One of the great privileges of being part of the Canterbury Diocese is that the Lambeth Conference comes to you.  Both last time and this I worked on the Enquiry Desk, answering questions both bizarre and mundane.  This time all the sessions were firmly off-limits, but we did have a very real feel for the atmosphere and how it developed.

Everyone was understandably apprehensive at the start, saddened by the refusals to attend and fearful of the outcome.  But the first days spent in retreat with Archbishop Rowan changed the tone and helped the bishops to feel at ease with ‘their Cathedral’ and with each other.   The procession into the service in the Cathedral on the first Sunday took half an hour, the bishops coming in no particular order, new and old friends from all over the world walking together and wanting it to be that way.

And by the closing service, I think they felt that they had walked a long way together.  One tangible sign of that was a splendid 12’ angel in the Cathedral, made during the conference by the spouses, the feathers on its wings made from the cut-out handprints of all those at the conference.  And after the service, in the pouring rain, we all partied: a barbecue for 1500 people and dancing to jazz bands which continued well into the night.

So what was achieved?  Lasting friendships and connections for sure.  And a very real sense that Canterbury ‘belongs’ to the whole Communion.  We run residential courses at the Cathedral every year for newly consecrated bishops.  We have several Africans coming in January who boycotted Lambeth and went to GAFCON, but still their Primates are sending them to train with their fellows from every continent including North America.  That way lies hope.