First Reflection on the Lambeth Conference

First Reflection on the Lambeth Conference.
From Bishop Martin.
Argyll and The Isles.
The Pre-Lambeth Visit: Planes and Boats and Buses.


Bishop Surya and his wife Veendya [The Diocese of Karimnagar, North India] stood on the deck of David Ainsley’s powerful boat ‘Porpoise’ and played right into my romantic conceptions of that mystical looking which I associate with those of a spiritual nature from the Indian Subcontinent. They were one of the episcopal couples who were being hosted in the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles as part of the Pre-Lambeth Conference programme. The appeal of what I have imagined to be an Indian spiritual temperament arose in my early experiences of being an Episcopalian. Back in the 1960s, the Rector of St Barnabas, Paisley, my home town, was the saintly John Aaron, originally from the Church of South India, whose wife Grace had that redoubtable quality of not having to try too hard to convey her authority. Both John and Grace had that look, as if they were patiently waiting for a realisation to come from some distant place about which the rest of us were unaware. I could see the same in Surya and Veendya.

Bishop Wayne and I were wondering, before the conference began, whether he would still be the tallest Bishop in the Anglican Communion. The verdict now is…just! He is closely followed by a Bishop from Khartoum – Joseph. Wayne and his wife Holly, of course, are well known to our Diocese. My predecessor, +Douglas and his wife Pat, created the companion relationship with the Diocese of Delaware and that relationship remains strong. Speaking of his height, he says it is an advantage in a crowd provided he’s not late for an appointment!
I plan to be writing several reflections on Lambeth, which will include my experience of sharing the conference with the Bishops of the American Episcopal Church and their spouses. I would only comment, at this stage, that most of the American Bishops I met at the conference, including Wayne himself, were enormously patient and generous, given their experience of Bishops from other parts of the communion who exercise alternative episcopal oversight without courtesy or consent. This practice has developed as a result of a reaction from some parts of the Anglican Communion to the American Episcopal Church’s decision to permit the nomination and ordination of a bishop [Gene Robinson] in a same-sex relationship. Although this was expected to be and became an important feature of the conference, from my perspective it was by no means the most significant given the global environmental, poverty and conflict issues that were addressed and engaged with at depth. (More of this in further reflections] Wayne’s gentleness and strength are indeed an example. Holly, Wayne’s wife, returned to the States following the pre-Lambeth visit. Like many Bishop’s spouses, she had her own work to do. Holly is a practice nurse covering a wide range of medical issues in Wilmington, Delaware.

One of our experiences during the Pre-Lambeth weekend was the welcome Festival Evensong for the Feast of St Benedict at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Cumbrae. Alastair Chisholm and the St Maura Singers prepared fine music and with the beautiful and traditional liturgy of the Cathedral, our episcopal guests were truly introduced into the small, beautiful and challenging life of our Diocese.

The Archbishop of Aoterea,Turei, [New Zealand], has a fascinating Christian name – Brown. Now, I was tempted beyond self-control to ask him if there were connections, given his name, to Scotland, given the immigration history of New Zealand. That produced a smile and a ‘d’know’ look. He and his wife Mihi had the misfortune to have had their luggage mislaid prior to arriving at Glasgow Airport. Turei is a quiet man who has a constant and gentle smile. The connection was made with him through Fiona Rice and the Mothers’ Union. Getting to know Turei and Mihi revealed how strong the MU is in other parts of the Anglican Communion, deeply involved practically and widely in desperate circumstances. Many communities and family life is breaking down, even in New Zealand, including among indigenous or first nation peoples.

Yes, during the Pre-Lambeth weekend, we had a visit to Inveraray Castle. You can imagine that, despite the polite restraint, there was understandable fascination with the history of a culture that had a strong influence on our colonial history. During the conference itself, I became deeply aware of the history of British Missionary organisations (e.g. USPG and CMS) which accompanied that history. These eras may have passed, but the Christian legacy is now bearing huge fruit and a ‘shifting of gravity’ to where Anglicanism is growing and flowering.
I caught one of our guests staring open-mouthed at the hall in the castle filled with pikes, swords and muskets. I commented, perhaps inappropriately, that the images of Argyll that such a quantity of weaponry creates, was of a part of Scotland in 18th century, not unlike the Balkans and the Caucasus in the 20th and 21st century. Our guide was fascinating. But I shall never forget her answer to the question: ‘What is that huge wool tassel just under the sharp part of the pikes. The calm answer? ‘Oh, that’s to collect the blood so that the handle of the pike doesn’t become slippery’!

Tanzania is an African Country where Christianity is strong and growing. Bishop Mdimi, the Bishop of Central Tanganyika, another Bishop in the Argyll and The Isles group, told me that on the Sunday before he left for the Lambeth Conference, he had confirmed 150 people at the Sunday morning Eucharist and a further 100 people in the evening. For that, he needed the assistance of two retired bishops. He was stunned into silence when I told him that in my four years, I had only confirmed 12 people in total. Comparison by statistics, of course, is not helpful. Our cultural and ecclesial circumstances are so different. One of Mdimi’s challenges, of course, is how those numbers of new confirmed are then nurtured and supported. One of the challenges to me, nevertheless, is to ask myself what is our mission not just in wide sweeping terms as in our Diocesan Vision [“Christ call us to live like Him is Word, Sacrament, prayer and Service amongst others”], but also locally in our little charges, as our culture seems to face increasing distance from Christianity, where many have had little or no significant exposure to Christianity, let alone its teaching. Sadly, not long after the conference got under way, Mdimi’s wife, Irene, had to return to Australia, from where she originated, because of their son’s illness.

Elspeth, my dear wife, with her trusty team – Beth Connolly, Fiona Rice, Christiane Lee and Vanessa Kilpatrick, have given time, creativity and careful organisation to the pre-Lambeth visit of the four Bishops and their wives: Hospitality, Ceilidh, Minibus, Travel, Boats and the hosting Charges of Dunoon, Duror, Campbeltown and Oban. Thank you to them for their hard work and many gifts. That work, I believe, set a tone of care and friendship which was essential for the Conference itself. However, none of that welcome would have been possible if it was not for the generosity of charges across our Diocese that contributed to the weekend. Christ was ‘on the ground’ with us throughout and we set off for Canterbury with a sense of that image of Christ also ‘going before us’.
One footnote to this reflection…. The journey from Glasgow, by coach to Canterbury took 15 hours! There was a three hour delay on the M6. However, Christ was there as well. There I stood on the third lane of the motorway, surrounded by stationary (you will glad to now!) solid metal, talking to the Archbishop of Quebec, who was hosted in the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness, talking about mission in remote rural Churches in Canada and Scotland. Thank you M6.
My next reflection will be on the Retreat in Canterbury Cathedral for Bishops before the conference itself began. Watch this space…

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
Sunday 10th August 2008.