This month’s Lambeth Conference has made one resolution in advance: not to make any resolutions. Such a disavowal of resolutions was part of the reason for disaffected Anglicans to set up the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), held earlier this month in Jerusalem. Some of these members of the Anglican family will stay away from the gathering in Canterbury.
I asked Dr Kevin Ward, author of A History of Global Anglicanism, whether this lack of resolutions will make it feel different from previous conferences. “The Gafcon people weren’t happy with Rowan Williams’ intention to move away from resolutions, to make Lambeth a toothless tiger,” said Dr Ward. “They wanted more clarity, particularly in disciplining the Americans. In their view, it’s irresponsible just to have a huge talking shop when this is going on. And they also wonder what the point of Lambeth resolutions is, if they’re not properly enforced.” But not all the conservative evangelicals are boycotting, so could there still be a lobby pressing for greater clarity? “There could be,” agreed Dr Ward. “For example the Sudanese and Tanzanian bishops will be there, and plenty of other African bishops, so there might be a group demanding a resolution condemning the American Church. But the whole point of how the conference is structured is to avoid that sort of thing. The emphasis is on small groups – the model is the indaba – the Zulu council meetings, in which everyone gets heard.”
How fully and honestly should homosexuality be discussed by the official programme? It’s a dilemma. There is a danger of seeming to sweep the issue under the carpet, and a counter-danger of elevating it to such importance that new rows break out and other pressing issues are not given proper attention.
Few people have pondered this dilemma more extensively over the last few years than Canon Philip Groves. He is the Facilitator of the Listening Process on Human Sexuality in the Anglican Communion. This job originates in the less contentious part of Resolution 1:10: “We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons.” Groves is particularly good at listening to African concerns, having spent seven years in Tanzania, during which time he got to know many African bishops. He is helping to run the part of the conference set aside for the gay issue. The day is called “Listening to God and to Each Other”. At first Groves is wary of being questioned about this, for fear of seeming to have an agenda, of wanting to skew the discussion in a certain way.
I believe that regardless of how Groves tries to run it, there IS an agenda……not necessarily his……that of the homosexual crowd and their supporters……and the discussion is ALREADY being skewed in their favor, and in fact, it has been purposely designed that way.
Yeah, Cennydd, that’s what I thought, as well. But, now, I’m wondering if the lack of resolutions and the careful “conflict-avoidance” structure of Lambeth isn’t going to allow all hell to break loose. Rather than having an orderly forum and outlet for the Communion’s ills, the organizers apparently thought that micromanaging little discussion groups would be safe.
Heh, you can put bishops into little groups but you can’t make them discuss. Unless they carefully crafted homogeneous groups, I rather expect some bishops to raise a fuss. If the groups ARE homogeneous, you could very well have the groups strategizing how to kick the careful plans in the arse and force confrontation of the issues.
[blockquote] “No, partly because that would be off-putting to a lot of the bishops and partly because there are many other important things to discuss like HIV-Aids, and globalisation and climate change.” [/blockquote]
What about making disciples? Surely that didn’t end after the Decade of Evangelism. Neglect her primary purpose and the Anglican Communion deserves to disappear.
Surely the lack of resolutions must spring (too active and decisive a verb, no doubt) from a lack of resolve! At least, a lack of resolve of the lib leaders to meet the Zeitgeist with the Gospel. No lack of resolve to ram through innovations the “Holy Spirit”, or, some other spirit, thinks up next. Any spirit that agrees with self-will and the flesh will do.
The above is blather, indabablather. Groves manages to say nothing at all in a lot of words. And I will say it again, that the gloves are now off; the liberals are smelling total success in the wind, and Lambeth, however mild the public talk, will be a confrontation because #i and #2 are both right, while there will be conservative voices that will refuse to be silent or idabated. And isn’t it time for an indaba-ostomy? Tht is, the schism is real and final. Lambeth will only confirm it, although the liberal voices will control the media output, so what we hear is that “all will be well,” and unofficially we will hear the sound of blood dripping from the knives. And this is the way it should be. Larry
Apparently the conference won’t lack for voices to listen to:
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/daily/anglican_communion/bringing_the_voice_of_glbt_afr.php