The Diocese of West Tennessee

"A Glorious Messiness" Just About Says It All

2009-07-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

Approximately one hour ago, the 76th General Convention came to a close. In truth, it was much less contentious than recent similar gatherings of the Episcopal Church. At least in the House of Bishop's, I can attest to you that there was grace filled listening and mutual respect in ways that I must confess have not always been as obviously the case. We did not agree on everything, but we did good and faithful work together.

I cited in an earlier blog the "opinion journal" offered by the Diocese of Virginia, "Center Aisle" found at www.centeraisle.net. In their final issue this morning, an editorial referenced the time we have spent together under the title "Glorious Messiness." I commend it to you.

I have never held out a lot of hope that an "Anglican Covenant" would ever be developed that the entire body of the Anglican Communion's constituent members could all agree to embrace. However, now that this Church has spoken through this convention to the Communion, the Communion decision makers now have more information with which to make their proposals. To this end, I suggest that we must not act precipitously to move beyond the space of self-defining we have made. Rather, we would be better served to now wait a bit longer as the official Instruments of the Anglican Communion respond to what they have heard us say.

To speak our truth takes courage. To listen also takes courage. In fact, to listen takes courage, patience and humility. To assist the Archbishop of Canterbury and others understand what we meant by the actions we have taken is important work. We cannot let others interpret and spin their meaning for us. As with all situations that have the complexity of a "glorious messiness," we need to name what we meant even if we do not always agree about it ourselves. To this end, a letter was composed and provided over the signatures of our Presiding Bishop and of the President of the House of Deputies to Archbishop Rowan Williams and to others in decision making positions that need to hear with clarity what we did while gathered in Convention. By now, it is inevitably on "the web," but in case you have had trouble finding it, I will provide a copy in a later post before the weekend is over.

Now it is time to pack our bags, get some supper and look forward to returning home. Jeannie and I have missed being with you all. But I hope that our contact through the postings of our various deputies and those that I have offered have helped give you a bit of a sense of what we have been doing in this time of shared discernment.

I thank your Deputation for their faithful work on behalf of our diocese. You made great choices in selecting and sending each one of them. They will have stories to share when we all return. Until then, know that we hold each of you in our thoughts and prayers even as we look forward to returning home tomorrow.

Jeannie and I will be taking a week of vacation next week, be back in the office, and squeeze in another week of vacation following that so that I might back in time to attend the Laymen's Conference. Then it is back to the office and the anticipation of many opportunities to speak and listen to one another as we take the next steps together along the journey of life we share. Know you are loved. +Don

Truth telling as a way of being in relationship

2009-07-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being out of touch with you for the last few days. I have two reasons for this blogging absence. First, I have a new responsibility in this convention that I have not had in the past. I read and certify the minutes of each day’s proceedings for the next publication of the Convention Journal. It is not particularly hard to do, but it is demanding in terms of precision and time. For example, today I reviewed in tedious detail over two hundred pages of minutes from the previous two days of legislative action. I am actually very good at this task, but this late night review coupled with my responsibilities as the vice-chair of the Dispatch of Business for the convention has left me much more focused on when and exactingly how we are making decisions rather than on the nuanced substance of all the decisions we are making.

As with most legislative processes involving many people with positions on issues, hopes and concerns to address, the decisions we make in Convention often look quite different in the context of the many final resolutions as “perfected” than the ones we were sent to study before arriving on site. This is the point at which the oft-cited mantra that we are “deputies” and not “delegates” comes into play. We vote on the motion before us and we do so depending on the study, debate and concerns presented to one another within the context of hope. That hope is that the Holy Spirit is leading us in this Convention into all truth. Therefore, I have come to see that the decisions we make here are more a snap shots of the proverbial “bird in flight” than the descent of Moses from the Mt. Sinai carrying two neatly chiseled tablets of the Law of God. The decision one must make individually is whether our “bird in flight” is the Holy Spirit dove or just a pigeon in the parks of our minds. (By this, I mean no disrespect to pigeons.)

My role on Dispatch of Business involves deciding how and when various legislative actions will be considered by the House of Bishops. This is mostly done behind the scenes before or after the upcoming legislative sessions. In addition to this, I have had the privilege and responsibility to be “in the chair” on behalf of Dispatch during the legislative sessions on all but two days thus far. Once again, this work tends to focus my attention on the process of “dispatching” the business of the House of Bishops rather than on the debate. But I listen intently to this debate, and more often than not, this is what informs my voting decisions. This is where I watch for the Holy Spirit to fly through our House with signs of God’s love revealed.

Second, I have not been on the blog site regarding a couple of the more hot button issues because I wanted to reflect with you (1) how I voted; (2) the reason I voted the way I did which will inevitably surprise, please or distress some of you; and (3) the fact that my decision was not made in isolation from the context of this convention and the other resolutions that are still coming before us for consideration. In passing, I have already contextualized how I perceive the way in which I see God working among us when we gather as Christ’s body in Convention. Having observed that, I have waited at times to respond publicly about decisions the House of Bishops has made until the other “House” has acted. Given our polity, an action of General Convention does not become an official action of this Church unless and until both Houses (Deputies and Bishops) have voted to concur word for word on any piece of legislation that comes our way. This is to say that legislatively, we as bishops or as lay and clergy deputies cannot act on our own. This creates a conservative process of decision making, and when we concur it is because both Houses have been moved to move together in that direction. I see this as the way we have decided to reveal where we are at our highest corporate level of decision making and thereby give that snap shot of who we are as The Episcopal Church today.

Noting this about the way we make decisions in Convention as the body of Christ constituted from across the entire Episcopal Church, I come to a conclusion that I think each one of us must wrestle with individually. The reason I voted the way I did on some of the more controversial resolutions can be summed up in two words: truth telling.

I have come to believe that the trajectory that we as a Church have chosen to embrace is described in many of the resolutions we have put forward by this General Convention. The one that has gotten the most press to date is D025 (click here to view the final version of D025). Some see it as overturning action at the last General Convention that expressed a willingness to show great restraint in going forward with the ordination of persons whose lifestyle might be seen to cause a problem for others in the Anglican Communion. Those of you who follow church politics will immediately recognize this “code language” as being a reference for homosexual persons.

Others do not see the resolution as explicitly overturning this “moratorium” but, in their more candid moments, would probably say that it has maintained the moratorium until someone ignores it. I am holding out for restraint, but I am pragmatic enough to own that people will do what they will do. In fact, this has been the case for the last three years as well, but the issue comes back with new strength at this convention. I think we are therefore in a wait-and-see place in this matter. (Click here to read some of the mixed responses)

Regarding the passage of D025, I am not totally happy with some of the ways in which it describes what I have come to believe is what much of The Episcopal Church would affirm. I am not alone in this observation. People on many sides of the various issues this resolution addresses would like it to say much more or much less than it does. However, it did pass by a two to one vote, and such strong support is not to be ignored. Therefore, to tell the truth, I think it does fairly offer a description of and anticipates the general direction in which our Church is heading. To this end, I again say that what commends this document to me is that it is true. And truth matters even when it is not what I anticipated.

The really important element in our telling the truth of who we are should not be overlooked. We say we want to continue to be in full communion with the Anglican Communion. To do so is to present ourselves as who we are, and then we have an opportunity for the “Communion” to respond by either drawing closer in relationship or not. Whatever the outcome of this truth telling, at least the relationship is based on honesty and transparency. If the Communion can find a gracious space to allow The Episcopal Church to be who we broadly say we are and to allow us to bring what many in The Episcopal Church claim to be the gifts of God’s all-embracing love to the world in the name of Christ, shouldn’t we be honest about it? Shouldn’t we be willing to say, “This is who we are, and we do seek to be who we are as an expression of our discipleship to Jesus Christ”?

Much work is being done right now on “Episcopal identity.” At the heart of that study is that The Episcopal Church is “Christ centered.” The way we have chosen as a denomination to express this Christ centeredness in practical terms is to take a radical reading of the baptismal covenant in our Prayer Book. We claim that all people are, through their belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord, God’s children. If we claim this as truth and if we identify what this will look like for us as Episcopalians in the way we order, bless and celebrate with child-like confidence our membership in God’s family (without regard for our differences), we offer ourselves as a denomination of Christians who make a radical claim on God’s love and acceptance as members of God’s family. It is a radical claim. But I think this General Convention has claimed this perspective by our actions that are descriptive of such a desired reality. I think the claim needs to be offered to the world in Christ’s name to see whether or not, in the long run, it rings true in the hearts of that same broken and alienated world.

Having said this, it is also true that I and others are very mindful that not everyone is in agreement with this trajectory of God-intended inclusiveness as the best, most accurate or most effective way to express this “truth” of God’s love. Even if one agrees with the claim, the same person may not agree with the timeframe by which we as a Christian denomination should move in a united way toward this vision. Therefore, I have tried to modify my descriptive voting on the “truth” of who we are with the modifying votes that leave room for those who are not ready to move into this vision or at least to not move there yet.

Telling this truth is not to be feared. In fact, I think the time for truth telling is overdue. If The Episcopal Church has any gift to offer the larger Anglican Communion, it is only made available to the Communion if we are honest and say the truth of our own identity as we perceive it to be.

