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January 14th, 2008

Lambeth Conference 2008

drawing bishops at Lambeth

Before Christmas I said that I had one or two announcements to make. Well, here is one of them.

The Anglican Communion Office have invited me to take on the role of ‘Cartoonist in residence’ at the forthcoming Lambeth Conference and I have said ‘yes’. My role will be to draw events at the conference as they develop. These drawings will then be displayed by various means including the internet. I will have a visible presence (unlike my usual non-visible sort) around the conference campus and will get to go to some of the meetings. We haven’t decided upon all of the details of all of these things yet.

Some background information: The Lambeth Conference happens every ten years, and about 800 bishops are invited. The 2008 conference is from the 16th July to the 4th August 2008 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, although the various bishops will be in the UK by at least the 10th of July when the ‘hospitality’ part starts. This is when different English, Scottish or Welsh dioceses host the delegates and, one imagines, provide them with sandwiches. There is then a retreat at Canterbury Cathedral before the programme on the University campus begins. The Spouses’ Conference runs alongside the one for Bishops and is for spouses.

I am very excited by this prospect. I am most definitely pro-Lambeth and pro-Archbishop-Rowan, and so it is a great privilege to be asked to be involved. I will be practicing my drawing between now and then and may even get some new pens. It is certainly a rather daunting prospect, but hopefully I’ll be OK. A planned new easel will be a help.

As you’ll remember I made a comment back in September about the ‘Marketplace’ at the conference and how brilliant it would be to have a stall. Well, I am pleased to say that I will indeed have a stall, though I will be asking other people to run it most of the time. I am fortunate in having one or two people who have agreed to help me, though I may need to recruit one or two more. I have not decided exactly what the stall it will have on it yet. One or two books perhaps. I may set aside a little colouring table for bishops and others to use between meetings.

I will of course have more to say about this over the coming months. Such posts will be gathered together here on the blog in a specially convened ‘Lambeth 08‘ category. Something will probably be said officially by the Lambeth organisers at some point, but in the meantime I am free to talk about it.

Additional information for visitors

These are some of the other Anglican events that I have done drawings about:

Also, for people who have surfed in, perhaps via the internet: The pages with my blog posts and cartoons about Anglican goings-on might be of interest, as my pages of church-related cartoons.

48 Comments »



This is a single Cartoon Blog entry, posted by Dave on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm.

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48 Responses to “Lambeth Conference 2008”


  1. Rhys says:

    Blimey. Congratulations Dave.

    Oh, and I’m told you’ll get bonus points at the Lambeth Conference for making bishops actually pose for the handstand cartoon.

  2. Christian says:

    Dave, this is amazing. What an incredible privilege. Wow. Well done.

  3. Pam says:

    Well done, Dave.
    The last Lambeth conference included a garden party at Buckingham palace, so you might be able to go to that, too. Spouses were invited to wear national dress, so it was quite a colourful occasion. Opportunities for cartooning there, I’d have thought.
    (Just to be clear – I don’t have episcopal connections, but my husband was a clergyman in Canterbury diocese at the time, and we were invited to help make up the numbers for the garden party.)

  4. Farli says:

    That sounds very cool. Good luck with it!

  5. joe says:

    Great!

  6. David says:

    Dave, congratulations. This is fabulous news. Well done indeed.

  7. Ann says:

    woohoo — I would help at the stall but the commute is a killer.

  8. nicthevic says:

    Wow! First a TV channel. Now this. What comes next? Dave for president. You know it makes sense

  9. Rhys says:

    Pam – at the last lambeth conference reception 1998 at Buckingham Palace Prince Andrew hosted it and his only question was – “why that shade of purple shirt?”

    Spouse’s conference the last time 1998 presumably from a certain continent wanted to discuss Polygamy but were told they couldn’t.
    hey ho

    on a personal level fantastic – just like the jester at court in medieval times except there were no computer or blogs and you won’t have your head cut off or burnt on a stake – well not near Canterbury or the rest of the UK anyway.

  10. Simon says:

    Many congrats – did you get a proper embossed invite, or did the office just ring and ask if you had a couple of free days? I hope it was the former, difficult to stick a phone call on the mantelpiece.

  11. Sarah B says:

    Wowsers! Congratulations my friend! You do deserve it. So will you be sitting there with a big sign saying OFFICIAL CARTOONIST or will you be needing a variety of disguises to get some really exclusive sneaky peeks!

    I am so LOVING the idea of there being a colouring table for the bishops.

    How do you spot an episcopal spouse? hmmm

  12. RecusantRector says:

    Very good news David. As the producer of the only clear explanation of the Windsor Report, I am counting on you to produce the only clear explanation of a) any Lambeth communiques we might be subject to and b) the Anglican Communion.

  13. Miffy says:

    Congratulations, Dave! I love the idea of a Bishops’ colouring table. Is this to be part of their ‘naughty corner?’ Subtle ref to the Windsor Report cartoon here.

  14. Simon Boswell says:

    Well done Dave! Not that I can imagine anything interesting going on there…

  15. Michelle Capen says:

    Very cool and most excellent! Have a good time!

  16. Penny says:

    Congratulations!

  17. Canon G says:

    It may well be that Lambeth will be the most fecund venue for cartooning in western civilization (as we know it) this entire year.

  18. Sam Norton says:

    It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy! Definitely the best news today.

  19. Mark Bennet says:

    So additional invitations are still being issued …

    Congratulations, this is really good news.

  20. Tractor Girl says:

    Well, if you need some help on the stall I know somebody quite reliable who lives on the bus route to Uni of Kent and who will also be on their summer vaccation for a good part of the relevant time with little else to do ;)

  21. Tractor Girl says:

    Ooh and what I should have also, more importantly said, was congratulations

  22. si says:

    nice one, dave!

