Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley arrived in England earlier this week for the 15th Lambeth Conference, a gathering of bishops from across the Anglican Communion for prayer and reflection, fellowship, and dialogue on church and world affairs.  The theme for this year’s convention is “God’s Church for God’s World – walking, listening, and witnessing together.” It will be held from July 26 to August 8.

Check out this photo album on our Facebook page for photos from the bishop's time at Lambeth. We will continue to add to this album during her time there.

For this Lambeth Conference, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (who calls the bishops to the event) instituted a “Lambeth Calls” process in place of resolutions, which as reported by the Episcopal News Service (in this article) was “partly in recognition that the Lambeth Conference is not a legislative body and has no jurisdiction over The Episcopal Church and the other autonomous Anglican provinces.” Lambeth planners have described the calls as “short written statements that include declarations, affirmations and common ‘calls’ to the church and the world that the bishops want to make.” Each call was developed by a drafting group from bishops around the Anglican Communion on 10 subject areas including discipleship, the environment, reconciliation, and “safe church” principles.

When the study guide and drafts were shared on July 18, the Lambeth Call on Human Dignity generated deep concern from Episcopal bishops over language that seeks to affirm a 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution opposing same-sex marriage. Reflecting on the initial call about human dignity, our own diocesan bishop, the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, said “I am profoundly concerned that imbedded in this call is a statement from 1998 that does not reflect The Episcopal Church’s understanding of marriage and is an affront to our LGBTQ+ members. I am disturbed as I absorb the reality that we are being set up for painful division instead of substantive engagement across our differences.”

As a result of the response from bishops from several Primates and Provinces of the Anglican Communion, including The Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, the Lambeth Conference issued a public statement on July 25 acknowledging the concerns about the Human Dignity Call and reporting that the drafting group would be “making some revisions,” noting also that bishops would be offered a third option in responding to the call: “This Call does not speak for me.”

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who is attending his first Lambeth Conference as presiding bishop, alluded to the “rapidly changing” situation in a July 25 news release. After arriving in Canterbury, bishops from The Episcopal Church, came together on July 27 in the spirit of beloved community to listen to each other, share feelings, pray, and reflect together in light of the original and revised Lambeth Call on Human Dignity.

Acknowledging the disagreement from many of the participating bishops, planners of the Lambeth Conference significantly rewrote part of the preparatory “Lambeth Calls” document, eliminating language from an earlier draft that had affirmed a 24-year-old resolution opposing same-sex marriage. Read more on the Episcopal News Service at this link.

After the revised call was shared, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley expressed hope. “I am grateful for the revision as I believe it’s a more accurate depiction of the theological diversity on this issue across the Anglican Communion,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “I am hopeful that our time together will be spent engaging one another on the immense challenges and possibilities facing our world.”
 
Bishop Woodliff-Stanley also shared her thoughts about her first day at the Lambeth Conference. “My first day at Lambeth has included meeting people from several provinces, and spending time in a small group, listening, and learning from the experience of bishops from contexts that are very different from my own,” said the bishop. “My husband, Nate, and I also joyfully participated in a march organized by the LGBTQ community of the University of Kent, and enjoyed a wonderful evening of international food and fellowship.”
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Learn more about the Lambeth Conference on the internet at www.lambethconference.org/. And follow The Episcopal News Service at www.episcopalnewsservice.org for the latest news from Lambeth involving The Episcopal Church.