May 2

We began with a Quiet Morning focused on listening for God’s voice in the words of Scripture from Matthew 13: 44 -46. Archbishop Rowan talked about the two small parables from the point of view of the Hebrew Wisdom language. He asked us to consider what it means for God’s Wisdom to take hold of us, to change our lives. After about 90 minutes of silence for us individually we gathered for another reflection and some silent time together. Archbishop Rowan has a gift for being able to draw people into the Scripture and into reflection. He was the Presider at the Eucharist that followed.

The liturgical music was distinctively Jamaican and the hymns great Anglican favourites.

After lunch we gathered for “Orientation to ACC” in our Discernment Groups (made up of three Bible study groups, each of which has 5 to 7 members). It was an opportunity to meet each other and learn about the settings from which we come. It was surprising to hear that population migration from rural areas to urban (of the sort we experience in our diocese) is happening in many countries, and churches are trying to determine whether to keep church buildings open in the depopulated areas or not. The considerations for young adults, how to pass on the Gospel stories in relation to their lives and how to engage them in the decision making of the church are similar in many parts of the world as well. One of the most entertaining parts of this session was remembering the groups who might be wondering about the Anglican Consultative Council by creating a post card that they might have sent to us here at the meeting. My group had the card from the Diocesan Youth Group. The card said, “Dear ACC: Are there youth delegates at ACC? What do they do? Do you listen to the voices of youth and young clergy? How many women are there?”

Later in the afternoon, we heard more about the how the meetings would be arranged to cover much information in interesting ways. Tomorrow there is a big service in the national arena so that we clearly being in worship. The churches in Jamaica are not having services in the morning and they are all coming to the arena. It will be a grand event.

When we begin with regular days on Monday I will describe them. We watched a DVD about the history of the church in Jamaica. In it, there was mention of St. Monica’s Orphanage, which is one of the outreach missions supported by St. Peter’s Church in Charlottetown. I hope to be able to visit there while I am here.

As various leaders welcomed us, it became very clear that the visit of an international body of Anglicans is incredibly important. There will be receptions with a variety of government and church leaders while we are here. (As I am writing this, the steel drums are playing outside my window, which is open because it is still lovely and warm.)

Tomorrow will be a great day. We were told to eat a good breakfast before the 10am liturgy because lunch will be late! The afternoon session will be about Mission in the Communion and I am looking forward to that.

Have wonderful services tomorrow.

Blessings.

+Sue

May 1, 2009 From Jamaica

May 1, 2009

Well I am here in Kingston, Jamaica! I am reminded of the Dr Seuss book “O the Places You’ll Go!”

I met up with other Canadians in the Toronto airport. Suzanne Lawson is our lay delegate, Marites Sison is with Anglican Journal and Alice Medcoff is with the Inter Anglican Women’s Network. We also traveled from Toronto with the Rev’d Laurence Minabe from Japan.

Here in Kingston, Jamaica, it is 29 degrees and overcast. But in the hotel, the sun is shining. The welcome is friendly from all those I have met so far. On arrival, I met Jolly Babiramaku, a lay woman from Uganda whom I met at these meetings three years ago. She tells me my hair has changed! The Joint Standing Committee had been meeting so Archbishop Rowan came by as I was checking in. I had tea with Bishop Cathy Roskam from New York and Professor Ian Douglas from Episcopal Divinity School. Professor Douglas spoke about a course that they offer at EDS in the years when The Episcopal Church General Convention meets. It lasts one week and the students learn about the workings of the convention, both formal and informal. The course can be taken by distance education, so some dioceses sign up their delegates for orientation.

In talking with Bishop Kumara from Ceylon, I was reminded how difficult life is there, so please remember the Church in Ceylon in your prayers. At dinner, I renewed my acquaintance with Christina, now a priest in Cuba. Her love for God and her willingness to serve God’s people are an inspiration. Retired professor George Koshy is the Vice Chair of the Council and he has a son in Canada. A Canadian, the Rev’d Douglas Fenton, is here as the connection to the Inter Anglican Youth Network.

Tomorrow is a quiet morning with Archbishop Rowan. I am looking forward to it.

+Sue

The bishop blog is back

I am off to the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Jamaica May 1. I am looking forward to this meeting as the Canadians will be participating fully in the meeting this time. I will see some Bishops again who I met at Lambeth. I have practised my French in order to be able to better converse with some of them. I am looking forward to connecting with the Anglican women I met in New York at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2008. More tomorrow. +Sue

August 6, 2008

Home at last! I arrived home Monday night actually, but my brain was completely fuddled so I did not try to write.

