Lambeth Report #8 Friday morning, July 25, 2008

http://www.anglicansunited.com/2008/07/lambeth_report_8_friday_mornin.html

{Anglicans United] 26 Jul 2008--After a Bible study on the book of Jude by Bishop Wallace Benn, President of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), we heard from the various bishops who cared to speak. Since the press had been invited, we were asked to stand, introduce ourselves and promise that we would not identify any bishop present or attribute what they said. All the press did so.

Then the fun began. How is the conference? Worrisome.

How is your indaba group? “Well, the funny thing is,” began one bishop, “The Americans here have this cheat sheet that they use in our group. It has statements on it that justify their decisions in the last two conventions that led to the consecration of Gene Robinson and same-sex marriage. It is a prioritized list of talking points and the one in our group reads off this thing every day.”

It was as if someone dropped a bomb in the room. Was I surprised that my church would utilize a tactic of this nature to persuade the rest of the Communion? No, I was not. Was I surprised that one of those same bishops would bring the document and read from it in a forum such as the Indaba group? No, I was not. Was I surprised by the strong counter reaction of the other bishops in the room, who considered this to be almost treachery? Yes.

So, while we were in London yesterday for the Walk of Witness, conceived by the Micah Challenge UK and nearly high jacked by the TEC promotion of the Millennium Development Goals project sponsored by the United Nations, much research was going on back in Canterbury on this story.