Lambeth Is Almost Over

This is the time that Lambeth Conference is winding down and the packing and the Goodbyes are being said. This evening the pubs on campus will be full with many of us gathering to wish each other well. Above photo: Final plenary session
The conversation however will have a tinge of the last minute points being made and in truth work will be done in a quiet way about the tables. It may look like it is over, but that is not the way it feels or appears to those on the ground.

Tomorrow my Bible Study group will meet for the last time and we will complete our study of the Gospel of St. John. We will pray together, share our thoughts on the Holy Scriptures and share our hopes and dreams for the work of the Anglican Communion. We will regret not being with each other to continue our work and ministry and we will all know that our work and ministry is back in our diocese "back home." Lambeth is almost over, but not just yet.

Tomorrow following the Bible Study our Indaba Group (the joining together of five Bible Study Groups) will meet for another two hours. This will be the last time for this group and we will continue our work and conversation on who we are as bishops of the Anglican Communion and bishops in our Provinces (for me that is The Episcopal Church) throughout the world. We will speak from the heart and listen with our inner ears to those we have come to love and respect. We will value each other and hold one another in our prayers knowing that we are not all of one mind and in agreement on many issues that could divide us. We know that context is important and non of us can fully appreciate the other's position for we each live only in our own place.

Tomorrow we will take group photos and give simple gifts (I am giving bookmarks and lapel pins from our diocese) as a token of our affection and respect for one another. We will pledge to each other that we will pray for each other weekly and stay in touch monthly via the internet. Perhaps, even use Skype once and a while to gather across the miles to share our stories, study and faith. Tomorrow there will be a time to gathering the entire Lambeth Conference to worship and pray and sing and listen and share the Peace of Christ. We will be dismissed - sent forth - from this place to bring the Gospel to the places in which God has called us to serve. That is the joy of leaving and the wonder of going home to be in the places which differ and yet which are ours to serve. Photo above right: Doddington Gardens


Tomorrow I will return to London and then go on the Ireland to both vacation and to work in a local parish in Tralee, Ireland. At the end of the month Kathy and I will come home and rejoice in being among family and friends. For others they go back to dangers I cannot even imagine or contemplate. They go in the name of Christ to share the Gospel and they carry our love and the hope and grace of Jesus with them. May God bless us all in the ministries we share in Christ.

Relationships Teach Us Who We All Are

[ABOVE: Bishops' Group Photo ACNS/Sweeney]

[Canterbury, England] One of the vital aspects of the Lambeth Conference is to get to know other bishops from around the world. It is exciting and it is a joy, and at times it is humbling. My Bible Study group has a wide variety of people from throughout the Anglican Communion. People whom I knew before, but most of them whom I have met here for the first time. All of us have stories to tell. All of them have become friends whom I can and am now working with, and will continue to pray for when we disperse and go from Lambeth back to our dioceses throughout the world.


[Below left: Bishop Duncan
in the Bishops' Processional
at Canterbury Chapel]

One is from the Belfast area of Ireland and was and is involved in the reconciliation work between the Protestants and Roman Catholics. He is continuing to work for peace and justice in his diocese and throughout the area where hostility has caused the death of so many people over this past century. The second is from Zimbabwe, and is working to bring his people into a place of safety and economic sustainability. He is concerned about his clergy and people, that they will have enough to eat and a place that is secure for them to live and enough food to eat. The political situation is in turmoil. Both of these bishops live with the constant possibility of imprisonment, death and isolation. Both are grounded in prayer and the study of scripture. Both are bishops who seek to do God's will and share the love of God with their people. They both understand fear and because of that, understand hope. I have come to value and appreciate both of them, for they are men of faith and they are a delight to be with in prayer, study and "relaxing times as well."

"And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."

So it is for these last few days we have been engaged in looking at the environment, ecumenical and interfaith dialogues and relationships, violence both domestic, national and international, and the meaning of covenant relationships. All of these relate to Episcopalians and Anglicans living together, working together, and staying together as Church. What is most interesting for me has been that all of us, despite our differences, are interested in each other and the areas and people whom we serve. None of us believes we have all the answers and none of us believes we can go this ministry that God has given us to do,without the others whom we call brother and sister bishops.

[Photo left: Chaplaincy Team from the Church of Melanesia performs for Bishops during group photo setup]


Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next week as we continue to work at the building up of the Anglican Communion, and work to discern God's will for whatever the future may hold for us all.

With my love and blessings, I am in Christ,

Bishop Duncan
August 1, 2008

A Day of Contrasts

[Canterbury, England] In a short time, Kathy and I will board a bus for London with almost all of the 690 bishops who are attending the Lambeth Conference. The bishops are all in cassocks and our spouses are dressed for a day in the City of Keep the Promise London.