Sunday morning there was a Morning Prayer service led by the Chaplaincy Team. I was not there as I was reading the final draft of the reflections Document. Bible Study gathered for the final time in this format. The study provided a time for each of us to identify one task at home that we wanted the group to “commission us” to carry out and for which they would pray. It was a very moving time of prayer.

The last Indaba Group gave us time to think about trying to translate our process for others on arrival home. There is a certain amount of “you had to be there to understand”. I think that those who have been to any Christian community building program like Cursillo, Alpha, TEC, Mission program, can begin to understand the intensity with which relationships build. The work that has been done has equipped new bishops for their ministry, both with personal support networks and with practical skills. There was an air of hope as we moved into the afternoon plenary session.

There were the usual thank you’s to those who had planned and run the Conferences for bishops and spouses. Then we had ++Rowan’s closing address. I expect that the text either is already, or will be published on the Communion web site. The main disappointment for me is that he is going to call a Primates’ meeting soon. There were many criticisms of the Primates’ meeting as an instrument of unity in the written notes from the Indaba Groups and I had hoped that they would stay quiet until after the Anglican Consultative Council meeting next May. However, if their meeting can be planned to rebuild relations among them, and not turn into another bullying session, it could be helpful. Unfortunately, if they meet, some other work won’t happen because the Communion budget has very limited money.

The closing Eucharist in the Cathedral in Canterbury was much more relaxed than the opening one, and just as impressive. Bishop Ellison Pogo from the province of Melanesia celebrated and ++Rowan preached. After communion, ++Rowan read out the names of the seven Melanesian brothers killed when they tried to intervene to make peace in the Solomon Islands. Then the Melanesia Brothers and the Sisters of the Church from the Solomon Islands knelt in the center of the Cathedral and chanted their Litany for Martyrs. They rose and continued to chant the litany while they carried the list of names to the Chapel of Martyrs on the side of the Cathedral. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place!

After the service, the Cathedral provided a great buffet dinner with wine or a Brew called Bishop’s Finger! There was a Big Band playing dance music so soon there were several purple dancers up enjoying the music!

Packing the suitcases with the many books and papers that I had collected was a challenge, since I did not want to have to pay the charges for overweight suitcases!

Morning came early enough and I loaded the suitcases down the stairs and across to the bus stop. The young Stewards who have been helping with everything were there to help with the heavy stuff. They got us onto to the coaches and off to Heathrow. The one on the coach phoned ahead as we arrived at each terminal so there were volunteers there with carts for us and helped us find our way to the Air Canada space in terminal 3. They were wonderful! However, Air Canada has not automated anything there! I did pass the weight test though and, having sent the luggage through, was free to roam the shops in the airport. Despite it being Duty Free, there were no bargains! A kind person at home had given me a pass to the Air Canada lounge, so I was able to get some breakfast and read in comfort until the flight was called.

On the plane, the flight attendant came by with newspapers. The one I picked had a front page article on the Lambeth Conference. I had a hard time recognizing where I had been from the description in that article! I traded with the person beside me and found it had a front page article with a photo of ++Rowan saying, ‘Same sex Blessings must stop!’, alongside an article on a Church England Clergyman who had just celebrated his marriage to his male gardener who wore a pink veil saying, ‘I am the Bride’! Go figure!!!

Across the aisle from me was a potential candidate for ordination in our Diocese who was coming to NS for the month of August, and who had been praying for the Conference throughout. I had spoken to her in the Check In line and she joked that she would probably end up sitting beside me!

Today I have watched the DVD that they sent home with us from Lambeth. It has lots of interviews and photos and footage of the Conference. I have given it to the Resource Room so folks can borrow it.

I have been astonished how many people from wide spread places have followed my reflections for the Diocese. To those of you who prayed, thank you. As I continue to reflect, I will from time to time post a message here again. A notice will appear on the web site whenever that happens.

+Sue

August 3, 2008

Sunday morning some people sleep in! I don’t know when I last did that! The Listeners were at work at 7 am reading the last version of the Reflections document. By the end of last night we were quite silly and thought “Capturing the Indaba” was a good title for it. We have a cartoonist in residence and we thought he would have fun with it! There was a big sigh of relief when we gave it to the photocopy folks for reproduction.

