The Telegraph added another article, this one by George Pitcher and headlined Archbishop of Canterbury upbeat after Lambeth Conference.
The New York Times which sent a war correspondent rather than a religion correspondent to cover the conference has Anglicans to Seek Pact to Prevent a Schism by John F Burns.
Rachel Zoll of Associated Press filed this from New York: Anglican Leader Seeks Moratorium On Gay Bishops.
The Washington Post filed this from London: Gay Bishop Dispute Dominates Conference by Karla Adam who concludes with:
Diarmaid MacCulloch, a professor of the history of the church at Oxford University, said many of Williams’s efforts to “prevent some from grandstanding,” like meeting in small groups, were “sensible in trying to keep the temperature as low as possible.”
MacCulloch predicted that the controversy about homosexuality would “rumble on because it can’t be resolved with two great cultural gaps” but that in time, the factions might learn to live with their differences.
“Overall, the conference did less damage than it could have,” he said, “and that’s something to be thankful for.”
Comment is free has an article by Theo Hobson titled The death of liberal Anglicanism.
14 CommentsAnglican Journal Marites Sison Bishops end conference with ‘wide agreement’ on moratoria for same-sex blessings, cross-border interventions, and ordination of gay bishops, says Williams
ENS Archbishop of Canterbury seeks ‘covenantal commitment’
Also, Lambeth bishops attend closing Eucharist; Martyred Melanesian brothers honored in Canterbury Cathedral and Bishops say Lambeth has equipped them for leadership in mission
61 CommentsGuardian Riazat Butt
Lambeth conference: Archbishop blames liberals for church rift and
Healing the rift: how Williams kept his flock together
Guardian leader: Faith 1, Charity 0
The Times Ruth Gledhill
Dr Rowan Williams restores peace at the troubled Lambeth Conference and
Commentary: rebellion in the Church’s ranks
The Times leader last Saturday: Lambeth Conference: good news for Williams
Telegraph Martin Beckford
Lambeth Conference branded ‘exercise in futility’ and
Lambeth Conference Q&A: What has it achieved? and
Lambeth Conference by numbers
BBC Way ahead found in Church gay row
5 CommentsFrom ACNS comes Sermon given by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Concluding Eucharist of the Lambeth Conference.
14 CommentsAudio of the entire press conference is now available here.
13 CommentsThe full text of The Archbishop of Canterbury Concluding Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference 2008 is now available online.
PDF copy also.
18 CommentsThe final version of the Reflections document is now available at Lambeth Indaba Reflections.
The Notes are separate as a PDF.
A PDF version of the main document is here.
4 CommentsGlobal South Anglican has published this Statement at the Lambeth Conference 2008.
The note at the bottom says:
A note from Archbishop John Chew: “Signatures are still being gathered at the point of posting and will be released as soon as we are able to. Bishops who were at the special meeting on the 22nd of July are welcome to add their names to the undersigned list. To indicate, please email us at admin@globalsouthanglican.org
When a list of names is posted, I will update here too.
Monday morning update
14 CommentsThe Most Revd Gerald James (Ian) Ernest (Indian Ocean)
The Most Revd Bernard Ntahoturi (Burundi)
The Most Revd Dr. Dirokpa Balufuga Fidèle (Congo)
The Most Revd Archbishop John Chew (Southeast Asia)
The Most Revd Stephen Than Myint Oo (Myanmar)
The Most Revd Valentino Mokiwa (Tanzania)
The Most Revd Daniel Deng Bul Yak (Sudan)
The Most Revd Dr Mouneer Hanna Anis (Jerusalem & The Middle East)
The Most Revd Justice Ofei Akrofi (West Africa)
The Most Revd John Wilson Gladstone (South India)
The Rt Revd Donald Mtetemela (Tanzania)(Ed: This list is still being updated)
The Sunday Programme on BBC Radio 4 is devoted entirely to the conference. Listen to Jane Little here (URL lasts for only one week).
Robert Pigott of the BBC has another diary update here: read A TWO-TIER COMMUNION: 2 AUGUST.
Bishops blogging: Episcopal Café has a new roundup here.
Jonathan Wynne-Jones at the Sunday Telegraph has Bishops ask Archbishop of Canterbury for an ‘orderly separation’.
For a different viewpoint, read Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times at That’s the spirit, Bishop Bigot. Let’s hate everybody.
10 CommentsUpdated Saturday 11 pm
The fourth draft of the Reflections document is available in full as a PDF here.
