From the UK papers

From The Guardian , putting it all in perspective.

....All too often in schools and workplaces, temples and churches worldwide, people learn to hate or despise lesbians and gays. To Christians, this is tragic, not just for the victims: those who do not love their neighbour are spiritually dead. Yet talk among Anglican Communion leaders about homosexuality seemed oddly disconnected from the world in which most of us live, and the challenge to make it more just and loving.
      Every decade or so, the Lambeth conference has urged bishops to champion human rights for all and enter into dialogue with the gay and lesbian community. But this has been widely ignored: blessing same-sex couples is apparently a far greater offence than allying with repressive governments to hunt them down. ....
      ...[A]t the Lambeth conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury appealed for a "covenant of faith" that would "promise to our fellow human beings the generosity God has shown us", and suggested "a Pastoral Forum to support minorities". But to him, those needing greater generosity and pastoral care were mainly Christians with strong objections to same-sex partnerships. While he is a humane man, his priorities seem strange. If Anglicans are to remain relevant, and a force for good, bishops need to listen more carefully to people like Michael Causer's family.

Michael Causer was the victim of a homophobic attack in Liverpool and died on Sunday. It's this kind of thing, and the deafening silence of the Lambeth response to it, that make the church (any church) seem irrelevant. Hop over to Fr Terry's site if you want to discuss how to make it relevant despite this.

Then, there's a piece in Eastbourne today about the Rector of Pevensey, who sounds very sensible (don't ask how I find these things, I just do):

Following the end of the Lambeth Conference on Monday, Dr Anthony Christian aired his views about the issues in the monthly St Nicolas Church newsletter. Dr Christian writes, "I don't know what is happening to the Church of England nowadays.
      "It is not surprising that the two issues of homosexuality and women's ministry divide the international Church, the so-called Anglican Communion. Should these issues divide the Church of England which has inherited, historically, a sophisticated human culture? I doubt it. We used to be a tolerant church, embracing Catholics and Protestants, people whose faith was rooted in reason, others whose belief was based on emotion and others whose way of life was a combination of the two. The church looked after those who were certain about their beliefs and those too who doubted.
      "Am I alone in thinking it a shame to see our Church of England taken over by a conspiracy of fundamentalist bigotry of various ideological complexions, which do not really speak for those nurtured in the English church?"

It seems to me that the Archbishop of Canterbury cannot take for granted the stability of his own church. If the Americans split, then so may the Brits. And I suspect that the Establishment is more favorable to the liberal viewpoint.

But the complaint of the Rector of Pevesney is relevant to the liberals as well, because you have to "allow" the gays (or the women), or not. And if you are vehemently opposed to one or both, how can you "condone" their presence? No one really has figured out how to grapple with the two completely incompatible viewpoints in one church. frankly, I don't think you can. You have to "buy" one or the other.

A Flock Abandoned (?)

In the British newspaper The Guardian, the Rev. Susan Russell writes:

As the Lambeth conference proceeds in Canterbury, gay and lesbian Anglicans find themselves, once again, on the communion chopping block. It is a sad thing indeed that the message sent out from the Anglican communion to the world is that homosexuals getting married in California are of more concern to the church than are homosexuals being mugged in Nigeria. It is an even sadder thing that bishops who have taken vows to be shepherds to their whole flock seem willing to consider sacrificing their gay and lesbian followers at the altar of institutional unity.

Read the rest in A Flock Abandoned.

Human Rights in Lambeth

From Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow

.....now we have a published address from Rowan Williams.

At first sight, it seems reasonable enough. Indeed, he is making an honest attempt to hear and articulate the feelings and emotions of two hypothetical voices on either “side” of the debate.

The fact is, it is the conception of the Communion as having these two sides that is the real problem......

The things is, its all about human rights, Rowan. This is not just about the rights of gay and lesbian people in the US, it is about all of us. It is about the rights of people in all parts of the world to self expression, to practise their religion, to live freely with dignity before God. It is about the whole people of God, (you know, the laos, you must have heard of it, you’ve read a bit of theology) being able to speak in decision making in the church. It is about women and men being treated as equal human beings. It is about the western church standing up for persecuted brothers and sisters wherever they are. It is about having the confidence that Muslim and Anglican can live together in the same street and not attack one another.

