The Lambeth Conference:
July 18 -August 9, 1998The Lambeth Story
Every ten years the bishops of the Anglican Communion attend a Lambeth Conference, an event unrivaled in the Anglican experience.
The bishops, overseers of churches, as the early church called them, are brought together by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the encouragement of his fellow Church leaders. He is the focal point of the Lambeth Conference which, in turn, is defined by the bishops who attend.
The unique event has increased in strength with every improvement in transportation and communication since the first conference was held in 1867. There were 76 bishops at this first Lambeth Conference; over 700 bishops will be coming to the 1998 conference, up from approximately 500 in 1988. In 1988 there were also 28 observers from other Churches in Communion with us and 37 special consultants and speakers.
The vast majority of bishops in the Anglican Communion today are neither English nor is English their first language. Their churches have grown uniquely, each in its own way. But their roots rest in 16th century England and in the Early Church. Their worship evolved from the English Book of Common Prayer. Their music began with traditional Christian hymns and chants. Their spirituality reflects these centuries of devotions.
When the Archbishop of Canterbury first invited Anglican bishops to Lambeth Palace in 1867 he was following a practice of the early church; apostles and those bishops they had consecrated, who in turn consecrated others in what is called apostolic succession. These early bishops always gathered to resolve their differences. Unlike an early church council, though, the Lambeth Conference is not a legislative body; its resolutions are not binding within the Anglican Communion. Bishops, however, carry Lambeth reports back to clergy and laity in their own autonomous provinces where they carry much weight because Lambeth Conferences have acquired an influence at times "so close to authority as hardly to be distinguishable from it," according to Cambridge University historian Owen Chadwick in his introduction to Resolutions of the Twelve Lambeth Conferences.
The steamship and airplane, the telegraph and telephone, the computer and electronic telecommunications have reinforced its strength by enabling bishops all over the world to visit England without deserting their own responsibilities at home.
The Conference was named after the Archbishop of Canterbury's London residence, Lambeth Palace, on the south side of the Thames at Lambeth Bridge where bishops met until their sheer number dictated a change. The moved, in 1978, to Canterbury, whose cathedral contains his official seat.
The Anglican Communion defines itself as churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, sharing the tradition of a Book of Common Prayer, with clergy made up of bishops, priests and deacons as well as the ministry of the laity. One of these, the Anglican Church of Canada, requested the first Lambeth Conference, which was held in 1867.
The See of Canterbury could never have ruled this worldwide Communion because The Church of England is governed by English law and tradition. The Archbishop of Canterbury does not even govern York within England. In fact the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Durham refused to attend the first Lambeth Conference in 1867. Nor could the Archbishop of Canterbury call Lambeth a 'council' because the Church of England may not gather Councils 'without the commandment and will of Princes', according to the Thirty-Nine Articles on which the Church of England was founded. So Lambeth is a conference, not a council, with power only to confer, consult, discuss, debate and vote on resolutions.
Preparations for Lambeth 1998
Seven hundred and forty four bishops have received invitations for themselves and their spouses.
Space is reserved, as it was in 1978 and 1988, at the University of Kent in the city of Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the Anglican Communion. Meetings will be held in the university sports hall, which is flexible enough for large (1,200 people) or small (50 people) meetings or worship services. The large, plenary sessions will include bishops, official observers and consultants, support staff and media.
Four Themes For Discussion and Study
The international Lambeth Design Group, headed by Archbishop Keith Rayner of Australia, has set before the 1998 Conference four themes to stimulate discussion and study.
Called to Full Humanity:
What does it mean to be truly human, as individuals and in community?
What are the forces which enhance, and which threaten, our humanity?
Called to live and proclaim the Good News:
How is the Church to ensure that the faith is faithfully handed
on from generation to generation and that it is effectively interpreted in word and deed to the world?
Called to be faithful in a plural world:
Anglicans are used to living with a plurality of views within their communion. But modern cultures are often much more radically pluralistic. What are the implications of pluralism within your own region for the life of the Church? How in that context can the Church be a sign of God's rule?
