Lambeth Conference Spouses' Program
Bishop John and Gayelene Harrower in Canterbury Cathedral. Photo Samuel Dow
Sign outside Canterbury Cathedral. Photo Gayelene Harrower
Bishop John and Gayelene Harrower thanking guests for attending the luncheon! Photo Samuel Dow
Thank you
I must mention three intimate visits which I will always remember with much gratitude and profound spiritual uplifting.
These were:
A night-time candlelight evening prayer visit to Canterbury Cathedral with John and a small group where we could visit and pray in various parts of the silent, majestic cathedral, (including the original crypt).
Secondly, a time in an afternoon when John and I were able to pray in the beautiful St Gabriel's Chapel (set aside at this time only and specifically for Lambeth bishops and spouses for prayer.)
The Chapel was in the original crypt of Canterbury Cathedral and contains rare 12th century wall paintings that once covered the whole crypt ceiling. It was humbling and awe-inspiring to be able to kneel and pray in a place that has seen over 900 years of prayer and worship.
Finally, it was a memorable gift from God for me to have the French Huguenot Chapel opened especially for me one afternoon so that I could privately kneel and pray there, and thank God for my own Huguenot ancestors who left France and found religious sanctuary in the Channel Islands before migrating to South Australia in 1852.
I thanked God that since the 16th century Huguenots have found sanctuary and their own place of worship within the walls of Canterbury Cathedral - and, indeed, French speakers and Huguenot descendants still worship there every Sunday afternoon.
I wish to formally thank the Diocese of Tasmania for encouraging and enabling me to attend the Lambeth Conference and to receive the spiritually uplifting and encouraging time that God had prepared for me.
God bless you all, Gayelene Harrower