The 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church is well underway now in Anaheim, California, and has been for about a week. Some observers have seen fit to note that Anaheim is also the home of Disneyland, and of EPCOT center, Walt Disney’s own personal “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,” meant by him to be herald and foretaste of the future peace, harmony, and blessed union that modern American progress would surely one day bring. Whether connections are there to be drawn, of course, I cannot say.

There are any number of sites following the action, if readers of First Things are so inclined. Kendall Harmon’s venerable TitusOneNine is still the gold standard, with posts from delegates and commentators across the Anglican spectrum. Covenant is an excellent newer site, featuring not only a newsfeed but also commentary from Communion-minded delegates such as Fr. Dan Martins and Dean Nicholas Knisely. The Living Church magazine, with its long-held reputation for excellent reporting, is indispensable. From the left bleachers, Episcopal Cafe is both thorough and a good barometer of where things stand. Last but not least, the Episcopal Church’s own news service is a good way to keep tabs on events and resolutions as they come down the pike. And if you want to take a step back from it all, the theologians over at the Anglican Communion Institute for their part have produced probably the best reflections around for the occasion.

What’s at stake? For those who’ve been keeping up with it all, there aren’t any surprises in store—as expected, the Convention is set to consider whether or not to approve rites of same-sex blessing (in one form or another) for some or all of the church, and whether or not to move back from their position of three years ago, when they resolved not to elect any more Gene Robinsons as bishop for the sake of the wider Anglican Communion. Other issues are in play, of course. Like everyone else these days, the church has some serious belt-tightening to do, and budget battles have already begun. There’s a newly proposed calendar of saints, too, which includes such unlikely luminaries as John Calvin, Copernicus, and William Mayo. (This has not met with universal approval.) Another very significant resolution to watch from an ecumenical and Communion-minded perspective was proposed by Fr. Dan Martins—if passed, it would have the church voluntarily abide by the terms of the draft Anglican Covenant.

What’s the buzz? Perhaps the first thing to note is that the absence of those who left the church to form ACNA has been felt. The conservative presence, many delegates say, is noticeably smaller, and somewhat muted in tone. It is, perhaps, the natural resignation of a group that feels a Rubicon has already been crossed, and which does not feel anymore that its causes will find much agreement at the Convention. But although that may well be true, it is not the whole story. Dioceses such as South Carolina and Dallas have their eyes trained toward larger Anglican Communion matters—although the largest portion of the Episcopal Church may well choose to walk apart from the rest of Anglicanism, for their part they intend to stay the course and stick with Canterbury and the Communion. Rowan Williams, for his part, attended the Convention and signaled his support for their cause.

And what will come of it all? Of course, at this point, it’s hard to say. The Convention is divided into two houses, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies (made up of laypeople and clergy), both of which must agree if any legislation is to be passed. The House of Deputies, from all reports, seems quite strongly committed to passing same-sex blessings in some form, and also to changing the church’s present position of restraint on homosexual bishops. The House of Bishops, however, may be another story. Many bishops are fresh from the Lambeth Conference of a year ago, with minds more attuned to the Communion-wide and ecumenical implications of their actions. So, too, many bishops have looked closely at survey data and demographic reports that show a sharp decline in membership following the consecration of Gene Robinson in 2003, as well as high levels of parish-level and diocesan conflict. Neither the Episcopal Church nor the wider Anglican Communion may be ready for further changes, they may reason. And initial reports are, indeed, that many bishops are reasoning just this way. Gene Robinson, for his part, has expressed consternation that the bishops seem not be marching in step with the House of Deputies.

And so they may not be, but only time will tell. In the meantime, gentle reader, I will continue to scour the vast recesses of the Internet for every last news report, blog post, and Twitter tweet, so that you don’t have to. The bishops and delegates still have a week left before it’s all over, and you can expect a few words from me (for whatever they’re worth) after that. Until then—does anyone out there have any tickets to Disneyland they could spare? It’s a small world, after all . . .

It’s over, but it’s far from done. The 2008 Lambeth Conference wrapped up this past Sunday, and all the purple-shirted Anglican bishops went back home to the everyday work of proclaiming the Gospel in dioceses from Singapore to South Dakota. Was it a success? Will Anglicans look back someday on Lambeth as a step on the road to healing their troubled church?

The short answer is, I don’t know. I think so, but I need time to think it over and talk to people who know better than I do. We’ll have a brief piece in the upcoming issue of First Things to try and make sense of what happened and what comes next, but until then I think the better part of wisdom is to keep quiet and let things percolate for a while. Even so, I don’t think it’s going too far to say that I’m cautiously encouraged, hopeful, and even excited to be an Anglican—to be present at the creation, as it were, of something new.

But with emphasis on the “cautiously.” My crystal ball has been wrong before. The Lambeth conference is over, but its effects have only just begun. Rowan Williams believes that the conference saw a genuine movement towards the idea of an Anglican Communion that could honestly begin to call itself a church—a covenantally-united body, truly united in faith and charity and grounded in Christ alone. We have to wait now to see if he’s right.

