The Archbishop of Canterbury has now written the primates and bishops of the Anglican Communion with his personal reflections of the Lambeth Conference.

Excerpt:

For the vast majority of bishops, it seems, this has been a time when they have felt God to have been at work.  The Conference was not a time for making new laws or for binding decisions; in spite of the way some have expressed their expectations, Lambeth Conferences have never worked straightforwardly in this way.  The Conference Design Group believed strongly that the chief need of our Communion at the moment was the rebuilding of relationships – the rebuilding of trust in one another – and of confidence in our Anglican identity.  And it was with this in mind that they planned for a very different sort of Conference, determined to allow every bishop's voice to be heard and to seek for a final outcome for which the bishops were genuinely able to recognize an authentic account of their own work.

I believe that the Conference succeeded in doing this to a very remarkable degree – more than most people expected.  At the end of our time together, many people, especially some of the newer bishops, said that they had been surprised by the amount of convergence they had seen.  And there can be no doubt that practically all who were present sincerely wanted the Communion to stay together.

But they also recognized the challenge in staying together and the continuing possibility of further division...

Getting my mind around exactly what is meant by the term contemplative prayer  has challenged me for some time. Lately I came across a nice, vivid metaphor from Fr. James Borst, a priest who served in India, and who wrote a guide for contemplative prayer a few years ago:

Mature Christians are meant to reach the stage of contemplative prayer. We can compare the three stages of prayer to levels of schooling. We begin in the primary grades with reading and writing – vocal prayer. The middle grades of prayer consist of meditation, where reflection on life and revelation is the main subject, although vocal prayer is not neglected. The high school of prayer is the beginning of contemplative prayer such as is recommended here. We do not forget or neglect what we have learned at the lower levels, but the growing point of our prayer life is an awakening to God’s presence and an opening to his Spirit.

 

In comparing contemplative prayer to vocal prayer, we could say that in contemplative prayer we seek an awareness that what is contained in the words we say in vocal prayer is really and truly present to us. In using the words, “Our Father who art in heaven,” we go beyond the words to an awareness of God’s presence deep within us, and we dwell in that presence. The actual words used are like the ringing of a bell that awakens us from sleep to consciousness of God’s presence within.

 

If we compare contemplative prayer to meditative prayer, we could say that instead of mulling over the truth reflectively, we come to a halt and gaze at it, awakening to God’s presence within. Meditation could be compared to the activity that goes into making and painting a picture. Contemplative prayer is the quiet looking at the completed picture, seeing it as a whole, becoming aware of the reality of the artist’s vision it portrays.

Bishop Howe has written his summary report from the Lambeth Conference and he remains firm and encouraging after watching the archbishop at work. The following report will be published in the next issue of the Central Florida Episcopalian:

The "Last" Lambeth Conference?

by John W. Howe
August 22, 2008                                                      

The first Lambeth Conference was convened in 1867 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Thomas Longley over an "internal problem" in the fledgling Anglican Church of South Africa. The Bishop of Cap Town had deposed Bishop John William Colenso for his writings that allegedly "contravened and subverted the Catholic Faith." Colenso appealed to the English courts, and was reinstated.

There were then two Bishops claiming jurisdiction in the same diocese, and Archbishop Longley became convinced the matter had grave implications for the entire Communion. A significant number of the Bishops refused to attend that first Lambeth Conference, believing its authority was limited at best and questionable at worst.

It was called "the Lambeth Conference" because it met at Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the bank of the Thames River, directly across from the Houses of Parliament.

Approximately every ten years since then another Lambeth Conference has convened, although the last four of them have been held at the University of Kent, overlooking Canterbury Cathedral, since the number of Anglican Bishops worldwide has long since outgrown the Palace.

The fourteenth such Conference took place this past month, with a surprising number of "echoes" from a century and a half ago. Once again African Bishops were among the newsmakers. Once again there were charges and counter charges regarding heretical and false teaching. Once again, there were competing jurisdictions in many places. Once again, nearly one in four of the Bishops chose not to attend.

Though it was not my original intention to do so, I ended up sending back nearly daily reports of the Conference as it unfolded (at least as I experienced it), and they remain posted on our Diocesan web site: http://www.cfdiocese.org. But now that the Conference has ended, I would like to venture a final impression.

In doing so I find myself in sharp disagreement with many who are saying that this Conference "accomplished nothing," that the Communion itself is disintegrating, and that what has just concluded will turn out to have been the "last" of the Lambeth Conferences.

