Lambeth Letter from Bishop Gayle Harris: July 22, 2008

July 22, 2008

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It is the second full day of the Lambeth Conference following our initial retreat. And amidst the worship, greetings, laughter, conversation and gatherings we began the day in our Bible study groups discussing fear.

Fear is powerful. It motivates withdrawal and angry encounters. It is the building material for walls of separation and it distorts reality. Fear causes us to react with panic or retreat to defensive positions.

We examined fear in the context of the account of Jesus walking on the troubled waters of the Sea of Galilee found in the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 14-21. When the disciples saw him, they were terrified, and Jesus said, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

There has been much anxiety in the worldwide Anglican Communion leading to this conference. At times the worry of division and the outcries of strident voices have brought some of our brothers and sisters to a place of fear about the continuation of our communion with each other. And yet even now Jesus comes to us in our troubled state and says, “do not be afraid,” for ourselves as individuals and as a fellowship in Christ.

Jesus is very present here. He is discovered in our common ground of mission articulated in Isaiah 61:1-4, which Jesus restated in Luke 4: 18-21. He is discovered in our open and honest sharing. He is present as we break bread with each other.

In my Bible study, several of us admitted to having fears about engaging one another here. Our diversity of theological interpretations and cultural differences are blessing and difficulty. But when we began listening to how and what we fear, together as a group, we discovered, first, that we are more alike than we thought, and second, in fear we were focusing on ourselves. Fear obscures our vision and perception, making us unable to clearly see Jesus among us and in each of us. (Fear is the basis of the exclusion of Gene Robinson from Lambeth.) In fear we focus on the troubled waters tossing us about and are not able to see Jesus who comes to us and seeks us.

Yesterday, Bud and I, along with a group of other bishops, walked with Gene across a nearby green to join an outdoor celebration of the Eucharist. There was reason for us to be afraid in going to this service: aggressive media, protesters and threats of violence towards Gene. Yet through the troubling distractions we walked on toward and in the presence of Christ. This afternoon when the management of the Lambeth Conference denied Gene access to our scheduled gathering of American bishops, it was fear that motivated that decision, over our several requests and objections. Fear again troubled the waters of fellowship, obscuring Jesus.

Every hour I meet people I do not know and who are very different from me, who have fears and are traveling with me on this sea called Lambeth. And in most circumstances, we have helped each other to see it is Jesus who is coming towards us, calling us out of our fears. We must not be so focused on the troubles that we cannot recognize Jesus. We must not be afraid. It is in and with Jesus that each and every one of us can continue together in our journey in life and faith.

+Gayle Elizabeth Harris