Called to be One:
What is the meaning of the unity for which Jesus prays? How do the Christian Churches achieve Christ's bond to each other in a world where economic and commercial forces bind people together and where political and cultural tensions tear them apart?
Archbishop Carey's Letter:
Dear Friends,
130 years ago Archbishop Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury, called together all the bishops of the Anglican Communion for consultation. Ever since then bishops have met either at Lambeth or Canterbury every ten years to share in their common mission.
With the encouragement of my fellow Primates I have decided to invite all bishops to join me in Canterbury in August 1998. I believe it is essential for us to meet for the following reasons:
Bishops need to study together.
The conference will provide the bishops with a major opportunity to engage in their task of guarding and interpreting the Faith as we approach the third millennium of Christianity.
Bishops need to share with each other.
We have grown as a Communion, there are now 36 Provinces with some 750 bishops. Much of this growth has occurred where there is terrible human suffering, poverty and persecution.
Meeting together will help to strengthen the theological, spiritual and personal bonds of that Communion as we support each other and share in one another's sufferings.
Bishops need to pray together.
The Conference will be one of study, worship and fellowship through which our leaders are resourced by God for their work in resourcing others.
As Anglicans we can take great pride in our heritage and rejoice in the foundations laid by our forebears. But the future challenges us. We are at an important point in our development as a Communion. The interdependence of our Provinces has much to offer world wide Christianity. The distinctive character of our theological exploration and the way we live our lives are aspects of our particular vocation in the world. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will lead us in an openly constructive way to look to the future with confidence as we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. The story we have to tell is life changing and we should not falter in the call to make Christ known to all people.
I hope that Lambeth 1998 will be supported by all the Communion as the bishops meet in the dying years of the present millennium. Effective leadership depends upon vision, faith and
commitment. I believe Lambeth '98 will help to focus the minds and hearts of all bishops as the Anglican Communion prepares for the challenges and opportunities of the new century.
Please support Lambeth '98 and your bishop as he or she prepares to come. Above all remember it in your prayers. I, too, shall draw strength from that support, knowing that it represents our common desire to serve Christ in a world He loves.
The Archbishop of Canterbury
This article was compiled from information on the Lambeth Conference Site on the Internet at
<<http://www.aco.org/lambeth/lambeth.html>>
The text of the page was written
by Barbara Huston.
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TRAINING CONGREGATIONS FOR PUBLIC ACTION
By the Rev. Joe Parrish
Diocese of New Jersey
Join with others in Province II for the second Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Assembly on October 3 and 4 at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey. This conference, "Claiming Our Witness," is designed to give concrete skills to help those of us concerned with hunger, welfare reform, poverty, racism, environmental justice, immigration , prisons, and other issues. In workshops we will learn how to gain a voice for developing and shaping the public agenda, and acquire the tools and skills needed for implementing public action in our congregations and communities. For more information contact the Rev. Geoffrey Curtiss at (201) 792-3563.
As this is being written in mid-August, two people aged 65 and older walk the streets. They are homeless in New York and New Jersey because they have been caught in what has been called welfare reform.
I saw Sal about 10 PM sitting on the window sill of a closed McDonalds unable to go another step. "My foot is paining me terribly," he said. He told me how his brother had put him out in the hallway of his apartment building to sleep for several weeks because he couldn't help pay the rent.
His nephew had stolen $190 from him and had taken all of his clothes. He got about $275 a month from Social Security, but that wasn't enough to pay rent and eat. "Welfare wouldn't help me get food stamps even, "he lamented.
I bought him a takeout meal at the nearby Chinese restaurant, took it to him, and promised to return shortly to pick him up and take him to the local hospital emergency room. He couldn't walk any further just now. No one would take him because he couldn't give them gas money. I took him to the hospital, and as he slowly made his way up to the emergency room entrance, he said, "God bless you. If I can ever do anything for you I will."
Shirley called me from the hospital where the police had taken her after she was struck by a taxi. Her right knee was broken. The emergency room staff sent her to orthopedics where her leg was put in a full thigh to toe cast. She refused to have surgery, and the hospital deemed her psychotic and sent her to the psychiatric unit. She had a history of admission to that hospital in the psychiatric ward. After protesting, she was released several weeks later to the medical unit.
