The Compass Rose Society has been meeting for the last two days at Canterbury Cathedral enjoying the generous hospitality of the Cathedral Community and its Dean, the Very Rev. Robert Willis. On Friday we heard reports from the President, Bishop Philip Poole and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Canon Kenneth Kearon. The Compass Rose Society has since 1997 given over 6 million dollars in grants to such ministries within the Anglican Communion as those working in famine relief, earthquake relief, theological education, HIV/AIDS assistance, evangelism, and ongoing critical support for the Anglican Consultative Council Offices at St. Andrew’s House, London.
We heard an update from the Windsor Continuation Group by Bishop Clive Handford and Bishop Victoria Matthews. Bishop Handford described the stark reality of the breakdown of trust within the Communion. This diminished trust is expressed by liberals and conservatives alike. He raised a number of questions that need to be asked as we go along the way forward. One is, “Can we recognize the Church in one another?” It seems we are currently failing to do that. We are valuing independence at the expense of interdependence within the body of Christ.
Bishop Matthews spoke positively of the Indaba process that allowed bishops from very different languages and cultures to engage each other in a very significant way and acknowledged the need for a time of“gracious restraint” to allow the Anglican Church to continue the conversation.
Bishop Matthews stated, “We left the Lambeth conference believing that there was a huge commitment to staying together. Much in the way that Sir Jonathan Sacks had put it, that we might be able to commit to a covenant of fate rather than a covenant of faith. A covenant of fate meaning we all wanted to stand together against something. In the case of Noah it was the flood. In the case of the Communion it is break-up. Do we stand together because we fear what schism would bring?” (See the text or video of Rabbi Sack’s address at Lambeth here).
Today was a stark reminder of the difficulties we face within the Anglican Communion. It has everything to do with trust and with a willingness to see Christ in one another and not allowing our theological or political differences to determine our ability to engage God’s mission. Tonight I’ll sit in the choir and pray Evensong, holding in my heart, the unity of Christ’s body for this time and place.
