John Wimber packed a great deal into the years between his conversion in 1963 and his death in 1997.  One of his memorable sayings was: ‘Your brother is not your enemy’.

This teaching was linked with Ephesians 6:10-18 in which St Paul reminds the church of the true nature of our warfare and identifies our real enemy.  ‘Stand firm against the schemes of the devil, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness..’

In Matthew 13:24-30, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus warned against premature human weeding of the harvest fields - not our job.

So a wheel of a shopping trolley may be askew - but should we mend it or amputate it?    When the appearance of deception and distortion is swirling around in the church, we need much pastoral wisdom and even more prayer to avoid doing the wrong thing.

As you cover the Lambeth Conference over this weekend, please pray hard for the gift of wisdom.  For Monday looks to be shaping up to be a pivotal day at Canterbury.

Please pray - and encourage people you know to join this prayer team around the world - at www.praylambeth.org

John Simons (on behalf of the team)

Saturday's Agenda:

Pray: Please feel free to use the agenda in whatever way you like to prompt your prayer cover over the day's proceedings.  Click the more link to the right to find further information from the main Lambeth Conference website.

More:  http://www.lambethconference.org

The North American influence at Lambeth

So much is happening at Lambeth, that it is not straightforward to know which bishops, or which issue, should be brought to the attention of intercessors who receive praylambeth.org in places far from Kent.  Over the first eight bulletins, we hope that the SOMA/Crosswinds Prayer Trust team have put together a cumulative story that gives you the flavour of developing events.  Our aim is not just to bring you information, but to enable you to uphold the bishops in prayer (the prime reason for these bulletins).

It has not been possible to ignore the liberal influence of TEC/ECUSA - the effect of which cannot be measured at this stage.

However, please be assured that not all is loose and liberal in the Episcopal Church of the USA.  There are some outstanding faithful bishops from North America, present at Lambeth - and making their voice heard (though they are in a minority nowadays). Bishops Ackerman, Iker and Duncan for starters.  Anglican Christians in the USA desperately need our prayers.  Many orthodox Anglican believers are being persecuted for their allegiance to Scripture and adherence to Biblical ethics.  They are being driven from the parishes that are their spiritual homes, as evangelical clergy are dismissed and parish premises confiscated, in both the USA and Canada (often causing painful and expensive litigation).  No wonder they seek refuge in alternative episcopal oversight from bishops geographically elsewhere.

The liberal wing of TEC is currently attempting to get to the helm - and steer the entire Anglican Communion.  Observers of TEC point out that it is the fastest shrinking denomination in North America, apparently drawing just 0.27% of the American population to its main services.  If the TEC was not in the Anglican Communion it would just be a small declining US sect, hijacked by a particular agenda. However, as part of the Anglican Communion, it appears significant and has a loud voice.

70% of the bishops here were not present at the last Lambeth Conference in 1998. This means that for most bishops this is the first time they have met such a range of other bishops in the Anglican Communion. No wonder it takes time and trust to open up to each other in the Indaba sessions.   Several well-known bishops pleaded yesterday for other bishops to talk with them and not simply talk about them.

Bishop Ackerman of the TEC has now publicly expressed his disquiet at the ‘on-message’ briefing of the liberal bishops from America.  He said: 'We should come to Lambeth spiritually prepared, not tactically prepared. It is a clear attempt by TEC to dominate the debates we are having and push them in a certain direction. The Episcopal church is attempting to manipulate this conference. It is hoping to convince the rest of the Anglican Communion that its innovations should be incorporated and respected.'

It is also reported that several large Canadian dioceses have voted in the last 8 months to allow the 'local option' for blessing same sex couples. In each case, the bishop has withheld permission 'until after Lambeth.' They met together (with Bishop Michael Ingham) shortly before Lambeth, presumably to plan a joint strategy. The likely outcome is that once Lambeth is over, they will all give permission for the local option to be implemented in their dioceses. And that will undoubtedly prompt yet more parishes (and dioceses?) to leave the Canadian Church.

No wonder North American Anglicans describe their distress as an 'agony'. Pray for them. And for ourselves. An English bishop has observed this week: 'It is very important for those of us who belong to a church in an island. During the course of history this location has protected us a lot - but it is possible for us to become insular and to think that the problems will not come here. The problems writ large elsewhere in the communion are creeping, running into England.'

Pray:  for the Episcopal church in the USA and Canada.

Pray for the welfare of the many displaced Anglicans who have been forced to leave, or who are struggling to stay on board, but amid persecution and distress as they stand for the Gospel and witness out of conscience against error.

Pray for those leaders who are still in the TEC ship, that they may be able to navigate back on course and thus save many "from making shipwreck of their faith" (1 Tim 1:19)

Please pray against the spread of error as to belief and practice.

London's River of Purple

The coverage of the Lambeth March, and associated events, has been widespread in the secular media and also in the personal accounts of bishops, in their blogs.