We have no guarantee that the Anglican Communion will want to embrace us for the gifts we offer, but we can do nothing less than tell the truth about ourselves in the hopes that this perspective on God’s truth will either be affirmed by the Communion or cause us to hear the Communion’s many voices telling us that we should reconsider the flight pattern we have chosen to traverse.

In the end, we have chosen a theological path to follow that makes sense when viewed through the lens of salvation as inclusion in God's family. Let me be clear. I did not say that this is the only theological lens we could or should have in making our decisions as a Church. However, it appears to me to be descriptive of where The Episcopal Church is today. If one is “with God” in baptism, one is with God forever. In its most radical form, I find this to be an expression of the baptismal covenant espoused and often cited by The Episcopal Church. Now it is up the Communion in its own way and in its own timeframe to decide whether or not it will, to use a technical term, “receive” the teaching we offer as our rationale for acting in faith as our faith directs. .

I have no fear of saying “this is who we are.” For this reason, I imagine that some will see some of my votes as surprising, disappointing or affirming of their own preconceived notions. I have focused on how I voted and not on how our deputation voted. I have stayed away from this last piece, our deputations’ respective votes, because I believe this is best left up to them to discuss with you in their own way and time. However, know this to be true. When I have been asked to vote on each of these significant matters that have come before the Convention, I have done so prayerfully. I believe the same is true of our deputation.

When my vote is recorded in a roll call vote as a bishop of this Church, I have done so with the leading of the Holy Spirit as best as I can discern. I believe that the same is true of our deputation as well. For this reason, I have no fear to report back to you that we are trying to discern the truth as it becomes unveiled before us and to seek the most pastorally responsive means to meet the various and often conflicting demands that such discernment requires.

I stand behind my votes, not because they are mine but because I believe that God has led me to this place of conversion. Telling the truth in love, I claim that we as a Church are seeking the mind of Christ, the will of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I am confident that your deputation has done no less.

Now it is late, and I am ready for bed. I rest in peace, and I pray that you will do the same. Blessings, +Don

July 15, 2009 - General Convention

2009-07-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Anaheim. Today has been the 8th legislative day, and there are two more to go. But I'm getting ahead of myself because a lot has happened since I last wrote.

Yesterday, the House of Deputies concurred with the Bishops on their amended Resolution D025. A quote from Episcopal Life: "The resolution affirms that ordination is available to anyone in the church through the discernment process outlined in the Constitution and Canons of the Church. It also said that God's call to ordination is a mystery and reaffirmed the Episcopal Church's participation in the Anglican Communion, while noting that the communion is not of one mind on this matter." The resolution passed in a vote by orders. No doubt there has been a lot written about what might be the implications of this vote, and no doubt much more will be written and pondered in the months ahead. But the sense of many of the deputies here is that it is an honest statement about where the Church is now.

This has not been the only legislation that has moved through both houses with adoption on a positive note. We now have new enriching liturgies to test, we have an improved disciplinary process for clergy, we have a strong denominational health plan and an enhanced lay employee pension plan, and we have had the opportunity to share our stories and listen as others have shared theirs.

Also on yesterday's agenda was the election of members to the General Theological Seminary Board and the Executive Council of the Church. I had been slated in a double slate for Executive Council, and I am excited to say I was elected. Executive Council serves as the governing body of the Church between General Conventions -- sort of like the Vestry of your congregation between annual meetings. I am honored and awed by the responsibility this will entail.

Last night the West Tennessee deputation was hosted at dinner by Bishop and Mrs. Johnson. It was a delightful evening to be together and not have to discuss legislation for a change. We were joined by Andy and Sybil MacBeth who were here for Sybil's workshop for the ECW.

Today's big event was the budget presentation. In a joint meeting of both Houses, we received some tough information about programs and personnel that will be cut, about necessary reduced spending for all commissions and committees of the church and about the need to trim budget line items across the board. But there was a strong emphasis on mission and ministry imperatives. The vote will come tomorrow.

Tomorrow promises to be long day. The deputies have already been informed that because of the amount of legislation still to be considered, there will be an evening legislative session in addition to the two sessions during the day. Please hold your deputation in your thoughts and prayers as they grapple with the issues of the next two days.

I suspect I can speak for them all when I say that we are looking forward to returning home on Saturday. Until then, best wishes from all of us and God's peace.

Stephanie

Monday, July 13th, General Convention

2009-07-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Anaheim. It's about 7 a.m. I've been up since 6 doing laundry. This is a huge hotel, but it only has four washing machines. I suspect they don't have too many guests who stay for two weeks and have need of doing laundry.

Yesterday was a bit of a slower pace. Afterall, even General Convention needs Sabbath time. The day began with Eucharist at 10 a.m. It was a wonderful service. Drummers began the procession, followed by liturgical dancers with flowing satiny banners. Next came all the bishops decked in rochet and chimeres. Bringing up the back of the procession were former presiding bishops Edmund Browning and Frank Griswold and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. This service was the UTO engathering. Representatives from each of the 100+ dioceses were announced as they walked across the chancel area and presented their diocese's offering.

The afternoon legislative session was an important milestone in the Church's life. The House of Deputies debated Resolution D025 which reaffirmed continued participation in the Anglican Communion; encouraged all entities of the Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the Anglican Communion; reaffirmed our financial commitment to the Anglican Communion; affirmed the value of listening to the experience of homosexual persons and acknowledged that through that process, the Church has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong commited relationships; recognized that gay and lesbian persons who are part of such relatioships have responded to God's call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God's church; affirmed that God has called and may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in the Churdch through discernment processes in accordance with church canons; and acknowledged that members of the church and the Anglican Communion are not of one mind and disagree on some of these matters. This is a paraphrase of the resolution, so be sure to read it for yourself on line. After much political manuevering, the resolution passed in its entirety. It remains to be seen what the House of Bishops will do with this resolution, so stay tuned.

The day ended for the Cheney's with a lovely dinner with Ron DelBene who was in town to conduct a workshop for the ECW, and Dr. Fredricka Thompsett, who was with us at Diocesan Convention last March. All in all, a momentous day.

I must be off to laundry land right now then on to my volunteer job in print distribution. So fo now, I wish all of you in West Tennessee a good day.

Stephanie

Saturday, July 11th from General Convention

2009-07-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings to each of you in West Tennessee. Once again I have written a long blog over the course of the day and have tried to paste it in to this blog, but to no avail. Suffice it to say, I've been off duty visiting with my son Brian and his girlfriend Susan who live about one hour north of here and have come down to spend a couple of days. We went to San Juan Capistrano today, a place I have heard about all my life and am glad to have had the opportunity to visit. It was the first of about 25 missions built up the coast of California in the late 1700s. It was a fascinating look into another point in history and a wonderful day with my son and his girlfriend. I hadn't seen them in 18 months, so it has been a real gift to me.

I'll be back on duty tomorrow and will try to bring you up to date on legislative activity. Until then, God's peace and have a wonderful rest of the weekend. With best wishes from all your deputation who are beingf far more diligent than I have been for the last 24 hours.

Stephanie

Legislative Day Two - Thursday, July 9th

2009-07-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Greetings to everyone in The Diocese of West Tennessee. I did a rather long blog this morning about the events of the day yesterday - only to lose my connection and everything I had written. It was all about the legislative process and what took place in the House of Deputies having to do with organizing for the rest of Convention. It may have only been interesting to those of you who love the legislative process, so probably pretty boring.

Suffice it to say, both Houses did get organized, and resolutions began flowing.

The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke last night. Be sure to go to the diocesan website to read about that and also the Presiding Bishop's sermon from yesterday -- both very powerful.

The day was a long one, and the deputation didn't even get a chance to meet last night because of all the legislative committees that were working late into the day. We hope to meet tonight.

The next session of both houses is about to begin, and I understand the Bishops have been invited to be a part of this meeting where the House of Deputies has decided to operate as a committee of the whole to discuss B033. You can also access information about that on the web site, but I'll try to fill you in later. Until then, all the best from Anaheim.

Stephanie

Next year in Jerusalem...

2009-07-08T22:24:00.001-07:00

This day was full. We had our opening Eucharist at which our Presiding Bishop preached. Prior to this, both Houses (Deputies and Bishops) met for our first official legislative sessions. My role is to assist as the Vice-Chair of Dispatch of Business. In this capacity, I have the opportunity to assist the Presiding Bishop and other officers of the House of Bishops in the day in and day out running of the legislative flow of resolutions to be considered before our House. There are three of us on Dispatch. We rotate through each day with one of us serving as the Chair of Dispatch for the day. That will fall to me tomorrow, but I sat today as Bishop Wayne Wright's, Dispatch Chair, as his assistant. Bishop Dan Daniel will assist me in this capacity tomorrow, and the next day, Bishop Daniel will be the Chairperson. While we are just beginning to roll out the legislative responses for the work we have before us, we are finally officially underway.

Following the morning and evening legislative sessions, I attended an open session regarding the economic and environmental issues of the world-wide economy. At this meeting, Bishop Greg Rickels introduced the Presiding Bishop who set the context for the conversation. In turn, she introduced the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who presented a thirty minute presentation on the topic of the need for the Church to tell the truth about the economy in which we are both an observer and a participant. He offered specific recommendations as to the ways in which the Episcopal Church could be faithful in responding to the economic crisis we are all facing. Following his presentation, we heard from three young adults who work for the Church Center Staff. Respectively, their work centered on indigenous people, economic justice and the environment, and on the malaria fighting project, Nets for Life. Coverage in more depth about these various and important issues can be found by checking on our web site for reports related to these topics.

