Unity and Anglican identity
UNITY AND ANGLICAN IDENTITY
The Lambeth Conference of the world wide Anglican Communion is a symbol of unity. It takes place every 10 years in Canterbury, uniting about 80 million Anglicans world wide. Lambeth 2008 took place at Kent’s University from July 16 to August 3, attended by 650 Bishops and Archbishops with their sparse. The spirit of unity was threatened with the boycotts and recriminations of 230 bishops from this summit. The controversy started with the election and cause creation in of our openly gay Episcopalian bishop, Gene Robinson, in New Hampshire U S A. He was not invited to the Conference. When the world spoke of a break-up of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, the Lambeth Conference proved itself a symbol of unity with the bishops agreeing to seek a new way to resolve the present crisis and pre-empt future ones.
The Way to Unity:
The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Roman Williams (58) who was enthroned in 2003 began the Conference with a Retreat for the bishops for three days and planned the sessions of the next two weeks with Bible study and Holy Communion an every day. Franciscan brothers and sisters organized morning and night prayers each day and led the intercessory prayers in the conference daily during communion Service and evening prayer. There was also room-prayers. This enabled the Anglican Communion to experience communion fellowship in the conference and seek a deeper entry into the place where Christ stands and to find its unity there. This spiritual experience of 18 days together helped the leaders of the Church to grow into a binding relationship and a sense of belonging which could help each one to realize that ‘bay and diversity his Christian unity’. In the words of Bp. Roman, ‘Christian unity is union with Jesus Christ, accepting his gift of grace and forgiveness, learning from him how to speak to his Father, standing where he stands by the power of the Spirit’..
Journeying with the Word of God
Bible study was planned for everyday where groups of 8 bishops from difference continents would sit together to explore the message of the Scripture. Resource material was mailed to each participant month earlier. The Gospel according to St. John was the text chose for study which reminded every one that the life and ministry of Jesus Christ is not confined by place or time. We understand Jesus and a person whose significance spans infinity and eternity. The focus was on the ‘I am statements of Jesus’ reflected through 14 Bible portions where Jesus bridges Jew and entitle, man and women. One could also see how he holds together infinity and intimacy within the life of the Trinity.
Journeying with Jesus through the Gospel of John is a journey to the Father (Jesus exists in the trosom of the Father-Jn 1: 18) through the Cross where his glory is displaced in the deepest weakness and apparent defeat. This challenged the bishops to see oneself and the Church abiding in Christ and find the glory in the struggle and apparent failure. The call for each one is a call for discipleship and for commitment to God’s mission in the world.
Together in Mission
Lambeth Conference 2008 took a new form the form of indaba-based upon an African ideal of purposeful discussion on the common concerns of our shared life. Like our Nattu-koottam of old Travancore, this was a process and a method of engagement where 5 Bible study groups, 40 persons, listened to one another. It acknowledged first and foremost that there are issues that need to be addressed effectively to foster ongoing community living. Every aspect of the conference was an expression of indaba where common views were listened and reflected. This created a space for every participant to open up, air the views and listen to others. It was the aim of the Conference to lead the participants to transformed relationships.
Equipping bishops for mission was a process through every aspect of the Conference. The participants we challenged through the presentations from distinguished guests in topics like evangelism, social justice, ecology and covenant in the Hebrew Scriptures. In addition, there were a wealth of self select session where bishops could choose from a variety of topics according to one’s taste and read. Bishops from the Arctic to the Equator, from mountains regions to Pacific islands, from shanty towns to wealthy cities, from centuries old diocese to the newly planted experienced the life together and learned to be blessed with the richness of the Universal Church.
An Inclusive Church
The formal inauguration of the Conference was marked by the opening Eucharist in the Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday July 20, 2008. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided from the Chair of St. Augustine and the Sermon was preached by the Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka. A beautiful expression of Anglican cultural diversity was seen in the song and dance by the Melanesian brothers and sisters as the Book of the Gospels was carried through the Cathedral. The order of worship was formed by the use of many languages. Representatives of the bishops in communion were given active participation in the opening and closing Eucharist’s in the Cathedral.
The Chaplaincy team and the musicians’ team made worship a key part of each day. There was Eucharist an each morning and Evening prayers in each evening which incorporated liturgical and musical material from difference Provinces of the Anglican Communion and led in a variety of languages.
An open Church
A sparses conference was organized along with the Bishops conference by the able leadership of Jane Williams, sparse of Archbishop Roman Williams for the entire three weeks, thus enabling the sparse to have study sermons separately and worship times jointly.
Prior to the Lambeth Conference the bishops of the Church of Ireland invited groups of bishops to stay in their diocese to feel at home and to get enriched in the communion fellowship of the world wide Church.
The conference also extended invitations to 70 bishops to participate an ecumenical guests. The representatives were formally welcomed in the conference, briefed through a special session and gave an opportunity to meet the Archbishop through a garden party. Before the end of the Conference, a special meeting of the Ecumenical partners was convened where the Archbishops heard the views and comments and responded to all the concerns expressed. Archbishop also met the Bishops in full communion explore the possibility of strengthening the growth of the life together.
