Today's Holy Eucharist is celebrated by the Church of the Province of Tanzania. After breakfast, our Bible study/prayer group touches on moral issues and relations among the national churches. One bishop affirms strong personal convictions on such issues, but believes that personal convictions should be subordinated to unity ... For this week I transferred from the "Subsidiarity" group of Section III ("Called to be Faithful in a Plural World") to "Youth." Thirteen bishops (six Africans, two Latinos, two English and three Americans) discuss youth ministry, its blessings and its challenges (including, in at least one report, those living with HIV/AIDS), in their dioceses. The attraction to pentecostalism among some Anglican young people confounds me.

Mass today was celebrated by the Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East - the appropriate, and perhaps corrective context for the heady activities of London Day. We board buses early. At Lambeth Palace, residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, luncheon featured four courses, plus sweets with coffee, a menu for a gourmand - and served to 2,000 people in sit-down elegance! Tony Blair, the Prime Minister and a committed Anglican, demonstrated both his charisma, and his knowledge of the ministry and call of the church. At Buckingham Palace, we were admitted into the palace grounds through the forbidding, crest-adorned gateway through which I have previously only peeked, and here, unlike Canterbury Cathedral a week earlier, security was indeed tight. After turning over our invitations, we were escorted through the familiar edifice so well known to the public, and into the gardens beyond, open only to guests. At the appointed time, a fanfare announced the entrance of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh (someone said Prince Andrew followed, but I did not notice him). I eventually got close enough for a good view. At the River Thames for our cruise, pro-gay demonstrators met us at the docks (and numerous paparazzi to cover the scene), some wearing mock episcopal attire, bearing banners and chanting "Church of England, Church of Fear."

I awoke at 4 a.m., arose shortly thereafter to do some reading and to transcribe my notes (having served as recorder for the sub-plenary, actions taken on proposed resolutions needed to be filed). The Episcopal Church, USA, was in charge of the liturgy this morning, the Presiding Bishop celebrating; four languages were used, reflecting America's cultural diversity: Bishop Duracin of Haiti, with whom Upper South Carolina has a companion relationship, participated in French; Spanish; Bishop Stephen Plummer (Navajoland) gave a concluding prayer and the episcopal blessing (when I later asked him the language he had used, he answered, "American"). The sense of community within our Bible study/prayer group continues to grow stronger and stronger. Some of us express regret that the only American voice apparently being heard is that of Bishop Spong. Evening Prayer, like the daily Holy Eucharist, is done in total community; officiants and other participants are likewise rotated among the various national churches. Today, the Church of the Province of Melanesia conducted the evening office. Afterwards, an attention-getter: The Archbishop of Canterbury gave us a fatherly "pep" talk. He is aware, he said, that there are "worries" - questions about outcome; pressure for resolutions; some bishops who feel that the conference is being controlled. He wants to allay our "anxieties."

Breakfast with another American bishop. He tells me that there are rumors of a concerted effort among Asian and African bishops which they hope will ensure that the Kuala Lumpur Statement is adopted as the official position of the Anglican Communion. Following breakfast we begin "an optional 24 hours of fasting." In Bible study, we recognized the need of the church to create within and without (and at Lambeth itself) a "culture of forgiveness" - reconciliation without the loss of face. This discussion seemed an apt prelude to the spiritual emphasis of the day. Jean Vanier, a Roman Catholic, made an address on holiness.

Our prayer and Bible study group focused on Paul's appeal to the Christians in Corinth for financial support for the church in Jerusalem. One of the questions for discussion is "With ... talk of Anglican 'interdependence,' how do we find a practicable equivalent in today's world and church ... the equality Paul is calling for...?" Our talk quickly turned to our concern over, and questions about, the international debt and the appeal for the church to support its forgiveness. Today's plenary session brought great joy: its subject was "Youth," and it began with a presentation by the "Ascension Eagles," a team of champion European cheerleaders from inner-city London (sponsored by Ascension Church). At lunch, two bishops and the spouse of one (English-speaking, perhaps Australians) sat nearby; their conversation indicates that they see the sexuality issues as clearly moral and attribute the current dilemma to American bishops. Outside, at the entrance to the college, a group (later removed by police) carried banners bearing quotes from scripture which support the views expressed in that conversation.

These are the only two free days of the conference - and we need them! I take a train to London, where I change for Harpenden. (The scenery reminds me that I have done nothing about acquiring a copy of Canterbury Tales, and I realize I am succumbing to the "Canterbury bug" that has been making the rounds.) Reaching my destination mid-afternoon, I am met by the Rev. Jonathan Smith, vicar of St. John the Baptist, who has invited me to be the parish's guest for the weekend. That evening we drive into the country for dinner at a l7th-century pub where George Bernard Shaw is said to have done much of his writing (whoever said the English can't cook?). The next morning I celebrate Holy Eucharist and preach twice; afterwards one of the wardens, his wife and mother, host us for a typical and delicious English meal - roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with outrageous desserts - a dinner to be remembered!

The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr., is the Bishop of Upper South Carolina.