Lambeth....Lame?

Lambeth is finally over and the buzz is on as to what actually took place or not!

Predictably no one seems particularly pleased at the outcome of the Conference. Bishops, media and bloggers have been quite busy over the last month either criticizing or lauding the meeting format. Too restrictive and controlled alleged some, a good way to meet and converse in small groups said others. Difficult, honest conversations took place reported a few bishops, a lame waste of time and money was the impression of others.

Some things stand out for me at the conclusion of this Lambeth, my first as an Episcopalian;

The obvious one is there is still an Anglican Communion something which seemed doubtful a few months ago. Despite all the pre conference talk of schism, many bishops seem to remain committed to relationships and to the idea of a worldwide family of churches.

Secondly, +Gene Robinson, duly elected and consecrated bishop of New Hampshire who was excluded from the conference and inhibited from celebrating the Eucharist in England. It was precisely this which made him the more visible to press as he made the case for inclusion of the GLBT in all areas of the church....many heard!

GAFCON and the absence of 200 or so conservative bishops, mainly from Africa certainly was of significance. Their unwillingness to participate certainly sends a foreboding message for the future of a united Anglican Communion! Lambeth was impoverished by their boycott. Despite this, the case for a conservative reading of the Bible in reference to sexual ethics and the traditional understanding of the sacrament of marriage was made clearly by most bishops present in the conference. This surely was felt by the Episcopal Church!

The Archbishop of Canterbury surprisingly came out as a more imposing figure than I supposed. His leadership in the early retreats and conference seemed to raise his stature in the eyes of the bishops , and certainly so in mine.


I guess the last thing is the Lambeth Reflections document, fruit of the bishops conversations. For most people the key elements are those related to sexuality and the proposed moratoria…no new openly gay and partnered bishops , no church blessings for same sex couples and no unwelcome intervention of one province on the life of another. Though these ideas were well articulated in writing, it seems very unlikely these will happen in reality.

...I do not think Lambeth was lame but those who may have been looking for ironclad unity or quick solutions to the Anglican Communion’s problems to come from Lambeth are sure to find it quite dissapointing! One thing remains clear to me at the conclusion of this conference, we must trust the future of the Church into the hands of the only one who can lead it, guard it protect it for error, violence and schism…its Lord Jesus Christ.

We often look to human instruments to ensure the unity and agreement that has always eluded us, but perhaps, the message to keep in mind is that the Church is united at the Eucharist with Christ at the very center . In the end that may be all that is needed…

Blessings

Seraph

CEC Convocation

Well …Convocation is over and we are safely home! Today I am struggling with a bit of headache, surely from generously sampling a new spirit while in conversation with CEC clergy boys last night. I should have known better but felt exceptionally brave, maybe from the excitement of the occasion.......lesson learned!

It was a wonderful couple of days of worship , conversation with old friends and making new acquaintances. Our departure from the CEC for ECUSA seemed common knowledge, yet we were treated with great cordiality. I hoped and expected no less…we are, after all.... family!

The Convocation began with the enthronement service Wednesday. The CEC was at worship in all its convergence glory featuring colorful banners, processions, flags, wonderful music, dynamic worship, the Gospel read in multiple languages and, of course, clouds and clouds of incense. The entrance procession seemed endless with the deacons and priests and the bishops all decked out in red… a sight to see! It was services like these that attracted many of us initially to this expression of the Church, and even the annoying feedback from the sound system, did not detract from truly beautiful celebrations.

The events were energetic, joyful with a focus on the present and future of the CEC. The crises of the last years seemed passed and, although acknowledged in passing by +Bates, the focus was on mission and ministry. There was much positive to be seen; young people who seemed inspired in the worship, younger clergy obviously excited about God and the church, an international presence from the Philippines, Africa , Brazil and a definite mellowing in the language as it refers to the CEC’s place in Christendom.

The star of the show, for me was Olivia Jones! After what seemed to be a losing battle with illness and great suffering, her smiling face, her health improved beyond odds, reminded us all of the power of faith! We sung Happy Birthday to his wonderful woman of God, as +Bates reminded us of the CEC’s own difficult last years and recovery. As the services ended, there seemed to be enough talent, gifting and conviction in the place to allow for hope as to the CEC’s future.

Yet, for both of us attending the services some concerns remain. The absence of +Randolph Adler, the CEC’s founder and first Patriarch,certainly was felt and the subject of uncertainty and question. The CEC remains committed to Government by Consensus, male headship, and despite a softening on the language from its bishops, seems to remain on a very conservative bent. The Liturgy is definitely evolving most notably the new version of the Creed, minus the filioque, and a couple of innovations borrowed from the Roman Rite which, to a fan of the BCP, did not seem to flow well.

I am so glad we had the opportunity to attend, to worship with this family in Christ, to rejoice with them even as they look forward to a future full of hope. As to regrets …happily I have none! Even as I rejoice in the joy the CEC expressed in its Convocation in Orlando, I am more excited than ever to be in the Episcopal Church.

Blessings

Seraph.

Be Fruitful and Multiply...!

Livia Ionce, 44, second left, holds her newborn daughter, Abigail Ionce, who was born Tuesday, as she and her husband, Alexandru, 51, pose for a photograph with 13 of their 18 children at their home in Abbotsford, Canada on Saturday July 26, 2008. Their oldest child is 23-years-old. The couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990.

Wow....I wonder if they are Catholics?

Blessings

Seraph

Which Way Africa...?

posted by Elizabeth Keaton on her blog; Telling Secrets

The following letter was posted by Elizabeth Keaton. It was written by Rose Ngeri a Nigerian woman, now in England on ocassion of the Lambeth Conference where she hopes to meet as many African bishops and possible and reach them with this message. I offer it with my prayers for her and without comment.

