Today was something completely different from the normal Lambeth Conference routine. After an early breakfast, we donned our purple cassocks and boarded buses for London. We unloaded and lined up, as signs were distributed and we got ourselves organized. Eventually the march for the Millenium Development Goals proceeded through central London. There were lots of waving folks along the way as well as reporters photographing and interviewing.

       One highlight of the march for me was when a young woman who turned out to be a tourist from Germany came over to ask what this was all about. Bright though she was, she had never heard of the MDG’s and I don’t think she was too clear on the Anglican Communion. So it gave me a chance to “witness.”

       Our march ended at Lambeth Palace where we stood in the courtyard for speeches. Rowan was ok, but I mean to tell you, Prime Minister Gordon Brown preached! He stirred souls. This guy, speaking without notes said things like, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The UN will be meeting in New York on Sept. 25. He urged us to lobby our governments to keep the promise of the MDG’s at the UN meeting.

        We then adjourned to an elegant open air pavilion for lunch. A distinguished fellow went to the microphone and said, “Your excellencies, my lords, pray silence for Mrs. Jane Williams.” The wife of the Archbishop said grace and then came to sit beside me for lunch. Whereupon I committed what apparently was the social misstep of asking her about their time in Wales. I gather once one has hit the big time, Wales isn’t somewhere you want to remember having been. Foolish me, I love Wales.

        It was then back to the buses and a ride to Buckingham Palace. We cleared security, and walked across the big courtyard into the Palace. It turns out the Palace is shaped like a rectangle with a huge courtyard in the Center. We went through the front building, across the courtyard, through the second building (which is even more impressive than the first) and out the back into the 40 acre back yard – Hyde Park, with a lake. How can one describe this scene? It was as if we were on the set of  Masterpiece Theater  – lots of attractive well-dressed people, including some guys in top hat and tails, the Beefeater honor guards here and there, two brass bands in remarkably red uniforms conducted by men wearing swords. Add to the set 700 folks who don’t really belong there, so to set them apart they are costumed as grapes, raspberries, or bearded ravens (the Eastern Orthodox guests). The brass bands at diagonally opposite corners of the grounds took turns playing. One of them seemed to be on a welcoming the Americans project, playing such things as the theme from the Magnificent Seven and a medley from West Side Story.

                We ate extraordinary finger foods, drank tea and lemonade, looked for shade, etc. Then the bands played God Save The Queen and everyone stood up. I didn’t see anything at that point -- I am short and the Queen is shorter – except the Beefeaters marching about. Later I strolled over to where people were being presented to the Queen. I noted she was a small woman of softer demeanor than she seems on TV. She was wearing a broad brimmed white hat with something bright green on the hat band – could have been flowers or butterflies. I then took a long walk examining the elegant rose gardens and the shade trees with benches. Finally, it was back to the buses and home to Canterbury – the whole thing lasting from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. A long day.

             Yesterday was a more typical day – Bible Study on John, indaba group on Millenium Development Goals, and the second hearing session on the Windsor Process. I had some criticisms of its tendency to shift power not only toward centralized authority but also to diminish the authority of the laity while placing power in the hands of bishops and primates. However, the Americans were doing a bit too much talking so I put my thoughts in writing and turned them in to the Committee.

                There was something of a stir at a press conference when the Archbishop of Sudan called for the resignation of Gene Robinson. The odd thing is that afterward the Sudanese Archbishop was perfectly friendly, maintaining he did not want to press the Sudanese position on us, and he wanted to be friends. Confusing.  But I’m sure it’s a confusion of communication across cultures. Bishop Katharine is hosting a reception for the Sudanese and Congolese bishops to meet American bishops and discuss companion diocese relationships on Saturday.