Have you received your invitation to the Lambeth Conference in 2008? No? Well, neither have I, for which I give God thanks. It is bound to be an exciting time. By then we will have a better idea of the future of the Anglican Communion. There is already considerably noise in the press about which bishops received invitations and which did not. The Right Reverend Gene Robinson did not receive an invitation. But of equal interest is that Martin Minns, who was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria, for CANA, the Nigerian Anglican Church’s offshoot in the US, was also snubbed. There are sound canonical reasons for excluding bishops like Minns; such reasons don’t exist in the case of Bishop Robinson. There the question is homosexuality. But the Archbishop of Canterbury has also stated that homosexuality will be on the agenda of Lambeth. I find it odd that the one openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion has not been invited to participate in those discussions.

It is clear that the Archbishop of Canterbury wants to keep people at the table, talking to one another, but that is quite difficult when one group refuses to sit down and talk with others. Bishop Henderson has expressed much the same sentiment. The last Lambeth Conference of Bishops committed itself and the Anglican Communion to a Listening Process that would try to understand and learn about the experiences of Gay and Lesbian Christians. That process was commended and encouraged by the Windsor Report and by later Primates’ Meetings. The Listening Process was intended to take place on a Provincial and Diocesan level. I do not know whether our diocese has made any such attempt, but it seems to me that conversations beyond simple acknowledgment of the presence of Gays and Lesbians in our Church are important.

The Bishop’s pastoral letter which Father Timothy read in service on May 13 was fully in keeping with the Bishop’s actions and statements since General Convention 2003. I appreciated his candor and the thoughtful, deeply-felt words in which he expressed himself. His commitment to both the Anglican Communion and to the Episcopal Church is remarkable, and the honesty and integrity with which he speaks and acts is commendable. I might disagree with some of the things he said in the letter, but I thank God that he is our bishop, leading our diocese.

I will take issue publicly with one thing he wrote, that the clergy, to a person, are anxious. I am not anxious. I have faith in God that in the end God’s will will be done and the Episcopal Church will be a community faithful and committed to God’s work in the world. Of that I have no doubt. There may be significant change, but I am certain that God will continue to be present in those changes, whatever they may be.

While Fr. Timothy read the letter, and while we worshiped at St. James, I was mindful of events taking place only a couple of miles away, at St. Francis. St. Francis is experiencing enormous changes; they will be commemorating their final (English language) service in June. But last Sunday, there were over 350 people present for the Spanish language service. The Bishop received into the Episcopal Church or confirmed around twenty adults. In addition, more than twenty children made their first communions. That is remarkable growth in a very short period of time. God is doing great things in our Church. Change can bring anxiety with it but, as we say in congregational development, change is going to happen, the question is, what kind of change, and how will we manage or approach it?