Dear people of the Diocese of Southwest Florida,

I spent some refreshing time recently with the deacons of our diocese at their annual retreat. I want you to know how honored I was to share prayer and reflection time with them. I heard many powerful reports of vital diaconal ministry that continues to unfold in our midst.

This issue of The Southern Cross provides some helpful insights into the ministry of the diaconate. I am so pleased that we have such healthy models of servanthood present within our deacons. I ask you to hold them in your prayers.

I also write to remind you of the 2008 Lambeth Conference that I will be attending this summer in England. The Lambeth Conference is the gathering of bishops from the Anglican Communion that meets together once a decade at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This conference will be held from July 16 to Aug. 4 at the University of Kent.

The House of Bishops received a report from a member of the Lambeth Conference Design Group. We were told: “The goals for the Lambeth Conference articulated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Design Group are twofold. They are: to equip bishops to be more effective leaders in God’s mission and to strengthen the Anglican Communion.

In particular, it is expected that at the end of the conference the bishops:

1. Will feel spiritually reinvigorated.
2. Will have a deeper knowledge of each other and also of the challenges that are faced in different parts of the world.
3. Will be more aware of the resources, spiritual as well as material, that God gives them to face those challenges.
4. Will have a greater understanding and appreciation of our life in the Communion and of the meaning of collegiality.
5. Will continue addressing the internal conflicts of recent times.
6. Will discover a new level of trust in our common service in God’s mission.
7. Will have a greater understanding of the special contribution that Anglicanism can make to the different families of churches in the world.

The bishops will gather in small groups and in larger groups for Bible study, reflection and discussion. There are 10 topics that have been identified for the Lambeth Conference:

1. Anglican identity
2. Evangelism
3. Economics and social justice: The Millennium Development Goals
4. Ecumenism
5. Environment and the sustainability of creation
6. World religions
7. Gender and violence
8. Biblical interpretation
9. Human sexuality
10. Anglican Covenant and Windsor processes

The bishops from the Anglican Communion have been asked to study the Gospel of John in preparation for the conference. We will then study it together at Canterbury. I invite this diocese to also study the Gospel of John as a way to participate in and encourage the Lambeth Conference. The bishops are using John — The People’s Bible Commentary by Richard A. Burridge as a preparation study aid. This may prove an edifying resource for members of this diocese as well.

Please hold me in your prayers as Mary Ellen and I make preparations for the Lambeth Conference. Pray also for Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops of the Anglican Communion. I believe this will be an important and grace-filled Lambeth.