Here are her own words to her bishops and their wives:

"The Lambeth Conference, to me, is a place where you meet Bishops and people from all walks of life to share different views about lots of things we see and hear. I gather that LGBT are welcome in the House of God by some people . . yet, denied the right of place in the same house of God by others.

Please, our African spiritual fathers, let us have a place in our churches. REMEMBER, WE WERE BORN OF YOUR FATHERS, MOTHERS, SISTERS, AUNTIES, COUSINS AND NEICES. Our mothers did not ask for this group of children. Rather it is the content of the man deposited in the woman that came out the same way it is made by God.

African leaders keep passing laws against LGBT. Please, if I may ask, what crime have we committed? Mothers, will you fold your arms and let your children die through torture? Why can't you ask them what crime your children have committed before they kill more of your children?

How long should we keep quiet about issues like this?

Which way Africa?"

Blessings

Seraph

Clouds at Canterbury...

Halt Gay Bishop Consecrations and Same-Sex Blessings!

Ruth Gledhill Religion Correspondent

A new pastoral forum is to be set up to bring rebel provinces into line in the Anglican Communion. The 650 bishops meeting at the Lambeth Conference in Kent debated proposals today for a body headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that would prevent any more consecrations of gay bishops or same-sex blessings.

The forum will also clamp down on "cross-border interventions" such as those where conservative bishops from Africa have consecrated bishops to pastor congregations in the United States. The document says the forum is needed because repeated requests for moratoria on gay consecrations, same-sex blessings and cross-border interventions have not been heeded.

It says: “The failure to respond presents us with a situation where, if the three moratoria are not observed, the [Anglican] Communion is likely to fracture.” The document proposes the forum as a “key mechanism to achieve reconciliation”.
The plan was drawn up by a group of bishops at the conference, who say in the document: "We believe that the pastoral forum should be empowered to act in the Anglican Communion in a rapid manner to emerging threats to its life."

It warns that a "proliferation" of ad hoc episcopal ministries such as those put in place by conservatives cannot be maintained. It calls for all existing ministries already set up to be placed “in trust” in order to be reconciled back into their original provinces...

Cuba at Canterbury...

The Episcopal Church of Cuba presided at a Eucharist on Day 8 of the Lambeth Conference. The service has been described in the web as amazinly upbeat and Bishop Frade reports the Archbishop of Canterbury himself attempting to clap in time to the Cuban rythm.

Among Cuba's bishops, as a first time attender to Lambeth, is +Nerva Cot, Cuba's 1st female bishop and the 11th woman consecrated to the episcopate in the Anglican Communion.

It must have been a sight to see!

blessings

Seraph

Sexy in the South...?

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) –

The South tips the scales again as the nation's fattest region, according to a new government survey. More than 30 percent of adults in each of the states tipped the scales enough to ensure that the South remains the nation's fattest region.

The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the three previous years. Mississippi has had the highest obesity rate every year since 2004. But Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisiana have also clustered near the top of the list, often so close that the difference between their rates and Mississippi's may not be statistically significant.

Why is the South so heavy? The traditional Southern diet -- high in fat and fried food -- may be part of the answer, said Dr. William Dietz, who heads CDC's nutrition, physical activity and obesity division. The South also has a large concentration of rural residents and black women -- two groups that tend to have higher obesity rates, he said.

Fried Chicken, chicken fried steak, corn bread, fries....I'm getting really hungry!

Seraph

Careful with Cell Phones...

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science, and he believes people should take action now - especially when it comes to children.
"Really at the heart of my concern is that we shouldn't wait for a definitive study to come out, but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later," Herberman said.

No other major academic cancer research institutions have sounded such an alarm about cell phone use. But Herberman's advice is sure to raise concern among many cell phone users and especially parents.In the memo he sent to about 3,000 faculty and staff Wednesday, he said children should use cell phones only for emergencies because their brains are still developing.

Hmmmm!

Blessings

Seraph

Gay and Here to Stay....

+Gene Robinson responds to the Episcopal Church of the Sudan

Posted by Kendall Harmon

First, this is also about the faithful people of New Hampshire who called me to be their bishop. Everyone seems to forget that I am not here representing myself, but rather all the people of the Diocese of New Hampshire, with whom it is my privilege to minister in Christ's name. They have called me to minister with them as their Bishop, and suggestions that I resign ignore the vows that I have taken to serve my flock in New Hampshire. I would no more let them down or reneg on my commitments to them than fly to the moon. We may be the one diocese in the entire Communion who is, for the most part, beyond all this obsession with sex and are getting on with the Gospel. They would be infuriated, as well they should be, if I entertained any notion of resigning. And it is not just Gene Robinson who is being denied representation at the Lambeth Conference, it is the people of New Hampshire who have been deprived of a seat at the table.

Second, those calling for my resignation seem to be under the impression that if Gene Robinson went away, that all would go back to being "like it was," whatever that was! Does ANYONE think that if I resigned, this issue would go away?! I could be hit by a big, British, doubledecker bus today, and it would not change the fact that there are faithful, able and gifted gay and lesbian priests of this Episcopal Church who are known and loved for what they bring to ordained ministry, who will before long be recognized with a nomination for the episcopate (as has already happened in dioceses other than New Hampshire), and one of them will be elected. Not because they are gay or lesbian, but because the people who elect them recognize their gifts for ministry in that particular diocese. We are not going away, as much as some would like us to. That toothpaste isn't going to go back into the tube! Not if the Bishop of New Hampshire resigns. Not if the "offending" bishops leave the Lambeth Conference. Not ever.

Well there you have it!

Blessings

Seraph