Starting Again

Well they're off... once again! Today signalled the actual opening of the real conference. Not the retreat conference, which ended yesterday. This morning we all went down to the Cathedral once again and got to see the Archbishop actually by his big stone chair! (i.e. - The chair of Saint Augustine - the actual cathedra). I'll readily admit that I'll probably never see another ceremony as opulent as that one, not that it was over the top or even all that extravagent, but the sheer number of people/religious leaders, from both the Anglican communion and beyond was astounding. Stepping onto the grounds was like stepping back a few centuries. As soon as we were inside, the police shut the large outer gates and we were left in the tranquility of the courtyard.
The stewards were placed by the north transept, so we were right next to the quire, which was super neat, except for the fact that Canterbury Cathedral was built, I'm convinced, in order to prevent anyone from ever seeing all of the service, as my fellow steward, Luiz, pointed out today. There's a mini wall, right in front of you if you're seated in that area, so I basically watched the tips of croziers wandering by and saw the rest on the TV screen in front of us. The service was nice, and despite what anyone says, I personally heard nothing but good things from those leaving the cathedral. I've included a link to the BBC page, but I have no audio, so I don't know what was said. All I have to go on is friends' testimony as to Archbishop Venables' statements. From what I've heard, they paint a very different picture from what I saw on the inside of the church. The Melanesian brothers in particular had everyone clapping, they're always an exciting group.
This afternoon there was another plenary describing certain processes involving the Windsor report, the Covenant draft and the discussions to come in the next two weeks. The Archbishop gave a quite succinct presentation and encouraged everyone not to abandon the conversations.

Well, I'm off for tonight. Morning prayer starts at 6:30, so I'm up early!

Bonne nuit a tous!
Nick.