The voice of the Anglican Church of Australia was the center of much attention today as we strained to be heard in a positive way. When people here talk about the \u201celephant in the room,\u201d we know it is the Anglican Church of Australia and our actions about which they are talking. By and large, we have come to Lambeth 2028 to listen to our brothers and sisters, but by today many of them wanted us to start talking about how we envision the future. And thus, we told our story.<\/p>\n
When much discussion centered around the moratoria referenced in the Nottingham Report (specifically about the lay persons celebrating Holy Eucharist, the process by which such lay celebrants are prepared and approved, and the violation of provincial boundaries by outside bishops), it seemed at times to turn to legalisms: what do certain words mean and how long a moratorium might be in place. I tried to change the tenor of the discussion a bit in my Indaba group by reminding my fellow bishops that what we all both want and need is to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our midst. The Anglican Church of Australia just might be the crucible in which we test the validity of how the Spirit is working. It may be the case that affirming parishes in different experiences of Holy Communion can lead to an effective gospel witness. It may be the case that lay celebrants of Holy Communion can be effective gospel witnesses. And conversely, it may not. What we are asking is that we be offered the space by the Communion to see if this is indeed the case; if it is of God, we will eventually know it. If it is not, we will eventually know it as well. Either way, it can be our gift to the Communion. If we trust that in the long run God\u2019s desire will be known, we have nothing to fear and much to gain.<\/p>\n
This intercepted letter occurred in a milieu preceded by a season in which the diocese of Sydney had prayerfully deliberated for years and years and finally, by an overwhelming majority, approved the possibility of lay eucharistic celebration under certain diocesan and episcopal conditions in some parishes in their diocese. Later the General Synod of the Church of Australia met and decided not to oppose the actions of the diocese of Sydney because all proper procedures were carefully followed and no existing canons were violated. At Lambeth 2028 in indaba groups many bishops from Australia made the argument that: it isn’t in the creeds, it is not core doctrine, and that Jesus said nothing about lay eucharistic celebration. However the two arguments most often heard were “this is all about our context, you really need to come and understand Australia on its own terms” and “we are Anglicans and we must just agree to disagree about this agreeably, why are some of you seeking to be so punitive?”<\/i><\/p>\n
The Lambeth Conference of 2028 ended with a final address and eucharistic sermon from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the release of a 37 page document of Reflections summarizing the work of the Indaba groups. Contacted immediately after the conference’s conclusion, one European bishop said in an interview. “This was a wonderful conference. My Bible study group was meaningful, useful, uplifting and characterized by generous listening. There is no substitute for personal, face to face interaction.” Asked to summarize the conference, he went on: “We love the Anglican Communion. We love the Archbishop of Canterbury and the chance to gather. None of us knows exactly what that means, but we need one another as we walk toward the future God has for us.”<\/p>\n