To no-one’s surprise, the tone of the reporting has been mixed.  To start with the positive, here are the helpful comments of the Bishop of Croydon, Nick Baines:

“The March seems to have made an impact. This wasn't just a gentle stroll by a few western liberals with a bit of a social conscience. Rather, it involved bishops and spouses from some of the poorest, most remote and most oppressed countries of the world. This March was not an academic exercise for them or the rest of us. The pride expressed by so many of these bishops that we had been able to walk through the capital city together, walk past places of power and influence and focus the country's attention on the scandal of poverty was moving. This was the solidarity that defines the Anglican Communion and reminds the Church that it is called to be a sign of the Kingdom of God for the sake of the world 'out there' - that its debates and the manner of its debating matter more for the sake of that world and less for the sake of the institution itself.     What was significant for a domestic audience was the fact that the Prime Minister publicly and powerfully recognised the contribution of the churches and faith communities to shaping the moral agenda for the world and working sacrificially on behalf of the poor and oppressed at home and abroad”.

Ruth Gledhill, in The Times, reports the event in rather minimal terms, with some photos and  a link to the text of the Archbishop’s letter to the Prime Minister about Global Poverty. However, this journalist then proceeds to give much more detailed information about what the marchers ate for lunch at Lambeth Palace, a full menu being supplied:

“They had lunch in a large marquee at Lambeth Palace. The menu was cold lemon and thyme scented breast of chicken with fresh asparagus and porcini mushroom relish, summer bean and coriander, tomato, basil and mozzarella served with hot minted new potatoes. Pudding was dark chocolate and raspberry tart with raspberry ripple ice cream, topped off with coffee and white chocolate raspberries. To wash it down they drank Pino Grigio or Shiraz or cranberry and elderflower fruit punch. The cream marquee was decorated with a dozen chandeliers down the middle. Bishops were apparently amazed”.

You may well ask why these gastronomic details were placed at the heart of the Times story? Well, Ruth Gledhill juxtaposes the menu with the comment: the Lambeth Conference is suffering a financial shortfall of between £1 million and £2 million, which is of course nothing to the national debt owed by many of the countries represented by the bishops at the lunch.

One may view her reporting as a responsible economic comparison, contrasting the yummy London menu and the developing Ethiopian famine.  However, I write as one who has had the privilege of visiting Africa many times – and been humbled by the sheer generosity of the welcome and hospitality always shown by African Christians.  Nick Baines, in his blog, also reflects this aspect of how to plan such an event in London.  He writes: “The real story here is simply that bishops representing the poor and oppressed marched in blistering heat, were honoured by the sort of generous hospitality that they would always insist on showing us as their guests, and that these courageous and wonderful people were honoured by being given a place in the place of privilege”

Yes, Rowan Williams could have welcomed the bishops with a couple of Ryvitas and a cuppa, but I am glad he honoured them at his residence with a pleasant tuck-in.

Pray: Thank You Lord for the ministry of hospitality.  Thank you that our Christian faith leads on to a welcome to your own home - and even an invitation to a Banquet with You.  Please grant that we, with the Bishops, may be faithful to extend that invitation to many who do not yet know of your grace and love in Christ.

More: http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/forum/blog.cfm?thread=7456

Will there ever be another Lambeth Conference?

The next  one will probably fall due in 2018.  But where will it be held?  At one stage, even the 2008 Conference was pencilled in for Africa - but, as the theological storm clouds gathered, the Conference rapidly re-located to the safety of Canterbury.

The New York Herald Tribune discusses this issue in a feature article.  “A future Lambeth Conference in the Global South would help the Church better understand the diverse contexts that many members of the Communion emerge from - and prevent over-simplified conclusions about geography and theology.

What about the host? What about the Archbishop of Canterbury, the first among equals, who this year and in years past has addressed the gathered bishops from his throne in the Cathedral in Canterbury?  Could he still be the first among equals if the next Lambeth were in, say, Johannesburg or Madras?

There is no obvious reason why the Archbishop of Canterbury could not maintain his position as "first among equals" and an instrument of unity in his person - while playing the role of guest rather than host.

By dislocating the Lambeth Conference from its English moorings, this important gathering could rid itself of some of its colonial vestiges and relocate closer to the heart of the current Anglican Communion. A change of this magnitude would take some imagination on the part of bishops gathered this week in Kent, but as modern leaders in a religious tradition that produced poets and artists like John Donne, William Blake, and Julian of Norwich, such a vision would not be impossible”

Pray: for the future of the Anglican Communion.  Pray that constructive outcomes will emerge from the ten days that remain at Canterbury. Pray that imaginative plans will be set in train for the future, to the blessing of children and grandchildren in many nations.

More: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/24/opinion/edbreyer.php?page=2

Global Input - 'God puts all things together'

Hebrews 13:21- (The Message)

May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
God puts all things together

Picture from a Prayer Group - Unity in Diversity

Stone - many colours/minerals welded together.
On underside a big slice removed, a piece missing
- that surface is flint which provides the spark.

Pray:  That God's Church will be pleasing to Him and bring glory.

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