From Bishop Charles Jenkins, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana:
The first plenary session of the Lambeth Conference was an important and encouraging time. The Archbishop of Canterbury demonstrated leadership that I would characterize as visionary, brave, biblical, and persevering. Many, many questions are yet to be addressed and some even answered, but I think that all will be heard, even the small voices (like mine) from the side. The Indaba (not pronounced in-da-bar, as one English Bishop tried) groups are a wonderful opportunity for the Bishops, all of the Bishops, to discern the will of God in the various voices and experiences. These groups are not representative of a triumph of process over content nor does the Indaba process represent an attempt to avoid decisions. Rather, this is for us in the west, a new of proceeding. It is an African way taken when the whole village gathers in to face a decision. As for our Western methods of parliamentary law so well defined in the 20th century, how well have this worked for the Church? So, Archbishop Rowan leads us in a new way.
Brothers and sisters, I am more encouraged than I have been in a long time. This Archbishop is showing leadership that I so admire. Continue to pray for us.
Louise and I are living in the dorm, which has certain drawbacks not to be discussed here, but which puts us right near the center of things.
I am off to Bible study.
+Charles
Call me crazy but i have a soft spot in my heart for our beleaguered (and frustrating!) Archbishop of Canterbury.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I believe that +Charles has been undergoing something of a transformation since New Orleans was devastated.
I was starting to think that Dr. Williams was showing leadership, after his GAFCON statement and Synod sermon, but his latest quote about why +Gene remains excluded has made me reverse course for the second time. 180 + 180 = 360. No one who would exclude my parish, my campus ministry, ME, from the Anglican Communion, and do so because of "questionable" concerns, can be accused of showing any real leadership.
ReplyDeleteI will say this for +Charles, though. I was living at St. Andrew's in NOLA when he came for an annual visitation, in 2006. As soon as the service was over, he made a beeline for the coffee hour cake, not to have the first slice but to dish it out to the congregation himself. That's what I call servant leadership.
RB, I have the utmost respect and admiration for Bishop Jenkins. Since Katrina and the federal flood, he has been a strong voice advocating for "the least of these", those who have no power and cannot speak for themselves.
ReplyDeleteRB and WE, I pray for the Archbishop of Canterbury who serves at a difficult time in the Anglican Communion, but I still believe that it was quite wrong for him to exclude Bishop Robinson from Lambeth. His voice needed to be heard.