wfn.org | Religious Orders' Role as Lambeth Chaplains

["Lambeth98" <storm@indigo.ie>]

ACNS LC069 - 30 July 1998

Role as Lambeth chaplains helps raise visibility of Anglican
religious orders 

By E.T. Malone, Jr.
Lambeth Conference Communications

One of the most common questions put to members of Anglican
religious orders seems to be whether they even exist. 

"I had a woman actually confront me with the fact that she had
been an Episcopalian all her life and insist to me that we do not
have sisters," recalled Sister Rosina Ampah, a native of Ghana
living in the USA. Sister Rosina is a member of the Order of St.
Helena and part of the Lambeth Conference Chaplaincy Team. "And I
answered to her, 'But I told you that I am a sister.' And she
said, 'No, we don't have sisters.' And I answered to her, 'But I
am alive, I breathe, I am just right here in front of you.'"

The average person who sees a nun or a monk in a habit tends to
assume that she or he is a Roman Catholic. And these
misconceptions loom large as obstacles in the path toward more
general public recognition for members of religious orders in the
Anglican Communion, said Sister Rosina.

After the dissolution of the English monasteries by King Henry
VIII in the 16th century, monastic vocations were virtually
absent from the Anglican Communion for a period of nearly 300
years. Then, encouraged by the 19th century Oxford Movement,
Anglican religious communities slowly began to re-emerge.

Today there are nearly 100 orders in the Communion, with a
variety of ministries and charisms, to stand alongside those of
the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and other traditions within
Christianity. Exact statistics are unavailable, but there are an
estimated 200 Anglican monks and nuns in Canada and the USA alone

Telling the story of religious orders

Still, many Anglicans are unaware of their existence.

"The very fact that they don't know, and that they don't want to
accept it, that's what baffles my mind," Sister Rosina
complained. "We've been here for 10 days or more at Lambeth and
there are only a few people, I believe, who have any idea that we
are Anglicans."

This lack of recognition is part of the reason that Archbishop of
Canterbury George Carey invited members of religious communities
to join the chaplaincy team at the Lambeth Conference.

Also, "from the beginning the Archbishop made it clear that he
wanted prayer to be an integral part of the Lambeth Conference.
And these are people who live the life of prayer in a special
way," said Bishop Ted Jones, retired bishop of Indianapolis
(USA), and a chaplaincy team member.

The international group of religious began praying at the
University of Kent, the Conference site, on July 14. Its members
include Brother Alfred Boonkong, Society of St. Francis, from
Malaysia, currently living in Australia; Brother Anthony Michael,
Society of St. Francis, from the Caribbean, currently living in
the USA; Sister Catherine, Society of the Holy Cross, from Korea;
Sister Carol, Community of the Holy Name, from Derby (England),
currently living at Lee Abbey in Devon; Brother Martin Smith,
Superior of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, USA; Sister
Pamela, Community of All Hallows, from Ditchingham (England),
sacristan for the Lambeth Conference; Sister Rosina Ampah; and
Brother Samuel, Society of St. Francis, guardian of Hilfield
Friary in Dorset (England).

Senate Building offers center

At the Senate Building, location of the Conference sacred space,
the religious say the Daily Office, hold Bible studies, pray, and
offer counseling for participants. They also take part in special
events such as overnight vigils, fasts, and candlelight
pilgrimages. 

At the Lambeth Conference, said Sister Rosina, people have asked
her over and over if she is an Anglican. "But why do you think I
am here," she has answered. "So the assumption is, even though
they see us here, that we are Roman Catholics. They think we are
some kind of ecumenical visitors. I think it is very important
that they know we are Anglicans."

There are even Anglican hermits, she pointed out. "Their life is
prayer and communication with nature, and they visit their
communities perhaps only once a month."

Much education needs to be done so that people in local parishes
become aware of these orders and of the possibility for Christian
service within them, she said. "And when people learn that these
religious folk are Anglicans, the assumption is that they can
marry," she said. "The public needs to know that many Anglican
sisters and brothers also make lifetime commitments to celibacy,
poverty and obedience. A religious community is a religious
community. We take the same vows as the Roman Catholics. But the
assumption is that because Anglican priests can marry, that
Anglican sisters and brothers can marry. And that is not true,"
she said.

Educating the church

"We have a duty to educate the people, for them to take interest
in religious life, for them to learn a little bit of what this
life as a sister or brother is like," she declared, "so that they
know that we exist."

"Even after the dissolution of the monasteries, the memory of
monks and nuns persisted among English Christians," said Bishop
Jones. "But in North America there was a new society, and people
had never been exposed to the monastic movement. They saw it as
something that happened in faraway places, in Italy or Spain. The
spirituality of the USA was shaped by Protestants."

Recruitment of priests, especially among young people just out of
college, needs to be intentional, he said. "But monastic
discernment may be even more lengthy because of the vows one
makes. It's harder to recruit, but I've been supportive when a
mature person approaches me, and I put them in touch with
monastic orders. Some communities have summer programs in which
people can experience monastic life and explore possible
vocations. Most bishops would encourage a mature person but would
ask hard questions to a 22-year-old because of the ramifications
of monastic vows."

For further information, contact:

   Lambeth Conference Communications
   Canterbury Business School
   University of Kent at Canterbury
   Telephone: 01227 827348/9
   Fax: 01227 828085
   Mobile: 0374 800212

   http://www.lambethconference.org