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LAMBETH CONFERENCE FUNDING
Following the news that the recent Lambeth Conference ran at a deficit of £1.2m, the Board of Governors of the Church of England’s Church Commissioners and the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England agreed to make available to the Lambeth Conference Company (the body given responsibility for managing the Lambeth Conference 2008) up to £600,000 each as required to enable the company to honour its commitments "while fundraising efforts continue". At least at this stage, both bodies regard the amounts as "interest free loan facilities".
However, should the Church of Ireland be approached to contribute some funds towards the £1.2m shortfall, it should not rush to join in footing the bill because what the shortfall points to is a serious level of mismanagement. It is the height of financial irresponsibility to run a massive international conference venture without being sure that the necessary finance is in place. Furthermore, the Church of Ireland some time ago already contributed €10,000 to the bursary programme for those attending the Lambeth Conference, in addition to paying the Church of Ireland participation costs. While there is no doubt that the conference was a highly valued experience for those involved, the Church should think very carefully - and in terms of wise stewardship - before making out another cheque to the Lambeth Conference Company. Indeed, the facts that Lambeth 1998 ran at a £1m surplus and Lambeth 2008 ran at a £1.2m deficit together suggest that the financial planning is not thorough enough.
One possible way in which the company might approach this serious shortfall would be to add it to the cost of the next Lambeth Conference, and to ask the Churches of the Communion to start now to contribute to the funding of Lambeth 2018, cutting back on the expense of that meeting by scheduling it for one and a half weeks only, as opposed to following this year’s two and a half week pattern. Indeed, there have been calls for a Lambeth Conference in five years’ time, or possibly regional meetings as opposed to a global one. However, the traditional 10-year gap provides a good period for the Churches to experience new developments and changed situations and, furthermore, bishops are already in ample contact with the different Churches throughout the Communion and engage in extensive travel to other Communion-wide, and ecumenical, meetings.
Certainly, before the Church of Ireland sends more money to the Lambeth Conference Company, there should be very careful consideration about how much it might be prudent to donate and the Church should receive both a full explanation of the shortfall and the assurance that the same will not be allowed to happen again.
As the Olympic Games continue in Beijing, events surrounding the Games have raised the profile of the issue of the denial of certain human rights in China. There has been some improvement in recent years and, indeed, some Church of Ireland links with China have grown. However, the human rights problem is still far from resolved and prisoners of conscience remain in prison in China; others, for conscientious reasons, are under house arrest and yet others are in hiding.
However, stopping in Thailand on his way to Beijing, US President George W. Bush said of the Chinese government’s human rights violations: "Change will come. It will be clear for all to see that those who aspire to speak their conscience and worship their God are no threat to the future of China."
Dennis Wilder, a White House National Security Council official, was reported by The Guardian newspaper as saying that Chinese President Hu Jintao, in discussions with President Bush, had "seemed to indicate that the door is open to religious freedom in China and that in the future there will be more room for religious believers".
The newspaper commented: "Bush’s trip to Beijing has been a balancing act, taking in the Olympic Games and praising China on a variety of issues, while publicly nudging China to improve its internationally criticized record on human rights."
Speaking outside Kuanjie Protestant church which he attended, Mr Bush said that "it just goes to show that God is universal, God is love and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion". However, it later transpired that a well-known Christian social activist, Hua Huiqi, had been arrested by the police on his way to the church, according to news released by the China Aid Association.
Despite the degree of progress, there is still much to be done in terms of bringing a more satisfactory human rights situation in China and the glamour of the Olympic Games should not obscure that reality for anyone. We are familiar with freedom, but it is not so for too many people. It is to be hoped that the Chinese government will recognise that not only do conscience and worship, as Mr Bush said, not threaten China’s future, but in fact those values can only serve to enhance its future.