It would take three months for the big cast to be removed and replaced with a lighter one. I watched her move from her wheelchair to her bed using the aluminum walker the hospital had loaned her, and she clearly had great difficulty. Her right eye was missing, and she was severely stooped and quite frail. After six weeks in the hospital she was discharged on a Friday night with no money, placed in an ambulance, and dropped on the street several miles away when she refused to get out at the location to which she had told them to take her. Her hospital chart says she was to be released to the care of an unnamed friend. Shirley has yet to be located by the police who list her as "missing."
These are two of the many stories that can be told about those in our society in need of the safety net of welfare to ensure that they have shelter, food, and essential medical attention. Welfare needs to be reformed in order to reach the people most in need of help and with a touch of humanity; not in the ways being proposed - just cutting back. Stray animals seem to get more care.
We need to put our heads and hearts together and come up with ways we can be more effective in our churches and communities in proclaiming the gospel, and bringing true justice and peace to our land and our world.
Contact: The Rev. Geoffrey Curtiss, tel: 201-792-35663.
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MODEL AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM FILLS INNER-CITY NEED
Back-to-school time also means back-to-after-school, and for parents in the inner-city, it represents yet another thing to worry about. While suburban parents are busy this month enrolling their children in a myriad of lessons and team sports to occupy the time between school and dinner, city parents know those hours represent the most dangerous and trouble-prone time in
their children's lives. But for 55 boys and girls in north Newark, YCS provides a safe haven from the streets. YCS Youth-In-Action is a haven - and much more.
Operating since 1980 exclusively on private donations and grants, and without any government funding, Youth-In-Action has been suggested as a model that could be replicated wherever poverty and its accompanying problems crowd out children's hope for better lives.
Each day, youngsters do their school homework and receive extra help from teachers and assistants who work with small groups in reading, language arts, math, science and computers. Staff members often meet with parents to discuss their child's progress in school. Art, music and drama - activities no longer available in many public schools - are part of the weekly Youth-In-Action schedule, frequently run by volunteers. Seasonal holidays, birthdays and other events that inner-city children may never experience are also observed.
Recognizing the stress that exists in many inner-city lives, Youth-In-Action includes a bilingual mental health therapist among its staff of certified teachers, teachers aides and volunteers. In addition, children and parents have access to YCS's outpatient mental health clinic, and for the youngsters, preventive and remedial health care is available.
Besides an ever-present waiting list, staff members know the Youth-In-Action program is effective because of the marked academic improvement participants display. An indication of the children's enthusiasm for the program is the fact that YCS has recently introduced a Saturday morning enrichment program aimed at youngsters who have out-grown Youth-In-Action's 5 to 12-year-old age group. First year response to the program was overwhelming, thus creating a long waiting list for this fall.
In the summer, Youth-In-Action converts to Camp Rainbow, a full-day, day camp program. Professional staff, counselors and college student volunteers conduct the typical camp activities, along with field trips to such places as the Bronx Zoo, Liberty Science Center and the Newark Museum.
YCS staff, trustees and other volunteers are preparing to launch a speakers bureau campaign this fall to help spread the message about an inner-city program that is working. Their 30-minute presentation includes an eight-minute video on Youth-In-Action and time for questions from the audience.
"It is important that people know about some of the wonderful successes that are taking place practically under our noses," said Mary Novello, director of community relations for YCS. "Of course, we hope that once they see the difference Youth-In-Action is making in children's lives - and the potential it has for reaching even more children - they'll want to join our efforts."
Organizations interested in scheduling a speaker from YCS should contact Novello in Hackensack at (201) 525-1775 or via e-mail at mnovello@ycs.org.
Originally founded as the Church Mission of Help in 1918, YCS has provided care and counseling to thousands of young people with emotional and educational problems through its network of special education schools, group homes and community services.
In addition to Youth-In-Action, YCS operates more than 30 other community, mental health treatment, residential and educational programs throughout northern and central New Jersey. Administrative offices (and several programs including Youth-In-Action) are housed at 284 Broadway, Newark, where Richard Mingoia is the organization's executive director.