There was Morning Prayer this morning with the Chaplains group but I missed it reading the final draft of the Reflections document.

Bible study was focused on John 20:19-31. One of the questions was “What does being sent mean in your setting?” One bishop told us that being sent meant the bishop had chosen you so you would be pleased that the bishop thinks you are a good person to do the job. It also means that you might die because you go. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus was sent and died. If the prospect of death accompanying priesthood were a reality in our Diocese, how many people would offer for ordination? The end of Bible Study was ‘commissioning’ those in our group who wished it for work back in their Diocese.

After the morning coffee/tea break, we moved on to our last Indaba group. There has been an ongoing joke about how to pronounce Indaba. It is actually In DAH ba, but some have been using something like In da Bar! Some were apparently in da bar last evening so they were AWOL this morning. We spent some time doing the inevitable evaluation form. We considered what had surprised us about the conference. We had another go round for those who wanted resolutions and now don’t have any to take home. We talked about what we are taking home with us. You will hear more about this when I am home.

There has been a clear change of atmosphere from fear to hope. People spoke of their fear when they arrived and their hope as they prepare to return home. As one said, “++Rowan has a brilliant mind and he chose to have us use a process that is not intellectual but builds relationships.” Another said, “When we meet together we begin to know each other. As we get to know each other better, we become even more open in our disagreements because we are able to, in a solid relationship. We become frustrated when we do not have the time to work things through because we care about each other.”

After the many Thank you’s to the folks who kept things running, we had ++Rowan’s closing address. It was beautifully crafted. The only news that nearly caused a groan aloud was that he is going to call a Primates’ meeting in the fall. Having read 16 sets of notes about the “Instruments of Communion”, I know that there is little support for the Primates’ as currently structured. However, there were people who said this Lambeth wouldn’t work either and it has worked very well, so as the Holy Spirit is at work here, maybe it will also bring life to the primates’ meeting.

The closing liturgy was less formal and quite lovely in the Cathedral in Canterbury. As we were boarding the coaches to get there, another group of youth pilgrims were arriving. Someone should consider how a group from our Diocese could do the pilgrimage at Canterbury. I would be happy to chaperone! The Cathedral provided dinner after the liturgy. Unfortunately it began to rain so we couldn’t eat out doors in the Cathedral grounds, so we walked around and around to a huge hall that easily held 600 people. There was a band playing big band dance music so some of the folks took up dancing – it was a purple dance floor!

So now I am packing things up to return home. Would you believe that I have books?

See you soon.

+Sue

AUgust 2, 2008

The Listeners started early this morning, but we were sharp with our computers and soon had the document ready to go to press for the first Hearing. The Eucharist at 7:15am was excellent. It was led by the Church of Kenya with their liturgy with has some wonderful symbolic actions and the following opening to the Eucharistic Prayer.
“Is the Father with us? He is!
Is Christ among us? He is!
Is the Spirit here? The Spirit is here!
This is our God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We are God’s people. We are redeemed.
Lift up your hearts……..”
You will probably see the rest at some point in a service when I get home.

The Bible Study focus was John 18:1-18, “For whom are you looking? I am…I am…I am…” One question was “What does it mean for you that the last ‘I am’ is spoken in this scene?” We heard stories of priests quietly and with self control stepping forward to say ‘I am the pastor’ as they were arrested, knowing they were going to their death, but believing that the Christ walked beside them. Arrest and torture for priests as the known leader in the village, unheard of in our country, is a fact of life for some of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Please remember them in your prayers and remember that the Risen Christ also walks with you in the trials of your life. The second question was “What might the kind of leadership that Jesus shows in the garden mean for your own ministry?” There was an analysis of the 1998 Lambeth conference by a bishop who was there, as people fighting over Jesus who is calmly standing in the middle saying, “I am” and waiting for His voice to be heard. That spirit of fighting is not in this meeting and it seems that many times we have heard the voice of God in the voices of our fellow bishops and their stories. It will be difficult to leave this group behind tomorrow when we have our last session.

