The Bishop of Springfields reflections on the House of Bishops meeting have been both encouraging and annoying, but this is by far his most potent criticism that the next Presiding Bishop would do well to heed: The outside world thinks we talk deeply about important things, but the fact is, we dont talk deeply about anything. We hear reports and talk superficially and briefly about lots of things, but, even then, not about the most important things we should be talking about. Over my three years in the House, we have sometimes skirted the edges of engaging the wrenching divisions this church has suffered over the last decade, but always in a technical and juridical context, and always with much more reporting than free-flowing discussion. We talk around and past the really important things, and distract ourselves with a host of secondary and tertiary concerns. We desperately need to find a new model for difficult conversations. There is a reluctance (perhaps a vestige of very difficult experiences of twenty or so years ago) to spend a lot of time in plenary debate, but short and tightly-managed table discussions are not doing the job. There has got to be an intermediate modality that will enable us to safely say very challenging and honest things to one another. We havent found it yet. I dont know whether enough of us even want to.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 15:19:08 +0000
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