Sometimes, that means standing up to bishops, such as condemning the inflamatory remarks made by Akinola connected with inter-religious rioting in Nigeria. We’ve not yet heard any condemation from the Lambeth Conference of the circumstances which caused the UK Government to offer political assylum to a gay Anglican this week because of the violence and persecution he could expect from his home church. That shames the whole church.

Read the whole thing. (hat tip to lapinbizarre)

JCF writes a letter.....

(JCF asks us to publish this email "sent last night to my bishop (+Robert Gepert, of the Diocese of West Michigan), and the reply I
got (not from him---unsurprisingly---but from his assistant.")
The letter:

Subject: Crunch time at Lambeth: please don't sell us out!

Dear Bishop Gepert,
My name is JC Fisher, and I'm a member of St. James, Albion. I met you 3 years ago, when I was in the Fall discernment program.

I am also a queer---and life-long---member of the Episcopal Church.

While some of what I've been hearing from Lambeth has been encouraging (the indaba groups, the worship, the sermons by the ABC and particularly, the opening sermon by Bishop De Cheekera of Sri Lanka), I'm concerned that---as at Lambeth '98---the devil will show up at The End.

Most particularly, I'm very concerned about the proposals of the "Windsor Continuation Group." For those of us who didn't think the Windsor Report was so great to begin with, the so-called "Windsor Process" has been all DOWNHILL. Repeatedly, observations and reports and proposals have been (attempted) to be reified into LAW. This is NOT the Anglican Communion into which---by virtue of my early baptism in TEC---I was born!

Laypeople like myself---both LGBT, and allied, plus the merely open-minded---do NOT want any part of a foreign "curia" making decisions IN PLACE OF our General Convention! Any "delaying" tactic on your (bishops') part, I fear, will merely give yet ANOTHER opening for those seeking power, to turn a proposal into a law.

SAY "NO" TO A CURIA (or "Pastoral Forum", or WHATEVER they want to call these Anglican ***cops***) NOW.

Right now. Nip it in the bud, before it spreads out to strangle our beloved (Lambeth pre-dating) Episcopal Church!

This isn't about LGBT people (whatever the shame of excluding +Gene Robinson). It's about Our Church: its charisms, its God-given democracy. Please, please, Bishop Gepert: for the love of Christ, don't let it perish.

Yours in Christ,
JC Fisher

******************************************************
The response:

Dear JC,

Thank you for your email letter to Bishop Gepert. It has been forwarded to him at the Lambeth Conference.

As you know, Bishop Gepert is very supportive of LGBT people and will work toward their full inclusion in the church.

Blessings,
M--- W----
Administrative Assistant to the Bishop

******************************************************
The reaction
JCF says, After a very sleepless night, I feel better. :-)

LGBT Anglicans Back on the Chopping Block

After the release of Part Three of the Windsor Continuation Group's Preliminary Observations, the Rev. Susan Russell issued the following statement:

LGBT Anglicans are back on the chopping block based on the work of the Windsor Continuation Group. While we recognize that this is a long-term process, sadly, what was continued today was the process of institutionalizing bigotry and marginalizing the LGBT baptized. Acceptance of these recommendations would result in de facto sacramental apartheid.

Read the rest of the statement on the Walking with Integrity blog.

on being used

Trevor Mwamba, Bishop of Botswana, is featured in the Church Times today:
Mwamba said,

“My personal view is that it wasn’t helpful at all. I can understand where they are coming from in being in a Muslim context. But having said that, I am also aware that somebody organised that position. In the context of the conference it’s regrettable that it was done but here are other factors at play and we need to name those factors.
“We are using each other at times for ends which are not constructive. That’s just one example of people being used. Another is that people are continuously talking up the absence of our brothers from four African provinces from this meeting. But the point is that a lot of those brothers of ours – 200 is a nice round figure – would have wanted to come here. That’s important to say.”