Contact: Joe Clifford (973) 482-8411
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PROVINCE II NETWORK CHAIRS ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES
May 1, 1997 East Elmhurst, NYBy John Rollins
Network Coordinator for Province II
Present were the Reverend Earl Kooperkamp (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation), Sandy Pacyga (Christian Education), the Reverend Rick Townley (Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers), Jane Savage (Editor of The Grapevine), Joyce Hogg (Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief), the Reverend Jorge Guiterrez (Council for the Development of Ministry), the Venerable Roper Shamhart (Asian- American Ministries), Sandy Wiley (Youth Ministries), the Reverend Tom Barrington (Finger Lakes Conference), the Reverend Canon Henry Atkins (Higher Education Ministries), the Reverend John Rollins (Evangelism) and John Goldsack (Provincial Secretary), and the Reverend Joseph Jerome (Provincial Council member).
Rick Townley - EDEO - reported that the proposed Concordat has been the major focus of Ecumenical Officers for the past 3 years. Whatever the outcome of Philadelphia 1997, Ecumenical Officers will continue to be busy.
Sandy Pacyga - Christian Education spoke glowingly of "Called to Teach and Learn" a catechetical guide, and of provincial conferences to learn to use this resource. A major goal is seeking to make more contact with the dioceses of the Virgin Islands and Haiti.
Jane Savage - The Grapevine - thanked folks for their support of The Grapevine.
Henry Atkins - Higher Education - spoke of the importance of conferences for college students. A major problem continues to be financial support important for conference participation by minority students. He also noted the close relationship between campus ministry and urban ministry (Jim Taylor, Syracuse; Bill Starr, Columbia; Henry Atkins, Rutgers).
Joyce Hogg - Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief - new member to the network group. Joyce explained how the PBFund saw its task of bringing the fund to the attention of the Church, including a yearly "focus on the Fund" appeal.
Jorge Guiterrez - Council for Development of Ministry - reported that the CDM saw itself responding to directions of General Convention plus own priorities in areas of lay and ordained (principally ordained). It is a communication channel; members attend 2 national meetings and a provincial gathering. A Province II plan for conference on multi-cultural ministry fell through in 1997.
Roper Shamhart - Asian-American Ministries - noted that Peter Lam is spearheading Asian-American ministry consultation. Roper talked about difficulty of organizing multi cultural ministry with the national church shrinking the "ethnic" desks at the Episcopal Church Center and with theological education which "educates people out of their culture". In his opinion the Structure Report is a "recipe for disaster".
Sandy Wiley - Youth Ministries - Sandy reported that the annual
national EYE youth conference at Indiana had almost 100% diocesan participation from Province II. Albany is not participating in youth work on province level, but youth from the Virgin Islands attended EYE. The year's work involves 2 network meetings, one provincial event. She gave more information, describing the EYE CONFERENCE in very positive terms.
Earl Kooperkamp - JPIC - described JPIC as how "to work out the baptismal covenant in corporate world". For JPIC the provincial vehicle makes sense to break down artificial barriers of diocese. JPIC is moving to bring concerns to NY and NJ state capitols "before the Christian Coalition does". The next provincial JPIC meeting will be October 3-4 in Trenton.
Tom Barrington - Finger Lakes Conference - gave overview of how the Conference governors are trying to grow the reputation of the conference, and invited input.
John Rollins - Evangelism -spoke of present inertia resulting from no leadership at national level and sense of burn-out by those involved at diocesan levels. A goal for 1997 will be to rebuild diocesan contacts and re- establish a stronger provincial program. 1997 Evangelism Conference will not be held as its timing conflicts with General Convention.
When the question was raised about holding network gatherings in conjunction with Synod (which Higher Education already does), most questioned acknowledged that it might be possible. The EDEO could not do so because a national workshop always immediately precedes Synod.
Contact: John Rollins, 400 Ramapo Avenue, Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442 (201) 835-2207,
Program Network Coordinator - Province II
Internet: john.rollins@ecunet.org (or) rollins@intac.com
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