Archbishop Justin Welby will be leading a diocese-wide mission on the weekend of September 24-27.This will be an opportunity for all parishes to focus afresh on evangelism. At the moment preparations are being made and clergy and congregations will be invited to explore how they can prepare to make the most of the Archbishop's visit and the ongoing support.
Half of the Book of Psalms involves lament. That tells us that God’s people have always had a lot to complain about; and it offers some time-honoured templates to help us direct our complaints first and foremost to God, to pour out the problems in our world and in our own lives to the One who is most disposed and most equipped to listen and to act. Often enough the lament ends with envisaging some constructive action – seeking the well-being of our opponents, setting a table to anticipate a meal with those we may fear, blessing a stranger. Progress is a myth. We <em>still</em> have plenty to lament – in ourselves, in our church and in our world. And still, we’re encouraged not to bottle it up, but to name it, articulate it, voice it. Individually and corporately, to God. <em>From Lament to Action</em> is the title of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce report published last Thursday. It names in no uncertain terms the causes for lament in our race relations in the church. We have talked the talk without ‘walking the walk’ for at least 40 years and 27 reports. I urge you to read it and to cry out in lament to God as you do so. And if our conviction - that we are all made in the image of God and that in Jesus Christ we are one - is to mean anything, then it is time for our lament to move us into action. For this we need to envisage a new future. Helpfully the Bible does this for us in the picture from Revelation– of every tribe and tongue and nation gathered around God’s throne, united in worship. It’s of the beauty of diversity orchestrated into harmony; of unity that is anything but uniformity. And with that picture, we are empowered to combat the sin of racism which so disfigures God’s image in us. The report offers 47 recommendations and a 5 year action plan through which we can demonstrate our repentance with changed behaviours. While these actions will be challenging and demanding, we can expect them also to be transformative. That is our business: transforming church, transforming lives. I cannot wait to be part of what lies ahead. Will you commit with me, both to lament and to action?<strong>Bishop Jo</strong>
The Archbishop of Canterbury has today launched a new film series that explores how Christians can cross divides in a complex and hurting world. The films unpack the themes taught in the Difference Course that was created by the Archbishop's Reconciliation Ministry team. The film series, ‘Faith in a Conflicted World’, features five videos in which the Archbishop teaches three habits based on the life and ministry of Jesus that reflect His call on us to be peacemakers. These habits form the central teaching of the Difference Course, which further equips Christians to put them into practice in their daily lives.In the films, the Archbishop reflects movingly on his personal experiences of conflict. These include his 2019 visit to the site of Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. The Archbishop prostrated himself on the ground on the site where hundreds of unarmed Indian civilians peacefully demonstrating for independence were shot and killed by British troops in 1919.Recalling that moment, the Archbishop says: “As I went to the foot of the memorial, I really wanted to be anywhere else, because it was so shaming and so horrible. And I was a senior Brit in these circumstances and that was all focussed on in on me as a symbol of that history. And so the only thing to do was to lie down, prostrate myself before the memorial, as a symbol of sorrow and grief, of being present with those hundreds who were killed.” The Archbishop also reflects on when he first trained for ministry, part of which was spent on placement at a hospital where the chaplain’s report stated a need for him to “learn to be present with those who are suffering”. He goes on to share: “Like most of us, I shy away from suffering. Being present is just a difficult thing to do, but it’s a reality.” The first habit explored in the films is ‘Be Curious’ - seeking deeper understanding by listening to the story we don’t know. The second is ‘Be Present’ - engaging authentically in our encounters, even when this is different or difficult. And the third is ‘Reimagine’ - inviting God to deepen our hope and expand our vision, finding hope in the places we long to see change.Speaking about the series, Archbishop Justin Welby said: “I’m delighted to launch this film series. When we look around our world today, it may seem like reconciliation is an unrealistic proposition. But it is precisely when conflicts and divisions feel insurmountable, that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence.”