Finally, Jeannie and I were invited by the Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno and his wife, Mary, to join a group supportive of the work of the Friends of Jerusalem. The bishop of Jerusalem and his wife, with whom Jeannie and I had visited two years ago on our pilgrimage to the Holy Land, were present and spoke to the group of one hundred or so people who support the efforts of the Church in that challenging area. We reconnected with many of the friends with whom we had made our pilgrimage, and we are exploring joining a return trip in 2010 to see and learn even more of this most holy area where our Lord walked, healed, taught and was crucified and resurrected.

It was a long and fruitful day. We are ready to call it an evening. I hope you day went well, and Jeannie and I look forward to being in touch tomorrow. Until then, God's blessings, +Don

Legislative Day One at General Convention

2009-07-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings to each of you in The Diocese of West Tennessee. Today is the first legislative day, although much has gone on in preparation for today over the last 24 hours. There are roughly 25 legislative committees of the General Convention, each of which is assigned various resolutions that have been filed prior to Convention, in addition to those that have been filed on site. I haven't counted total resolutions as of late, but the last time I did, there were close to 300 that had been filed. So in order for there to be legislation to consider during these early days of Convention, the legislative committees have been working diligently to perfect, table, or combine with other like resolutions.

Two of the West Tennessee deputation were assigned to be members of legislative committees: Reynolds Cheney, Structure, and Rene Somodevilla, Ministry. Bishop Johnson was assigned to Dispatch of Business in the House of Bishops. In addition, each member of the West Tennessee deputation is monitoring other legislative committees, and they will report back to the entire deputation on the resolutions coming out of those committees so that the deputation will be informed when it comes time for legislative votes in the House of Deputies.

It has been an extremely busy convention thus far, and there never seems to be much time to let your hair down or reflect on the events of the day, not to mention eat or sleep. Committee meetings start at 7 a.m. and often meet again late into the evening in order to prepare for the next day's work.

The afternoon sessions are about to begin, so I will close for now. In my next blog, I'll try to give you a description of what it's like to observe the House of Deputies in action. On behalf of all the deputation, we send our best wishes to each of you at home.

Stephanie

A Gift from Virginia

2009-07-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

Since 2000 when the General Convention was hosted in Denver, the Diocese of Virginia has published Center Aisle. This daily commentary is available online at www.centeraisle.net. I commend it to you. Virginia bishop, Peter Lee, describes the purpose of this gift to the church family as follows: "Our emphasis on the center is not a political compromise between extremes but rather a focus on what draws us together in the mission of Jesus Christ. And the 'together' is not just the identity of the Episcopal Church, but our identity of as faithful Anglicans with an historic legacy and a worldwide community... We believe a focus on the theological center requires a degree of humility and restaint, not throwing our weight around, but rather looking for those actions which buiild up the Body of Christ worldwide and contribute to a climate where freedom and justice flourish, not just for ourselves but for the wold-wide community." I join with our sisters and brothers in Virginia and across the Convention deputations to work toward finding the center aisle that "draws us together in the mission of Jesus Christ."

Yesterday we completed our last day of pre-Convention preparations. Orientations have now been completed, and the legislative sessions begin today. Committees have been working late into the night, and the first set of calendered resolutions for consideration should be ready to be considered no later than this afternoon. And so it begins.

As part of our welcome by the presiding officers of both Houses (House of Deputies and House of Bishops), our Presiding Bishop mentioned that the "great American heresy" is to think that "we can be saved individually." This comment does not ring a familiar tone for many of us brought up with an understanding of salvation that is dependent on our coming to "accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior." And yet, within the context of the Presiding Bishop's comments, the truth of what she proclaims is consistent with our traditional Christian understanding that Jesus the Christ came to save the whole world, that we are called as part of that salvation community to speak this truth and invitation to the world, and that we are saved as part of God's greater project of salvation for all. We come to belief one at a time, but the belief we have as Christians is for the larger project of God's ultimate goal for all humankind and all creation. For now, this seems a helpful reminder that what we decide at General Convention is not just about getting what I want for myself as a Christian. It is about what I can contribute to making God's plan of salvation for all a promise fulfilled. As we say in West Tennessee, we are about the task of becoming a place where God's promise in Christ is good news for all people. Pray we live each day into that vision. +Don

"Here's the situation right now..."

2009-07-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

"In the conference room on the Oregon all the seats were filled. Hanley entered last and walked over to a podium and set a file on top. 'Here's the situation right now,' Hanley began. 'We believe we have the bomb pinned down to the general area of the West End of London." This brief excerpt from Clive Cussler's novel, Sacred Stone, seems to match the general situation we are facing today as your deputation arrives to fill all the seats and take our place as your designated "operatives" in the unfolding of the next edition of General Convention 2009.

Cussler is a favorite "airplane reading" novelist of mine. Since I bought this particular book of his in the Minneapolis airport on the way to General Convention, I have enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for the bad guys and the anxiety of the hunt if it goes wrong. In fact, London is in danger. And on New Year's Eve while a concert of Elton John is being offered to the people of the Anglican Holy Land, there is a plot afoot to blow up London with a "dirty bomb." This is what many are fearing about General Convention 2009. I think otherwise. I am still holding out for the Holy Spirit to "lead and guide" us into "all truth."

An optimist? Yes. And at the same time, I am a realist. "God is working his purpose out..." This is what I believe is and will happen at General Convention 2009. I also believe that this is the appropriate expectation to have for the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. I can believe nothing less and still be a person of hope and commitment.

Today was a day of meetings. I met all the chairpersons, vice-chairs, and legislative aides for another "orientation." When I get home, I want to research the etymology of orientation. I think it has something to do with the Orient. Once again, I find myself looking to the East. Hmmm. If this is the case, I wonder what such an orient-ation will reveal. In the course of the meeting, I found out that our own Brad Foster has been given many extra responsibilities beyond his day in and day out work as our Chancellor. For example, in addition to serving on the legislative committees related to Constitutional and Canonical changes being proposed at the Convention, Brad also had the important task of being one of a handful of people authorized to "sign off" on certain legal matters that will move the legislation of Convention along to its Spirit-inspired conclusion. I am confident that Brad will represent the Episcopal Church quite well in this newest assignment.

Toward the end of the evening, your deputation gathered in our hospitality suite (hosted quite effectively by Reynolds and Stephanie Cheney.) To date the members of our deputation who have arrived include the Johnsons, the Cheneys, the Somodevillas, John Leach, Andy Cobb, Brad Foster, Candace Welch, and Kevin Brown. We are looking forward to Patti and James Newsom and to Colenzo and LaVerne Hubbard joining us. We also are looking forward to our Episcopal Church Women representatives, to Ann McCormick and to the Rev. Ron DelBene joining us as well. These last listed folks have been invited to join your deputation for our evening gatherings and for other ways of being part of our West Tennessee presence as best they are able. If you happen to be traveling through this part of the country and the Convention is still going on, come visit us in the Cheney Hospitality Suite, Anaheim Hilton room 151. There is room in the inn for you.

At the end of the evening, Jeannie and I set out in different directions. Jeannie went with her friends from Education for Ministry (EFM). They were completing last minute plans for the EFM presentation to the spouses of the bishops, The House of Spouse as they are lovingly known. For my part, I had a meeting to attend that had to do with my responsibilities as one of the members of the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop. This group has only met twice since it was established to consider matters referred to us. For now, we have taken the time as a Court to review the status of a current matter on our agenda. At the end of the evening, our part is to wait expectantly.

So the evening draws to a close. We move up to the cusp of the Convention's official opening session. Tomorrow the various legislative committees will meet for the first time to organize and begin preparing for the legislation that will be handled by their respective groups of bishop and lay/clergy representatives. In the meantime, know that the work that is beginning to unfold tomorrow is part of our "situation right now" and that this is a good thing. Our Episcopal deputies are a committed lot, and the work that General Convention is about to accomplish will undoubtedly reflect this situation in a way that will ultimately prove to be faithful.

In Cussler's book, the key to understanding what is going on is to understand "the situation right now..." General Convention is not much different than this summing up of the process that brings us together every three years to determine the thrust and vision for ministry that our Church is embracing. The situation right now is that we are starting on solid ground and we are beginning to walk toward what Jesus would have us do. We all stay tuned in to what ever this will ultimately mean in real time and concrete terms. However, it is not a vision that is born in a vacuum.

