I have been so blessed to be in a small group (eight) together with bishops from South Africa, Tanzania, Canada, Australia, England, North West Texas and Eastern Michigan. We have engaged the Scriptures, the study materials and each other in deep and deeply moving ways. Yesterday, for example, we shared some of the challenges that we face in proclaiming the Gospel in each of our contexts; and how each of us feels like a 'voice crying in the wilderness' some of the time.
Today we continue our study of St. John's Gospel, looking at the story of the woman at the well, found in 4:6-42. The study booklet is available online as a PDF and I invite you to share in this material with us.
It has been very good to hear from the Archbishop of Canterbury in his role as leader of the Conference and, especially, as the conductor of this retreat. His meditations on the role of the bishop have been profound and given me much to ponder. I hope that they will be published so that we can talk about them together.
It has been an immense privilege to have the Cathedral and Precincts to ourselves these past two days. The bishops have been able to pray and worship and sing in these sacred spaces. We wander about this ancient site and pray where prayer has been offered since 597. It is humbling to walk in the footsteps of all of the holy people of God who have borne witness to Christ here before us.Singing! We have been singing simple, powerful chants to open and close each session. They are heartfelt, mission-minded and joyous. Whatever our tensions and wounds as a Communion, still we lift up our hearts and sing praises to the Lord.
And we pray for those who chose not to attend. Archbishop Williams has mentioned them several times and called us to pray for them and for ourselves, that we might see Christ in them. We are diminished by their absence.
We are also, I believe, diminished by the absence of Bishop Robinson of New Hampshire. My heart goes out to him, to the clergy and people of his diocese and to gay and lesbian people everywhere. I will attend a special Eucharist, co-sponsored by Changing Attitude UK and Integrity, on Sunday afternoon. I will be there to stand in solidarity with Bishop Robinson and to bear witness and to pray in the hope that our Anglican Communion will one day offer full acceptance to all the faithful people of God.
It has been a joy to see other New Jersey folks here in Canterbury. The Reverend Joe Parrish, Rector of St. John's in Elizabeth, is here as a volunteer (as he was in 1998). And the Reverend Mary Frances Schjonberg, Associate at Trinity, Asbury Park, is at work here as a correspondent for the Episcopal News Service.
Bishop Sylvestre and Eva Romero are, they tell me, off to a good start. It was so good to sit with him and listen to the Archbishop's meditations. And Ruth is enjoying her own small Bible study group and the Spouses Conference.
Our rooms are at nearly the furthest distance from the meeting venues, so we are getting plenty (!) of exercise walking back and forth across the Kent University campus. Thank God for cool weather.
I must tell you of a gaffe that I committed the other day. I was one of a number of bishops who were invited to be part of a photo call for the media, to be part of some still and video images of the Archbishop of Canterbury welcoming bishops to Canterbury and the Lambeth Conference. We were filmed and photographed walking around the Cathedral. When this "photo op" was over, several of us were riding back to the Kent campus in a van. We were talking about the experience and I said jokingly that at least our people would see, on television, that we were at work in Canterbury. One of the bishops from the Sudan said, with a laugh, "But my people don't have televisions!" Ouch. I have a lot to learn about the Anglican world.
Keep on praying for us all, as we hold you in our hearts in prayer.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
+George