Ashworth continues in her report:

Bishop Mwamba described the situation as it had been in Uganda, “where a special Synod is organised and provision passed which would penalise any bishop coming to the Lambeth Conference. That denied freedom of expression in terms of any individual bishop. The invitation to Lambeth is in the gift of the archbishop and it is up to a particular bishop, not a particular province, to say I will come or I won’t come.

An Anglican 'Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith' ?

Ruth Gledhill reports in her Lambeth Diary blog that the AC is close to adopting:

...the Principles of Canon Law Project,...which is being talked of by primates as the 'Fifth Instrument of Communion'. I am told it will not be so much a Catholic-style 'Code of Canon Law' as a 'blueprint' of Canon Law. However, comparisons with the Roman Church will become even more inevitable because of another plan, to set up a new Faith and Order Commission.

Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent of The Telegraph seems to think this implies that homosexual bishops will face an Anglican Church ban ("Homosexual clergy will be barred from becoming bishops in the Anglican communion under controversial new plans backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.").

Commenter "Mark" on Gledhill's blog sums it up with:

By design, acquiescence, incompetence, +Cantaur has maneuvered the Anglican Communion into a position forcing a Hobson's Choice between seeing the creation of either parallel provinces in North America or a parallel Anglican Communion.

Me Me Me

Episcopal Cafe notes this conjunction of announcements:
Abp Deng of Sudan disses TEC and Gene
CCP announces new province in US
The Network announces new province in US
Video of laity proclaiming how good it will be to be free of TEC, appears on Pittsburgh (now PitAng) web site.
Duncan leaves Lambeth Conference.

All when the news should be focused on the genocide in Sudan and the MDGs.

Hmmmm....

Archbishop Deng calls on Robinson to resign

From Lambeth, Times religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill writes:

The openly gay bishop of New Hampshire must resign if the Anglican church is to be saved from schism, a senior Archbishop said today.

The Archbishop of Sudan, Dr Daniel Deng, who has the backing of more than 150 bishops and archbishops from 17 provinces in the Global South, said that if Bishop Gene Robinson was to be true to his Christian faith he had no alternative but to step down.

Read Gledhill's entire article: Sudanese Anglicans demand gay bishop Gene Robinson resigns.

UPDATE: Fr. Mark Harris has a blog entry on this, in his typical, thoughtful fashion with Fear is not an option: Sudan and a response.

Prayers for +Gene

Bishop Gene Robinson writes from the "fringe" of Lambeth. Today he could really use our prayers as the shunning is getting to him. Exile in the midst of those you know is even harder than exile in a strange land.

Yesterday was a painful day. I am feeling frustrated and angry. I dare not write too much, because I don't want to sound like I'm whining, nor do I want to say anthing intemperate. But making my first trip into Canterbury and the campus on which the Conference is occurring was difficult.

The level of fear and anxiety, especially among the Conference powers-that-be, is out the roof. No matter what I say, no matter what assurances I give, I seem to be regarded as a threat, something to be walled off and kept at a distance. Greeting a few American bishops in passing, and then at a dinner for General Seminary alumni last night, has been pleasant and supportive. But even though I thought I was properly prepared for the feeling of being shut out, I am stunned by the depth of that feeling.

I am not participating in any kind of official way at the "inclusive opening service" being held this afternoon on a green off campus. I will sit in the congregation with those American bishops who choose to show up in support of this service of inclusion. I know that a number of them will be present, even though they'll have just finished a long service at the Cathedral. This means so much to me that they would do so, especially at this time.

The most infuriating blow came this morning with news that when the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops meets on Tuesday afternoon (each of the 38 "national" provinces of the Communion will have its own gathering), I will not be allowed to participate, because this would look like I had become a "participant," and the organizers seem intent on enforcing my status as a non-invitee. If nothing can be done to change this decision, it will be a particularly painful blow. At our House of Bishops meeting in March, I pleaded with the House not to let Lambeth separate us. For me to be excluded from my own House of Bishops seems especially cruel and unnecessary.

Surround him with your prayers and thoughts so he can continue to "Sing the Lord's song in this strange land." Ironic and depressing that Rowan began his talk with a hope to listen to all voices - hard to hear when someone is out of the circle.

UPDATE here - Bp Kirk Smith says that Gene has been invited - they are trying to work out the venue issue. See my note in the comments - akhf

Acceptable casualities?