“That does not mean that reconciliation and peacemaking are easy, nor that they are quickly achieved. Reconciliation is a journey: a long and rocky one, and few of us reach its destination in this lifetime. But it is a ministry that Jesus gives to us, and for that reason it is an indispensable part of Christian discipleship. Through learning and adopting the habits that we see in the life and ministry of Jesus, we too can at times get a glimpse of what Christ meant when he said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ I pray that this film series, and the Difference Course, serve as inspiration for people to explore their calling as peacemakers.”Kiera Phyo, Director of the Reconciling Leaders Network for the Archbishop, said: “We hope the film series ‘Faith in a Conflicted World’ will inspire people about the potential and possibility of being peacemakers in pursuit of a just and flourishing world.In a world which is hurting and fractured there is a need for divides to be crossed in new and reimagined ways, as we see in the life of Jesus. Both the film series and the recently launched Difference Course equip people to practically live this out in their everyday relationships and encounters, teaching three habits rooted in scripture: Be Curious, Be Present and Reimagine.”Created by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciliation Ministry team at Lambeth Palace, Difference offers a five-session course that explores following Jesus in a complex and divided world, seeing transformation through everyday encounters.The Difference course is designed for online or in-person church-based groups, both large and small.The ‘Faith in a Conflicted World’ videos were recorded at Lambeth Palace in October 2020 in accordance with all relevant social distancing rules at that time. The series is half an hour long in total. <strong>To find out more and sign up to receive the 'Faith in a Conflicted World' film series, visit the Difference website. </strong>
Tuesday marks the centenary of the birth of the Rev John Stott, widely acknowledged as one of the most influential Church of England figures of the 20th century. His light did not diminish. In 2005 Time magazine ranked him among the 100 most influential people in the world.Who was John Stott (who died in 2011), and why is he relevant today? It would be easy to pigeon-hole him as a typical product of white, privileged, Oxbridge Anglicanism. His father, Sir Arnold Stott, a self-confessed agnostic and a Harley Street doctor, was appointed physician to George VI’s household in 1946. The Christian influence came through his mother, Emily “Lily” Stott, who attended All Souls Church, Langham Place, opposite the BBC. Stott graduated with a double first in French and theology from Trinity College, Cambridge, before training for ordination. In 1950, aged 29, he was appointed rector of All Souls. In the years that followed, he developed a global reputation as a preacher and Bible teacher. He wrote more than 50 books published in 65 languages.Stott believed that people reject Christianity not because they think it is false, but because they consider it irrelevant. And it was irrelevant because it didn’t listen. “The contemporary world is positively reverberating with cries of anger, frustration and pain. Too often, however, we turn a deaf ear to these anguished voices . . . The better way is to listen before we speak.”Stott’s listening extended beyond his tribe, theological tradition, and culture. He had a global outlook. He listened to the voices of Christians in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, who grew enormously during his lifetime. The experience changed his theology, not least regarding social activism in mission. Stott was the principal author of the 1974 Lausanne Covenant, which served as a rallying call to the evangelical church to engage in social activism.In 2006 he said: “My hope is that in the future, evangelical leaders will ensure that their social agenda includes such vital topics as halting climate change, eradicating poverty, abolishing armouries of mass destruction, responding adequately to the Aids pandemic, and asserting the human rights of women and children in all cultures. I hope our agenda does not remain too narrow.”Stott set out to destroy the myth of the sacred-secular divide, the idea that some parts of life (church services, praying, reading scripture) are important to God, but everything else (work, the arts, science, sport) is “secular”. “We must not marginalise God, or try to squeeze him out of the non-religious section of our life,” he wrote. Similarly, Stott was committed to the “liberation” of the laity, recognising that while clergy had a crucial job to do, so did lawyers, industrialists, politicians, social workers, scriptwriters, journalists, and homemakers.Stott’s appeal lay in his authenticity. He did not want power or status. He was unassuming and lived simply. He gave his wealth away. “Pride is without doubt the greatest temptation of Christian leaders,” Stott said in 2006 during a visit to the US. “I’m very well aware of the dangers of being fêted and don’t enjoy it, and don’t think one should enjoy it.”He delighted in seeing others succeed. In his extensive travels, he encountered outstanding young scholars with no means of continuing their studies. So, back home, he set up the Langham Partnership to help gifted students from the “Global South” to earn doctorates abroad and then return to teach in theological seminaries in their home countries.Towards the end of his life, he was asked by a friend of mine what he would change if he had his time again. Stott considered the question carefully before replying: “I would pray more.” Given that he woke each day at 5am to pray, this might seem like the last thing he needed, but his understanding of prayer reflected his wider understanding of God, the world, and himself. “Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending his will to ours,” he wrote, “but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his."It’s against the spirit of our age to imagine that someone born a century ago can be contemporary, still shaping the culture of the moment. Stott was. And his writing, vision, and authentic life could not be more relevant, or more needed, in the modern age.Paul Woolley is CEO of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
