Bishops Spouses’ News from Lambeth: Update #2
Kia ora whanau! Greetings from Lambeth where we (Tim and Jenny) are having an amazing adventure alongside those bishops of ours!!
The ‘back of the bus’ crowd.
For me (Jenny), the heart of my Lambeth time has been at “Table 22”. This is the table group I'm a part of each day with bishop spouses from Ghana, Kenya, UK, Arctic Canada, Nigeria (but based now in the UK), USA, South Korea and me. These women share stories each day in response to the plenary sessions we attend in the enormous combined marquee venue. We study the Bible together and talk about how the major issues this conference is addressing relates to life in our own neighbourhoods. I keep realising how different we are and at the same time how similar we are. Bishop's wives in Africa become “mother of the diocese” and these mothers have people at their door each day hungry and frightened and they must discern how much of their own children's food to give away (so different). The Artic Circle are living with the exposure of horrific violence to indigenous people that their church was historically complicit in and trying to find what reconciliation needs to look like to heal those wounds (so similar). I watch with such deep respect as our global leaders lead us strongly and sensitively forward, so full of the Holy Spirit, focussing on Jesus and our mission to the world, confronting the biggest issues of our time courageously while reminding us that we can hold disagreement without division. ++Justin (we call him Justin the greater!) told us his sense that we not be easily forgiven as a church if we continue to focus inwardly and forget our suffering world.
While I have warned our Justin that my post conference blues are going to be big, I am honestly feeling energised for being home again. The passion of the people here make me want to get back to my own context and work and pray for more of the kingdom to come. Being here, I'm aware of both where our strengths lie as the diocese and the church of Aotearoa and also what we have to learn to deepen and grow.
Sanderson Selfie
For me (Tim), my time at Lambeth has been somewhat of a roller-coaster of thoughts and emotions, from the joy of hanging out and getting to know my fellow New Zealand bishops other halves through to hearing the stories of my table (Table 2) with spouses from England, Pakistan, India, Papua New Guinea, America and South Sudan; many similarities and many differences in our realities. It is a big site and lots of chance conversations as we walk, are lost, attend seminars or Bible studies and eat together. Sometimes with a language barrier to remind us we are very much a global church!
It has also become obvious just how fortunate we are in the Wellington diocese to have so much access to discipleship programmes, templates and resources; to have so many active and engaged people living in community or making a difference in areas of need as part of their faith. These things are amazing, and we can be very thankful for the foresight and leadership that has allowed them to flourish. Sadly one of my ‘takeaways’ from this is grief; to be one step further away from AYM, UV, Betterworld, Blueprint, Good Soil Collective, Common Good Coffee, Prayer Ambulance, and the Community of the Transfiguration will be hard. Alongside grief I would say there is some joy too, having been around those people and others who have encouraged and inspired me to step out in my faith and I look forward to adding some of that Wellington culture to my own as I find my place amongst the good people of Hull.
This time with our global church had been one of the privileges of our lives. It has given us a lived experience of what it will be like when one day we will be with people from every tongue and tribe singing praises to God; the singing here has been good!! It fires us to see the kingdom come more and more and to continue with you to give our lives for it.
Jenny Duckworth and Tim Sanderson