The Archbishop and family invited all participants for a lunches meeting at his residence as an expression of his filial affection to all. They also found time in the evenings to invite smaller groups to their garden party, sparing up occasions Symbol of unity, the Archbishop was always available and approachable. He participated with the delegates in almost all sessions.
A walk in London
The Conference accepted the invitation of the Archbishop Rowan and other religious leaders to join them in a march of witness from white hall in London to Lambeth Palace. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Garden Brown and the Anglican Communion’s observer to the United Nations, Hallen Wangush addressed the gathering. In a letter presented to the Prime Minister on behalf of the Bishops, the Archbishop write: “Because our faith challenges us to eradicate poverty and not merely reduce it, we should be all the more alarmed that by the present speed, most of the achievable targets will not be met. The cause is not lack of recourses, but a lack of global political will. When they meet in New York at the United Nations in 25 September, World leaders must find greater political commitment to addressing poverty and inequality. A time table for achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 needs to be created…….”. For the Lambeth Conference, this was an expression of unity of the Church with the entire creation. The Gospel is not just the proclamation of individual redemptions and renewal, but the transformation of the entire world under the Reign of God; the ending of injustice and restoration of right relationship with God and between human being and between humanity and creation
GAFCON Declaration
As the invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury went to the bishops in different provinces of the Anglican Communions, about 200 bishops mainly from Africa met at Jerusalem to express their views on the gay and lesbian issues and made of declarations called the GAFCON Declaration. Even though the gay bishop Gene Robinson was not invited to the Conference, most of the bishops who met at Jerusalem abstained from the Lambeth Conference thus threatening a break-up in the Anglican Communion. The Reflections from Lambeth Conference, which was produced and published an Indaba Reflections running up to 44 pages said: “We are very aware that same of our fellow bishop who met in Jerusalem last month have not been present at the Lambeth Conference. We have been diminished by their absence. We shall seek ways in which they may be drawn into our deliberations and held in communion.
Building Bridges
From the very beginning, the Archbishop Rowan Williams emphasized the common bands of Christian Unity shared by the bishops. It is said that the previous Lambeth Conference of 1998 saw bishops booed when making speeches. This time the archbishop succeeded in neutralizing acrimony, reminding bishops of their higher calling and showing them the bigger Anglican picture. He asked the conference to concentrate on two themes: Equipping Bishops for Mission and strengthening Anglican Identity.
Subsequent to the consecration of gay American bishop in 2003 a rift (a wand) has expressed itself most keenly in the opposed views of traditionalists, primarily in Africa and far eastern Asia who opposed any concession to homosexuality and of more liberals in North America who favored the ordination of openly gay and lesbian members and church blessing for the same sex unions.
There are three aspects that was discussed for clarity:
(i) How the Church evangelizes, discipline and provides pastoral care for homosexual people:
(ii) How and an what basis the Church admits people 6to sacred orders’ and
(iii) How the Church deals with the first two locally and globally.
There were repeated statements of the desire to remain in communion while attempting to maintain a generous space for ongoing discussions. The Indaba Reflections said: “We have come from different backgrounds, contexts and experiences. As Bishop we need to repent on the ways in which our hardness of heart toward each other may have contributed to the brokenness of our communion at this present time. We need to repent of statements and actions that have further damaged the dignity of homosexual persons. People who have held traditional views on this matter have sometimes felt that they have been dismissed with ridicule or contempt”.
In his concluding talk the Archbishop said: “Our communion longs to stay together…… It is seeking deeper entry into the place where Christ stands, to find its Unity there……… To be with him in unity, in prayer and love, in intimacy with the Father, is at the same time to be with him among the rejected and disfigured”. Lambeth 2008 did not overcome all the problems or reinvented structures to held the world wide Anglican communion. But the Archbishop, understanding the pulse of the conference, said:
1. Primates meeting will be convened as early as possible in 2009.
2. He would look within a couple of specification for the task and composition of a Pastoral Forum to months for a clear and detailed address the grievances and to avoid further ecclesial confusion.
3. He would help to shape the implementation of the proposals outlined in the Indaba Reflections Document soon.
4. A special meeting will be convened in November of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the ACC,
5. Those who absented from the Lambeth 2008 will be invited to involve in the above proceedings.
The Archbishop in hopeful to draft a Covenant (Document of mutual understanding) within a year but that has to get the approval from the 44 national and regional Churches of the Anglican Communion. This may necessitate to call another Lambeth after five years. In the meantime, there is a concern among the bishops for continuing the “moratoria” on the (a) ordination of gay and lesbian priests (b) blessing for same-sex unions and (c) for matching restraint by traditionalist who threatened to walk out unless traditional views proscribing Church acceptance of homosexuality prevailed. Good News of Unity.
The Lambeth 2008 concluded with surprising results: a surprising level of great willingness to stay together and a surprising level of agreement about what might be necessary to make that happen. The Archbishop said in conclusion:
“What is most important is to say to you that it is your work, your patient, lively, important, hopeful engagement with each other that has, by God’s grace, brought us where we are. …….As you return, be bearers of good news to all your communities-above all, of the Good News of Our Lord’s promise that where he is, there his servants will be. There is our unity, there in our hope, there is the gift we have celebrated and, I trust, re discovered in our time 6together. Thanks be to God”.
