Bishop Michael Ingham hopes the Lambeth Conference he’s attending will be primarily a spiritual experience for the more than 600 bishops attending.
 
In an audio reflection (a “podcast”) for the diocese, he said that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and conference planner have tried to shape it “in a spiritual way…the hope is this will affect the ‘power issues,’ rather than the other way round.”

He said probably no previous Lambeth Conference, including the one he attended in 1998, had received as much attention and the current one, being held through August 3 on the campus of the University of Kent and at Canterbury Cathedral.

“There’s a temptation to see it in largely political terms,” he said. “But perhaps a better way is to look at it through a spiritual lens.”

“It’s an opportunity for bishops to come together in the presence of God and deepen our faith and our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ by being in conversation and dialogue together.”

The Bishop of New Westminster (Vancouver, Canada) said that if people would like to pray for the conference, “please ask God’s blessing on this wonderful opportunity for conversation and renewed dialogue in our beloved Church.”

Bishop Ingham hopes to provide more audio reflections during the course of the conference. They will be posted as they are received on a separate page which is linked here.