Jim Naughton of Episcopal Cafe writes from Lambeth. This incident occurred last Sunday.

X, as I am going to call him or her, is a young person with a degenerative nerve disease. I first caught sight of X at Gene sermon at St. Mary’s, Putney on Sunday. X was there again on Monday night for Gene’s appearance with Sir Ian McKellen at the British premier of For the Bible Tells Me So. I later learned from a member of X’s parish that X is very devout and very active in the parish, as is X’s family. Not long ago, X came out, to friends and family, as a member of the GLBT community—a difficult moment in any life, compounded by the complications of X’s nerve disease.

Gene has been a beacon for X, the member of X’s parish told me. The fact that he is both proudly Christian and proudly gay has helped keep X in the Church. And remaining in the Church, a lifelong source of hope and comfort has given X strength for an extremely difficult journey. I spent several years as a sportswriter, and have profiled a few handfuls of famous people during my journalistic career. I am familiar with the look on fans’ faces when they meet their heroes. I saw that look on X’s face on Sunday when X had a chance to spend a few private minutes with Gene after his sermon at Putney. Excitement, admiration and gratitude passed in waves over X’s young face, but X wasn’t so star struck as to make conversation impossible. This wasn’t just a matter to getting an autograph, or shaking a celebrity’s hand—it was putting one’s self in a pastor’s hands, and trusting him to take good care of you. I don’t know what Gene and X talked about, but I know that X among the first to arrive for the movie premiere the following evening.

X and others like X remain in the church, or come into the church because they believe they can trust a church that counts Gene among its leaders. When you consider the issue of gay bishops, and same sex relationships it may be helpful to think not of Gene, or Susan Russell, or the other great advocates for the cause of GLBT people in the church. Think of X and all the people in X’s position, people who long to feel the love of God and experience the support of their Church, but who can feel neither, in most of the Anglican Communion, unless they deny who they are or accept the notion that the God who smiles upon heterosexual intimacy has created them for a lifetime of celibacy.

To argue against gay bishops and gay clergy is to argue against a Church that can reach out effectively to people like X. It is to argue that the good Gene has done in this person’s life is outweighed by the necessity of preserving a bitterly contested interpretation of the Scriptures. It is to argue that God endorses the concept of acceptable casualties, and is not troubled if X, and others like X, are among them.

Read updates on Lambeth here. Click on Lambeth Conference in the sidebar to read all the Lambeth items.

Some not as happy as others at Lambeth

Anglicans United are not as happy at Lambeth:

Some would say there was little reason for optimism. We learned yesterday that The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield’s invitation was withdrawn last week, as were the invitations of two bishops from Recife, Brazil. All three are now under the Most Rev. Greg Venables of the Southern Cone. It seems that they, like the “irregularly consecrated bishops of CANA and the AMiA” in the states, will not be recognized. This leaves little doubt about the future for other clergy and bishops who leave TEC and hope to remain part of the Communion. It looks like any intervention into another Province will be denied acceptance, be they priests, parishes or dioceses transferring to a foreign bishop. Those whose only desire was to remain Anglican within the Communion now stand outside those vast boundaries.

Read AU thoughts on the opening day here.

Lambeth opening hopeful

Bishop bloggers and others are beginning to report in from the Lambeth Conference.
Bp Lane of Maine gets the prize for the first video blog report.
Bp Whalon of Churches in Europe and Bp O'Neill of Colorado both report a hopeful spirit among the bishops as they gather. Episcopal Cafe reports more than a few last minute arrivals from around the communion. All but one Province (Uganda) has at least one bishop there although some may pay the price doled out by their archbishops when they return.

O'Neill writes:

The tone this evening was, to my ear, both realistic and hopeful. We should not expect, Archbishop Williams stated in a dose of realism, that in two weeks time we shall find a solution to our problems. It is however realistic, he observed (even faithful I would add) to hope that in two weeks time “we will find the trust that will give us all the energy to change in the way that God intends.”

Whalon writes:

See this gallery of pictures taken this afternoon. It includes a shot of the Bishop of Butare, Rwanda, the Rt. Rev. Venuste Mutiganda. There are a lot of very late arrivals from bishops thought to have declined their invitations.

