The Anglican Communion (of which St Ursula's is a part) has inclusiveness programmed in its genes. Throughout its history the question has been how far this inclusiveness will stretch and the current troubles that were to the fore at the time of the Lambeth Conference are just the latest instance. In many ways St Ursula's is a microcosm of this picture.
We can look at this more positively and rejoice in the breadth which can be a source of strength. To do this, however, we need to ask how we live together with all our diversity.
We can learn to tolerate each other. But this is a rather negative virtue, expressed in the words of a song as "you in your small corner and I in mine". It allows people to rub along together and may make for a quiet life, but it does not require us to try to understand where others are coming from. It does not challenge us to re-examine our own position in the light of the experience others may wish to share with us. It does not encourage us to imagine we might be changed as we consider why some people are sustained by things that leave others cold.
In his addresses at Adelboden, Canon Roger Wikeley reminded us that we are called to be pilgrims, not tourists. The latter observe the sights and customs of the places they are visiting. They may find them quaint or they may complain that they are not what they have at home. The souvenirs they bring back may well end up forgotten and gathering dust in a cupboard. Pilgrims, on the other hand, embark on the journey expecting to be changed by the experience. This includes the experience of travelling with (not just alongside) others, as well as what they find at their destination. Roger quoted from T.S. Eliot's poem "Little Gidding" (and I shall use another quote from the same poem in the teaching series on worship starting this month):
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Can we achieve this in practising inclusiveness as we live together with the rich diversity God has given us at St Ursula's?
This is not a call to vote for motherhood and apple pie but something more disturbing - to accept that we can actually learn from, and be changed by, the gifts and insights God has chosen to give to someone else.
Peter