From Bishop Sean: The Lambeth Conference Concludes

Dear People of God in Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York:

Earlier today in Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference of bishops from across the Anglican Communion drew to a close. The Archbishop of Canterbury gave his closing address this morning, and in the late afternoon, bishops participated in a closing worship service at Canterbury Cathedral. Tomorrow I will fly, God and the airlines willing, from London to Buffalo.

This has been my second Lambeth Conference. My first one, in 2008, took place less than a year after I became the bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania. The context for this meeting has been dramatically different, as the Episcopal Church and several other provinces of the communion now practice marriage equality and strive for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people. The issue of human sexuality, which has consumed so much energy and time at Anglican Communion meetings since 1998, is now largely settled in the Episcopal Church and in several other provinces of the communion. But it is not a settled matter in other Anglican churches, especially in the Church of England, which is now in the midst of a long listening process about sexuality and marriage. The strain over the issue during the first half of the conference was indicative of these disagreements. The resulting compromise was a welcome if incremental improvement from previous communion meetings at which the Episcopal Church has faced consequences for its commitment to full inclusion. I joined Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, several other primates, and many of my colleagues in signing a statement affirming God’s unconditional love for LGBTQ people.

After the crisis of a vote on human sexuality was averted, the conference seemed more at ease. Many of us had deeply meaningful conversations with bishops in our bible study groups and found great value in conference presentations and table group discussions on reconciliation, climate change, science and faith, and other issues facing Anglicans across the globe. We traveled to London to visit Lambeth Palace’s sustainable gardens and launched the Communion Forest initiative, and we heard presentations on discipleship from a group co-chaired by Presiding Bishop Curry. I leave Canterbury with rich memories and new friends who are doing profound and important ministry in dioceses across the globe.

In particular, I was very glad to meet and talk with the Rt. Rev. Philip Wright, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Belize. Longtime members of the Diocese of Western New York will remember that, several decades ago, our diocese had a mission partnership with the Diocese of Belize, and the Trustees in Western New York still manage a fund for the benefit of that diocese. I look forward to continuing my conversations with Bishop Wright about how our dioceses might renew that historical partnership.

I think that the Anglican Communion is at its best when it gives shape and substance to just these kinds of relationships and collaborations for the sake of God’s mission in the world. As Anglicans, our history is inescapably grounded in the history of colonialism and radical inequalities, and yet I believe that together, we can find ways to dismantle these legacies that divide us and work together to advance God’s mission. At this Lambeth Conference, I think we have best fulfilled our ministry as bishops when we listened, learned and prayed together, and when we have formed relationships that can include God’s people in our dioceses at home. I hope that as the Episcopal Church continues to answer the call to life-changing global mission with other Anglicans, we can devote our time, our resources, and our relationships to strengthening and supporting an Anglican Communion that is grounded in the interdependence, mutual responsibility and forbearance that we have glimpsed here in the last few days.

Thank you for the prayers and good wishes you have offered while I have been away. When I return home, I am planning to spend some time with Carly and Lauren to rest and recharge after a busy summer, but I will be back in the office in late August and will look forward to being with you again soon.

Faithfully,