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Lambeth opening is low-key, less formal, ‘less triumphal’
The bishops have decided to break with tradition in order to make this Conference more accessible, says Pat Ashworth
 The end of the beginning: Anglican bishops from around the world proceed out of Canterbury Cathedral after a service on Sunday to mark the opening of the Lambeth Conference ACNS |
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THE ARRIVAL was low-key: relaxed bishops sauntering down the cobbled street towards the Cathedral, and official stewards and good-natured police far outnumbering the handful of mild-mannered, almost self-deprecating protesters. “Woe to you who are at ease with Lambeth — Amos 6.1” was the most penetrable, if not from any recognisable version of the Bible. There was a solo murmur about the fruits of historic disobedience, and some rather unfathomable warnings about unclean birds of revelation having their nests under the bishops’ garments, and men who did not expose deeds of darkness carrying them under their own jackets. But no voices were raised.In a break with tradition, the bishops did not process, Olympic-style, behind their provincial standards; nor did they wear copes and mitres. They walked in pairs, in Convocation robes, deliberately “undifferentiated” so as to reflect a desire born out of their three-day retreat to be “less triumphal than some might expect Anglicans to be, or had been in the past”, the Australian Primate, Dr Phillip Aspinall, explained afterwards. The only group separated out were the Primates. |
 Canterbury scenes: above: Bishop de Chickera in the pulpit ACNS |
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It was intended to be less formal and more accessible — and it also hid gaps in the representation of some African provinces. There was a ripple of interest among the press when the Bishop of Durham appeared wearing his cassock: was it some kind of protest? No, his robes had been mislaid somewhere on the campus of the University of Kent.
Brass and organ thundered out the fanfare and the opening hymn, “We sing a love that sets all people free”, to the tune of Woodlands. It heralded an all-encompassing and magnificently cosmopolitan service, with the prayers of penitence in Swahili, African rhythms for a syncopated Gloria, and the Epistle from Romans 8 read by a Korean nun in her own language.
Then came the outbreak of sheer joy that was the Gospel procession of grass-skirted Melanesian Brothers and Sisters. In scenes reminiscent of Dr Sentamu’s enthronement as Archbishop of York, they danced and weaved their exuberant way from the high altar to the Compass Rose, to the accompaniment of pan pipes, drums, and the kazoo.
The Bishop of Colombo, the Right Revd Duleep de Chickera, was the preacher. Taking as his text 2 Corinthians 12.9 — “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” — he spoke in a measured and quietly inspirational way of the realities that encompassed the worldwide Anglican Communion. One was the torn and divided world — “God gives the Church an agenda out of the crises of the world,” he suggested — and the Communion must always give the highest priority to transforming it. |
 Unusual headgear in the queue outside the cathedral ACNS |
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He spoke soberly of the second reality. “We are a wounded Communion. Some of us are not here. That is an indication that all is not well,” he said. “Certainly, the crisis is complex. It is not a crisis that can be resolved instantly. The journey ahead is a long and arduous one: a journey that will demand our prayers, our faithfulness, our mutual trust in each other, and, of course, our trust in God, who makes reconciliation possible.”
The gospel reading had been the parable of the weeds sowed among the wheat. “The words of the master were wise. Let them grow together,” he emphasised, in a clear plea for unity. “There must be no uprooting, my dear brothers and sisters, simply because if we attempt this game, of uprooting the unrighteous, none of us will remain. . . The wisdom of these words suggests that we stay together. We grow from a common strain, a common tradition. . . The disciples of Jesus stay together and journey together.”
The Bishop made a plea for “the practice of self-scrutiny”, illustrated by the parable of the beam and the speck of dust. It was gentle chastisement and admonition. “Christ calls us to be hard on ourselves, and Christ calls us to consider him only as our measure and our standard. . . The standard is always Christ. It’s not that bishop who’s giving you trouble. It’s not that archdeacon whose theology always irritates. . . Self-scrutiny is possible in the Christian journey as we stand naked before Jesus the Christ.”
He spoke of the need to resuscitate Anglicanism, the challenge of unity in diversity, of humility in Christ. The Communion was called to be “an inclusive Communion where there is space equally for everyone and anyone, regardless of colour, gender, ability, sexual orientation. Unity in diversity is a cherished Anglican tradition — a spirituality, if you like, which we must recognise in all humility for the sake of Christ.”
Talk about reconciliation was incomplete unless the Communion was a prophetic voice which addressed and dealt with the injustice of the world, he said. The prophetic voice was the “voice of the voiceless, those who, for political reasons, cultural reasons, economic reasons, military reasons cannot speak for themselves”. Whether there was a crisis in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Afghanistan or Iraq, “the voiceless must be given a voice through the leadership of the Anglican Communion.”
The prophetic tradition was, in a sense, monotonous and relentless, he reflected. He concluded: “As we move from this wonderful retreat through this beautiful eucharist into our conference, here is the crux of Anglican identity. We do not live for ourselves; and all our energies, all our gifts are directed toward abundant life for others.” Loud applause followed.
Then the Nicene Creed: it caused some to stumble, said as it was in its ancient form, without the phrase “and the Son”. There was power and might and glory in the Missa Luba, a version of the Latin mass based on Congolese songs; the Lord’s Prayer was spoken in everyone’s own language; and intercessions derived from the Scottish eucharist were led from the Compass Rose in Hindi, Portugese, Japanese, and French. |
 Melananesians dancing down the aisle with the Gospel ACNS |
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They went out to “Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing” — never more rousingly sung. Dr Aspinall said it had been “an amazing experience to be in Canterbury Cathedral with all the bishops from around the Anglican world . . . not to mention all the saints entombed around the walls. One does have a sense of being surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. It is really quite moving.” |
 Dr Williams presides ACNS |
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