Today is the last day, and here’s some of what I celebrate:
• I haven’t locked myself out of my room – which locks behind me automatically (. . . so far . . .)
• I finally learned my way around campus. Well most of it. I can get anywhere from my dorm, but not necessarily from some other place. Even though I was terrible about my yoga exercises I walked and walked and walked.
• Morning & Night Prayer in the Prayer Place. Angels must sing like that!
• Jesus was, I’m sure, like Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks – passionate about God, God’s love and the people of God. I look forward to reading his books when I get home. (I’m not buying anymore books here!)
• Two of the people I grew to love the most (my Bible Study compadres are beautiful, amazing men) attended AGFcon before they came to Lambeth. My main plan was to make new friends. I did, and they included people very different from me. The others were incredible too.
• I also met and delighted in the other women bishops and some bishops I didn’t know before from TEC.
• The Gospel of John is incredibly alive to me in new ways, and there is so much more to learn! I would love to keep studying Bible with my Bible Study group – they are wise, learned and fun. We all have such different stories.
• Indaba is a process of discernment I want to learn more about. I keep learning the importance of telling stories.
• As for the conversation on human sexuality, I discovered that I really want two things to happen – that we stop talking about people (especially other people) and that we start talking about behavior and values (fidelity, non-violence, equality in relationships, mutual submission to one another and to God, relationship as vocation.)
• The Stewards (the amazing young people from around the world who kept us moving in the right directions) said that the hardest thing for them was staying awake – or dealing with a lack of sleep. (So it wasn’t that I’m too old for this tough schedule!)
• The Stewards care about God, the Church and their vocations in the church as both the baptized and clergy. They reminded us that we are stewards of the church. It won’t be long before some of them are back here as bishops.
• Even though I was occasionally, on the brink of tears, I didn’t blow a fuse or embarrass myself . . . too much.
• At least some of us thought outside the box and offered an alternative to the Covenant. It was never really considered but it may be the basis for some ongoing partnerships.
• I have learned about so much need in the world, I have been invited to come to so many different dioceses to learn more, and I am even more deeply committed to the MDGs and to reducing my own family’s carbon footprint on Mother Earth.
