Lambeth Conference will focus on equipping bishops for mission
Episcopal News Service. May 16, 2008 [051608-03]
Matthew Davies
When the bishops of the Anglican Communion convene in Canterbury this summer for the 2008 Lambeth Conference, they will find a gathering differing in many ways from its predecessors and one that is intended to strengthen their sense of a shared Anglican identity and help to equip them for their roles as leaders in mission.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has invited more than 800 bishops to attend the July 16-August 3 conference on the campus of the University of Kent in southeast England. A separate conference for the bishops' spouses will run concurrently.
Unlike previous conferences, the 2008 gathering will include fewer plenary sessions, opting instead for smaller study groups where the bishops can interact on a more personal level.
The conference will begin with three retreat days "in which we can spend time together in quiet and begin to direct our minds towards the central issues of faith," said Williams.
The main conference days are split into four sections: group Bible study, expanded group meetings, self-selecting groups and optional "fringe" events. Bible study groups will include about eight bishops and will be followed by expanded groups of about 40 bishops. For the self-selecting groups, the bishops may choose between various workshops, seminars or discussions that will focus on a particular conference topic. Fringe events will provide an opportunity for entertainment and fellowship through film screenings, theater productions, dinners and discussions.
According to the Lambeth Conference Design Group, which has met regularly since February 2004 in preparation for the 2008 gathering, the bishops will address issues such as the Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS, ethical/green living, Anglican identity and the Anglican covenant, the Listening Process, and ecumenical and interfaith relationships.
The conference "will not resemble a parliamentary debating chamber with a string of resolutions but will aim to provide time and space for spiritual reflection, learning, sharing and discerning," the group notes.
Not a lawmaking body
The gathering, which has been convened roughly once every 10 years since its inception in 1867, "has never been a lawmaking body in the strict sense, and it wasn't designed to be one: Every local Anglican province around the world has its own independent system of church law, and there is no supreme court," Williams said at the January launch of the conference program.
During a pre-conference hospitality initiative, every bishop and spouse attending the Lambeth Conference and Spouses Conference will enjoy the hospitality of an English, Scottish or Welsh diocese.
Citing the work of Anglican organizations such as the Mothers' Union and the partnership relations between bishops and dioceses from different parts of the communion, Williams said: "These close and personal relationships, which are not often in the headlines because they simply carry on doing the work they set out to do, are part of the solid ground that helps us cope with the turbulence in other areas. The program of pre-Lambeth hospitality which is being offered by local churches here in the United Kingdom will help to consolidate these relationships for the future, in ways that will respect the integrity of all."
Some bishops and primates have indicated their intention to boycott the Lambeth Conference. But Williams has said that, "in spite of the painful controversies which have clouded the life of the communion for the last few years, there remains, as many people have repeatedly said, a very strong loyalty to each other and a desire to stay together."
New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly gay man ordained a bishop in 2003, has not been invited to attend the conference as an official participant, but he plans to visit Canterbury.
Expressing his gratitude for the hard work of the design group and Sue Parks, Lambeth Conference manager, Williams described the program as "unusually varied and original" and said it would provide "a fresh style of working which will allow us both to confront differences honestly and to be focused anew on our primary tasks of service and mission."
The Rev. Ian Douglas, a member of the design group and Angus Dun professor of world Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said, "Conversation across differences for the sake of building up the body of Christ and strengthening the Anglican Communion is exactly what we need right now."