The Lambeth Bible study was
personal, intense and difficult
Sharon Miller shares her experience
as a bishop's wife at Lambeth
by Ana Watts
In John’s gospel Jesus says I am the bread of life … the light of the world … the door … the good shepherd … the resurrection and the life .… the way, the truth and the life … the true vine. In these “I am” statements, Jesus revealed the important things about himself — about God.
The 680 bishops and their spouses at the Lambeth Conference on the University of Kent campus in Canterbury, England last summer studied the "I am" statements made by Jesus and recorded in John's gospel. It is safe to say they all gained some new "I am" statements of their own. Our bishop's wife did.
“The ‘I Am’ verses are very deep and the study was personal, intense and difficult,” says Sharon Miller. The verses were made deeper still because the spouses of the bishops attending Lambeth studied them in small groups that included participants from around the world. In her group were women from Tanzania, Australia and Canada. “The bishop’s wife from Tanzania was actually a white woman born in Australia,” says Sharon. “She brought a lot of different experiences to our group and had a completely different take on things. She really broadened our minds and our understanding. Sadly she was called home because of a family emergency. We missed her perspective when she left.”
In many ways, the spouses’ program at Lambeth was as rich and demanding as the bishop’s. Their days were long, their schedules full, and the distances between dormitories, dining rooms and program facilities were more challenging than Sharon expected. She had to buy herself some sturdy Clark’s sandals to save her feet.
“It was busy, but there was spirituality everywhere,” says Sharon. “Not just in the Bible studies, but everywhere. Now when I pray for other parts of the Anglican Communion, I have faces to go with those places. That is very moving. The Canadian spouses spent a lot of time with each other too. We got to know each other better than ever. We will stay in touch now, and I will stay in touch with the women in my Bible study group too. And we will all continue to pray for one another.”
The opening and closing services in Canterbury Cathedral were as spiritual as they were spectacular. “We sat sideways at the opening service and were surrounded by dignitaries from the city of Canterbury, in wigs and all. The ladies’ hats were amazing too. And it took a full 30 minutes for the opening procession of 680 bishops plus all the cathedral canons. The setting, pageantry, hymns, boy’s choir … it took my breath away.
“And when it came time for the Gospel procession, members of the Melanesian Brotherhood — an Anglican Community based primarily in the Solomon Islands —literally danced the Bible down to the Compass Rose in the floor of the nave. It was really profound, unfortunately the press in England called it ‘a shindig in which half naked natives danced.’”
Many of the bishop’s spouses shared their gifts, knowledge and talents with presentations at spouses’ plenary sessions throughout the conference. “We learned to tell our stories, discussed our lives and vocations, learned ways in which we can honour and encourage peace in the world as well as protect and save our environment. We discussed the abuse of power in the world, including violence against women. Many spouses from Africa had a lot to contribute to that conversation.”
Outside experts were also part of the spouses’ program. Rosemary Kempsell, world-wide president of the Mothers’ Union, talked to the spouses about the important work that organization does to support communities and families; local university professors addressed issues like the environment and mental health.
“Like the bishops, the spouses put faces to names at Lambeth and wrestled with some weighty issues. We will probably never agree on some of them, but it was important for us to listen to one another. There was no atmosphere of conflict among spouses, nor were feelings like that prevalent on the campus grounds at all.
“After our own programs all day, we were welcome to join the bishops in the evening to listen to addresses from the Archbishop of Canterbury, but the talks began at 8 p.m. and it was often difficult to find enough energy to take them in.”
Toward the end of the conference the bishops and spouses piled in to buses for an exciting day in London where they met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth.
“We got on the bus at 7 a.m., dressed in our finery plus our lanyards with our conference identification, plus another piece of identification plus our invitations to tea. When we got to London we marched through the city in support of the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty, child mortality, AIDS and other diseases, as well as in support of education, maternal health, gender equality and education. Wealthy countries support these goals through aid, debt relief, and fairer trade.
“We went from our parade to the grounds of Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, for a sit-down noon-day meal. Jane Williams welcomed all 1,500 of us — in a huge, white tent complete with chandeliers — to her home.
“After lunch at Lambeth we got back on our buses and drove to Buckingham Palace for tea with the queen. We walked right through the palace where everything appears to be trimmed with gold and into opulent, splendid gardens. It was a very hot day, about 34°C, so many of us were glad for our wide hats and everyone stood in the shade of the trees and enjoyed the music. There were two brass bands, one at each end of the garden, but they were so far apart we could only hear one at a time. We were there at about two, the queen arrived at three. We were lined up and certain people were singled-out to be presented. Then she and the Duke of Edinburgh had their tea and left. The rest of us continued to enjoy the wonderful garden party.”
Sharon brought a lot of tangible and intangible things back to Fredericton from her first trip to England. Although she can’t isolate any one experience as the most memorable, she can count dozens of experiences that prompted her to look objectively at her life, her opinions, her understandings.
“I know now that even when language is a barrier, a smile is universally understood, and I’m getting a lot better at the computer, now that I have so many people to e-mail. It was an exciting, but an exhausting time. I would like to go back to England again, just on a tour, and maybe not spend quite so much time lined up for the loo.”
Diocesan Communications
07 October 2008
