Today we traveled early to London for a lunch at Lambeth Palace and then tea at Buckingham Palace with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Both were pretty impressive deals, and at the latter I briefly met the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. The grounds and gardens of Buckingham Palace are beautiful. Very beautiful. Wandering around them, I was struck by one particularly lovely yellow rose called Gracious Queen. This evening I researched it on the Internet and found that it was bred in commemoration of Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee. It is well named, Gracious Queen, as clearly she is.
As much as I enjoyed these events, the highpoint of the day came earlier, in the Walk of Witness for the Millennium Development Goals. Hundreds of purple cassocked bishops and their festively hatted spouses, along with numerous clergy and lay supporters, marched along Whitehall passed Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and 10 Downing Street, across the Thames, and on to Lambeth Palace. Carrying placards that read Keep the Promise, Do Justice Love Kindness, and Halve Poverty by 2015, we were led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other ecumenical and interfaith leaders in a living expression of encouragement to world leaders in making good their Millennium Year commitment to eradicate poverty by ceaselessly pursuing the United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals.
When we reached the Archbishop’s London residence and office, we were treated to an exceptionally powerful and inspiring speech by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, which can be found at the following website:
http://www.twofourdigital.net/CabinetOffice/no10_statements/pm_speech2008_07_24.wmv.asx?title=Prime%20Minister's%20speech%20at%20the%20Lambeth%20Conference%20on%20the%20Millennium%20Development%20Goals©right=2008&author=www.twofour.co.uk
I encourage you to view it.
It felt so very good to suspend for a morning our listening and talking about important things on which we do not easily agree, and to take instead a public stand, with Anglican Christians from around the world, on important things about which all do agree. It was a beautiful morning for a walk. And I am particularly grateful that Archbishop Williams gave us the opportunity to follow through London the path that Micah laid out: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.
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2 comments:
Thank you for joining in that witness to the importance of the MDG's. We are joining you on Sunday with the special Prayers of the People that were developed for this purpose.
Gary McElroy
Dear Bishop Mark. your prose is beautiful; you make a difficult conference sound graceful. I am sure it must be.
chris +
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