The Church Times blog has a commentary on it by Bill Bowder at The Bishops’ reflections – comprehensive, but rather hurried.
The Episcopal Café has extracted the two controversial sections of the text and they can be read at Live: Semi-final draft of Lambeth Reflection paper with some commentary by Jim Naughton.
And earlier, Jim wrote Live: bits and pieces as time ebbs at Lambeth.
See also Live: feudal morality.
The BBC’s Robert Pigott has updated his Lambeth Diary again, see A TWO-TIER COMMUNION: 2 AUGUST.
Update
Marites Sison at Anglican Journal has No concrete action anticipated on sexuality before Lambeth concludes
And also, Bishops of South Asia urge ‘continuing listening and healing’.
Solange de Santis at Episcopal News Service has Lambeth bishops air differing views on covenant.
5 CommentsThe Scotsman carries an article by Kelvin Holdsworth Scotland leads on tolerance – will the Church of England follow?
The Guardian has Jonathan Magonet writing about the new Reform Judaism prayer book in Face To Faith.
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about A flinty treat at Southwold.
Jonathan Sacks writes in The Times that: It is the young who will likely put an end to knife crime.
The Church Times has a leader: The challenge to do miracles.
And Giles Fraser writes: Beware of the morality of legalism.
3 CommentsYesterday’s press conference was about the proposed Covenant. Here are the reports of that:
ENS Mary Frances Schjonberg Lambeth Conference begins two-day covenant discussion
Anglican Journal Marites Sison Lambeth seeks common ground in proposed covenant
ACNS Press Conference on Anglican Covenant: ‘We are on a pilgrimage together’ and the full audio recording of the press conference is here.
Jim Naughton has some background links and commentary at Live: softpeddaling the appendix.
11 CommentsUpdated Saturday evening
The Bishop of Egypt, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and presiding bishop of Jerusalem & the Middle East,Mouneer Anis, has held a press conference and issued a written statement.
You can read the written statement in full here.
Update For a full video record of this press conference, go to this ENS page, and navigate by date to to the two videos dated 08/01/08
You can read Jim Naughton’s take on this at Live: Mouneer Anis forgets his lines.
Ruth Gledhill also reports on it, in Endless debate on sexuality ‘is exposing Anglicans to ridicule as the Gay Church’.
The First draft of the Lambeth reflection on the bishop and human sexuality can be found at Episcopal Café under Live: Lambeth bishops reflecting on sexual ethics.
It is also discussed here on ENS and at “No idea” consecration of gay bishop would cause such a stir on Anglican Journal.
Martin Beckford has this in the Telegraph Liberal agenda of Western churches a ‘new form of colonisation’
28 Comments… or more accurately today it’s news from the big white train, as I head back north and west ready for tomorrow’s Three Choirs Festival opening service.
We took photos in our bible study group this morning and I handed round Celtic style cards with knot patterns on like the ones I have at times designed and fabricated into rugs, cushion covers and jumpers. I inscribed in each a Franciscan tau cross and Latin greeting and then appended my email address. Put together that says quite a lot about my spiritual wells. Yesterday a colleague had given each member a copy of the TEC Book of Common Prayer which brought back happy memories of when I used the rite to say matins each morning whilst staying with a Texan priest in Peru.
The indaba groups are moving from direct discussion of sexuality to matters of covenant. I guess there’s a general recognition that we’re not, in two or three weeks, going to build levels of agreement (or agreement to differ) the whole way, but there’s a sense of having made enormous progress in terms of mutual understanding, love and (dare I say it) trust in each other and each other’s integrity. Whilst nothing will satisfy Orombi and Akinola, nor the shady figures from North American behind them, there’s been good solid evidence on campus that archiepiscopal bullying has its limits and that there is a more representative voice of southern conservatism which will listen to those of its neighbours who have been at Lambeth and are able to share the seriousness with which we are working at our unity and respond to such visible signs of progress as can be signed off by Sunday night.
Highlight of the day: (actually last night at the Old Palace reception) yet more conversations with amazing people such as Sebastian Bakare of Harare and Cardinal Walter Kasper.
Lowlight of the day: Train struck a tree so we limped to the next station before being decamped onto the following stopper. Reached Charing Cross 30 minutes late to find Bakerloo line closed.
Last word: Thanks everyone for your comments.