We begin the day with the "Walk of Witness" joining with thousands of other Christians and non-Christian from throughout Britain, to draw attention to the Millinium Development Goals (MDGs) and the work still before us to help meet those goals by the year 2015. I am proud to represent our diocese in this walk and also to be able to tell others from around the world of our witness to these goals within the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.

The "Walk of Witness" is a way for us to say to the people of the Anglican Communion we are with you in all your needs and we are with you with our prayers. Prayer is central to this Walk of Witness and it is central to all that we are doing during this conference.

The past few days have been long days of prayer, Bible Study, Indaba Groups, small group work, lectures and hearings on various topics that are engaging the Anglican World at this time. Tomorrow we will pick up on that schedule which both brings us together and helps form and strengthen the Bonds of Affection.

[Below right: A reception hosted by Archbishop Rowan Williams and Mrs. Jane Williams in the garden of the Old Palace, Canterbury. ACNS/Sweeny]

Today is a day of contrasts because when we finish the Walk we will be at Lambeth Palace where we will have lunch and visit the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. At 3:00 PM we will be taken to Buckingham Palace and at the invitation of the Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, will have tea on the lawn. We will be walking and working for the poor and also be with those in the seat of world power.

The contrast I believe will be an opportunity for us to remember that we are called by our ordination vows to care alike for "the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the strong and weak" and that all of God's people are important. That is part of the charge given to all those ordained. Those here in England, those in Africa, those in the Central Gulf Coast and those from all parts of the world are loved by God.

Our Diocese will be in my prayers today during the march and during our prayer time.
Please continue to keep all the bishops in your prayers as we gather, that we may do God's work and will, under the direction and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's blessing and PAX,
Bishop Duncan
July 24, 2008

To Listen to One Another

[PHOTO RIGHT: L-R Bishop Barry L. Beisner, Bishop of the Diocese of Northern California, Bishop Duncan, and Bishop Klusmeyer, Bishop of the Diocese of West Virginia]

[BELOW LEFT: Kathy Duncan with with friends from her Bible Study; L-R: Daw, (Kathy), Elizabeth and Mary, all from Burma

Dear People of God,
More than 690 Anglican Bishops and full Communion partners from throughout the world gathered this past week for a retreat at Canterbury Cathedral. We were bused early in the morning to this historic center of Anglicanism, where we corporately spent the day in prayer and reflection. Thursday and Friday were full days lasting until 6:00PM, when we returned to the University of Kent for the evening. What a joy it was to walk the precincts of that most holy place, knowing that from the time of St. Augustine of Canterbury that place has been a place of prayer and study for the people of God, both saints and sinners.


It is a place of beautiful worship and majestic art. It is the place of martyrdom and shrine for St. Thomas Becket who was murdered in the cathedral. It is a place where prayer, both corporate and private, are offered throughout each day and have been for hundreds of years. Stone placed upon stone to make a statement of the glory of God and a place offered to God. Stones warn away by the feet of pilgrims who had walked there before us centuries ago. It is a place where we kept the silence of Holy Quiet and listened to that inner voice in the place of struggle and peace.


[PHOTO: Canterbury Cathedral]

The third day, we gathered in a large tent called "The Big Top" and completed our retreat time with Archbishop Rowan Williams offering his fifth and final meditation on leadership - personal, shared and corporate. [PHOTO: gathering under "The Big Top"]


The five meditations were offered to the bishops as a way of moving us forward into this Lambeth Conference time and our work together. Each of the meditations built upon the previous meditation, which formed a basis from where we began in prayer and study. I believe that this time was very important for us to frame our being together and offering it up to God for the hard work we have to do that lies ahead of us.

On Saturday evening, the Archbishop offered an address, giving us an outline and context in which to appreciate our work together. We are facilitated by some of the best Biblical, theological and historical scholars in the Anglican World. That will be a wonderful addition for our working groups.

[PHOTO RIGHT: Kathy's friends from the Church of South India]

This part of the Conference has been our gathering. We asked to be formed together in prayer, to listen to the Holy Spirit; to be united in Christ, to do the ongoing work that God calls us to do; and to listen to one another, to hear what God is doing throughout the world, in and through the Church and God's people. We are blessed to be here and for this time of prayer, study, learning, building relationships and sharing the faith. I am most grateful.

In Christ's PAX,
Bishop Duncan
July 22, 2008

The Hospitality Initiative

[PHOTO LEFT: Bishop Duncan, Kathy, and Fr.Ray,
outside the rectory of St. Columba's Church,
Liverpool]

[Liverpool, England] As I sit in the quiet of a local retreat center to write this message, Kathy and I are preparing to leave the Diocese of Liverpool in England, and journey with twelve other bishops and their spouses from around the Anglican Communion to Canterbury, England, for the Lambeth Conference. Our time in Liverpool has been full. We have visited Churches, schools, and God's people, both laity and clergy.


