I am the fifth bishop of a diocese set to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
I am the fifth bishop of a diocese set to celebrate its 40th anniversary. I offer that information to remark on the context of where I stayed last night after the lengthy trans-Atlantic journey. Rose castle is the residence and office of the bishop of the diocese of Carlisle. The current bishop, The Rt. Rev Graham Dow, is the sixty-sixth bishop of the diocese established in the twelfth century. Rose castle was first constructed in the 1300’s and was destroyed by Robert Bruce in 1322.
The Hospitality Initiative included Bishop V. Devasaham from the Diocese of Madras of the Church of South India; Bishop Eraste Bigirimana from the Anglican Church of Burundi; and Bishop Alexander Wandag from Santiago, Isabela Province in the Philippines. We enjoyed each others company and discussed the upcoming Lambeth Conference, the nuances and distinctions of our respective churches, and heard Bishop Dow‘s reflections on his diocese and previous Lambeth experience.
This morning we were all collected by various clergy members who are our hosts for the next several days. I am now staying at the vicarage of St. Mary’s – Westfield, Workington. It is a shore line community that was formerly economically driven by coal mining and steel mills. I will preach at St. Mary’s in the morning.
On the way to our various host sites we all gathered at a farm in the stunningly beautiful Lake District area. We learned from two brothers who work with sheep and dairy cattle of their very distressing experiences of the hoof in mouth epidemic that caused the destruction of so much livestock in 2001. I remember the media reports of the time. Today I learned first hand of the emotional burden that the disease unleashed on these fine people. With pain in their eyes they spoke eloquently about the issues of food security, farm labor shortages, and the need for societies, both local and global, to pay attention to realities of agrarian life. They were quite emphatic about the perils of ignoring our human food chain constructs. I was blessed by meeting them and having my eyes and heart opened by their words and sensitivity to human need. It was also heartening to hear how effective the local church community was in ministering in such dire circumstances. When the voice of livestock was completely silenced, the voice of the Christian praying community was actively raised.
