Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are ending in a moment of frenzied attempts to make sense of all of it. Let me sort out what I can.

We were in Bible Study groups that averaged 8 Bishops per group. Five Bible Study groups were then combined to make an Indaba group of approximately 40. And there were 16 Indaba groups.

16 x 8 x 5 = 640 Bishops participating. (By tomorrow) the Indaba groups will have met 13 times, for a little more than an hour and a half each time. Total = approximately 20 hours of discussion on a total of nine (somewhat related) topics.

Each Indaba group had a facilitator, a recorder, and a “listener.” (Each group nominated 3 Bishops to be listeners, and the Conference Design Committee selected from among the nominees to assure “balance” among the group of listeners.)

It was the job of the facilitator, the recorder, and the listener to record the comments that were made in all of these groups by all of these Bishops. As I said a few days ago, if a given comment came up five or six times in as many different groups, it was almost certain to make it into the final “Reflections” Statement that has been under construction throughout the Conference.

Tonight at 5 PM we had the final “Hearing” on the Fourth Draft of what we have seen three times before – now 23 pages in length; we had not quite an hour to offer our suggestions before it is finalized overnight. At 5:52 PM we were given “Part 2” – an additional 14 pages, not seen previously, that attempted to summarize the conversations of the last three days on the topics of human sexuality and the Anglican Covenant. We had another 38 minutes to offer comments on it (!).

What will be issued tomorrow, as a Statement of the Lambeth Conference 2008 will thus be the Herculean effort of a team that is attempting to capture (as in a “snapshot,” I suggested earlier) “where we are” as seen through the eyes of the Bishops who have been together these past three weeks.

Of necessity that Statement will be “all over the board.”

In all honesty, they have already done a better job than I would have thought possible. But, will it be of help to the Communion?

At one level, I think the goals of the Conference have, indeed, been fulfilled. We have spent much time in prayer and Bible Study (many have remarked that the Gospel of John has become a new book for them). Relationships have been built and strengthened. And there is probably more appreciation on everyone’s part for the breadth – and diversity – of convictions across the spectrum.

As the London Times reported this morning, we have avoided schism (though GAFCON is undeniable evidence that we are already living with it!); but at least we have at least avoided it here. There have been no angry speeches or staged walk-outs. Even the very strong indictment offered by the Archbishop of the Sudan was offered without anger.

But any who hoped we would finally speak with one voice, or even make significant progress toward resolving our differences in the area of sexuality, has to be deeply disappointed. I am afraid those hopes were unrealistic from the beginning.

I am reminded what theologian Martin Marty said to us when the Episcopal Bishops met with our Lutheran counterparts in the early 1990s. He commented that there have only been two issues that have so divided Christians in the history of the Church as have the issues of homosexuality: Christology, during the early centuries, and Justification at the time of the Reformation. “And,” he said, “in both cases it took about 300 years to sort the matter out. So, don’t expect any early or easy resolution.”

Thank you for sending me to this year’s Lambeth Conference. I hope I have done well in representing the Diocese of Central Florida, on the one hand, and in reporting back to you as clearly and helpfully as I can, on the other. And, one more time, thank you for your prayers.

With warmest regards to all of you in our Lord,

–(The Right Rev.) John W. Howe is Bishop of Central Florida

Several Episcopal bishops who have read the draft said they are not entirely happy with it.

“There are several things in there that will be hard to swallow,” said Bishop Stacy Sauls of Lexington. “The references to Gene (Robinson), the moratoria and the pastoral forum.”

Bishop James Mathes of San Diego said the proposal for a pastoral forum would confuse rather than clarify disputes within provinces and dioceses.

Bishop Hector Monterroso of the Diocese of Costa Rica, Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America, said the reflections have missed “a good opportunity for gay people to feel better in God’s mission in the church.”

Monterroso disputed a paragraph (104) in the document that says that in some places in the United States, Canada and England the inclusion of gays and lesbians had been good for the church. “Not only there, but in Latin America,” he said.

“In our province we need to focus on other kinds of important issues like evangelism, work with poor people and the immigrants,” he added “That kind of thing here is not the emphasis.

Like Monterroso, Bishop Bruce Caldwell of Wyoming took comfort in the “unofficial” status of the reflections.

“It is just a record of conversations,” Caldwell said. “If it were a definitive document, we would have done it in a different way.”

Read it all and our thanks to Cafe for these kinds of specifics which are so helpful for those of us seeking to follow Lambeth who are not there (is anyone else out there getting tired of generalizations?–KSH).

The bishops “present from the CAPA family” spoke of their deep commitment to the Communion. But they also spoke of the absence of some of their colleagues “as a loud cry of deep anguish they feel about the deteriorating condition of the wounded Anglican Communion, a Communion they love very much”, reflecting “the frustration about the wasted opportunities that would have otherwise set the Communion on the path of healing”. Even those CAPA bishops who are here, they said, “share their concerns and feelings”.

The African bishops express their belief that “the best way forward to sustain our Anglican heritage” would involve reaffirming Lambeth 1998’s resolution 1.10 and implementing it in its entirety.

The bishops call for the adoption of the three moratoria and the swift formation of the Pastoral Forum as recommended by the Windsor Continuation Group “by the Archbishop of Canterbury in consultation with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA”.

The CAPA bishops state that they agree in principle “to a covenant which enhances the values and spirit of Anglicanism as defined in the context of scripture, reason and tradition”, and call for “the review and strengthening of instruments of unity of the Anglican Communion [sic], in light of the current challenges and realities.

The bishops conclude by expressing their hope that this Lambeth Conference will bear fruit in such a way as to “help us be a communion that can reveal to the world the truth of the Word of God”.

Read it all.

A senior archbishop has criticised Lambeth Conference delegates for simply talking about the gay issue threatening to tear the Anglican community apart.

Leader of the Anglican Church in Hong Kong, Archbishop Paul Kwong said he was disappointed with mere discussions.

He claimed bishops at the Canterbury event spent more time defending their views about homosexuality.

The talks needed to produce some solutions to help heal the rift in the Church, the archbishop said.

Read it all.

“It’s the benefit of Anglicanism to me. We’ve got everything from the arch-conservative to the arch-liberal,” said the Rev. Lou Scales, of The Church of Our Savior, on Columbia Road in Martinez.

A few years ago, The Church of Our Savior held an event titled “A Discussion With Gay and Lesbian Episcopalians,” and has hired a senior warden who is gay.

“That kind of preference is incidental to us,” the Rev. Scales said.

It isn’t as incidental for others, said the Rev. Richard Sanders, the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, on Reynolds Street. “There are people who have left St. Paul’s on this issue — both because we’re not liberal enough and not conservative enough.”

The issue, he said, is clearly divisive.

“It has affected us here at St. Paul’s, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally,” the Rev. Sanders said. “It’s a terribly devastating thing for me. I grew up in this church. This crisis, and this issue, has been very hurtful.”

The Rev. Fain agreed.

“Living with the ambiguity and the tensions has been very challenging,” he said. “Some of us have the concern that this is drawing us away from our main mission.”

The Rev. Sanders said that although the issue is important to him and to the people of St. Paul’s, “it’s not our priority here.”

“We’re focused on showing the love of Christ to the world,” he said.

Perhaps, the Rev. Scales said, that’s best done “by still gathering at the table, both in spite of and because of our differences.”

Read it all.