We start tonight at 6pm. I have already seen many friends from around our church and the rest of the Communion, and met several bishops. All are optimistic that when we finish in three weeks’ time, we will have moved ahead as a Communion. “When Anglicans work together, we change the world...” seems to be on everyone’s lips. From those lips to God’s ears!

Dave Walker is cartooning the whole circus - see his photos of the "tent."

UPDATE:
Bp. Knudsen of Maine writes:

Some kind of computer malfunction brought the registration queue (in England, it's not a "line", it's a "queue") to a dead stop. Looking down on the group of 200+ waiting to register, I felt a lump form in my throat. HERE is the Anglican Communion; people in native dress, the air thick with many languages, warm hugs and hellos happening all up and down the line (sorry, the queue). THIS is who we really are: members one of another within the Body of Christ... of varied convictions and backgrounds, drawn together by the merciful love of God made known to us in Jesus, the Word made Flesh, in whom is our hope. I found myself wishing that every newspaper from across the globe would snap pictures and write stories about the hugs I saw happening...the eye contact, the body language, the clear sense of family. Of course, we don't agree about everything (find me a family who does!) but golly, it's a grace-filled bit ** to sit on a small hill in Canterbury, England, toes in the grass, watching Anglicans love one another. God is with us.

And Bp Alan Wilson opened his suitcase to find his suprise survival kit.

Schofield not going to Lambeth

Letter from Obispo Primado Greg Venables of the Southern Cone reveals a note from the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Rowan writes: "I understand that Bishop John-David Schofield has been accepted as a full member of the episcopal fellowship of the Province of the Southern Cone within the Anglican Communion and as such cannot be regarded as having withdrawn from the Anglican Communion. However, it is acknowledged that his exact status (especially given the complications surrounding the congregations associated with him) remains unclear on the basis of the general norms of Anglican Canon Law, and this constitutes one of the issues on which we hope for assistance from the Windsor Continuation Group. Bishop Schofield has elected to decline the invitation to the Lambeth Conference issued to him last year although that decision does not signal any withdrawal from the Communion. I hope there may be further careful reflection to clarify the terms on which he will exercise his ministry."

Hmm - sounds like there was a bit of behind the scenes going on regarding Schofield's status and he was allowed to "elect to decline" his invite.

Read more of who is there and who is not here

A Very English Coup

From the British magazine The Spectator:

On the eve of the General Synod and the Lambeth Conference, Theo Hobson says that the sleeping giant of evangelical and orthodox Anglicanism has been awoken by liberal agitation and Rowan Williams’s failed leadership. The church is damaged beyond repair.

Read the rest of Hobson's article in A very English coup — and the end of our national church.

Communion standing with the suffering

The National Catholic Weekly reminds Anglicans of who we are at our best in this report on "a rally around Parliament today which was a terrific reminder of what the Anglican faith is capable of when it is not mired in internal ecclesiological arguments. A service at Westminster Abbey for Zimbabwe led by the Uganda-born Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, was followed by a Strangers into Citizens rally of 1,200 Zimbabweans in Parliament Square calling for the right of Zimbabwean exiles in the UK to be allowed to work. The Anglican Church today offered a space in which those stories could be told, and a powerful preacher to voice the longing for justice and dignity of an exiled people."

In between hymns in Ndebele and Shona – two of the languages of Zimbabwe –the exiles spoke with longing for their country, sang and ullulated for their land. The Abbey church of St Margaret’s, opposite the House of Commons, shook with the words of the Hymn for Africa. In the Queen’s own church, the cry went up for human dignity both in the UK and in Africa.

On the eve of the Lambeth Conference, when bishops from across the Anglican Communion gather to argue their differences, it was a reminder that communion is not just about resolving doctrinal questions. It is firstly about human connection – solidarity, empathy, and the courage to stand with those who are suffering.

