Following is a letter to the editor of Pathways, the Diocese of Atlanta's quarterly journal, that concerns the Lambeth Conference underway in England.

Editor:

I felt called to comment on a piece in your Summer 2008 issue. On page 25 there is a column entitled 800+ bishops gather for once-a-decade Lambeth Conference. As the articles states, "Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has invited more than 800 bishops to attend the July 16 - Aug. 3 conference on the campus of the University of Kent in southeast England." In fact, Mr. Williams invited every American bishop of a diocese that is a part of the Anglican Communion with one exception: the duly elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.

It is my understanding that it is part of the Anglican tradition to bring together people who do not agree on many issues. In fact, sharing Eucharist together at Lambeth will be bishops who disagree passionately on such vital issues as abortion, war, capital punishment, the invasion of Iraq, the ordination of women, the literal interpretation of the Bible, and many others. Somehow Mr. Williams has decided that these diverse individuals can come together "for spiritual reflection, learning, sharing and discerning." However he seems to have decided that an individual whose views on relationships differ from some of his fellow bishops somehow cannot come together with the rest of the bishops for these important activities.

I'm trying to lay aside my personal feelings, based on the fact that my daughter is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New Hampshire. As her mother, I have had the occasion to meet and talk to this bishop on several occasions, and have found him to be a person who is willing to listen to people who disagree as well as those who agree with him. In fact, another Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New Hampshire told me in a private conversation that several other American bishops wanted to boycott Lambeth in support of the bishop of New Hampshire, but the bishop of New Hampshire asked them not to. It seems he is so committed to inclusion that he is willing for his friends and supporters to include themselves in a group from which he is excluded.

One of the reasons I am an Episcopalian (pledging member of an Atlanta congregation) is that the archbishop of Canterbury does not function as a pope. He is not the unquestionable ruler of all things having to do with the Anglican Communion. I also understand he is a human being with his own strengths and weaknesses. However, it seems to me that a person who has risen to the high position he occupies in one of the world's major faiths might make choices more in line with the traditions and values of the communion he heads.

In peace,

Marcia King

St. Bartholomew's, Atlanta