The nave of Canterbury Cathedral, which I did NOT visit in 1988
Although I was born into a family of Episcopalians, I first became aware that there was a thing called The Lambeth Conference in 1988. That summer I was a graduate assistant on a study abroad group doing British Lit survey and Introduction to Architecture. Our visit to Canterbury Cathedral happened to fall on one of the days of the once-a-decade conference, so we couldn’t go in. At that point in history (it was 34 years ago, so surely, it’s history by now) we didn’t know in advance that the conference was happening then. I was part of the staff that prepared and made reservations for that group, and to schedule hotels and classrooms and tours, we were typing letters on a typewriter and sending them in the mail. There was no internet to look at, to see that we ought to schedule our Canterbury visit in another of the five weeks of the program. There was no cathedral website. It Was A Different World.
Today I am what you call a very involved Episcopal layperson. I follow the processes of my diocese, and of the triennial General Convention of The Episcopal Church. And now that the bishops of the entire Anglican Communion and their spouses are meeting in Lambeth, I’m all over that news too. It would be hard to miss it; it’s all over the headlines that we are, once again, having a “tense” meeting regarding issues of human sexuality.
I have had the fascinating experience in the last few days of becoming Facebook "friends" with several bishops who are sharing about the proceedings. First, I was watching my own diocesan bishops, and a couple of others I follow; but they are sharing their colleagues’ posts and many of those have been gracious to welcome me to their pages. One of them went to college in my city!
It appears that the Holy Spirit is moving mightily at Lambeth. It’s tough, it’s contentious; the bishops who married to same-sex partners had the slap of their spouses being uninvited to the proceedings. The “Global South” bishops believe in a traditional view of marriage as between one man and one woman only. The US bishops (mostly) believe in a less traditional view. There are shades of grey in between. It does not appear that minds are going to be changed on this large issue. But. It does seem that both “sides” are going to be willing, at least for now, to say, “You are wrong about this, and we are still in fellowship with you.”
The bishops appear to be talking to each other as humans, and in my opinion that's the absolute starting point of changing hearts. Without that, nothing.
Bishop Audrey Scanlan of Central Pennsylvania wrote today:
"In a dramatic exercise, the bishop of ANZP challenged the bishops to remove their pectoral crosses from their necks (cherished and precious items) and to give them away to someone in the room whom they did not know. If this sounds like a bit of a stunt, I’d encourage you to try it with something that you love and cherish- like your wedding ring, your mother’s pearls, your father’s fountain pen. In this exercise, we were not invited to part with these items forever- it was about an hour, for the balance of the plenary session- and… it was still very powerful. The exercise was about trust and building relationship which are critical steps in reconciliation. It worked. I put my cross over the neck of a bishop from Malawi. And he gave me his."
I wouldn’t still be part of The Episcopal Church if it hadn’t changed its official view of same-sex marriage and ordination of women during my lifetime. But within my own family, this divide between the viewpoints has been troublesome. My parents’ church left The Episcopal Church over this issue in 2011 (they will say “over issues of biblical interpretation” but c’mon, let’s be real). So, following the current example, my parents were the Global South and I was TEC. My dad was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against that diocese over property. I would go to church with them and sometimes have to get up and leave during the sermon, but I refused to let the division take away from me the pleasure of attending church with my folks, one of the first and most important things they taught me to do.
My dad has died now, and the lawsuit is settled. My mom has dementia. She often remembers that there is something that our churches disagree about and asks about it. To simplify the issue, I tell her that we all love Jesus and want to do his work in the world. And really, isn’t that it? I may still consider that some people are wrong on the issue. But I still want to be at the table with them. And all the others.
97 of the female bishops of the Anglican Communion. The FIRST female bishop was consecrated in 1989, the year after my visit to Canterbury.
Bishops of Texas & Western North Carolina