Lambeth Conference Daily Account: Bishops David Alvarez of Puerto Rico, Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island
Episcopal News Service, Canterbury. July 25, 2008 [072508-01]
Bishops David Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island offer the following Daily Account for July 25 at the 2008 Lambeth Conference in Canterbury.
We started with Bible Study: John 8: 31-59: "Jesus said to them, 'Very truly I tell you before Abraham was, I am.'"
Our Bible study groups are very special because we have been able to get below the surface and talk about things that touch at our heartstrings. We've been able to discuss what it means to be different in a community -- the pain, the joy. We talked a lot today about persecution, under the banner of religion. We shared that there have been times that each one of us, at some point of our lives, have felt misunderstood. We are grateful that we speak from our hearts in Bible study. We have conversations full of integrity and depth and honesty, even to the point of tears. The Bible study groups have been more profound and getting to more communication with the other participants in analysis of text and how that leads to particular situations that refer to our diverse experiences.
The topic for today was Serving Together -- the Bishop and other churches.
In our Indaba group, we watched the video by Dame Mary Tanner, of the World Council of Churches. One of the members reminded us that Desmond Tutu had said apartheid was too strong for one church. We talked about other things that are too strong for one church, such as poverty, racism, cultural-values and environment. For example, the MDGs and environment are larger than the Anglican Communion -- these and others are issues for other religions and groups as well. We talked that in order to end poverty, we must deal with environment.
In the Indaba groups, Indaba means sit down and talk. Our Indaba groups are being re-structured so that the participants are able to focus on issues and concerns. In some cases, the Indaba groups have not fulfilled the expectations of having the opportunity to dig into a topic and dialogue.
Self-select groups concluded the afternoon with a broad selection of topics.
This evening the plenary will focus on environment.