Will we succeed? Unlikely. But as we walked to the Home Office to present our petition, then moved across Lambeth Bridge, along the river, with our bright orange ‘Strangers into Citizens’ banners and Zimbabwe and Union Jack flags in full view of the House of Commons on the other side of a sun-struck Thames, that didn’t seem to matter. We occupied the political heart of London for just a few hours, to declare that the dignity of human beings comes first. For the Zimbabwean exiles, it was a release of hope. And that, in itself, is success.

I hope the Bishops at Lambeth can hear and come back to their best selves offering the world some hope.

Lambeth blogging

Many bishops are taking new blogging toys to Lambeth including flip phones for video blogging (you can't see them in Dave Walker's cartoon as the robes have hidden pockets!). Welcome to the new world of reporting.

However Church Center Media mavens are trying to herd these cats as reported in the Living Church:

In responding to questions from the media, Episcopal bishops are being encouraged to respond in a way that emphasizes two main themes:
When Anglicans work together through the power of the Holy Spirit, we change the world; and
At the Lambeth Conference, the bishops of the Anglican Communion review our deep unity in Christ.

The method can be illustrated with a triangular diagram, according to a handout developed by Auburn Media, part of Auburn Theological Seminary. The handout was part of a packet sent to Episcopal bishops recently by Bishop Clay Matthews of the Presiding Bishop’s Office of Pastoral Development. “The diagram requires that you provide three examples or facts that support each of the three ideas and that all information leads back to the same conclusion – the core message,” the handout stressed. “The method provides a map that is easy to remember, giving you focus and control for the broadest range of media appearances.”

I doubt that it will keep all of them in line.
Here is a list from Episcopal Cafe´ as of today, of the blogging bishops:

The Rt. Rev. Kirk Smith, Diocese of Arizona with flip cam.

The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, Diocese of New Hampshire - along with his spouse Mark - excluded from official Lambeth - but out in the fringe events and probably getting more press coverage than if he had been invited inside.

The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of California - one of the "good guys" - blogging for TEC too but this is his site.

The Rt. Revs. Chilton Knudsen and Stephen Lane, Diocese of Maine with a flip cam for video blogging.

The Rt Rev. Pierre Whalon, Churches in Europe. Long time blogger has a view from living in Europe and fluent in several languages. Also contributes to Anglicans Online an independent Anglican site with good commentary on the Anglican Days of our Lives.

The Rt. Rev. Michael Hough, Diocese of Ballarat, Australia. A view from "Down Under."

The Rt. Rev. Christopher Epting, TEC Ecumenical Officer.

The Rt. Rev. Thomas Ely, Diocese of Vermont

The Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, Diocese of Louisiana. Don't know if he will be saying much about Lambeth but an amazing blog of his transformation by Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath from just another bishop to an outspoken advocate for the poor and marginalized who suffer in NOLA.

The Rt. Rev. Mike Hill, Bishop of Bristol, CofE. Don't think he got the message from the "advisors."

The Rt. Rev. James Stanton, Bishop of Dallas.

The Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson, Bishop of Upper South Carolina and chair of the Title IV (Disciplinary Canons) Committee who issue their thoughts on who's been naughty and will only get coal in their stockings for Christmas.

The Rt. Rev. George Packard, Bishop for Chaplaincies TEC

The Rt. Rev. David Chillingworth Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, Scotland - another bishop who may not have the "message."

Francisco Silva Brazil - Provincial Secretary -- not a bishop but a good source for the Global Center as they call themselves.

The Most Rev. Mauricio Andrade Brazil.

The Rev. Andy Doyle, Texas elect - not consecrated yet (November 22 is his date).

The Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher - assisting in North Dakota (not going to Lambeth).

The Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith, Diocese of Missouri - new to blogging - already has some good stuff up on the meeting of Dioceses in partnership with Sudan.

The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor, Diocese of Western North Carolina.

The Rt Rev Larry Benfield, Diocese of Arkansas.

The Rt. Rev. Bob Duncan, Diocese of Pittsburgh - has not posted to his blog since Feb 2008. But there may be some reports at the Pittsburgh news site there.

The Rt. Rev. George Councell nothing posted since Dec. 2006 - but we live in hope!

Episcopal Life Media blog site. Chosen bishops will be posting here.

