Sorry, no pdf of this newsletter is availabe,  as Trevor our pdf creator is on holiday.

So the Lambeth Conference is over,  and the dust begins to settle.   Inclusive Church looks to the future,  knowing that our work is by no means done.  We have some major events coming up .  We invite you and hope that you will come.

Weds 24th September Southwark Cathedral Library, 6.30pm – 9.00pm Women included?  An Introduction to Inclusive Church, guest speakers Rosemary Lain-Priestley and Christina Rees with Giles Goddard and Clare Herbert  – developing the theme of the roles of women in Church and Society with the state of play re Women in the Episcopate in the C. of E.  Click here for a flyer

Saturday 4th October (NOT Sunday 5th as previously advertised) St Mary’s Putney, 10.30 – 2.30pm – 5th Anniversary Celebration of the work of Inclusive Church

Five years is a big milestone for us!   We've planned this fifth anniversary as an working event.   We'll have a Festival Eucharist at 10.30.  Jenny Thomas, the Chair of the Association of Black Clergy, will be celebrating, and Giles Goddard will preach.  At 11.30 Giles and Clare lead a plenary:  "Life after Lambeth" - where we will feed back on our impressions of the conference and ask you for your thoughts and hopes for our work from now on.  Lunch will now be provided by the cafe at St Mary's (instead of a bring and share as previously advised).   The day will be a chance for you to meet old friends and make new ones...  Please come,  so that we can receive your ideas and build on all that we've achieved to date.  Oh, and we'll also be launching our fundraising drive for 2009 - 2012 -  "IC Tomorrow".  CHILDREN ARE VERY WELCOME - activities will be arranged.  Cost for the day is £10 for adults,  £5 for concessions/children.   Do come as your input will be very valuable.   PLEASE "Contact us" to let us know if you are intending to come for catering numbers.  

Inclusive Roadshow: Over the coming year Inclusive Church will be carrying a Roadshow about our work to different parts of the country. If you would like us to come near you, and can provide invitations to a local network of people with a room for a small reception please let us know. We are starting on “home ground” at Southwark Cathedral in September but moving on to Gloucester in December.

Thursday 4th December – Inclusive Church Seminar and Supper at Gloucester Cathedral – an evening introducing ourselves and our work emphasising the Broad and Inclusive Tradition of Anglicanism

For your diaries: Saturday February 7th – Day Conference with Workshops –– “The Challenge of Inclusive Language – its Breadth and its Importance” London venue, times t.b.a.

First, a HUGE THANK YOU to all who volunteered to help during the conference.  The stall was staffed for the whole time, and those who came were all extremely helpful -  you were supportive,  aware,  willing to engage with people,  hardworking despite the heat,  and all-round brilliant.  Thanks too to all who supported our events - the Inclusive Church Network Eucharist and the Inclusive Imperative seminar, both of which were successful and thought-provoking.  

The conference came to an end on a positive note.  Archbishop Rowan received,  apparently,  many standing ovations during his final address,  and the feared splits and ructions did not materialise despite consistent efforts by some to disrupt the process of engagement and communication.  So we live on as a Communion.  Inclusive Church is still musing on the end result, though, and how we should best respond to what came out of it.  The upside of the conference was the stress on global challenges,  especially in terms of poverty and the environment.  We spoke to a number of bishops and their spouses whose eyes had been opened by first hand reports from other parts of the globe - examples of the Communion in action at its best.  The downside - and it's a big downside - is that those of us working for a more inclusive church have,  once again,  been asked to stand back;  no progress has been made on the global issues of homophobia with the great damage it causes churches all over the world;  and the church in England continues to be mired in controversy over an issue which should by now be long past.  The United States and Canada are being asked even more to place their concerns on hold, and there is no clarity from the conference about how we move on these issues.  It's a problem. 

IC will be responding formally in due course,  and working out how to develop our concerns in the context of the good things which came out of the conference.

But meanwhile here are two eyewitness accounts of the conference:

"Beyond the Fringe" by Clare Herbert

"Reflections from the Lambeth Conference" by Greg Tucker

Here is the "Lambeth Indaba Reflections" - the final document from the conference.  It's well worth reading in full as it contains some real nuggets  - especially about the Anglican use of scripture - and gives a good impression of where the Communion is now. 

And here are some photos from the conference - 

For up to the minutes news and comment on post conference developments visit Thinking Anglicans

Thanks again to all who helped.  Hoping to see you again at our fifth birthday or one of the other events -  

Giles

Meanwhile,  in another part of the forest,  the struggle for women bishops goes on.  The machinations after the Synod vote are getting more and more complicated.  Your prayers and encouragement continue to be sought.  Further developments will be brought to you as they occur.  But in the meantime it's important to affirm that a Code of Practice can,  if properly drafted,  offer the safeguards which those opposed need without limiting the potential for the consecration of women as bishops.  

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