Press Releases30 Jul 08

Interviews from Lambeth: The Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh

Interviews from Lambeth: a series of interviews with the Church of Ireland bishops attending the conference

The Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, the Rt Revd Ken Clarke

The Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, the Rt Revd Ken Clarke, talks to Church of Ireland Press Officer, Paul Harron, about his time at the Lambeth Conference

PH: What are your personal thoughts on the Conference?

BKC: There are two words to convey my experience of Lambeth: privilege and pain. The longer I’m here the greater the sense of privilege. This is my first Lambeth Conference, so I have nothing to compare it to – some bishops I’ve spoken to have three Lambeths under their belts!

I do feel privileged to meet with men and women of faith whose stories and experiences are humbling. The contexts of people’s ministries are so varied. One bishop from Sudan has had to literally run for his life once and has been attacked several times. Another bishop is surviving on an income of just $30 per month. The story from Ethiopia and Somalia is that six million people are seriously hungry, close to starving, and this seems likely to rise to 15 million by the end of the year. The impact of these personal testimonies is deep. I do have a strong sense of the amazing family which is the Anglican Communion. It is made up of a huge variety of people working in different contexts, engaged in mission and trying to honour the Lord.

As for the pain, I’m conscious of the profound pain that many bishops are – so evidently – not here. They represent a majority of Anglicans. We are praying for and remembering them every day. I also find it painful that there is division among us. I would say that we are having frank, honest and robust exchanges of views. At this time we face a huge challenge. Our listening must be genuine with an end purpose. There is an understanding of various viewpoints but many I have listened to are convinced that we must move towards some kind of resolution. It is increasingly clear that at the heart of the tension there are those who see developments on human sexuality as that – development, while others see it as a departure from what has been accepted for two thousand years. There is uncertainty about the future. For me it is a deeply painful to see the church I love experiencing such a foundational fissure. The heart of Anglicanism is experiencing a ‘cardiac arrest’!

PH: How and where are these ‘robust conversations’ taking place?

BKC: In our ‘indaba’ and bible study groups but even more so in the two meetings – ‘hearings’ – so far on the Windsor Continuation Group. We will hear more towards the end of the week. One African bishop remarked to me how he hadn’t appreciated that there was such a variety of views within The Episcopal Church (ECUSA) and that it was inaccurate to say that all Episcopal bishops thought the same. I have also listened to faithful African Bishops saying, ‘The missionaries brought the Gospel to Africa. We do not want a second gospel!’

PH: Several of the Irish bishops have remarked on how the conference has emphasised both the diversity of the Anglican Communion and its sheer size. What are your thoughts on the shape of the Communion?

BKC: It is interesting you should ask that question. The London Day really brought home to me both of these issues. The Walk of Witness was a real highlight of the conference so far, and, incidentally, I thought Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s speech was astounding. I found myself profoundly moved. When we went on to enjoy the Queen’s hospitality at Buckingham Palace in the afternoon I couldn’t help wondering what her thoughts might be about the huge changes that have taken place within the Anglican Communion in her lifetime. Her first garden party for a Lambeth Conference must have been very different. We have grown so much as a church and we are now a worldwide church. That led me on to thinking how our sheer size surely requires us to address our structures. Is it really helpful that we are called the ‘Anglican’ Communion? Do we need to re-consider how we do our family business? I am convinced we must seriously address how we operate as a family now.

We may need to question – not because of any crisis but because we’ve grown so much – our structures. Is meeting once every ten years enough? Obviously a conference such as this entails enormous planning, complicated logistics and considerable expense. Perhaps there is a need for other kinds of meetings and processes.

PH: What are you spending time on this week?

BKC: The bible studies continue to be the main artery of the day. Yesterday (29/7/08), I attended a very illuminating meeting of bishops and their spouses looking at the subject of the abuse of power. The focus was on the mental and physical – sometimes sexual – abuse of women in particular; addressing the issue of gender violence. There was a very powerful drama on Jesus and women given by the Riding Lights Theatre Company.

We have a hectic programme – it gets more and more like heaven in the sense that there is no night! We continue to pray daily on how we can find a way through our difficulties. The indaba group listeners are now working through the material they’ve been gathering. We should have a comprehensive report by the end of the week.

Some thought that the Lambeth Conference would be all about sexuality, but we have participated in a very comprehensive programme covering issues such as social justice, the environment, our witness as bishops with other faiths. I have found the latter fascinating, discovering that in some contexts to express one’s faith openly is both illegal and according to one Bishop in our Indaba Group it is effectively to express a death wish. We will be looking today (Wednesday 30/7/08) at the bible in mission, and on Thursday at human sexuality. On Friday we will consider the Windsor Continuation process again as well as the Anglican Covenant. The issue of the Covenant is one on which there are quite different views, some finding the principle of it in itself problematic, others more concerned with the nature of a Covenant. There is plenty to keep us busy!