  23. David Keen says:

    Great stuff, well done, I’m looking forward to Lambeth now, and before today I wasn’t.

  24. Bishop Alan says:

    Go Dave! Colouring table sounds like a great idea — Sunday School Kids evenge for all that colour and stick. How about a kind of Peking Wall, too, for scurrilous visual comment? It could generate ideas as well as providing a kind of running commentary…

    This is excellent news. Many congrats.

    as ever

    Alan

  25. Ian says:

    How Wonderful!!!

    Congratulations Dave. I look forward to seeing your work.

  26. Steve Hearn says:

    Great, you will blow them all away! Just shout if you need any more help, I shall be drawing live at a few wedding fairs soon, in & around where we live, come and see me in action with the easel, OK?

  27. Philip of Samaria says:

    Good work. Be prophetic Dave, they need you

  28. Chris Clark says:

    I think you should return to your roots and insist that the Lambeth conference takes place in Lambeth not UKC.

    I think you should arrange “The alternative Conference” and if The Palace is not available then the bishops should be on the street practicing “The Walk”.

    Congrats Dave, richly deserved, I just hope you don’t turn into a latter day war artist :-(

  29. Phelim McIntyre says:

    So who will be brave enough to publish your cartoons then Dave? Congrats for this.

  30. Arti says:

    Many many congratulations from me too! I love the idea of a colouring table as well! Maybe you could extend it to allow people to make a “creative expression” of some of the themes of the conference and their response to them! Kind of cardboard, ribbon, crepe paper and string a an abstract view of their current feelings. Could be very therapeutic – and interesting!

  31. Aaron Orear says:

    Congratulations, Mr. Cartoonist- to-the- Ecclesiastical- Stars! I join the others here in happy anticipation of the results.

    Do look out for my bishop (by that time retired), Bp. Ralph Spence. He’s big and boisterous an will doubtless provide loads of material for you. He’s been tapped as the ABC’s enforcer…I’m hoping he gets to wear a badge and carry a bobby’s baton.

  32. Chas says:

    And congratulations from me, too! Well done!

  33. jody says:

    this is brilliant, you are brilliant, all is brilliant and well with the world ;-)

    seriously, I’m so glad that your talent and satirical comment has been valued, yay!

    x jody

  34. veritas says:

    Viva Cartoonists! Cartoonists of the World Unite! Viva “the dullest blog in the world”. I think I’ll stop now!

  35. Steve says:

    Wow, that’s impressive. Good work Dave, looking forward to seeing the fruits of your commission. If it’s in a similar style to the Windsor Report cartoon, I might even understand what’s going on too.

    So how will the bishops’ colouring table work then? Will they get a book of your old cartoons to colour? What other creative pursuits do you reckon they’d be up for? Personally, I think bishops doing balloon modelling would be a beautiful thing…

  36. Richard Greatrex says:

    Dave
    Many congratulations. As one of the team who ran the bookstall for Lambeth 1998 (for SPCK, remember them?), I have many fond memories of the event. I reckon you’ll have an almost Greenbelt experience (Purplebelt? Purplestock?. Most of the time most of the bishops were great to talk to and the worship space was very peaceful although always busy.

    I hope you take a load of purple crayons (the right shade of purple…). Have fun.

  37. Phelim McIntyre says:

    With the demise of a certain chain of book shops (or which the ABofC was the patron) who will be running the Lambeth bookstall this year? Anyone know?

  38. Richard Greatrex says:

    Phelim

    It is Wesley Owen. Under the auspices of Rachel Franklin (ex-SPCK Leeds). They are now the ‘Anglican Store’. And making a good, though not perfect, job of servicing the strange and peculiar thing that is the Anglican Church.

  39. Mark Bennet says:

    Rachel was excellent when I was in Leeds – almost bankrupted me – I miss my visits to the shop now I’ve moved.

  40. Phelim McIntyre says:

    Cheers for that Richard. Mark – working in the Chichester shop almost bankrupted me.

  41. Katharine @ CMP says:

    Dave,
    Many congrats indeed, well deserved. As a former supplier to that aforementioned ‘former bookshop chain’, well done Rachel for manning the stall. Didn’t think that it would be run by SSTG!! Any chance that our CDs could be part of the stall? Or is that a bit cheeky?

  42. Daniel says:

    Congratulations, Dave, a singular honour.

    Make sure to take plenty of purple pencils for the colouring table.

  43. rain says:

    sorry I’m late – just got here…and wanted to send a *HUGE* congratulatory high-five your direction! wonderful! :) i’m looking forward to viewing your interpertation through your pen :)

  44. Lambeth Conference of Bloggers says:

    [...] When it comes to the Lambeth Conference, the only person that I can think of who has an invitiation, whom I could unequivicably say I believe should be there is Dave Walker. I’ve no doubt the whole affair (if it takes place) would be better with him there than without him. [...]

  45. Launch of the Lambeth Conference » The Cartoon Blog by Dave Walker says:

    [...] Lambeth Conference 2008  43 rain, Daniel, Katharine @ CMP, Phelim McIntyre, Mark Bennet, Richard Greatrex [...] [...]

  46. Greg the Explorer says:

    A bit late on finding this out and to send you my congratulations – but hey congratulations

  47. taffy davies says:

    You are a star! I was the cartoonist in residence at the Canterbury Diocesan Conference a few years ago… it was fabulous and terrifying, all rolled into one. All the best – I love your work in the CT by the way. Thrive and prosper, you deserve to.

  48. Dave says:

    Taffy,

    Thank you – your kind words are much appreciated. I might need to contact you for some advice!

    Dave