Under One Week Until Lambeth

We are now under one week until this decade's Lambeth Conference, the 10-yearly meeting of nearly all the bishops of the global Anglican communion (representing around 80 million Christians) to pray, study, fellowship and discuss issues of concern in the communion. More than 650 bishops are expected to attend the gathering at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England.

According to the Lambeth website, a particular focus will be on equipping the bishop as enabler and encourager of God’s people in their purpose and mission. Other issues of large concern are stated as safeguarding God's creation, engaging a multi-faith world, and living under scripture. I hope, indeed, that these are some of the primary concerns of the gathering, but you'd have to be asleep or not paying attention to not realize that the homosexual question promises to be of great concern as well. Archbishop Rowan Williams is hoping (for good reason) that it doesn't completely take over the conference, but it seems like the communion can't wait another ten years for a strong decision so something will probably have to happen. At the last Lambeth conference, the bishops voted overwhelmingly that homosexuallity was not compatible with scripture or Anglican teaching, but that appartently wasn't enough to put the issue to bed.

Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA Katharine Jefferts Schori has called for prayer leading up to the conference, and I can't imagine a better thing to call for. The Presiding Bishop suggested the prayer for the Church from page 515 of the Book of Common Prayer:

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Please join me and the millions of other Episcopals and Anglicans the next days as the conference gets ready to begin.