The Indaba Group continued on with the discussion of the Covenant and the Continuation Group’s proposals. There is a request from them that there be a moratorium on ordinations of bishops in same gendered partnership, the blessings of same sex unions and cross Provincial interventions by uninvited bishops. The big issue is ordination. I have learned a lot about the perceptions around the world of what happened in New Hampshire. There is clearly a different standard of behaviour expected of clergy and bishops in particular. I have learned that in the eyes of most of our Anglican brothers and sisters, homosexual activity is clearly understood as sin. So it makes no sense to them that a ‘sinful’ person could be ordained to be a leader whose life is supposed to model that of Jesus. I have learned that their treatment of polygamy is to call it a sin, and to bar those, who for reasons of continuing to care for their wives (who would be destitute if they were divorced), have continued in polygamy, from being church layleaders or clergy and in some places they can not receive communion. They do not understand why we do not do the same.

The Listeners met and wrote beginning with lunch in order to have the next version of the Reflections document for the hearing at 5 pm. This is a different Lambeth from the past, where resolutions were passed, highly polished texts (prepared ahead of time and voted on, were taken home as “Law”. The anxiety about having a Reflections document to take home with them is beginning to come out especially among a small group. The Hearing was quite lively and I remembered the analysis from the Bible Study as I listened. I am very glad that this Lambeth was not using resolutions!

The Church of Ireland led Evening Worship with their wonderful rolling “r’s”! We had a break for supper and I actually caught up with some of the Canadian bishops. I had a glimpse of our Suffragan Bishop across the campus as I returned to the Listening Group.
We have finished as much as we can of our Reflection document.

Tomorrow we will hear from ++Rowan once more and begin to pack our bags for home.

Have wonderful Sunday services. I am looking forward to celebrating in Canadian when I get home! +Sue

August 1, 2008

The Eucharist this morning was led by the Church in Pakistan. Part of the gathering time, we see a DVD of life in the church for those who are leading. Pakistan is a beautiful land with beautiful people and they live with daily threats. Next time you are tempted to just stay home from worship for a trivial reason, think of those who persevere in going out to worship in the face of daily persecution.

The Bible Study was John 15:1-17. We started by asking how the passage is translated in other languages. We learned there are no grape vines in Myanmar, but they have mango trees. In Congo, they have banana trees. We are of course reading the Scriptures in the context of this meeting, so we tried to imagine the Anglican Communion as a bunch of grapes! There was a terrible pun about whining in the Communion. We spent some time with verse 11. In what ways does Jesus make our joy complete? Do we let people know about that joy?

The Indaba group focused on the “The Bishop, the Anglican Covenant, and the Windsor Process”. There are two important groups at work that many people seem to have been unaware of – the Covenant Design Group and the Windsor Continuation Group. The Covenant Group has written a proposed covenant (which you can find on the Anglican Communion web site under St. Andrew’s Draft of the Covenant). In it, they make some proposals about our life as a Communion rather than a loose federation of churches. What is outlined in the opening part seems to have a level of support from the Bishops. The third part and the Appendix have very little support. This became clear as our Listening Group read through the various Indaba group reports. We will find out more on Saturday when we feed this back to the Plenary Session. The Windsor Continuation Group has been developing plans for the time between now and the Covenant coming into effect. (There is a HUGE assumption that it will do so!) Part of this is a moratorium on three things: the ordination of any more active gay/lesbian bishops, the blessings of same sex relationships, uninvited cross border invasions by outside bishops. It seems that his moratorium is proposed to last until the covenant comes into effect. There is uneven support for this idea. I will know more tomorrow when we see the Indaba group reports.
There are many concerns about all of these proposals. More concerning to me is the lack of accurate information about our church. I seem to be repeating myself explaining that we currently have a moratorium on these from our end, but we are still visited by unwelcome primates. (It makes for some carefully chosen words in my Indaba group, since one of the “Invaders” is in my group!)

The afternoon session was the next hearing of our reflections. Most people can identify with the comments in our reports. There some bishops who are clearly used to having the last word and seem quite annoyed when we say, “But that was not the opinion of the Indaba groups.” This process is quite difficult for those who want parliamentary procedure and debates on resolutions. Most of the Bishops are very much enjoying this time for listening and sharing concerns. Late in the afternoon we had an extra Indaba Group to allow more time for processing the ideas of the Covenant.

Evening worship was led by the Churches of South East Asia. They had wonderful photos of some of their congregations gathered for Baptism in the nearest rivers. They have a serious strategy for making disciples, bringing adults, youth and children to Christ.

The other Canadians went off to party tonight. The Listening Group got quite silly after 10pm so we quit!

(I think I was so tired I didn’t realize until today that I wrote this and didn’t post it! Sorry!)