A different kind of Lambeth

[Episcopal News Service] The Lambeth Conference 2008 will be a significantly different gathering from the 1998 and 1988 sessions of the once-a-decade meeting of the bishops of the Anglican Communion, according to a member of the Conference's design team.

The design for Lambeth 2008 "is not driven by production of reports and enabling resolutions building out of the reports, and that's a significant departure from previous designs," the Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas, a member of the Episcopal Church's Executive Council and of its delegation to the Anglican Consultative Council, told the Episcopal News Service. "The focus here is on transformation, the building of communion and the engagement with each other, the goal of which is to equip the bishops to be more effective and faithful servants to the 'Missio Dei' [God's mission]."

The 2008 Conference has been in the news this week since the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, announced May 22 that a small number of bishops have not been invited to attend.

Read it all.

Posted by Jim Naughton on May 26, 2007 10:40 AM | |
Comments (2)

I applaud the concept of the next Lambeth's design. The idea that the way communion is build is through relationships rather than through governance is a welcome change from the solutions put forward beginning with Windsor, which have emphasized structure over theology, and enforcement over dialogue.

This approach holds the promise of making a more lasting change in the Communion than all the covenants and schemes we could dream up.

Having said that, this process would have even more power if the invitations to participate included every Bishop with jurisdiction in Communion with Canterbury, and kept the "guest" or "observer" status reserved for interested parties from other traditions.

How can we in the Communion rightly discern our mission if the diverse voices that make Communion the gift that it is all not all at the table?

Andrew Gerns

Posted by ATGerns [TypeKey Profile Page] | May 26, 2007 11:42 AM

I add my applause to Andrew's.

Will those who are governance-oriented refuse to attend on the basis of the agenda? Recall the "Road to Lambeth" statement by the Global South. Will they view relationships as a waste of time and money?

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | May 27, 2007 2:58 PM

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