In the meantime, the inveterately Anglo-ecclesio-philic of our readers may want to look things over for themselves. To that end, herewith the second edition of my best-of-Lambeth reading guide:

1) Rowan Williams: You’ll want to read his final address first, followed by his Q&A session at the closing press conference. I’m excited primarily because of the vision he’s laid out here, and the resolve he seems to have to see through its implementation. Next, this article in the Telegraph features an exclusive interview with Williams. And his second Lambeth address can be found here. All in all: Many have criticized Williams in the past for lack of resolve and leadership, and perhaps not without reason. But I don’t think that can truthfully be said of him anymore. At least, not if he follows through on what he said and did at Lambeth.

2) Papers, papers, and more papers: This year’s Lambeth didn’t produce a list of resolutions as in year’s past, but instead gave birth to a 43-page “reflections” document, found here. Essentially, it attempts to be a snapshot of what the Lambeth bishops actually said in their discussion groups, and in that endeavor it succeeds. For now, I think I’ll defer to the judgment of Bishop Michael Smith (ND): “In my opinion, some parts are well written and thought out. Others, however, read more like minutes of a brainstorming session.” He’s right. On many issues, the document is precisely the opposite of resolution; instead, it often records a confusing array of non-reconcilable viewpoints and positions. But on other issues, it displays a significant degree of convergence. You’ll also want to read the preliminary findings of the Windsor Continuation Group, which were presented to the Lambeth bishops and much-discussed. Key items: Moratoria on Gene-Robinson-type episcopal consecrations, same-sex blessings, and CANA-AMiA-type border crossings. Their concepts were taken up and owned by Williams and the clear majority of the Lambeth bishops.

3) The Global South: First, take a look at the official response of many key Global South primates, including the archbishops of Tanzania and Sudan. It affirms the Covenant process and the way forward envisioned by Williams and the Windsor Continuation Group at Lambeth. This is crucial, to my mind—it shows that there’s a sense in the Global South that Windsor and the Covenant are the way forward, and ought to be pursued with vigor. You’ll also want to see the concurring statement, given at Lambeth, of Archbishop Daniel Deng on behalf of the Sudanese church. Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda, a leading GAFCON primate, published an op-ed in the Times (London) that was highly critical of the current form of the archbishopric of Canterbury as an instrument of communion (see also this follow-up piece by Orombi, and note Williams’ response in the aforementioned Telegraph article). Finally, GAFCON put out a brief statement of its own, basically amounting to: “We’ll think about it.” Their more considered response will come after a meeting later on this month. (Also noteworthy: GAFCON came under heavy criticism last month, including from yours truly, for publishing an ill-considered response to the St Andrew’s Draft Covenant on their website. To their credit, they have since removed the offending document and issued an apology.)

4) Blogging bishops and armchair theologians: We’ll start to get a better sense of what happened at Lambeth after the bishops, who were actually there, have time to process things and talk things over with their dioceses back home. For my money, the best reflection so far by a Lambeth bishop is Mark Lawrence of South Carolina, followed closely by Bishop Jonathan Gledhill of Litchfield, England. Also of great note in the armchair theolgians category: Peter Ould of England has an excellent—let me repeat, excellent—report and reflection on what happened and where we go from here. Dan Martins has a very thoughtful read of the conference as well. Finally, the most helpful pre-Lambeth reflection is very worth reading in light of the conference: Ephraim Radner’s open letter to the Lambeth bishops, published on the Fulcrum website.

5) Last but not least: my hero Stephen Colbert wins the award for best-overall reporting and analysis. Particularly for seeing what only the most incisive of commenters know—that secretly, Rowan Williams is the cousin of Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. You’ve gotta watch it.

Happy reading, ROFTERS—and be sure to watch for more in the next issue of First Things. Hopefully I’ll have made up my mind about all of this by then.

(Sources: Many hat tips to Kendall Harmon of TitusOneNine, as well as the bloggers of Covenant, StandFirm, and Fulcrum.)

Bloggers and reporters innumerable are churning out reports and commentary on the ongoing Lambeth Conference, and I’ve been dutifully reading as much of it as I can stand. My job, you see, is to spend too much time on the Internet, so that you don’t have to. (At least, that’s how I justify it to myself.)

Reading it all is a bit like wading through a marsh, or picking one’s way through a thicket, except with more pointy bishop’s hats and English accents. Much of what’s out there is either of little use, strongly biased, or hopelessly misleading (especially in the British press), but every now and again one runs into something truly worthwhile. Herewith my guide to must-read Lambeth news and comment:

1) Rowan Williams’ presidental address is an excellent sum-up of where things stand, and concisely expresses his hopes for the conference. I sincerely hope that it succeeds in setting the tone. Forget all of the pundits out there writing stories about what Williams “really” thinks, and go read it for yourself. (There’s also a great Q&A with Williams.)