It is true that the Conference passed no Resolutions, offered no Teaching Statements, and took no votes - on anything. But, on the final afternoon, in his Third Presidential Address, Archbishop Rowan Williams (in the words of one of the senior English Bishops) "decisively tipped the balance for the first time in the Conference."

Another of the Bishops put it this way, "The Bible Studies and the Indaba groups provided the backdrop for the Archbishop to speak on behalf of the whole Conference. And he did so with remarkable clarity and forcefulness." Unequivocally, he:

* Affirmed the uniqueness of Christ as "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (not "my way," or "a way"!);

* Reaffirmed Resolution 1:10 (from the 1998 Conference) as the teaching of the Anglican Communion regarding sexual behavior;

* Reiterated the Primates' call in the 2007 Communiqué from Dar es Salam for moratoria on the blessing of same-sex relationships, the consecration of priests in same-sex relationships, and the crossing of diocesan borders by Bishops of other jurisdictions;

* Endorsed once again the development of an Anglican Covenant as "the way forward";

* Endorsed the Communion Partners initiative (of which I am a part): a plan to work within the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church while remaining firmly in communion with the See of Canterbury and the vast majority of the rest of the Anglican Communion;

* Endorsed the concept of a Pastoral Forum to "engage theologically and practically with situations of controversy as they arise or divisive actions that may be taken around the Communion," and he said he will appoint the members of it within the next two months; and

* Promised to convene a meeting of the Primates "as early as possible in 2009" to "implement our vision" for the future of the Communion.

And once again, he promised to extend the hand of welcome and cooperation to "those absent from Lambeth to be involved in these next stages."

A course has been charted. A leader has spoken. And it would appear that the vast majority of the world's Anglican Bishops are prepared to follow that course with him. I believe there is more hope for our future than there has been in a very long time.

With love to all of you in our Lord,

John

Several years ago Sr. Jean recommended Henri Nouwen's book The Return of the Prodigal Son and I've finally read it. I, too, HIGHLY recommend it. A brief taste:

I am beginning to see that much of praying is grieving. This grief is so deep not just because the human sin is so great, but also -- and more so -- because the divine love is so boundless. To become like the Father whose only authority is compassion, I have to shed countless tears and so prepare my heart to receive anyone, whatever their journey has been, and forgive them from that heart.

Canon Kendall Harmon tries to light a candle for Christian education on a Sunday morning:

I have here a parish newsletter from one of the largest parishes in the country, and on their Sunday morning schedule they offer several classes for 35 minutes.

You know how this works in practice. People come out of worship, people have struggles finding a parking spot, people need to use the rest room, and before you know it, 35 minutes becomes 25 or less in practice. But this is much less time than a typical college class, or an average session in a business seminar. Does this communicate a priority on adult education?

In the comments following his blog entry, some readers note sadly that even when offered, not all church members take advantage of the opportunity for adult Christian study. I do think All Saints' in Lakeland is a notable exception in the strength of our Christian education opportunities offered on Sundays and Wednesdays. As Canon Harmon says, "following Christ is a life-long call" and a lack of continued study and learning "just won't do."

Fr. Richard Niehaus tells us he is working on a new book in which he'll reflect on the Christian experience of being aliens in this world. In a column at First Things he refers to The Letter to Diognetus, one of the documents that has survived from the first century AD.

The letter was written by a Christian, possibly toward the end of the first century, to Diognetus, a pagan who was curious about the way Christians thought of their place in the world. The author explains:

Though they are residents at home in their own countries, their behavior there is more like that of transients; they take their full part as citizens, but they also submit to anything and everything as if they were aliens. For them, any foreign country is a homeland, and any homeland is a foreign country.

The author goes on to point out that Christians reject certain practices of the Roman world. For instance, they refuse to abort their children or to practice infanticide by exposing their children to the elements, as was common among the Romans. Christians recognize, says the letter writer, that they are viewed as alien, and are not intimidated by that. On the contrary, they rejoice in it. As the soul is to the body, so are Christians to the world. As the Letter to Diognetus puts it, “The soul is captive to the body, yet it holds the body together. So Christians are held captive to the world, and yet they hold the world together.” And that is because they are the bearers of the true story of the world, whether the world wants to know it or not.

Fr. George Conger, a journalist and priest resident in the Central Florida Diocese, sits down with Albert Mohler to talk about the Lambeth Conference.  [Yes, the person who transcribed the interview has Gene Robinson's name spelled incorrectly.]