Sean Rowe of Northwestern Pennsylvania (lead blogger)
Laura Ahrens, Suffragan of Connecticut
Marc Andrus of California
Larry Benfield of Arkansas
Sergio Carranza, assistant of Los Angeles
Neff Powell of Southwestern Virginia
Bavi Edna "Nedi" Rivera, suffragan of Olympia
Jean Zache Duracin of Haiti

Newsline site for the press by Episcopal Life Media.

Dave Walker blog at The Church Times. Good cartoons - Dave is the official cartoonist of Lambeth - not sure what that says about the meeting!! But he usually has a good eye for the incongruities of church life.

Thinking Anglicans - keeping a finger on the pulse of the Anglican Communion.

Walking with Integrity - another blog that won't "stay on message" except the one of full inclusion. Integrity leaderhip and President Susan Russell will be reporting and videoblogging there and Susan will also report at her blog Inch at a Time.


Lambeth Conference official site.

Episcopal Cafe - with the ever witty and insightful observer of all things Anglican/Episcopal, Jim Naughton - Live from Lambeth.

UPDATE:
The Rt. Alan Wilson, Area Bishop of Buckingham, Church of England.

The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, President of the Episcopal Women's Caucus.

Add other links in the comments.

Chicago Consultation: some good work

The Chicago Consultation has a new web site for a group working for full inclusion.

The Chicago Consultation, an international group of some 50 bishops, clergy and lay people, supports the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Christians in the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

From the site, news of their work at Lambeth:

In advance of next month’s Lambeth Conference, the Chicago Consultation has arranged for every bishop in the Anglican Communion to receive a copy of Other Voices, Other Worlds by Terry Brown, (the other openly gay) Bishop of Malaita in the Church of the Province of Melanesia and Convenor of the Anglican Way group of the Anglican Primates' Theological Education for the Anglican Communion Task Force.

The book offers essays by faithful Anglicans from around the globe who reflect theologically on human sexuality, an issue causing conflict within the Communion.

In addition, two lay participants and one clergy participant in the Consultation will be attending the Conference to provide support for bishops who favor the full inclusion of gay, lesbian bisexual and transgendered Christians in the Communion.

Ruth Frey, the group’s administrator, will provide logistical support at the Inclusive Church Network’s Communications Center at St. Stephen’s Church near the campus of the University of Kent where the conference is being held.

Jim Naughton, canon for communications and advancement for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, will be assisting bishops who belong to the Consultation with media relations and covering the conference on the blog Episcopal Café.

The Rev. Carol Cole Flanagan, also from the Diocese of Washington, will be working to build networks and relationships with groups and individuals from across the globe who will be present at the conference. She also serves on the board of the Episcopal Women's Caucus.

The Consultation is a member of the Inclusive Church Network, a coalition of Anglican groups from the United Kingdom, Africa and the United States with a common interest in maintaining the traditional inclusiveness and diversity of the Anglican Communion.

A list of participating bishops is here

Check the site for plans for General Convention 2009.

So who's going to Lambeth?

It sounds like a rare old time. What with GAFCON emissions, the English vote on women bishops, the barring of Gene Robinson.... there is vast potential for back room deals and backstabbing . Ah, I love the smell of politics.

So, we know of a couple of places to keep up on the doings.

• Grandmére Mimi quotes from Gene Robinson, who will have a regular blog called Canterbury Tales from the Fringe AND a video blog called The Lambeth Gene Pool. Now that's embracing the internet, Bp Gene!
  
• Susan Russell is leaving shortly and reflecting on why go to Lambeth. As part of Integrity, Susan will no doubt be sure we are kept informed of the news.
  
• A certain Jake considered going, but since he has left us blogless, we don't know whether he actually is.
  

What other friends and fellow travelers will be attending? Where will all the juicy news be posted?

• Update from the comments, James' new blog The Three Legged Stool has links to other Blogging Bishops. He points us at the Bp of Arizona who is doing an "official" Blog at the request of the presiding bishop.
  
• Another update: Elizabeth Kaeton is also going to Lambeth and will be blogging about it.
• Yet another: grad student Allie at the Conformist Rebel will also be there and blogging. I like the unofficial ones who are more likely to give us warts 'n' all! (Thanks to Paul(A) for the link)