We are getting ready for God to speak to and through General Convention. Truth be told, we are holding out for this gift. This is not a decision by our Church to let "majority rule." This is an attempt on behalf of our Church to say, "Here's the situation right now..." To be part of this unfolding message of God's promised Spirit who will lead and guide us into all truth is a privilege to encounter and a calling to embrace. I hope you will keep us in your prayers as we seek to follow the Spirit's moving. If we can do this, there is no decision coming out of General Convention that will undermine our faith in Christ and our desire to serve God in ways that might challenge our limits while at the same time directing our energies. In fact, given this context for the decisions we will make together, there is little that we can do that will not speak to God's own plan for "the situation right now." Pray that our hearts, minds and souls will be open to God's plan. Blessings, +Don

Anaheim -- Monday, July 6th

2009-07-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Anaheim! Reynolds, Brad Foster and I arrived on Sunday and actually drove from the airport in Los Angeles to the Anaheim Marriott on the freeways without getting lost! Brad and I went grocery shopping yesterday afternoon in aniticipation of the whole deputution arriving today. (Reynolds and I have a room adjoining ours, and we will play host to the every evening meeting of the deputies to talk about the day, review legislation and plan for the next day.) Last night, Bishop Johnson, Brad, Reynolds and I had dinner together while Jeannie attended a meeting of the Bishops' Spouses Planning Group.

The weather here is a far cry from West Tennessee. I sat out on a lounge chair outside our room this morning to answer e-mails and actually got chilly! Later today, Reynolds and I will go to the Convention Center, which is adjacent to our hotel, to register. Deputations from around the Church are arriving today, as yesterday, and we are seeing many old friends we have grown to know over the years. It continues to be a time of reconnecting with them as well as making new friends along the way.

Things begin in earnest tomorrow with ongoing deputy certification, orientation meetings, etc. For today, we are enjoying our last bit of down time. Reynolds joins me in sending our best wishes back to each of you in West Tennessee. We'll do our best over the next two weeks to keep you informed of what's going on.

Stephanie

The weather

It ain't no Mickey Mouse operation...

2009-07-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

I was very impressed yesterday with the computer savvy people working behind the scenes to keep the legislative information flowing when all the messages, amendments and actions are recorded in all their glorious detail. Those of us who will be working with this information were given a hands-on tutorial yesterday morning as part of our orientation for the Convention. In the afternoon, Jeannie and I took a long walk through the area surrounding the Convention Center. This entailed a walk through Downtown Disney, a shopping tour for those who just can't go home without their own armload of souvenirs. Managing to resist the temptation, we still enjoyed a beautiful day together in the California sun. In the evening, Jeannie had a meeting with the Spouses Planning Group. This is the group of bishops' spouses who are coordinating the program and facilities for their various activites at Convention. I joined Stephanie and Reynolds Cheney and Brad Foster for dinner and converstation. Today I anticipate more meetings and a growing sense of anticipation as the vast machinery of the Convention begins to roll into action. It is impressive to see, and I look forward to sharing a glimpse of the events as they unfold. Until then, know you are in my prayers. +Don

General Convention - And so it begins...

2009-07-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

7-5-09: Jeannie and I arrived on July 4 in Anaheim and had an early dinner (even by Memphis timezone standards.) By 8:30 p.m. we were back in our Marriott Hotel room. Standing on our 10th floor balcony, I looked to the East as fireworks lit up the wide horizon of the California skyline. This morning I went to work out in the hotel's fitness center and luxuriated in the realization that few of the total number of deputies from around the Church had yet arrived. All that is to say, I found it relatively easy this morning to get an exercise bike. So we arrived to fireworks, began with a good workout, and I now look forward to lighting up the sky with what I hope is the light of another kind in the days ahead. Others in the past have looked to the East for light to guide them. I anticipate that we will join in this same spirit and look for the light that will point us to where Jesus will be found again, a light to enlighten the nations. Keep us in your prayers as we will be holding you there as well. Blessings, +Don

Final Indaba groups and discussions of the Covenant

2008-08-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

August 2, 2008 The Church at its best relates to one another when we see our brother or sister face to face. When we make decisions for those who are far away, we get a bit less life-giving and more death-dealing. At our worst, we do this knowingly, belligerently, and with a vengeance that is not ours to give. At our best, we make our decisions locally without realizing the full extent of the consequences of those decisions for those far away. None of this is a particularly new insight, but it is an insight with much evidence to back it up as I participate with bishops from around the world at this Lambeth Conference.

In most cases, I believe Christians of good will are trying to act out of our best motives in serving Christ and our neighbor. This is apparent in the passion and concern represented relative to the discussions and pleadings for forbearance for the wide range of “issues” we are discussing. The problem is that the “issues” are people’s lives, and the leadership we as bishops will give when we return to our own little patches of God’s green earth will touch not “issues” but real flesh and blood human beings. This is true whether we are speaking of the lives of gay and lesbian brothers and sisters or of those in the Sudan who have been killed because of their association with Christianity in general and, more recently, with the Anglican Communion specifically. This reality has led to the discussion of sacrifice.

Something has to be sacrificed. Let me say first and unequivocally that there is a difference between “counting the strokes and taking the beating.” The problem appears to be that some are asked to take the stokes while others, myself included at this time, are being asked to “sacrifice” by counting the strokes. As with a discussion of “issues” what we are talking about here is that somebody will have to sacrifice.

This idea of “sacrifice” is not a new Christian virtue. It is the very witness of love for the sake of the world that Jesus himself offered in the name of God. What he offered, lest I forget, was his life. The difficulty is the willingness of those of us who are “far away” to talk of the sacrifice the “other” person needs to make. This may be the best as “organization” such as the Church can do. But I still believe that there must be some “organic” way of being in common union as members of the Body of Christ that honors differences and stays faithful to core beliefs that, at times, compete and even seem to contradict.

I write this after a particularly difficult morning of reflections in which I took active participation. It started with Eucharist this morning. It was offered by the Churches of Kenya. The liturgy, on the printed page, was one of the most joyful and engaging ones we have employed with which to worship. The internal reality for me was one of disconnection. I felt that the words were “right” in the Eucharist and the music, and yet, at least for me, there was not coherence between the words and the sense that I was experiencing. It felt as if I was attending the funeral mass of a very close family member. It put me in something of a funk for much of the morning.

Being a people of resurrection, the unfolding events of the remainder of the day offered some solace and hopefulness. Our Bible study group, now close and caring strangers-made-friends, shared at length reflections around John 18:1-18. Following this, we had Indaba groups dealing with the various salient points of the proposed Covenant, an idea with more merit than I had first anticipated, but with real issues to resolve around what kind of covenant we want to have and what kind of Communion we want to be as “Anglicans.” The Indaba experience was followed by a quick run into Canterbury by Jeannie and me to mail back all the stuff we have been given, bought or picked up as a result of meandering with the Communion through the course of Lambeth (and that would not fit in our suitcases for the trip back.)

All this is to say that a day that began with a sense of great division was ended on a much more hopeful note as a result of two things. First, our evening worship was offered by the Churches of Ireland. My Irish roots glowing with some pride, my soul was bolstered when we sang a song I have grown to love over the years. It rings true to my belief in Christ, and it came as water to a thirsty soul on this particular day. If you will indulge me, I’ll share the text and reserve my sung rendition until I return, God willing, to be in your midst. It goes like this:

In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all – Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe !
This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid – Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again !
And as He stands in victory, Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine – Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death – This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me form His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home – Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.

In fairness and in consideration of civil law, the words and the music were written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. However, had I not known who wrote this music, I would have responded to the sentiment this hymn conveys. It was life-giving to me in the same way that I want the Covenant to be life-giving to all who come to know Jesus through our ministrations. Until then, let us cling together less out of fear and more out of hopeful commitment.

The second element that I found gave me hope today was this evening’s plenary session. At this time we gathered in plenary for a presentation of the “stewards,” the young adults from around the Communion who have the unenviable task of “herding bishops from place to place” as one steward noted in a short morning video of what various ministries of the various persons making Lambeth “work” had to say.

Four “stewards” spoke about their respective experiences of Lambeth. I will share more details of their energy and commitment once Jeannie and I return. However, to close out tonight’s reflection, let me tell you a life changing observation that happened for me after the meeting with these young adults. I went by the bar in the dormitory where we were staying. Waiting in line, I mentioned that it would be a good idea if the young adults would write the covenant for us. Another bishop from New Zealand said, “They are the covenant.”

Think of this. “They” (the next generation) are the covenant. Even while we, the current bishops of the Anglican Communion, have more work to accomplish before we hang up our ecclesiastical track shoes, we have already been superseded by the next generation. They are the covenant because they have already had the seeds of the gospel of Jesus’ love planted and growing in their hearts. I am not fearful for the Anglican Communion because I have already seen that the next generation has taken up the banner for the sake of Christ. My job now is to help them be better equipped to do their work as witnesses to the risen Christ. In the meantime, we move to our final day at Lambeth. Because of this day’s ending, I move there with confidence and hope. Pray for and encourage the young adults in your congregation. They are wanting to lead even now. Let us look for ways to make this happen in worship, education, governance and outreach. They have much to teach us. You see, they are the bearers of Christ’s Word to the world as it is becoming. Let us trust them to lead us as we offer our insights to assist them in this eternal task of bearing witness to Christ’s love.

+Don

Reflections on Living Under Scripture

2008-08-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

My contention is that each preacher has one sermon. It is the same gift we give each week, but we wrap it up in different paper. We may call it our favorite Bible passage or person, but its themes seem to appear again and again in our preaching and teaching. My one “sermon” comes from Jesus’ promise to his disciples in the High Priestly prayer of John’s Gospel. The promise in John 18:14 is this, “I will not leave you orphaned.” Those of us who were brought up on the King James Version would know this as “I will not leave you comfortless.” While this promise is a mighty one, I believe Jesus’ promise to not abandon, leave fatherless or reject any of those who seek to follow him is a promise mightier still.

