February 5 - London
February 5 – London, England
This morning started out early with meeting at the Church House at Westminster Abbey. These meetings were with staff of the Church of England, those who work in ecumenical relations. We spent the whole day there, hearing reports and having discussions about issues that are common to the Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the ELCA. Some of our common concerns are how to maintain unity for the purpose of mission; “fresh expression” churches (new starts;) women clergy and women bishops; statements and issues in regard to sexuality and evangelical dialog.
I learned so much listening, but I must say it has been a long time since I sat from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. listening without have much discussion! It is amazing to see/hear how much we have in common and how much we differ from some of our partners in the gospel.
After our briefing/meetings, we toured Westminster Abbey, and you can imagine my favorite part was “Poet’s Corner” where there are statues and memorials as well as some actual graves marked by stones in the marble floor. At the shrine for Shakespeare you can look around you and see graves and/or markers for George Fredric Handel, Laurence Olivier, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Lord Alfred Tennyson, and so many more. Of course Dr. Livingston and Sir Isaac Newton are buried there as well, along with countless monarchs and heads of state. Remarkable.
We participated in Evensong (Evening Prayer) and were privileged to be there with dignitaries from New Zealand, for whom they prayed, as well as for us in the ELCA! Cool. That and the Abbey choir, made for a memorable worship.
Tomorrow we leave early for Istanbul, so I’ll sign off for today.