Interviews from Lambeth: The Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh

PH: What are your personal thoughts on the Conference?

BKC: There are two words to convey my experience of Lambeth: privilege and pain. The longer I’m here the greater the sense of privilege. This is my first Lambeth Conference, so I have nothing to compare it to ”“ some bishops I’ve spoken to have three Lambeths under their belts!

I do feel privileged to meet with men and women of faith whose stories and experiences are humbling. The contexts of people’s ministries are so varied. One bishop from Sudan has had to literally run for his life once and has been attacked several times. Another bishop is surviving on an income of just $30 per month. The story from Ethiopia and Somalia is that six million people are seriously hungry, close to starving, and this seems likely to rise to 15 million by the end of the year. The impact of these personal testimonies is deep. I do have a strong sense of the amazing family which is the Anglican Communion. It is made up of a huge variety of people working in different contexts, engaged in mission and trying to honour the Lord.

As for the pain, I’m conscious of the profound pain that many bishops are ”“ so evidently ”“ not here. They represent a majority of Anglicans. We are praying for and remembering them every day. I also find it painful that there is division among us. I would say that we are having frank, honest and robust exchanges of views. At this time we face a huge challenge. Our listening must be genuine with an end purpose. There is an understanding of various viewpoints but many I have listened to are convinced that we must move towards some kind of resolution. It is increasingly clear that at the heart of the tension there are those who see developments on human sexuality as that ”“ development, while others see it as a departure from what has been accepted for two thousand years. There is uncertainty about the future. For me it is a deeply painful to see the church I love experiencing such a foundational fissure. The heart of Anglicanism is experiencing a ”˜cardiac arrest’!

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