Model church: overseas bishops and their wives visit the newly opened display room at Fountains Abbey © not advert
Model church: overseas bishops and their wives visit the newly opened display room at Fountains Abbey



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