Ruth and I were happy to travel with Bishop Sylvestre and Eva Romero on Sunday, July 13th to attend the Lambeth Conference together with over 600 other bishops of the Anglican Communion.
After a beautiful day (July 14th) of sight-seeing in London (St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Eye), Ruth and I made our way via train from Victoria station to Canterbury. On our train were bishops and spouses from Panama, Pakistan and Kenya. This was the beginning of our Lambeth experience.
When we arrived at Kent University we immediately saw two friends from the Diocese of New Jersey: Allie Graham (who has her own blog), a member of Grace-St. Paul's in Mercerville; and Neva Rae Fox, a member of St. John's in Somerville. Neva Rae is Director of Media Relations for our Presiding Bishop and Allie is a graduate student at Rutgers, here to serve as a steward — an all around assistant to the Conference. These stewards are young, very helpful and wonderfully enthusiastic.
In our first minutes on campus, we also enjoyed seeing Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion and Canon Deacon Jim Rosenthal, Communications Director of the Anglican Communion, both of whom we have come to know through the Compass Rose Society.Once we got settled into our dormitory accommodation — Ruth in her single room and I in mine — we went in search of some lunch. We were too late for lunch in one dining room, but we were sent to Darwin College where (and I'm not making this up) the bistro and bar is known as Origins. There we enjoyed lunch in the company of the Primate of Brazil and the Primate of Pakistan and his wife.
I attended an evening introductory meeting of small group Bible study leaders. The Archbishop of Canterbury welcomed us and spoke of being upheld in the prayers of others. I remembered all of those in New Jersey who have assured me of your prayers. Keep on praying, please, throughout the Conference.
Sadly, not all of the bishops of the Anglican Communion will be here, as we know. (But there are to be 57 interpreters and translators here!) After less than a few hours here, I am very excited to be among those bishops who are in attendance. It's quite a remarkable assembly and I intend to make the most of it, as does Ruth with the parallel Spouses Conference.
Last week I spent a couple of days at the Episcopal Youth Event in San Antonio, Texas where 1200 youth and advisors were gathered for their triennial program. I was proud of our NJ youth delegates, our adult advisors and, especially of Canon Kep Short and Deacon Debi Clarke. I hope we all can see and enjoy the on camera work of Kep, who was the star of a wonderful introduction and conducted an on-camera interview with our Presiding Bishop.
But it was the joy and enthusiasm, the dedication and energy of those young people that was my best preparation for this Lambeth Conference. They love our Lord and they love their Church. Their songs echo in my mind now as I write from Canterbury. God bless them for giving this bishop hope and confidence with which to face the challenges and the opportunities of Lambeth.
With love, in Christ, from Canterbury, I am,
Faithfully yours,
+George
