A 44-page document meant to reflect the experience of the bishops who participated in the 2008 Lambeth Conference is filled with many details from the many conversations that took place during the 18-day gathering in Canterbury — and many important statements about what was discussed.
Yet it admittedly cannot replicate the experience which it describes.
Perth Archbishop Roger Herft, who chaired the document’s writing committee, wrote in the introduction that the end result is a narrative of “our lived experience and the open and honest discussions we have had together.”
Three weeks and a pamphlet on “shared experience”. The time would have been better spent touring Great Britain and compiling a travel diary. Those who didn’t “share the experience” might have found it more useful.
It must be crowded at the altar of collectivism. They have my pity; I shall hold my respect.
A truly post-modern document. A laundry list of feelings.
“Shared experiences,” my foot!
I read that Lambeth cost $11.5M. I could have thrown a better party for $1500.
It costs $11.5M for them to do NOTHING? I wonder what it would cost for them to do SOMETHING.
David Keller, see Damien Thomas’ piece: [url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/blog/2008/08/04/five_million_quid_down_the_drain_as_lambeth_conference_ends]Five million quid down the drain as Lambeth Conference ends.[/url] It starts off…
[blockquote]Well, that was a waste of everyone’s time. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s spin doctors may pretend that the £5 million Lambeth Conference was an unexpected success because the 650 bishops didn’t actually come to blows. Oh, please. [/blockquote]
Note £5 million = $9.76 million.
We have been led unwittingly into using the term “same-sex union” – even the Archbishop of Canterbury used it in his presidential addresses. I URGE that we stop using it- THERE IS NO SUCH THING.
There are same-sex relationships, not unions. They may be committed sexual relationships but that does not make them “unions”. UNION, the joining of two into one -“and the two shall become one” – is ordained by God from the begining for marriage of man and wife.
This is not about semantics – the more we get used to the ” same-sex union” terminology the less the distinction we are making between those relationships and marriage.
#6 Chris that was actually discussed:
Spaulding (Groucho): What do you fellas get an hour?
Ravelli (Chico): For playing, we get-a ten dollars an hour.
Spaulding: I see. What do you get for not playing?
Ravelli: Twelve dollars an hour.
Spaulding: What do you get for rehearsing?
Ravelli: 15 dollars an hour.
Spaulding: and for not rehearsing?
Ravelli: You couldn’t afford it.
I think they went with the not rehearsing option for Lambeth.
robroy–The number I saw was $9.5M for the conference (close to your figure) and another $2M for the spouses.
Lived experience? Lived experience? What other kind of experience is there? Dead experience? I dunno, but maybe that’s what one calls Lambeth. Poor English. Poor American. If they were children, their speakers would be in jail for child abuse. LM
David, a million here, a million there, pretty soon adds up to real money!
And remember: many of the purple-shirted TEC types are staying on in Europe, taking vacations (after their struggling diocese paid the airfare for them and their ‘spouse’, why not?)
Soon enough to get back to the real world of dwindling membership and plunging budgets, I s’pose! The whole $10-12 million mess leaves a rotten taste in the mouth! Their big ‘accomplishment’ was ‘sharing’. So, stay at home next time and link up in a live chat! Enough already!!!
I was going to express outrage at the squandering of $11 million, but then I remembered that the CoE is a government operation. I’d say it came off pretty cheap, given that datum.