Together in God’s Mission: Lambeth 2008
By Ian T. Douglas

“What really happened at Lambeth?” This is a question that I have been asked a lot lately. On one hand it is a fair question as I was a member of the Design Group for the 2008 Lambeth Conference of world wide Anglican bishops and I was present during the whole conference. On the other hand, I am not a bishop and did not participate first hand in the conference and so my observations are second hand at best, and biased at that. Still I think it is worth reflecting a bit on what happened in Canterbury this summer as it could have wide ramifications for the current and future state of the Anglican Communion.

Lambeth 2008 was unlike any other in the almost century and a half tradition of Lambeth Conferences. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams knew that old models and old processes of Lambeth that focused on parliamentary plenaries and the adoption of thick theological reports with enabling, and sometimes divisive, resolutions would not best serve the Anglican Communion in these tense and changing times. And so at the very beginning of planning for Lambeth 2008, Archbishop Williams encouraged the Design Group to do a new thing.

The new thing of Lambeth 2008 led to a conference of bishops dedicated to equipping bishops as leaders in God’s mission and thus strengthening the Anglican Communion. Even before bishops from around the Anglican Communion arrived in Canterbury in mid July for the conference, the bishops participated in a “hospitality initiative” with local Anglican churches of the United Kingdom. Visiting dioceses in England, Scotland and Wales, bishops from around the world shared with and learned from sisters and brothers in Christ across their diverse contexts. Arriving in Canterbury the 670 participating bishops in Lambeth 2008 were drawn into a three-day retreat led by Archbishop Williams in the ancient Cathedral in Canterbury. In three days of prayer led by stirring addresses by the Archbishop the bishops considered their vocation of disciples of, and leaders in, God’s mission.

The bishops then followed a daily rhythm of “ordinary” days of the conference for the next two weeks. Each day of the conference began with Eucharist led by a particular regional or national church in the Anglican Communion. Eucharist was followed by bible study where each bishop joined with seven other bishops from different parts of the world to pray over and discuss the “I am” statements in the Gospel of John. The groups of eight bishops used a contextual bible study method, developed by an international team of scholars, in which the truth of Scripture was discerned within the lived experience of the particular lives of the bishops.

Next came the indaba groups where five Bible study groups joined together to consider how to be faithful to God’s mission, as well as particular vexing issues before the Anglican Communion today. The word “indaba” is a Zulu word from South Africa that connotes leaders coming together for purposeful discussion and discernment. In indaba, space is made for meaningful conversation where each person’s voice is heard and treasured. Indaba is not about resolving debates but rather listening to and valuing the other. Over the course of nearly two weeks the bishops in indaba considered the themes of: Anglican identity, evangelism, social justice and the Millennium Development Goals, ecumenism, environmental sustainability, interfaith concerns, gender and the abuse of power, biblical authority, human sexuality, the proposed Anglican Covenant, and ongoing processes related to the Windsor Report. The indaba conversations were bought together in a multi-vocal set of reflections that attempted to give a flavor of the depth and diversity of views shared in these purposeful discussions. During each afternoon the bishops were then free to choose from a variety of self-select learning opportunities of lectures, panels and workshops loosely based on the indaba themes before ending with Evening prayer before dinner.

In addition to the ordered life of Eucharist, bible study, indabas, and self-select sessions, prayer and meals, the bishops were resourced by evening presentations offered by significant ecumenical and inter-religious leaders such as Brian McLaren, a leader in the emerging church movement, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth. For many the highlight of Lambeth was the day spent in London where the bishops and their spouses marched by the Houses of Parliament as a witness to a common commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

So what happened at Lambeth 2008? Anglican bishops and ecumenical participants from very diverse contexts around the world came together: to worship and pray, to study the Bible, to have deep and meaningful conversations, and to resource each other as leaders in God’s mission. Did Lambeth 2008 solve the difficult issues before the Anglican Communion? No, and it never intended to do so. Rather, in the spirit of indaba, the bishops who gathered in Canterbury this summer discovered Christ anew in the other and in so doing the Anglican Communion has been strengthened in our common service to God’s mission of justice, compassion and reconciliation in the world.

The Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Ph.D. is the Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was a member of the Design Group for the 2008 Lambeth Conference.