Lambeth 2022: Is white privilege making the calls?
By David Goodhew, Covenant:
Amidst the heated comments of western bishops against reaffirming the 1998 Lambeth Conference’s resolution on sexuality, it is vital to remember how much “whiter” this Lambeth is than most recent Lambeth conferences. At Lambeth 2022 western churches hold influence out of all proportion to their size. Western bishops would be horrified to admit it, but their influence is a classic case of white privilege.
I am not always a fan of the language of “white privilege,” but it is certainly discernible here. Eight Episcopal dioceses in the USA have fewer than 1,000 people in church on an average Sunday as of 2019 (there are more “micro-dioceses” now). In 2019, the diocese of Northern Michigan claimed 385 attended its churches on an average Sunday — that’s fewer than a good many individual Anglican congregations. This cannot be serious. And these micro-dioceses are, mostly, led by white bishops…
…The Anglican Communion has created the equivalent of the “rotten boroughs” of 18th century England, where tiny numbers of electors could send people to parliament, whilst millions were disenfranchised. In Anglicanism, every bishop is equal — but some are much more equal than others.
This means that the Lambeth “calls” have no validity. Lambeth 2022 is like Lambeth 2008. It cannot speak. The whole Communion has not gathered since 1998. And if the mostly white bishops of Britain and North America try to get their way, despite the white privilege so operative at Lambeth 2022, there is a serious possibility that 1998 will turn out to be the last gathering of the whole Communion.
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