2) A brief piece by Philip Turner is a revealing expose of the American bishops’ strategy at the conference. Essentially, he says, the publicity machine at ECUSA headquarters in New York is trying to keep all the Episcopal bishops “on message” and in step with the liberal party line. What’s more, they’re explicitly playing to the media. As Turner puts it, the whole thing represents a “hardened position on the part of TEC’s episcopal leadership that runs counter to the spirit the Archbishop of Canterbury has asked to guide the bishops in their deliberations—a spirit of mutual subjection in Christ that is open to correction.” No kiddin’.

3) Most of the GAFCON crowd isn’t at Lambeth, but that hasn’t kept them from throwing in their two cents. On the GAFCON website, you can find two pieces responding to the current form of the Anglican Covenant proposal— or could, until one of them was removed. To put it mildly, they don’t like it: “theologically incoherent,” “unworkable” and having “no prospect of success,” they concluded. But most of their specific criticisms of the new draft covenant are very, very far off the mark, at times even bizarre. Andrew Goddard’s incisive critique of the GAFCON pieces is severe, penetrating, and deeply disturbing. I’d say it may be one of the most important and revealing essays to date on the entire Anglican crisis. Essentially, Goddard shows that GAFCON’s critique is deeply misinformed, wildly inaccurate, and both theologically and biblically shallow. In fact, they exhibit a near-complete failure to listen and respond to conversation partners, perhaps even to the point of bearing false witness. It’s enough to give even sympathizers of GAFCON (such as myself) great cause for concern. My opinion: GAFCON has to repudiate this fast, or risk being discredited as a movement. (Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone already has disowned them; apparently the documents were produced without his knowledge.) Go and check it out for yourself. It’s really that bad.

Beyond that— if you want to keep up with general goings-on, Kendall Harmon’s blog is always a good first place to stop. The Church Times blog is English and center-left in perspective, with the added bonus of Dan Walker’s hilarious cartoons. StandFirm is as conservative as it is thorough (quite a bit, on both counts). The Living Church is always professional, and reliable as clockwork. The Covenant blog is consistently thoughtful and theological, featuring regular input from the Fulcrum/ACI crowd. And, last but not least, the Lambeth conference official website posts a useful daily round-up.

Finally, if you’re looking to step back a bit and put the entire hullaballoo in perspective, I strongly recommend Oliver O’Donovan’s new book, Church in Crisis: The Gay Controversy and the Anglican Communion, just out from Wipf and Stock. I’d try to sum it up, but Prof. O’Donovan is at least twelve times smarter than I am, so I’ll leave that to the professionals. Suffice it to say that the book is profound, deeply learned, and well worth the effort. (You can also find the whole thing online at the Fulcrum website… sorry, Wipf and Stock.)

So… happy reading, to one and all. And remember— reading Internet sites is all well and good, but no substitute for prayer. Our bishops need it, and so does the church. In the words of the BCP:

Almighty and everlasting Father, you have given the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever: Bless, we pray, with his grace and presence, the bishops and other clergy and laity assembled in your name at Lambeth, that your Church, being preserved in true faith and godly discipline, may fulfill all the mind of him who loved it and gave himself for it, your Son Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The last semester of my senior year at college, I was staring down the barrel of what seemed like years upon years of graduate school. At the time, with my senior thesis dragging on, and given the fact that I’d been in school continuously since kindergarten, the prospect didn’t seem all that appealing. Hence one fine January morning found me procrastinating at my desk, trolling around the Internet for things to do after graduation, until I happened upon the application for the First Things junior fellowship.

I applied, not thinking that I had much of a chance at it. I’d been an avid reader of First Things since high school, and the prospect of spending a year writing and working in Manhattan with the editors and writers I’d long admired seemed like the perfect post-college job. Somewhat miraculously, I got a call from Jody Bottum not long afterward, offering me the spot. I took it, and it turned out to be just the job I’d been hoping for.

For one thing, it’s the chance to learn from and work with the folks you read each month—Father Neuhaus, Jody Bottum, R.R. Reno, and regular contributors such as Cardinal Dulles, George Weigel, Robert Louis Wilken, Father Edward Oakes, Robert George, David B. Hart, and Mary Ann Glendon. Lots of those folks will show up now and again for Saturday dinners with Father Neuhaus, as well as for conferences such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together, the Dulles Colloquium, and the
Erasmus Lecture. I can’t overstate how much I’ve learned from conversations with these people.

You’ll also get the chance to become a regular contributor to the magazine and website. I’ve written quite a few pieces for the website and a couple for the magazine, and I definitely plan to continue as long as they’ll let me. In the process, your writing will be shaped and improved by the First Things editors. It’s an invaluable opportunity—and believe me, it beats the heck out of writing term papers.

In short, I now look back on my year at First Things as a tremendous privilege. The education I received there was just as valuable as anything I’ve gotten from college or grad school (probably more valuable, in fact), and what’s more, it was a lot of fun. If you’re anything like me—a young prospective writer and wannabe academic—you ought to jump at the chance, like I did. So what are you waiting for? Apply to be a First Things junior fellow today.