I have been and I am impressed with the ministries that have brought the love and power of God's presence to people living in di[Photo]fficult circumstances and situations. This is an Urban Diocese. It is the Church in the City. It is the Gospel proclaimed, the sacraments shared and the faith lived out on the streets and down the roads where people live, work and play. I am impressed and I am moved by the commitment of those who serve and are engaged in ministry. The Hospitality Initiative has given us time to get to know the people here and how they live out their faith and witness to Christ. As it often happens, I am humbled to see those who have few resources sharing what they have to help others become whom God calls them to be. The Hospitality Initiative has brought togetherbishops in small groups to begin to share our faith with one another and learn from one another. For this holy time and opportunity I am most grateful. For honest and open conversation I am most
pleased. [PHOTO ABOVE RIGHT: Parade! Sunday Children's Service at St. Luke's Church, Farmwell, Liverpool]



As you read this message our travel by coach and our journey to Canterbury will have been made and we will be engaged in the spiritual work and the study in small groups for which the Conference calls us all to be a part. I hope that many of you will be taking part in the daily Bible Study program on the Gospel of St. John. The Archbishop of Canterbury, +Rowan Williams, has asked (invited) the clergy and laity throughout the Anglican Communion to join the bishops in this process of study, learning and prayer. Although separated by many miles and time zones, we can be united in studying and learning what God is calling us to hear and to engage in at this moment in history. That material and web link follows below.
[PHOTO ABOVE LEFT: The Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Tower, the largest completed cathedral in the world]


Archbishop Desmond Tutu prayed: "Deliver me from the cowardice that dare not face new truths, from the laziness that is contented with half truths, from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, Good Lord, deliver me!" [IMAGE RIGHT: Poster outside of
International Slavery Museum
on the Albert Docks, Liverpool]


As we begin to engage our work and worship, I ask for your continued prayers. Our Diocese, congregations, agencies, clergy and lay leaders will be in my intentional intercession during the course of each of the three weeks. This time at Canterbury is a faith journey, and as we move forward may God bless us to do his work and his will.



In His love and peace, I am,

Truly Yours,
Bishop Duncan
July 14, 2008

Pre-conference session for the Lambeth Conference

Everyone,
Kathy and I will be leaving the first week of July to attend the pre-conference session for the Lambeth Conference which takes place July 16 - August 5.

I wish to share with you the most recent Lambeth press release which is an invitation to all of you to be with us in spirit by studying St. John's Gospel using the "Signs on the Way" Bible Study materials now available on the Lambeth website.

Clergy and lay leaders, please make this information known in your church bulletins and newsletters. Only a small portion of the members of our Diocese receive information electronically and it is important that everyone know about these materials. I do hope you and others in your church will participate in either group Bible Study or simply individually during the Lambeth Conference over the next few weeks.

I will be sending email updates during my time away.

In the name of Christ, I am
Faithfully Yours,
Bishop Duncan



From the Anglican News Service The faithful around the Communion have a unique opportunity for Bible Study with their Bishops during the Lambeth Conference as the series 'Signs on the Way' makes its debut on the Lambeth Conference website. This special series - focusing on St John's Gospel - complements the Bible studies in which the bishops and their spouses will take part during the Lambeth Conference 2008. We hope that people throughout the Anglican Communion will use this series as a way of being present in spirit at the Lambeth Conference, supporting their bishops before, during and after this important gathering.

The studies are structured so that they can be used either by groups or by individuals. They can form the basis of personal devotions, a church study group or perhaps a diocesan meeting. We have made the study guides as accessible as possible, using a series of questions in each case as the basis of the study.

From the Introduction:
The Bible studies we offer to you are produced by the
same international team of people who were also
responsible for the Bible studies at the Lambeth
Conference. In the Bible studies written for the
bishops and their spouses the focus is on the 'I am'
sayings in the Gospel of John. These present studies,
however, focus on the 'signs' carried out by Jesus in
the Gospel of John. The signs take us to the heart of
Jesus' ministry and mission - indeed John 20:30-31
suggests that it is through such signs that we come to
discover that 'Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,
and that through believing have life in his name.'

The files, in two formats can be found here:
http://www.lambethconference.org/lc2008/resources/index.cfm

Please share the news of these studies in your diocese and parish. You are also encouraged to subscribe to ACNS and Anglican World News and Notes at www.anglicancommunion.org, especially during the important weeks ahead. [End]