Friday, March 07, 2008


The Spring Meeting of the House of Bishops started today at Camp Allen -- where they'll be til March 12th -- and they're off and running!
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Here's a background feature from ENS emphasizing the focus on tools for reconciliation being offered by Los Angeles colleagues Brian Cox and Joanne O'Donnell.
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And Episcopal Cafe reports on today's media briefing from Camp Allen, which included these bits & pieces:
  • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori welcomed the House and introduced new bishops: Mary Gray-Reeves of El Camino; Dan Edwards of Nevada; Kee Sloan, Suffragan Bishop of Alabama; Mark Lawrence of South Carolina; Jeff Lee of Chicago; and Steve Lane, Bishop-Elect of Maine (whose consents have been received). Prince Singh has been elected bishop of Rochester but his consent process has not been completed.
  • Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori shared her hopes for the upcoming Lambeth Conference: "that we go with a sacrificial attitude open to one another, expecting divine encounters," that "we are willing to embrace the pain of difference as a sign of hope" and that "we avoid pre- judgments."
    "I hope we build bridges for greater mission engagement," she said.
  • Ed Little of Northern Indiana, chair of the HOB Planning Committee, noted, "Our agenda during this meeting will weave in and out of discussions about the Lambeth Conference."
  • There was a presentation on the historical perspective of Lambeth by the Rev. Paula D. Nesbitt, Ph.D. of the diocese of California; and an update on current plans by the Rt. Rev. Miguel Tamayo of Cuba and a member of the Lambeth Planning Committee.
  • In his presentation, Tamayo said that the stated goals of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Design Committee for the Lambeth Conference are "to equip bishops to be more effective leaders in God's mission and to strengthen the Anglican Communion."
  • Eucharist was celebrated following the afternoon session.
  • After dinner, the evening session will be devoted to a Lambeth discussion with the afternoon speakers along with Don Wimberly of Texas, John Chane of Washington (DC), Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, and Robert O'Neill of Colorado. The session will begin with a discussion of the question posed by Nesbitt in the afternoon: Have we reached a 'tipping point' toward a new way of striving toward social change?
Do keep our bishops in your prayers as they go about their work on behalf of the whole church. And do remember to keep in your prayers that our bishops will remember that they are not the whole church!

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