In my diocese, I regularly and frequently refer to “the eleven words.” It is my belief that these represent God’s calling to us as a people. While they remain imperfectly realized, they continue to be the “vision glorious” for which we strive. The eleven words for The Diocese of West Tennessee are that we will become a place “where God’s promise in Christ is good news for all people.” For me, I understand this to capture the essence of God’s way revealed in Jesus’ promise: I will not leave you orphaned.

Yet this promise in this imperfect yet “kingdom-near-us” moment must be lived out in community and not just hoped for in some distant future of God. For this to happen, the promise must be lived out by the Church, Christ’s body for the world today, if in him the World is to continue to find the one on whom its salvation rests. This understanding stands in contrast to the “pay day some day” form of Christian promise that suggests that if we don’t love too inadequately, God may blink long enough at the back gate of heaven and let us in as our pay for not getting it all bollixed up too badly.

Yet the more radical call, the more root call of the Church as Christ’s body, is to claim and proclaim even now his promise begun today. Through our action of radical love to all who seek to be members of the family of God, we bear witness to the promise of Jesus: I will not leave you orphaned. How will this promise change the way you think of yourself as Christ’s own child even in this moment? How will it change the way you respond to the next person you meet who, in this broken and sinful world, has not yet come to know Christ’s promise? How will it change the way you see another who claims to seek to follow Jesus, but does so in a different way than you would choose to do? What will change if we all are children of the promise?

Lambeth nears its close

2008-08-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

July 30, 2008 When I last left you, Jeannie and I were out the door heading for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s second Presidential Address to the Conference. This took place last night in “the big top” where we hold our combined plenary sessions. Prior to his address, we joined in a moving worship service led by our friends from Myanmar (Burma). This worship was particularly poignant given the fact that the three bishops who officiated are in my daily Bible study group. In all, a group of about a dozen bishops and spouses from the region offered sacred music from their homeland, and it is a homeland that needs to sing in order not to weep. The service was punctuated by a DVD of the destruction from the recent killer cyclone. It was so reminiscent of the Katrina footage we had grown to see with unshielded eyes. However, I must say that the raw nature of the destruction in Myanmar was not sanitized as was the powerful pictures we saw of Katrina’s aftermath. Bodies of people and animals were indiscriminately scattered like fallen dolls across the landscape of destruction. That these dear souls could sing in the face of what they had lost is itself a tribute to their faith.

Following worship, the Archbishop spoke and did a masterful job in saying, in my own words, the following: Dear Not so Traditional brothers and sisters gathered here at Lambeth, I want you to hear my concerns when you make your decisions. He spelled these out in a fair and comprehensive way. Then he reversed field and did the same for the “Dear Traditional brothers and sisters.” By doing so, I think he began to put to rest the need for those most concerned to be heard that they no longer had to jump up and down on the sidelines and shout back and forth their claims of being misunderstood. It is my hope that this contribution of noting what we have heard from one another will free us now to say, having been heard, what can we do to stay in communion while staying faithful as Christ has led us.

Following the presentation, my ongoing back home support and education group decided we would enjoy an evening of one another’s company. Off we went to Canterbury to a lovely Belgium restaurant. Having our own Presiding Bishop and her husband as part of our dinner party added to the festivities.

Having noted all this, I finally arrive at Wednesday, July 30. It was a profound day for me. I have the sense that the Conference is beginning to be in a new place, having done the slow and sometimes tedious work of first building relationships. Our theme for the day was “Living under Scripture: The Bishop and the Bible in Mission.” Our Bible study was on Jesus’ claim to be the way, the truth and the life. We all saw the unique claim of Jesus in this passage, and our Bible group was quite animated in engaging the text from as many different points of view as there were members present. Ten different readings and variations on the same theme seemed to ring particularly “Anglican.”

Following the Bible study, we finally got to the “big topic” many had been waiting to engage: human sexuality. The traditional Christian perspectives regarding marriage as being between a man and a woman were clearly recorded. Other voices spoke strongly in favor of loving all God’s children without regard for their sexual orientation, and yet not being able to accept the blessing of relationships between any other than heterosexual persons. For others, the sexual orientation and the blessing issues were less problematic and should not be a reason to break communion. I was particularly listening for this voice from other than the Episcopal Church and Canada, and it was to be heard not infrequently. This let me know that whatever the outcome of this Conference with regard to these matters, the issues under consideration are going to go on a long time. It is as if waves are stacking up to hit the shore. In some parts of the world, the waves are so far off they have not even been heard much less seen. In others, they have already crashed against the sand and are withdrawing for their next re-formation in the future. Overall, however, I think it accurate to report that the traditional interpretation of marriage as being between a man and a woman was the strongest perspective presented. Within this context, consistent affirmation of "loving all people who come to Christ" was often stated. Yet this voice was clear that it did not see gay and lesbian Christians as appropriate leadership models for Christian ministry. The reasons for this were biblical, cultural, political and evangelical.

Many dioceses desire to have partnerships established in formal and informal ways. I have been privileged to have conversations with a number of bishops from Tanzania, one from Sudan, one from Northern India and our bible study group of bishops from Myanmar. Their needs are great and their faith stories are a witness to their love of God in Christ. I will continue to be in touch with these and a number of other bishops with whom I have met in hope of finding ways to stay connected across the miles and cultural differences. Staying in touch is a good metaphor for my hopes for this conference. We in our different settings are more and more aware of how much alike and how very different we are. Our differences are not in our humanity but in our understanding of how to live it out humanely in our respective settings. My prayer for now is that we find a way to stay in touch as a visible symbol of our love for one another in Christ and in the service of God’s witness to his all-embracing love.

July 31, 2008 We are drawing to a close at this Lambeth Conference. Your generosity as a diocese has made it possible for Jeannie and for me to attend. We are grateful. Truth be told, what we put aside was not sufficient to cover the actual cost given the exchange rate of pounds to US dollars. I want to thank Jim McGehee who generously offered to make up the difference. It was a great time and an experience that has expanded my horizons as a bishop of the Anglican Communion. I will be sharing with you in more detail what this has meant to me. I hope you will see it as a good investment of your resources as well.

Regarding the complexity of the issues we face across the Communion, it has driven some to a concern that we will not have a clear and measurable statement of what the Anglican Communion requires for “sufficient” membership before we leave this place. The tension between the desire for clarity and the desire for grace (itself a false dichotomy but one that seems to be operating here none the less) is evident throughout our conversations today. Our theme is “Fostering our Common Life: the Bishop, the Anglican Covenant and the Windsor Process.” The day’s conversation was as convoluted as the theme. Nonetheless, I found the conversation, the listening and speaking to be nuanced, inspirational and greatly desirous of finding a way forward together that is authentic. There is also a desire that I understand to have a Covenant, if we are going to have one, that will have enough teeth so that those who do not abide by it will be, by their own decision, separating themselves from affiliation from the Anglican Communion as it is presently constituted. We shall see.

Our Bible study focused today on Jesus as the “vine”. This particularly speaks to me given the fact that it was this verse from John 15 that I chose to be emblematic of the bishopric to which I felt called among you. My pectoral cross, bishop’s ring and crozier all have on them the theme of the vine who is Christ inscribed. Discussions regarding the meaning of being engrafted into the Vine of Christ’s life permeated all of the afternoon discussions.

Both in the Bible study and in the Indaba group, we discussed how we could be in the vine together while at the same time bearing different fruit on the vine given our many different settings for ministry. This was a wide-ranging discussion that moved us beyond sexuality issues to those other issues that define for us what it means to be a responsive Church within a communion of churches who each seek to offer God’s love where we have been planted.

The evening ended with a final plenary session that sought to review comments gathered from the two Indaba groups for today. For three hours we discussed matters related to the possibility of developing an “Anglican Covenant.” I anticipate that while this process has many positive things to commend it that we can affirm as the things we hold in common, the document draft as it is currently prepared will in fact cause more division than the unity it is intended to accomplish.

At the end of the day, Jeannie and I went back to the Thomas Becket Inn with a couple of friends with whom we had not had the opportunity to visit in depth until this evening. Good food and drink, serious opportunities for sharing, and a great way to end a full, challenging and tiring day was provided.

August 1, 2008 Today our theme was “Fostering our Common Life: the Bishop, the Anglican Covenant and the Windsor Report.” First a disclaimer: we never got to the Windsor Report as such. Our time was spent on the Covenant. I also spoke but it was to a more general issue we were facing back home after the conference was finished. My hope was that we should have as our agreed upon statement something to the effect that while the Archbishop of Canterbury affirmed that “the basic unit” of the Church is the diocese, the basic unit of the “Communion” is the Province. If this is picked up and recorded in our report, I will be somewhat surprised but, at the same time, very encouraged. If not, such a statement about the basic unit of the Church being the diocese leaves much to be debated as to the significance of this statement. Luckily, this is a decision the drafting group will have to address, and I do not.

