Daily Account from the House of Bishops for Friday, March 7
Episcopal News Service. March 7, 2008 [030708-04]
Daily Accounts from the House of Bishops March 7-12 retreat meeting in in Navasota, Texas will be posted here.
The retreat meeting focuses on private conversations that are closed to media and other visitors. The bishops who are briefing officers are offering these reports under an initiative of the House of Bishops Planning Committee and the Church Center Office of Public Affairs.
Daily Account from the House of Bishops for Friday, March 7
- The bishops of the Episcopal Church gathered throughout the day, and greeted each other with warmth and affection.
- The first session of the House of Bishops began at 3 p.m. with prayer, songful praise, and announcements.
- Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori welcomed the House and introduced new bishops: Mary Gray-Reeves of El Camino Real; Dan Edwards of Nevada; Kee Sloan, suffragan bishop of Alabama; Mark Lawrence of South Carolina; Jeff Lee of Chicago; and Steve Lane, bishop-elect of Maine (whose consents have been received). Prince Singh has been elected bishop of Rochester but his consent process has not been completed.
- Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori shared her hopes for the upcoming Lambeth Conference: "that we go with a sacrificial attitude open to one another, expecting divine encounters," that "we are willing to embrace the pain of difference as a sign of hope" and that "we avoid pre-judgments." "I hope we build bridges for greater mission engagement," she said.
- Ed Little of Northern Indiana, chair of the HOB Planning Committee, noted, "Our agenda during this meeting will weave in and out of discussions about the Lambeth Conference."
- There was a presentation on the historical perspective of Lambeth by the Rev. Paula D. Nesbitt, Ph.D. of the Diocese of California; and an update on current plans by the Rt. Rev. Miguel Tamayo of Cuba and a member of the Lambeth Planning Committee. In his presentation, Tamayo said that the stated goals of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Design Committee for the Lambeth Conference are "to equip bishops to be more effective leaders in God's mission and to strengthen the Anglican Communion."
- Eucharist was celebrated following the afternoon session.
- After dinner, the evening session was devoted to a Lambeth discussion with the afternoon speakers along with Don Wimberly of Texas, John Chane of Washington, D.C., Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, and Robert O'Neill of Colorado. The session will begin with a discussion of the question posed by Nesbitt in the afternoon: Have we reached a 'tipping point' toward a new way of striving toward social change?
- The 2008 Spring Retreat of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church is being held from Friday, March 7 to Wednesday, March 12 at Camp Allen, in Texas.
Media Briefers for Friday, March 7, 2008:
The Rt. Rev. Richard Chang, vice president of the House of Bishops and retired bishop of Hawai'i
The Rt. Rev. Robert O'Neill, bishop of Colorado