Bishops at Lambeth Interviewed by CBS Television, London
Diocesan Press Service. August 26, 1968 [68-13]
LONDON, England -- The cameras rolled. The CBS television reporter asked the Bishops :
"Did you feel detached from reality during your Lambeth deliberations?"
The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. F. D. Coggan, Archbishop of York, said "no."
"We've been dealing with the 'real.' God is real. Man is real, and our job is the real job of bringing the two together."
The questions and answers were exchanged in the London studios of CBS News. It was being filmed for the CBS television program "Lamp Unto My Feet," which will be broadcast on Sunday, September 29. (Check local newspapers, TV Guide or the local CBS affiliate.)
Other Bishops taking part in the television program on Lambeth '68 were: The Rt. Rev. C.H. de Soysa, Bishop of Colombo; the Rt. Rev. M.N.C.O. Scott, Bishop of Sierra Leone; and the Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., first vice president of the Episcopal Church's Executive Council and former executive officer of the Anglican Communion. Ben Flynn of CBS News acted as moderator.
What was Lambeth all about ?
The Bishops talked about many things. The Pope and "the pill. " The Renewal of the Church. The "have" and "have not" nations. War and peace. Women in the ministry.
Speaking about Church Unity, the Bishop of Colombo remarked, "In the East, there is an urgency about unity. Half the people of the world live in the East and only a few per cent are Christians. Lambeth has encouraged those of us who are negotiating Church unions to go ahead. "
Talking about the economic problems of the new nations of Africa, the Bishop of Sierra Leone offered:
"Merely sending gifts is first aid. Helping developing countries to stand on their feet is real Christian love."
On the same subject, the Bishop of Colombo added:
"To increase the income of the developing countries, the West will have to make sacrifices."
He suggested that the sacrifices might be a part of the West's profits.
"It might mean paying another five cents for your coffee."
The Archbishop of York, who had been outspoken in his advocacy of women in the ministry, was not discouraged by what appeared to many at Lambeth as a weak stand on the subject.
"We have said to Deaconesses, 'You are real ministers.' We have told them that they can preach, baptize, and assist in the administration of the Holy Communion.
"As for women priests and even Bishops," the Archbishop added, "Lambeth began an openness toward the idea of women in the ministry."
What was the heart of the Lambeth Conference? Bishop Bayne put it this way:
"Lambeth is a meeting of brothers, brothers who need to be comforted, instructed and strengthened by each other."
Will Lambeth meet again ten years from now? All the Bishops agreed that Church unity is moving so fast that many of the Bishops at this year's Lambeth would be in the emerging new Churches, but that by whatever name it was called, there would still be a need for the "brothers to gather. "