We spent some three hours in Indaba, an hour and a half in Bible study, and an additional hour and a half in the hearings for those who wished to say what they would about the latest proposed text we seek to sign off on at this Conference (as highly unlikely as this is at the present moment.) Following worship by the Province of South East Asia, Jeannie and I went out to dinner with friends in Canterbury. It was a good time to visit.

+ Don

Walk of Witness, photo shoots, and visiting the Queen

2008-07-29T08:55:00.001-07:00

July 24, 2008 Billed unpretentiously as “The London Day”, the title belied the grandeur and cultural homage this day paid to our Anglican heritage, if you will, in situ. Up by 5:00 a.m. to make the bus to Whitehall Place, we joined other Conference participants in a Walk of Witness in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The strong showing of bishops, spouses and other Conference supporters of the Goals ended after a march of approximately a mile having reached Lambeth Palace. This is the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury (and many others) and the home of the Archbishop and his wife, Jane. They were our hosts for the late morning and into the early afternoon. We heard a truly impassioned speech in support of the MDGs by the Prime Minister. At least one bishop from the London area later said with some pride, “It sounded like Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech.” I would agree that the conviction with which the speech was delivered on goals that seem too big to accomplish was in fact a bell ringer. The importance of the Church in combination with other denominations, faiths and agencies in addressing these issues is absolutely necessary. The loss of life if we don’t is absolutely unthinkable. I pray that the MDGs will continue to guide the social responsibility awareness and our response to it. I also want to thank all of you back home who continue to pray for us daily hear at the Lambeth Conference. In particular today, I thank those of you who joined us in the “virtual Walk” in support of the MDGs.

Following the Prime Minister’s speech, the large gathering moved into a tent for a very British lunch. I must say that it was the first time I had ever eaten in a tent that was lit by chandeliers artfully displayed row on row throughout the whole venue. Served with style, the tasty repast and continued cross cultural conversations spiced the occasion.

To continue our British emersion, we went to Buckingham Palace to have tea with Queen Elizabeth who had invited “her bishops”, as I was told, to her home. It was a royally wonderful day. The Queen came out to meet the group after her “Beefeater” guard were arrayed and in place to protect her Royal Majesty. I imagine that this was in case one of the crazy bishops from the Colonies decided to ask for her autograph. All kidding aside, I was very impressed that the Queen spent at least two full hours meeting and greeting those present. Jeannie and I took the time, after the Queen had passed us by, to go and visit her gardens. Roses were fragrant. The grounds were magnificent. We enjoyed the whole experience. The next morning we saw in the local paper a picture of the bishops and spouses in procession in support of the MDGs. Of course, your “First Lady” of West Tennessee was chosen as a model for the “best hat at the Lambeth walk” award. This means that Jeannie was prominently displayed in the local news. What can I say? It was a great hat!

At the end of the evening, most of the bishop and spouses returned to the University of Kent by bus. Jeannie and I had been invited to meet with a bishop and his wife for dinner at a near by restaurant. Following the dinner, our hosts dropped us off at Victoria Station train station. The four of us returned “toward” Canterbury. Because, I guess, we did not have enough people on the train to justify the cost of the expense to take the train to Canterbury, the train stopped some ten or so miles away. We shared a cab and returned late, tired and happy to the campus.

July 25, 2008 It is a TGIF kind of day. It has been a long and in some ways arduous time. Those who want “closure” and those who want “conversation” continue in our midst to set the boundaries in which we continue to engage one another and the questions we must address as a communion. Today the focus is “Serving Together, The Bishop and other churches.” The topic gave room for reflections about the ways in which we do work together with partner Christian churches. Our discussions continue, more broadly, to underscore the diversity of setting, culture, governmental involvement and theological emphases represented across the Communion.

There seems to be a presumption by some that a “covenant” of some kind will emerge for consideration by the various Provinces. In the end, I think this is likely to be offered following the Conference for consideration of another drafting effort at the upcoming Anglican Consultative Council. Having said this, there are many Provinces who do not want a covenant of any kind, or at least not a covenant model that we have been presented so far. The loud voices around the edge for and against are quite evident, occasionally eloquent and inevitably pleading in tone. The silent ones are, as usual, less easy to hear. However, the “word on the street” is that there is not unanimity about the advisability or possibility of a covenant being written in such a way that the Provinces could sign off on it uniformly even after it is perfected. As I figure it, the absolute earliest such a proposal could be dealt with in our General Convention is next summer. However, it is more likely to be no earlier than 2012, assuming the concept survives for discussion at all. As I say, I imagine some form will survive, but we will have to wait and see.

July 26, 2008 We focused today on the role of the Bishop in providing leadership in matters that affect our stewardship of creation. “The Bishop and the Environment” presented us with a number of opportunities for engagement in thoughtful and practical ways. I am much more aware, as a result of these conversations, how much the North American “carbon footprint” is so clearly affecting the world’s ecosystem than ever before. Adding to this the growth of China’s economy and the support system that is needed to support it provides another signal that we all need to be working together to address the environmental crises we have contributed to for the sake of the world.

On a happier note, we spent a sweltering and yet good natured afternoon having over six hundred bishops photographed together. The spouses had had their photo taken earlier in the day. They sang Christmas Carols to ward off the most obvious effects of the heat. By the time the bishops arrived for the photo shoot, Christmas Carols were not going to help. We did a sweltering arrangement of Amazing Grace, and hoped that the event would quickly come to an end. We made it in the end, and the portable football stadium set up for the occasion came down soon after the last of us damply went back to our dorm rooms for the evening.

July 27, 2008 Jeannie and I enjoyed our Sabbath day. We took a leisurely morning together before going back into Canterbury. We had lunch and returned to the campus for an afternoon rest. I took a three hour “nap”. I was amazed how tired I had become in the course of doing this important work of building relationships and learning from others. Following the nap, Jeannie and I went back into Canterbury again for supper at the Thomas Becket Inn. We had a lovely, relaxing and refreshing day.

Building Relationships

2008-07-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

July 22, 2008 Today’s opening Eucharist was offered by the Province of Central Africa. While much of the Conference is in English, various Provinces will celebrate some or all of the liturgy in their respective native tongues. Such was the case today, and again I find the richness of this experience both disorienting and engaging all at once. Our Bible Study group focused on Jesus’ promise to be the “bread of life.” The Indaba discussion groups focused on “The Bishop and evangelism.” I finally found a time to go to the gym and have a vigorous work out. Rather than going to a self-select group after working out, I joined the patient and not-so-patient group waiting to use the laundry facility. After an hour’s wait, I decided that this was not going to be the best use of my time (although the novel I am reading helped), so I returned to the room and worked on a four-minute presentation that I am scheduled to present tomorrow night. I will tell you more of that in the day ahead. I am staying in touch by email not only with you through these writings, but with the office and the ongoing work of the Diocese back home. Jeannie and I were able to share meals together today. As far as laundry goes, however, it appears that I will need to get up early and get back in the line for the two washing machines available for the eight hundred or so of us.

July 23, 2008 Success! I was second in line to wash clothes this morning, and I have officially cleaned up my act. Today proved to be a day of engagement. We are building a basis of trust in one another that should allow us to begin moving into some deeper discussion about some of the more pressing issues we are facing. Our Bible study group has grown. We have added a Lutheran bishop from India and a new translator for our Burmese brother bishops. As with any addition to a “formed” group, it takes a bit of intentionality to accomplish it gracefully. Muddling along together, I think it will work out in the end.

The presentation I mentioned in passing from yesterday’s journal might now be good to detail a bit. I had been asked to be part of a panel of bishops who would help introduce Bishop Gene Robinson to bishops from around the communion. Bishop Chilton Knutson of Maine gave an overview of the process by which a bishop is elected in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina gave a brief explanation of how he came to vote in favor of Bishop Robinson’s election. It just dawned on me that both of these bishops have been guest preachers and chaplains at our own diocesan convention.

I was asked to be the third panel member because I had voted “No” to the election. As did each of the panel members, I had four minutes to state why I had decided in this way and then to share observations about working with Bishop Robinson in the House of Bishops. Following the various introductory remarks, Bishop Robinson spoke to the gathering and responded to their questions. At a few minutes after 10:00 p.m., Jeannie and I called it the end of a full and encouraging day. Off to bed soon thereafter. We are to be up at 5:00 a.m. to “go off to London and see the Queen..”

Blessings, +Don

Down to business - Cross-cultural communications

2008-07-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

July 21, 2008 Today’s entry will be a bit brief. The reason is that I am already quoted in Episcopal News Service as one of the Episcopal bishops interviewed for this date. Please see the article here.

Following yesterday’s remarkable worship event at Canterbury Cathedral, we finally got down to the “business sessions” as the Conference Design Team has set them. For those wanting a legislative approach, this model will be somewhat uncomfortable. In the end, the time of listening to one another should, I hope, allow us to better understand the unique contexts in which our respective ministries are offered. In this way, we will be better positioned to address the “issues” as currently before us and those others that may emerge from our time spent together.

I found the two Indaba listening group sessions, totaling about three and a half hours today, to be instructive. Between the forty or so bishops in our group, we speak five languages. It has become for me something of a metaphor about how important it is to find common meaning beneath the changing languages we speak at Lambeth, in the Diocese and among one another.
I have for years quipped that I am tri-lingual: English, Episcopalian, and Baptist. There is a deep truth in this. A hope I have for the Conference is that we will all leave having spent significant time and energy in becoming “linguists” of God’s mission. The Archbishop used this, among other terms, to describe something of the calling of a bishop. But my work of ministry is really about equipping each of you to do your work of translating the languages of those around us into the language of God’s love.

