1 post tagged “pre-conference in lambeth”
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Lambeth Conference begins on July 16. But before the Conference begins, the 700 or so bishops attending (and their spouses) have been invited to enjoy a week of hospitality July 10 – 16 in a diocese of the Church of England. An old friend, John Pritchard, whom Anne and I met at the 1998 Lambeth Conference (he was Archdeacon of Canterbury then) is now the Bishop of Oxford and has invited me to the Diocese of Oxford for the hospitality week. And a busy and enjoyable week it promises to be. I arrive in England on July 10 and will be staying with Frank and Jill Iredale in the town of Princes Risborough (between London and Oxford) in their home, named The Old Barleycorn. Built as a stagecoach inn on the road to London in 1803, the Old Barleycorn became a private residence only in 1966. My clergy host is the Rev. James Tomkins, a member of the clergy team for the Risborough consortium of several small parishes. Along with me sixteen other bishops from different parts of the Communion will be hosted by the diocese during the week. There are a variety of luncheons with clergy and lay leaders in the diocese, a diocesan Eucharist on July 12, Sunday worship (I’ll be preaching in two parishes on July 13) and a ride on a train with a steam engine (Fr. James somehow learned of my interest in and love of trains). We’ll be attending “Vertigo”, a diocesan youth event, and a meeting with the Mother’s Union. A trip down the Thames by boat follows on July 15. On the 16th, we all board buses and head off on the two hour or so drive to the University of Kent near the Town of Canterbury, where the Lambeth Conference begins that evening. In a serendipitous way, the choir from St. Paul’s, Greenville (here in our own Diocese of East Carolina) will be on tour and will be singing Evensong at Christ Church, Oxford, on July 11. It will be a pleasure to greet this fine choir and to hear them perform in such a glorious setting!
