Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

The tempo and rhythm of the conference is relatively set in our Bible study and Indabas. In our small "indaba within the Indaba" group today, we made a commitment not to be overwhelmed by the sea of social justice issues but to start small and from a specific point. The issue of the American biofuels programme and the U.S. government's foreign policies occupied our group - as did malaria, HIV and Aids, TB and the war and displacement of people in Sudan. We resolved to learn best practices and to support one another as we bring Christ into these situations.

I attended the second self-select session of the conference today. The theme was social justice and the session discussed the Christian response to the challenges in the Holy Land. We had various scholars, practioners and archbishops from Israel/Palestine address us. Practical suggestions were: 1. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 2. Educate the youth in the Holy Land and the Holy Basin (that part of Jerusalem including its holiest sites) to live with respect for one another.

There is a great longing for peace in the midst of anguish and hopelessness in the Holy Land. We should never forget those who are suffering there - we need to visit them, to keep contact with them and to highlight their plight. On a different level, one speaker said the problem there has been imported from the US and the fear of what happened in Eastern Europe, and suggested the solution may be for the US to take away what it has imported into the Holy Land.

All I can say, as the Patriarch of Jerusalem said when handing the Archbishop of Canterbury the Order of the Holy Sepulchre: Thank you for your concern for us and the deep knowledge of our spirituality evident in your words, writings and ways; Let our ways, words and writing bring life and light to all the children of God, bruised at this time in the Holy Land.

I also managed some fun and wandered about in the "marketplace" (see the photo!), looking at various bookstalls and vestments. Bishop Geoff Quinlan kindly loaned me his rochet and chimere for the opening service and, guess what, I found a stall which sells them and have ordered one.

The weather is still great, in fact hot. Last night we joined Archbishop Rowan and Jane Williams and other guests for dinner, where the ambience was lovely and the food delicious. So today Lungi and I took a longer walk than normal to keep fit. She continues to enjoy the conference, the first-ever church conference she has attended. Tomorrow is our walk of witness, a visit to Lambeth Palace and Buckingham Palace in London.

God bless you,

++Thabo

Broadcast the Call in Micah With Trumpets

Evangelist Brian McLaren, from the US, spoke brilliantly at our plenary session on Monday night, delivering a critique of the state of world Christianity and the “mainline churches,” using humour and imagery; for example, an orphaned male hippo finding solace in a tortoise, or a bridge in Honduras that stood firm after a hurricane but, because the river course was altered, became a bridge that now goes nowhere but has become an interesting tourist site. He called for disciple formation or evangelism that looked at values formation rather than religiosity in our broken, beautiful and bruised world.

Yesterday, our Indaba - the third - went extremely well. There were some intial rumblings but nothing more materialised and everyone came. Brian McLaren's presentation was still alive in all of us, and we discussed the bishop and evangelism.

After the Indabas, we met in self-select groups. I went to the Micah Challenge on social justice and being prophetic for the cause of the poor. The story of what is happening in the Philippines, and how it challenges the church, was moving. The bishops in our self-select group described how the military was "persecuting" Christians. Earlier, in my Indaba group, we heard how Christians in India were being marginalised and harassed for their faith. We need trumpets to broadcast louder the call in Micah 6:8 for God's justice, mercy and peace to be established, and for humility on the part of those who inflict terror.

On another note, we from ACSA are well represented here apart from the bishops and their spouses. We have Canon Dalene Mark, on the Anglican Communion's Peace and Justice Network, Odwa Gonya on the Youth Network, who is one of the stewards and a former ASF president, Canon Suzanne Peterson from Grahamstown and Dean Rowan Smith from Cape Town (who will be joining us to service the listening team).

We press on and continue to talk, encounter each other and open ourselves to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as we are nurtured daily by the sacrament so that Jesus in us is revealed. And the weather is great - you could even get a sun tan here!

++Thabo

(Thanks to Bishop Alan of Buckinghamshire for the photo of that bridge in Honduras)

The Holy Spirit Fills Us Not With Optimism, But Hope

The first day of conference took place today and the concept of Indaba was put into practice. The initial responses are positive. One journalist asked me: "Are you optimistic?” I answered that because this was God’s church and as the Holy Spirit is at work in us as the same power that rose Jesus Christ from the dead, I was not optimistic but full of hope.

The evening worship reflection from +Winston was very helpful to tuck my end-of-day reflection into. He used an imagery of waves, both literally and metaphorically. As the effects of global warming become real, the sea is rising and the vulnerable Islanders are thrown into deep despair. But they know that God will never let them down.

Here is a physical, literal example of lack of good stewardship of creation creating a human disaster but also allowing the Islanders to see God in this hopeless situation.

A response to our intercessory prayers: "We do not proclaim ourselves Lord; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord," was a further reminder of what our identity and mission should be about, revealing the Son of God in the tumultuous waves of our mortal life. These prepare us for our session for tomorrow, "Proclaiming the Good News; the Bishop and Evangelism."

God bless,

++Thabo

Lambeth 2000 Opens In Canterbury

The introductory session of Lambeth last night went well, as did the opening Eucharist (see the photo), my first international press conference and the introduction of Indaba.

The mood and response to ++ABC (the Archbishop of Canterbury) was a standing ovation.

The diocese of Joburg yesterday had a service of repentance in the light of the xenophobia. +Brian, ++ABC and I did an interview which was shown during their service. The message was what I said previously about our treatment of difference and that foreign people are God’s people too.

Today we go into the conference proper, and will see how the Indaba, self-select and listening and reflection groups pan out.

Lambeth Adopts the Indaba Model of Face-to-Face Encounter

It is going to be interesting to hear the debates at the Indabas, the group discussions in which much of the Conference discussion will take place, and what the Spirit is saying to the churches that are gathered and represented here in Kent, as well as those who were represented at the GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem.

One particular aspect that has struck me about the Archbishop of Canterbury is his spirit of generosity. He prays for and is pained by those who have absented themselves from Lambeth, a sign on his part of Christian maturity, humility and generosity.

Our South African context has taught me not to stay away, but to be present and to state my case to those who disagree with me, until we all meet one other. Therefore, the response to the Anglican Covenant that we are debating at Lambeth - as I will be saying this evening in explaining the Indabas to the Conference - lies in face-to-face encounters with one another, rather than in the cold and fierce responses which, sadly, people have been exchanging with one another through the media.

We are alive, and we need to keep talking!

Pray for us, God bless, ++Thabo

Learning the Art of Waiting on Others and the Lord

We have just had an ecumenical service during which a stage full of ecumenical guests was welcomed. In his message, ++Rowan reflected on the reading used for our Bible study this morning.

To deviate, I am enjoying Bible study but am learning the art of being gracious and more sensitive to those who can't speak English, something I previously took for granted. We have three Koreans, a bishop from Burma and one from India in our group, and the Bible study is conducted through interpreters. It's a challenge, but an art to wait upon the others to say their say and also upon the Lord, and to say less in order to communicate more or profoundly.

In his homily, reflecting on love and the Samaritan woman at the well, ++Rowan called upon us to go deeper into God's infinite and bottomless well that has love which surpasses all understanding. He called on the ecumenical partners to challenge us as we all seek that perfection in Christ which is not possible to fully attain but nevertheless draws us into wanting to be more Christ-like.

I will not write tonight as the Vice-Chancellor of Kent University has invited the primates and spouses for dinner. Tomorrow we have our main opening Eucharist and I have a couple of media interviews.

God bless you,

++Thabo