To fast forward to the close of the day, Dr. Brian McLaren of A Generous Orthodoxy fame, offered an engaging presentation on “Changing contexts: breaking open our models for evangelism.” In it he spoke of “What does Evangelism look like in modern, post modern, colonial and post colonial contexts, and how can bishops deal with the complexities and opportunities of these diverse contexts? In a summary of his presentation that does not do it full justice, I believe it fair to say he spoke to a large extent about the languages of word and culture that we use to engage an unbelieving world with the good news of Jesus Christ. He challenged us to think of the ways in which the gospel we proclaim needs to be liberated from the forms of old that do not speak to those who hear it today. While I was not completely ready to accept all that he said in this regard, I found his observations to be worth our consideration as we seek the 99 who are outside the fold rather than the 1 who is inside. Yes, I am aware that this is not the Bible story of old, but it may more accurately describe the world’s story of today where more are outside than “in.”

I close with a general description of the sub-group discussion in today’s afternoon Indaba session. We were discussing the “signposts” of the Anglican way, and among the topics being discussed was the role of worship as an expression of our relationship with God and one another. The group in which I was participating also consisted of two bishops from Korea, their interpreter, and a bishop from Bangladesh. It was clear to me that carrying on the very “English” set of questions posed by to our group was going to need facilitation by means of patiently rewording each of the questions the Conference design team asked us in such a way that my fellow bishops might have a better chance at sharing their perspectives from within their own contexts. However, I thought you would be glad to know (or at least not surprised to hear) that some aspects of worship are cross-cultural. I found this to be true when one of the bishops, speaking of teaching in the context of worship, noted that “sometimes the sermons are harder to understand than the Bible.” If we get that one solved while we are over here, it would certainly be a gift to the whole Communion.

You continue to be in my prayers, my friends. Please keep all of us in yours. +Don

Spouse's Corner - Week 1

2008-07-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

We began a day late. After wandering around the Memphis airport for several hours last Thursday, Don and I finally made our way to the gate to catch the 3:30 p.m. plane for the first leg of our trip to The Lambeth Conference in England. We were told our plane would be late arriving in Memphis, and so we waited, sort of patiently, for the plane. It wasn’t until we noticed that our flight to Atlanta had been removed from the flashing sign over the gate counter and replaced with a flight to Cincinnati (with no announcement), that we began to fret. We were told by the gate agent to return to the ticketing counter because we would miss our connecting flight from Atlanta to Gatwick in London. It was not one of our better moments! After spending another couple of hours changing flights and retrieving our luggage, we went home and started over the following day.

Returning to the airport on Friday morning felt a bit like we were in the movie “Ground Hog Day”. But, much to our pleasure, everything went like clockwork, and we got to Atlanta in plenty (plenty!) of time for the flight to Gatwick (we had 5 hours wait).

When we arrived in London at 8:20 on Saturday morning, we were greeted by Fr. Jonathan, the Chaplain to Gatwick airport, who steered us through Customs, the “money changers,” purchase of a hairdryer with British plug, and getting train tickets to Newport, Wales. Getting three suitcases and two “carry-ons” onto the train was challenging. We also changed trains in Reading (pronounced “Redding”) station before going on to Newport.

Our hosts, Vicar John and Anne Blackburn, met us at the station and carried our luggage to their car (which they rented specially for our visit, because both of their cars only seat two and had no room for our luggage). Newport is a lovely town in Southeast Wales, known at one time for coal mining and steel mills. There is a canal that runs all round the town, used for transporting coal originally, and now a walking trail and bicycle path run alongside. We arrived at the Risca Vicarage in the Diocese of Monmouth and were greeted by the Blackburn’s Scottish terrier, Ramsey, named for the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey. Our Boxers, Ruth and Naomi, sent a squeaky-toy to Ramsey that he loved, but we’re not so sure John and Anne loved the noise! (I brought the toy in my carry-on, and each time I put it in the overhead bin, it squeaked. I got some strange looks).

Later that day, John and Anne hosted a cocktail party in their lovely garden, full of roses and fuchsias and sweet peas, in our honor, and invited many members of St. Margaret’s Parish in Newport. It was great fun to meet the parishioners, and the wine and hors d’oeuvres were yummy. We were even treated to a spontaneous “concert” by one 84 year old parishioner who sang “Thanks for the Memories” with words she ad-libbed on the spot!

The next day was Sunday, with church at St. Margaret’s. There were no children attending, except for two acolytes. The service was lovely and we had tea afterwards in the parish hall, with real brewed tea served in fine china cups and saucers.

Anne and John hosted a traditional Sunday dinner at the Vicarage, also in our honor. There were eight of us around the dining table. We had roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, fresh “veg” from local gardens, jacket potatoes, and a salad with lettuce that was from a neighbor’s garden and left on the front steps in the morning. Dessert was fresh fruit (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and black currants) with English clotted cream, followed by chocolates and coffee. I hope the Bishop won’t expect this on Sundays when we return home!

Monday dawned (and because England and Wales are so far north, dawn is around 4:30 a.m.) cloudy and damp. On the schedule was a tour of Newport from the top of an open double-decker bus with other bishops and spouses. The locals said the weather was “crisp”, which translates “very cold indeed” – even colder at 40 mph! We also had to “duck” so as not to get hit by passing tree branches overhead. It was quite exciting! We toured the Cathedral, some Roman ruins and a Roman amphitheatre with an archaeological dig nearby, and returned to the Cathedral for a luncheon put on by members of the Cathedral. The real prize was dessert – English (they said Welsh) Trifle. After one bite, I said “So that’s how trifle is supposed to taste!” What we call trifle in the states isn’t even close. The only complaint was from one of the Cathedral staff who said “…could have used more Sherry!”

Tuesday we began our journey to University of Kent at Canterbury. We rode with other bishops and spouses, and one spouse, Lucie, from Brazil, didn’t speak any English. I tried the little Spanish I know, and that didn’t work, neither did my sad bit of French. Then I learned they speak Portuguese in Brazil! But she and I carried on an hour-long conversation in sign language, and we are now friends. They have even invited us to his Consecration service in Rio de Janeiro.

More later – I’m off to do laundry, and I must figure out English coins first – wish me luck!

Jeannie

Blogging Bishops

2008-07-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Remember to read the thoughts and reflections of other bishops attending the conference on the Lambeth Journal blog.

Three Days of Meditation with the Archbishop of Canterbury

2008-07-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

July 17 2008 Our first official full day of the Lambeth Conference began today. I am told by Lambeth veterans that this conference is already greatly different in tone from the one or two that preceded it. For instance, the 1988 Lambeth Conference did not begin with a retreat to set the tone for the time the bishops of your Anglican Communion gathered. This time we gathered at Canterbury Cathedral for the first of three day long sessions at which the Archbishop of Canterbury led us in a time of meditation.

The Archbishop’s first address was focused on Galatians 1:15 and 16. As he noted, it is often translated by those who are not brave enough to go for the more literal translation from the Greek, “But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being.” The Archbishop pointed out that the more literal translation is “… through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me…”. This small but significant change became the crux of the Archbishop’s reflection. To be a place where God is revealed in me is to become a place where God revealed life, becomes a source of life within and through each of us who call him Lord.

On a more challenging note, the Archbishop observed that we do “love our fears and anxieties.” This was followed by an important reflection point for me: “God always creates a new situation when we pray.” Among the other challenging and encouraging words the Archbishop spoke were these, “We are bringing God’s future into existence in someone’s life each time we officiate at a confirmation, baptism or Eucharist.”

The Eucharist, according to the Archbishop, “judges us and heals us all at once.”
Following lunch and a very good conversation with a bishop from the Episcopal Church, we gathered again for the Archbishop’s second address. “The care we are called to give to God’s people” is our mission. We were charged to give thanks to those bishops in the past who had been the ones who confirmed and ordained us. I recalled Jack VanderHost, who confirmed and later ordained me as a deacon. I recalled Bill Sanders, who ordained me as a priest and who later joined Bert Herlong (Tennessee), Charles VonRosenberg (East Tennessee), Duncan Gray III (Mississippi) and the then Presiding Bishop, Frank Griswold, who were the chief consecrators for me as your bishop. I remember each one with fondness, appreciation and a sense of gratitude and responsibility for the trust they have place in me.

The Archbishop offered a closing prayer for the day in which he noted in passing that Christ is “bound to us as if nails hammered into wood.” With this powerful image of self-giving love, our first day of retreat came to a close.

Later that evening, I returned from Canterbury Cathedral, had dinner with Jeannie, and we finally found the laundry room, where I curled up with a book and washed clothes until midnight. Jeannie, showing her superior intelligence, went to bed early.

