1 post tagged “girl power @ lambeth...”

Every ten years the 650+ bishops of the Anglican Communion gather at Lambeth (England) to commune. Last decade was the first time bishops who are women attended the Lambeth Conference. They were photographed on this same green overlooking the mother ship, Canterbury Cathedral. This summer the tradition continues, with a handful of the first timers having returned and the number active (non-retired) bishops who are women having grown only slightly (11 to 19). This photograph is both a CELEBRATION of episcopal ministry exercised by women and a reminder that the church MUST DO BETTER if it is to live into its call to be an inclusive community that practices and values gender equality!

Thanks to the Revs. Cynthia Black and Susan Russell for these photos.

photo one :: the episcopal (american) bishops who are women. the most rev. katharine jefferts schori, presiding bishop of the episcopal church, stands (tall) in the center!

photo two :: anglican communion bish-es from around the world who are women.



photo three :: where's waldo (and wanda)? the whole kitten kabootle! all bishops of the anglican communion pose for a pic. well, almost all...the bishop of new hampshire (usa) gene robinson+ has been banned from the conference by archbishop of canterbury rowan williams because he is openly gay. several conservative bishops of the anglican communion are also not present at this decade's conference, having chosen to absent themselves from the conference in protest rather than engage the brewing issues within the communion alongside their peers.

photo four :: lambeth 1998. the first eleven women bishops to have joined the ranks of the generations of men bishops at the lambeth conference. pictured in the center, walking with a cane is the rt. rev. barbara harris, the first woman to be consecrated a bishop in the episcopal church and anglican communion (1989). barbara+ is now retired bishop suffragan of the diocese of massachusetts. to learn more about one woman's experience of the historic 1998 gathering, read chilton knudsen's+ "letters from lambeth" here.