Lambeth Impressions

by Susan Bury

I  was present at parts of the recent Lambeth Conference and would like to share some impressions with you.

The first is of the centrality of prayer, in both space and time. The campus of the University of Kent, in its beautiful position overlooking the City of Canterbury and the cathedral, has at its centre a small octagonal building - I wondered what the University uses it for - and it had been made into a "sacred space". With an altar and icons, drapes, cushions and prayer stools, it was a peacefully restorative place to go at any time of the day. And there were notices on the paths and lawns outside reminding everybody that this was a place of silence. Around this were the halls of residence. in which the bishops and their spouses lived and met in small groups, further away the information block and the sports hall, used for the plenary sessions, and even further the media centre. So: centre - prayer, periphery - the press.

In time too prayer was central : the day began with 1 hour’s prayer, and after breakfast 1.5 hour’s bible study (of 2 Corinthians, the "theme" of the conference). This was followed on the big feast days (St Mary Magdalene, St James, Transfiguration) by festal Eucharists. In addition the Thursday of the second week was an optional feast day, with a vigil beginning mid-afternoon, led by Jean Vanier of the L’Arche community, and continuing with a night watch.

Another impression is that of the wide range of shades of purple, from near blue to near red. All the bishops gathering for the photograph made a glorious sight, though I wondered why it was being taken in the sun, until I saw this cartoon in the Church Times. Some South Indian bishops wear white cassocks - they told me that in the Church of S. India they are allowed freedom of choice.

Another impression of colour was the labels that everybody on campus had to wear : purple for bishops, yellow for their spouses (it is no longer correct to speak of bishops’ wives, for 7 of the 11 women bishops has their husbands with them), gold for conference communicators , pink for journalists, etc. Apparently the bishops were told that they must avoid speaking to the press : "purple is safe, gold is secure, pink is danger". Again we see the conference organiser’s attitude to the press.

A fourth impression was "don’t believe all you read in the newspapers, but check their ideological background". I was present at the conference as part of a group which had been invited to give a presentation about gay and lesbian people’s lives in the church, and it was a salutary experience to read how badly the broadsheet newspapers reported what went on. The bishops in the relevant section refused to listen to us, but we were invited by 2 others to give the presentation as a "fringe event" in the 2nd week. This was not reported - presumably because people quietly telling their stories is not grist to newspapers who delight in confrontation, schism and scandal. Only in the Church Times was the reporting comprehensive.

Finally the world-wide spread of the Anglican communion was evident here in all the variety of human faces and dress, I was able to speak to Japanese bishops in their own language! The discussions showed that Anglicans disagree about most issues, but one of the strengths of this Church is its breadth. The most important theological address of the conference was given by Bishop Rowan Williams, who stressed that in making moral decisions we have to listen to one another, we have to stay with those with whose moral judgement we disagree, in communion with Christ. I am hopeful that the church will indeed begin to listen to gay and lesbian people, as the Archbishop of Canterbury said it must.

Lambeth 98 was a huge experience for me. I met old friends, including one Sister who used to be my Mother Superior at Ditchingham; she was part of the pastoral team, and cycled energetically round the campus. I made new friends, learnt a lot, and found that bishops are really very nice people, not to be scared of at all.

Susan lives in Suffolk. She was present for several days during the Conference, and participated in the presentation on Thursday 30 July.