Live from the Missing Link
I'm blogging live again from the mid-day press conference at Lambeth. The chair is the Lambeth Conference official spokesperson, the Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Philip Aspinall. Also on stage is Archbishop Paul of Hong Kong, Bishop Charles of Louisiana, and Margaret Sentamu, wife of the Archbishop of York.
The bishops have spent the day exploring the Windsor process. Proposals from the Windsor Continuation Group about moratoria (on gay consecrations, same-sex blessings, and cross-jurisdictional incursions), the pastoral forum, and the future development of the Windsor instruments of communion, have all been discussed. Widely different views were expressed on all these issues within indaba groups. "How it all shakes down remains to be seen". At 5pm today, a draft of the final reflection document will be released.
Archbishop Paul Kwong is plainly frustrated by some of this process. He says he wishes there was more time to speak directly about the actions that have caused concern to many bishops. 'We've been beating about the bush', he said. He would like to see concrete proposals and suggestions cming out of this conference rather than merely 'talking about things we've been talking about for years'. 'We need something concrete -- some action -- to be taken.'
Bishop Jenkins says the Pentecostal miracle of universal intelligibility is being witnessed through the indaba process. People are listening to each other. 'There is a commitment to share a common faith even with those with whom we disagree. That's a New Testament value and something of a miracle.'
Comment number 1.
At 3rd Aug 2008, Scybalous wrote:So Bishop Jenkins reckons that people are listening to each other, and goes even further when he says, "There is a commitment to share a common faith even with those with whom we disagree. That's a New Testament value and something of a miracle."
I feel that somewhere in that gobbledegook there are small, encouraging signs of the cracks in the edifice of the Anglican Church in particular, and in Christianity as a whole, which will hopefully one day far in the future culminate in our species ridding itself of the need for religion.
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