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Email to FriendEngland, Scotland and Wales to host bishops on the road to Lambeth
Through the "Hospitality Initiative," every bishop and spouse invited to the Lambeth Conference has also been invited to be the guest of an Anglican diocese in England, Scotland or Wales. The response has been enormous, with hundreds accepting the invitation. They will spend five days in one of 57 dioceses stretching from Truro in southwest England to Moray, Ross and Caithness in the north of Scotland and St. David's on the east coast of Wales.
"It's a tremendous opportunity to offer the gift of hospitality to representatives of our sister churches around the world," says the Rev. Mark Rodel, who is organizing the Hospitality Initiative in the Diocese of Portsmouth, which will be hosting 11 bishops and their spouses from Ghana and the United States.
Through the initiative, the visiting bishops will have a chance to experience firsthand how the church lives out its mission in another part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It will also provide a unique opportunity for those in the host dioceses to encounter church leaders from another part of global Anglican family.
"Those of us involved in planning the program are excited about the opportunity to hear from God as we share stories of our participation in God's mission in some very different settings," says Rodel. "It will be a time for learning and growth for all of us in our engagement with God."
Bishop Brian Smith of Edinburgh, whose diocese will be hosting six bishops with their spouses, agrees. "It is important that we recognize the international dimension of our church life and to bring it powerfully into the life of the Diocese of Edinburgh," says Smith.
In Wales, the Diocese of St. Asaph will host bishops from as far away as India and Brazil. The diocesan website says, "Our contribution in this way will be important to the whole Lambeth process."
It's also hoped that some of the encounters made through the Hospitality Initiative might result in the establishment of new companion relationships between dioceses. Dozens of Anglican dioceses in different parts of the world are already twinned, and support each other through prayer, visits, and mission initiatives.
The bishops and spouses participating in the Hospitality Initiative will be the guests of their host dioceses until Wednesday, July 16, at which point they will travel to Canterbury to begin a three-day retreat led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
The Lambeth Conference occurs every 10 years and comprises some 650 Anglican bishops and their spouses. It will be held July 16-August 3 at the University of Kent in Canterbury.
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