3 CommentsTwo reports from Anglican Journal by Marites Sison
Primate expresses ‘frustration’ that Canadian church’s voice hasn’t been heard at Lambeth hearings
27 CommentsUpdated 5.30 pm with items from Friday:
Covenant is ‘future-directed’ says Gomez by Paul Handley
The sexuality section of the draft ‘Reflections’ document
Feeling stuffed before the final meal
Ugandan Primate criticises Dr Williams
In the paper today:
Many of these are subscriber-only, but here is what you can read now:
Group proposes standstill to ease Anglican tensions
Surmise, frustration, and interest greet proposals
Chief Rabbi pleads with Communion to stay one despite differences
Bishops given frank talk on rape and beatings
See also this list here.
And the CT blog has The indaba groups talk about sex
12 CommentsOther that is than the opinion article in The Times by Archbishop Henry Orombi which is here.
BBC Robert Pigott Lambeth Diary updated again on 1 August, read No Changing of Minds.
The Times Joanna Sugden Hazy deliberation brings no resolution, just reflection
Guardian Riazat Butt ‘Mini Lambeth’ would be the way forward, say dissatisfied bishops and also Lost property, naked bishops, and the mark of the beast.
Telegraph Martin Beckford Archbishop of Canterbury ‘betrayed churches over gay bishops’ (this covers other topics besides Orombi).
And there are numerous stories about what Bishop Cathy Roskam wrote. See here, here, and here.
10 CommentsToday Anglicans circled prayerfully and slowly around, worked hard at not stepping on each others toes, and eventually all ended up in the centre admiring Canterbury. Yes, it was the official opening of the new University Labyrinth on the slope behind Eliot College and with wonderful views over both city and cathedral. I’m not sure whether the Conference simply coincided serendipitously with the labyrinth’s creation or not, but it made a fine late addition to the programme and afforded yet another way of holding all we are doing before God.
Our indaba group on sexuality was every bit as moving as I had hoped for. Emotionally I think the Conference has gone a long way towards endorsing what I would call responsible, accountable, contextual diversity. The tricky bit may be trying to capture that in a text that will survive the flights home, the determined shredders of the blogosphere and the efforts of some of our absent friends.
The morning video journal, before the dismissal at the end of the Eucharist, featured Tom Shaw from Massachusetts (thank you spell checker) and a Tanzanian bishop (whose name I didn’t catch) explaining how they keep up a warm and loving dialogue on human sexuality, that has now lasted several years, across their obvious and persisting theological differences. It was an example of the same graciousness that has been the hallmark of the last two weeks, but it shows it doesn’t have to end when Lambeth is over. The video introduction featured Rowan, who started by saying, “The 1998 Lambeth Conference spent a lot of energy discussing sexuality”, at which point the audio failed, whilst the picture jumped once or twice then stuck on a still of the Archbishop with his eyes closed (a blink stretched into eternity). Clearly this is where the energy finally ran out. The whole big blue tent roared with laughter, especially Rowan himself, and the mood, already buoyed up by a splendid sermon from the Archbishop of Burundi, rose even further. It was a good start to a good day.
Highlight of the day: I’m invited to supper at the Old Palace Canterbury tonight.
Lowlight of the day: when I get back I’m going to have to pack as tomorrow is my last day here before returning to Worcester for the Three Choirs Festival.
4 CommentsUpdated Friday morning
Today the press conference on sexuality occurred. Jim Naughton has captured the event well in Live: talking sex successfully, and see also his earlier, Live: talking sex.
Listen to the press conference here.
Anglican Journal Marites Sison No consensus yet on sexuality, but bishops make ‘significant step forward’
ENS Mary Frances Schjonberg Sexuality discussions bring Lambeth bishops to frank conversation and videos of both the presentations are also available, Archbishop Ian Ernest here, and Bishop Colin Johnson here.
Sorry, it has been pointed out to me that these videos do not have individual Permalinks, you have to locate them from here, by date. The date for these two items is 07/31/08.
10 CommentsUpdated Friday morning
The full article in The Times by Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi can be read at The Church cannot heal this crisis of betrayal.
And Ruth Gledhill writes about it: Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader
Ruth Gledhill reports: Lambeth Diary: Rowan accused of ‘betrayal’
In a comment piece in tomorrow’s Times, the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, will accuse the Arcbishop of Canterbury of a betrayal at the very deepest level. He will argue that even the Pope is elected by his peers, but Dr Williams in his office is little better than a remnant of colonialism.
Also, in The Times Cardinal Kasper is reported to have been very negative, see Catholic-Anglican relations reach new low over women bishops
The full text of this is now available in English at Zenit Cardinal Kasper to Anglican Communion
29 Comments