July 18, 2008 On this Friday, I left with the bishops for our second day of retreat at Canterbury Cathedral. The Archbishop gave two addresses today regarding the bishop as a “linguist” and the role of the bishop as a model of Christian community in relationship to his or her diocese and to other Christians around the world. He made a suggestion that I thought had great merit. Rather cautiously using the term covenant, the Archbishop suggested that one covenant bishops of the communion might make would be as follows: “combining rigor towards oneself (as did the Desert Fathers) and look on each other with a deep reluctance to condemn,” the Church might benefit if two or three bishops from around the world might adopt a common rule of life and hold one another in prayer and accountability to accomplish the rule that binds us together. He described this as a Benedictine model of community based on common discipline and the shape of prayer we are committed to offer in service to God.
Regarding the negative effects of fear on our lives as a communal people, the Archbishop observed that the only thing to do with fear is to put it in the presence of God. I might interpret this to mean that fear is overcome only if we truly entrust it and ourselves to God.

I had an opportunity to seek out a Franciscan monk for a bit of spiritual direction preceded by shared admiration of the Kentucky native, poet and essayist, Wendell Barry. Later, I met with another American bishop to continue the conversation I had started with Brother Sam of the Society of St. Francis. We returned to the nave of the Cathedral for our second night of evensong with the wonderful Cathedral men and boy choir leading the sung parts of the service. After we were dismissed for the evening, I met Jeannie and eight others who went out for an evening’s meal in Canterbury. We walked the thirty minutes back to the University of Kent from the town of Canterbury, and it is only now that I have had a chance to sit and compose thoughts on this day.

I know that there is another communication of images and reflections coming to you on a daily basis from the Episcopal Church communications offices. Jeannie is working on a reflection piece for you as well. I hope these will be combined to present a fair overview of an incredible experience of engaging Anglicans from around the world in the service of God in Christ. It is in this context that the importance of Communion makes most sense. We have one more half-day of retreat. This will take place on the University of Kent campus. Stay tuned.

July 19, 2008 Today was the final day of our Lambeth retreat. The Archbishop of Canterbury was brilliant in addressing the ways in which we need to let Christ lead us and the ways in which we need to follow. Prior to his address, I attended our daily Eucharist and the Bible study that followed. In the Bible study, our group heard and saw by way of a DVD the tragic tale of one of our brother bishops who, living in northern India, has had his village, churches, schools and homes of his parishioners destroyed. This was not the act of Islamic extremists. It was the work of Hindu extremists.

I received, as did others in our group, a cross from the three bishops in our Bible study who come from the various areas of the cyclone devastated area of Myanmar, Burma. The cross is made of mahogany wood from a tree destroyed by the killer storm surge, and it is simple in design but poignant in symbolism. The cross has a tear drop carved at the place where the two arms intersect. On either side of the tear, carved into the arms of the cross are carved waves of destruction. And yet, they may be waves of baptism and new life as well. It is a simple and cherished gift from brother bishops in a land not too much like our own except that we all seek the same Lord to follow in his way.

This takes me back to our closing retreat address this morning. The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke of the leadership of Christians in general and of bishops in particular. Citing Hebrews 10:19-25, he observed that Jesus has opened a new way before us. He has gone ahead of us through the atonement and cross to clear the way through the veil and curtain of his body, through which we are to pass into the holy place where God is to be found. He went on to observe that Christian leaders lead by following Jesus’ way. The issue is, “How do we discern that way?”

Powerfully, he observed what we already know: “Our mission is not taking Jesus where he has not been before, but going where he has gone before us.” He went on to observe that such following should thereby give us courage to go with him. In my own word, I would say that courage, a major theme of Christian leadership in any era, is certainly needed today. But it is in following Christ where he has gone before us that we find the way to his way.

Citing a quote from the 1978 Lambeth Conference (with apologies to the speaker on that occasion, but I did not hear the Archbishop’s reference), he observed that bishops are to have “insight as well as oversight.” He compared this to St. Paul who, going down the Damascus road, was overcome by insight so disorienting that it led to blindness for him leading to the “effacement of well known images of reality so that a new vision may be seen.” More was said of significance, but I end with another comment he made that seemed to hold my attention. It was to this effect: Leadership of bishops is about the “opening of a new way” where the emphasis is less about command and decision. Rather, as the Archbishop reflected, when we examine our conscience, what brings me to my knees is often the “failure to hope in Christ”… “the failure to believe there is a new way.” Asking in his closing prayer that we pray for a “grateful clarity” about what God has, is and will be doing, he closed by citing Hebrews 2:9-15 and 12:1-2.

After a lunch break, Jeannie and I took the bus into Canterbury and did some shopping, had a “pint” at a local establishment, and later went to dinner with friends from North Carolina. I returned home with a day full of images, experiences and hopes. Tomorrow we go to Canterbury Cathedral for the “official” opening service at the Cathedral. I look forward to the day, and I look forward to staying in touch.

Until then, blessings, +Don

Photo of Bishop Johnson in Wales

2008-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

This photo and caption came from the Times Online blog of Ruth Gledhill, Religion Corespondent to British newspaper The Times. Juliet Pain, a regular contributor to the blog, sent in the picture and following caption.

"Mrs Irene Doull organised an open top bus tour for Newport in the Monmouth Diocese, where many bishops and their spouses are being hosted. She hitched a ride too and took the pic on her mobile. She tells me: 'Here are Bishop Don Johnson, Bishop of West Tennessee, Bishop James Leftwich, Assistant Bishop of North Queensland, Australia' Bishop Filadelfo Oliviera Neto, Coadjutor elect of Rio de Janeiro, Bishop David Beetge, Bishop of The Highveld, Southern Africa and our own Bishop Dominic Walker of Monmouth."

Lambeth, Day 1

2008-07-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

I write to you today as we approach the lunch hour in Canterbury and as many of you awake to greet what I hope for you is a pleasant 6:00 a.m. West Tennessee morning. My day started off with a moment of attempted “sports keeping” as it is known over here. I went to the gym and discovered that the English do not “sports keep” before 9:30 a.m. With this deterrent to my self-righteous effort at healthy living, I returned to the cafeteria of the University of Kent, met Jeannie emerging from the morning ablutions, and we went off to eat a less than healthy breakfast. But don’t say I didn’t try!

Breakfast was shared with a bishop familiar to a number of us in West Tennessee either through his writings or through his visit to the Diocese a couple of years ago. Bishop N.T. Wright of Durham, England joined us, as well as two bishops and one bishop’s spouse from Australia. It made for engaging conversation. (I noticed that they did not eat any healthier than I except for the other bishop’s spouse who ate only yogurt. She must have been seeking the cultured experience that such a dish will inevitably provide.)

The rest of the morning has been leisurely and technologically challenging. While Jeannie was off at a training session for those who were to be Bible study “animators”, I sat in the room trying to figure out how to use the computer to send messages via email to Memphis. I hope I have not deluded myself, but I think it may be working. Just goes to show that the age of miracles is not finished with us yet. Amen.

The afternoon went by quickly. Jeannie and I took a walk around the campus, bought a number of items from a local sundries shop, and gathered with others for afternoon “Tea”. This consisted more of conversation and connections than of actually the image of tea and crumpets that I had expected.

Later that evening, we joined the other one thousand or so people here and heard an overview of the events for the day ahead. An hour and a half later, we were dismissed for dinner. The lines were long, and Jeannie and I opted to join a group of Episcopal bishops for a glass of wine and conversation before we finally went to the refectory for dinner. Following the dinner, we continued our conversations before going to our dormitory rooms for the evening.

We had heard a variety of comments from the Conference coordinators at the evening session. However, I found that the following comments from Archbishop Williams, which were printed as part of his welcome letter to the delegates to the Conference, were instructive. I leave you with them for the evening.

“The chief aims of our time together are, first, that we become more confident in our Anglican identity, by deepening our awareness of how we are responsible to and for each other; and second, that we grow in energy and enthusiasm for our task of leading the work of mission in our Church.

“Our ministry takes place in the context of a needy and divided world, in which there is both deep fear and great suffering. Jesus Christ says again and again to his disciples, ‘Do not be afraid.’ These are words which I hope will echo for us each day as we meet and talk here. But they will sound in our hearts only when we have our eyes fixed on the reality of Christ’s unique saving person and on the world-transforming power of his resurrection.

“Our Bible studies will help us concentrate on these things, as we are led through the Gospel of St. John, reflecting on what Jesus says about himself. Our Communion is living through very difficult times and we are bound to be aware of the divisions and conflicts that have hurt us all in recent years. But as the Lord says (John 16:35), it is in union with him that we shall find peace.

“And that peace will be what makes the difference in our common life as a Church. More than that, it will be what shapes our whole engagement with the world. We do not offer a peace that is simply the result of the world’s processes, but the peace of the Son’s union with the Father in the Spirit, the eternal but ever-moving outpouring of love in communions. As we receive this and live our way into it, our whole vision of how the world is to be transfigured will be changed and developed.”

In the beginning of this Lambeth Conference, my hope is that the Archbishop has been accurate in summing up some of the key themes that are instrumental in making the life we share together in the Communion an ongoing reality. Keep us in your prayers as we, your bishops, leave tomorrow for a two day retreat at Canterbury Cathedral. May our time of prayer and reflection provide a context out of which the Spirit’s work at this Lambeth Conference will be faithful to the heart and plan of God’s mission in Christ.

Blessings, +Don

The Road to Canterbury: Pre-Lambeth Reflections

2008-07-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

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