We are now in the last couple of days of Lambeth and I am feeling deeply sad.
I don’t know why at the moment ”“ everything I came here hoping for looks set to be agreed to:
It is very likely that the Windsor continuation report will be approved ”“ which means that a moratoria on gay bishops will continue etc”¦.
And it seems likely that a covenant process will be endorsed and a draft agreed to.
All this seems good to me and yet I can’t help this overwhelming sadness.
Because I am more convinced than ever that none of this will help us. Those who have stayed away will not agree to it and will continue their ministry in the States. And TEC will continue to bleat that they won’t follow the moratoria while these Africans continue to ignore it.
I believe (at this stage ”“ and there are still two days to go) that this has been the most expensive exercise in futility that I have every been to.
The Indaba groups have been a joke. I can’t believe that no zulu has stood up and taken us to account for our abuse of this process. ”˜Indaba’ is supposed to be very similar to the process our Maori use when they go onto a marae to achieve a consensus. We, on the other hand, arrived in our indaba groups only to be divided off into even smaller groups with little tasks to do ”“ little questions to answer….
This is the most honest summation of this Lambeth Conference I’ve read. Such is the state of the historic Communion.
Good. Overwhelming sadness is what we have experienced in the US for forty years. Welcome.