The Road to Canterbury: Pre-Lambeth Reflections

Day one. Our Lambeth journey begins with a plane that does not fly. We went to the Memphis airport on July 10 at noon. We left at 6:00 p.m. for home because bad weather in Atlanta caused us to miss our connection to London. Therefore, we repeated the process again on the 11th with much greater success.

Day two. We left on that Friday at 10:00 a.m. and arrived Saturday at Gatwick Airport, London at about 1:30 p.m. From there we boarded a train to Newport, Wales. At this point we felt that our real pilgrimage had begun.

Blessed with a wonderful placement at Risca, Wales, Jeannie and I began three days of non-stop immersion into this place of rugged beauty. We were blessed to be hosted by the Venerable John Blackburn and his wife, Ann. I should add that their terrier, Ramsey (named for the former Archbishop of Canterbury) was also an integral part of their family. The squeaky toy treat we brought Ramsey from our two boxer puppies was a big hit. He ran through the backyard making figure eights and swinging the toy in his mouth as if he had caught a great intruder and was giving it a through thrashing.

Our first evening included a lovely outdoor gathering at the vicarage. We met people from the parish where Vicar John and Ann were serving. John’s background was in the military as a chaplain. He had retired from the post and had done a wonderful job as Vicar for St. Margaret’s.

Day three. On Sunday, I walked from the Vicarage to St. Margaret’s, about a ten minute walk through the town. Jeannie and I were welcomed by the congregation, and I was privileged to preach and celebrate as well as to dedicate the newly renovated porch entrance to the nave. Following the service, the parishioners offered us a wonderful reception at which one of the parishioners, Dave, had put together a display of artifacts from the coal mining history of the area. This driving force for the Welsh economy had all but come to an end with the use of other fuel sources, but recent advances in the cost of gasoline have opened the possibility of making the coal extraction costs worthy of reconsideration. Dave, who provided the display, was more than kind to do so. His wife of many years had died only a week or so earlier, and his generous commitment to prepare this display is all the more admirable on his part.

Sunday following services, Jeannie and I joined Vicar John, Ann, the Wardens and their husbands for lunch at the vicarage. Four hours later we finished a wonderful time of fellowship with the awareness from Jeannie and me that it is rare for us to sit for such a time of sharing on a Sunday afternoon.

Sunday evening ended with Evensong at the Cathedral. It is a Norman structure with many original features that even predate this construction phase. At that time, we met the other bishops who had been assigned to Wales for our pre-Lambeth welcome. David and his wife, Carol, are from South Africa. Jim and his wife, Lala, are from Australia. Filidelphio and his wife, Dulce, are from Rio. Our host, Bishop Dominic, is originally from England but comes to this ministry with Welsh roots. He was most gracious in inviting us, and we were particularly excited to have been assigned to be with John and Ann Blackburn. We were immediately struck by the genuine love and character of these good people. On Sunday night, after all the other activities of the day, the Vicar and I stayed up until midnight and, over a wee dram of very good Scotch whiskey, discussed the experiences and thoughts we had on life in parish ministry. I would say it is a fair comment to say that I learned a lot from the Vicar.

Day four. Monday was a full day of sightseeing. Our bishops’ and spouses’ group climbed aboard a two-level open top bus and were given a tour of the town of Newport, the see city of the Diocese of Monmouth, our host group. Following the day-long outing, we attended a farewell gathering at Bishop Dominic’s home with some twenty or more people. We were, throughout our trip, wined and dined on the wonderful Welsh and English food that people so generously made, as we were frequently told, from scratch. Fantastic. As a farewell gesture, Bishop Dominic gave each bishop and his spouse a lovely Celtic cross as a reminder of this time together.

We ended our evening at the Bishop’s home and returned to the Vicarage for an earlier evening’s rest. Tuesday was packing day, and we joined another group of bishops who were traveling toward Canterbury and made our way by bus to that awaited site for our conference to begin. These bishops and spouses include some from Jamaica, North Carolina, Rio and West Tennessee. Our driver, Jim, is a priest of the Diocese of Monmouth and works as a development officer on the diocesan staff. A former lorry driver turned priest, he was well suited to take our group on the four and a half hour drive from Wales to the University of Kent in Canterbury.

Arriving at about 5:00 p.m. in Canterbury, Jeannie and I waited for our luggage to be delivered to our two adjoining but, alas, separate dormitory rooms. We had heard that this was going to be the case, but it was still not what we had hoped in the course of this three and a half week conference. We are trying to figure out how to move our separate sleeping arrangements into one room and all our desks and chests of drawers into the other. We will see what we can do over time, but for tonight we are saying good night at the door and sleeping near but not together.

Before calling it a night, we began reconnecting with friends from the states and around the world. One of the first couples we met was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan, and his wife, Jane. We had a brief but lively conversation, and they were thrilled to find that we had just left the diocese where he had been bishop before coming to Canterbury. As bishop of Monmouth, Wales, the Archbishop also said how much he and Jane held Risca, where we had been staying, in a special place in their hearts. We found this moment of making new connections to be a good sign as a way to begin this time of making new friends and companions in the service of Christ. Recalling this, it seems a good place to end our pre-Lambeth reflections as we look forward to the beginning of our Lambeth pilgrimage with the bishops of the Anglican Communion tomorrow.

Canterbury blessings, +Don