In the middle of my three-day "sabbatical" from Canterbury, I have time to muse over some of the curious things I'm seeing and hearing....Every trip to a pub or restaurant is an ode to "two nations separated by a common language." I've learned that a "fool" is a creamy, mousse-like dessert. A "mess" is something similar, but, well, a mess! "Pudding" seems to be a name encompassing all desserts. If you order "cream pie," it's ...

What a roller coaster this continues to be -- with ecstatic moments of grace and agonizing moments of disappointment. Forgive me for not writing since our Wednesday evening gathering, but I just needed a rest.First, one of the ecstasies. The gathering on Wednesday evening was really quite everything all of us had hoped for. I must be general in my comments, to protect the identities of those who were present. I would in no way ...

Never have I felt more in need of your prayers. As I write this, the opening service of the Lambeth Conference is going on at Canterbury Cathedral. I am a few miles away -- but it feels like a much further difference. I am not appearing at the opening service, as I promised the Archbishop.Yesterday was a painful day. I am feeling frustrated and angry. I dare not write too much, because I don't want ...

We arrive at St. Rumwold's parish, about thirty miles from Canterbury, set among "amber waves of grain." Surrounded by nearly ripe wheat fields, on the edge of what used to be the coast (before the area was drained, Henry VIII's warships were built here, and the soldiers who would murder Thomas a Becket landed here from France), St. Rumwold's has hosted Christian worshippers since A.D. 786. The present building "only" dates back 1,000 years!Let me ...

Today (Friday), we leave for Canterbury, where the bishops have been gathered in retreat since Wednesday. After all the planning and praying, I still don't know what to expect. What I do know is that praying for the Archbishop of Canterbury and all the bishops, on retreat, has been painful. I still don't fathom why my presence in their midst would be such an affront. It is especially hard being separated from my own brother ...

Monday evening was such a wonderful celebration! After a long needed and much appreciated afternoon nap following a hectic weekend, we headed for Queen Elizabeth Hall, on the Thames at the South Bank Centre for the Arts, a kind of British version of New York's Lincoln Center, only more expansive in its buildings and cutting edge in its programming.Earlier, I had contacted Sir Ian McKellen, arguably the greatest living Shakespearean actor (and Gandalf in the ...

By now, you will have probably read about the service last night at St. Mary's, Putney. The church was filled to capacity, the music was glorious, the crowd was warm, welcoming and supportive. It was clear that everyone wanted to be there. Except that one person wanted to be there for different reasons.As I began to preach, this youngish man with long hair and long sideburns, carrying a motorcycle helmet, stood and began to point ...

Later today, I will be preaching at St. Mary's, Putney -- an invitation extended by the Vicar, Giles Fraser, and approved by his bishop. It is an extraordinary act of hospitality, for which I am deeply grateful. This remarkable parish at the foot of the Putney Bridge has an amazing history, being the site of the historic Putney debates that led to the participation of the "common people" in the civic life of Britain.I must ...