As the worldwide Anglican Communion prepares to meet at Canterbury, England, July 16-Aug. 3, the church finds itself in a terrible crisis on many sides. The Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade gathering of bishops from the 38 provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion, will meet behind closed doors this time to see if they can heal and mend the tattered fabric of their frayed unity. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, has drawn up the guest list and guided the design for the meeting. He intentionally left off the guest list two Episcopal bishops from the United States, the bishop of New Hampshire, V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, now formally married to his male partner. Also off the list is Bishop Martyn Minns, an American Episcopal priest who was consecrated a bishop in the Church of Nigeria. They ordained him bishop without the permission of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, to minister to conservative Episcopalians who are threatening to leave the national church.<\/p>\n