The New Era has begun
Archbishops from around the Communion gather for procession into Canterbury Cathedral. Those in the back row include Global South Abps. Mouneer Anis, Egypt and Jerusalem; Ian Ernst, Indian Ocean, Nathaniel Uematsu of Japan and Steven Than Myint Oo of Myanmar.Take a look at the bulletin if you really want to see what the service was like. Most of the Archbishops of the Communion were in attendance, garbed in rochet and chimere, not cope and mitre. One was missing, but there was no indication who. A special meeting was held between Abp. Justin (as he prefers to be called) and the Global South archbishops was scheduled after the installation. To my knowledge, no one bolted or boycotted and they were addressed specifically by Canterbury during the ceremony, noted below in the news release. And so, the new era has begun. The Roman Catholics have installed a new Pope who is winsome, charitable and a Jesuit. His instant popularity was solidified by his unequivocal enunciation of orthodoxy. Abp. Justin came to Canterbury after a 5 day prayer procession through England. He was greeted by enthusiastic crowds at each of the 5 stops. His professions to the crowds and to the press prior to the installation were second-guessed immediately after utterance. Both men have a gargantuan job ahead of them to still the waters of controversy and dissent and get on with the business of making disciples. May God give them the wisdom, strength and courage to do just that! Cheryl M. Wetzel]
- View from the 3rd floor bridge behind the altar into the sanctuary. Abp. Welby is in front of the altar with Abp. of York John Sentamu.
Archbishop Welby enthroned in Canterbury Cathedral
Posted On : March 21, 2013 11:59 PM |
By ACNS staff Anglican Communion News ServiceThe Most Revd Justin Welby was today enthroned as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in a service that celebrated the diversity of the Anglican Communion.
More than 2,000 people from around the world gathered in Canterbury Cathedral for a celebration marked by traditional elements of Anglican worship blended with contemporary music, vibrant Ghanaian dancing and African drums, a Punjabi hymn and a blessing spoken in French.
Guests included clergy from across the Church of England; and lay people including the UK’s Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron. A host of ecumenical guests were present including well-known US megachurch pastor and author Rick Warren, a friend of Archbishop Welby. All but one of the Anglican Communion Primates had travelled to Canterbury for the inauguration and the members of the Standing Committee were also present.
The event saw the Archbishop installed as both Bishop of Canterbury—by, for the first time in history, a female Archdeacon—and Primate of All England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is also the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
After working their way up the cathedral, Dean Robert Willis “seated” Archbishop Welby in the Chair of St Augustine. Tradition dictates the Archbishop is then blessed by the senior Primatial Archbishop (by length of service in office) from around the Communion. This was Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Burundi, the Most Revd Bernard Ntahoturi.
The Archbishop of Canterbury then publicly committed himself to the service of the Anglican Communion, “that together we may proclaim the Gospel of Christ, who reconciles us to God and breaks down the walls that divide us.”
He began his inaugural sermon by saying, “We are an international community…” and went on to speak of the need to recognise Jesus as the Son of God. Heeding the call of Christ, he cautioned, involves taking risks and as a result, “the Church suffers.”
He turned towards all the Primates of the Communion and said, “I look at the Anglican leaders here and remember that in many cases round the world their people are scattered to the four winds or driven underground — by persecution, by storms of every sorts, even by cultural change. Many Christians are martyred now as in the past.”
Following the sermon, five representatives from the Communion presented gifts symbolic of their home regions. The Bishop of Jerusalem Suheil Dawani presented a wooden cross; Ms Adele Finney of Canada shared the gift of water; Mrs Real Kewasis of Kenya brought packets of bread and milk; the Revd Peter Koon, provincial secretary of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, presented a picture of rice shaped in the form of his province; and the Revd Desire Mukanirwa of the Democratic Republic of Congo brought a wooden carving of a volcano to express the desire for peace.
Members of the Anglican Communion not only participated in the cathedral service, but also via TV and radio. Dean Willis invited those in the cathedral and also those “sharing in this service in your home to pray with me in the words that Christ our Lord has taught us, saying each in our own language, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven…’ ”
Reconciliation was a dominant theme noted by Standing Committee member Bishop Ian Douglas who said, “The theme of reconciliation came through in the music and the work of the Anglican Communion was clearly evident. In Jesus all our differences are reconciled and our vocation is to be agents of reconciliation and not to be afraid.”
The Revd Dr Sarah Macneil of Australia, also on the Standing Committee, said the service was, “fantastic and it was wonderful to be involved. I loved to see the young people and the Communion so affirmed.”
One of those young people was Evangeline Kanagasooriam, a 17-year-old student from Canterbury, who greeted the Archbishop as he entered the cathedral with three questions: Why he had come? Why had he been sent? How he had come among the gathering?
The Archbishop responded by talking about seeking grace, proclaiming the love of Christ and saying that he had come “knowing nothing except Jesus Christ.” Evangeline, whose family is part of the worshipping life of the Cathedral, said afterwards she felt very privileged to be able to take part in the service.
Bishop of Malawi, the Rt Revd James Tengatenga, Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, spoke of the importance of the service to the Communion and of the key role the new Archbishop will play throughout the world.
The Revd Canon John Peterson, president of the Compass Rose Society, commented that there was a “wonderful sense of a new beginning centering on the theme of reconciliation. Nothing,” he added, “could be more important.”
Out of our own traditions, and into the waves’: the Archbishop of Canterbury’s inaugural sermon
Posted On : March 21, 2013 8:06 PM
Jesus Christ calls us to step outside the comfort of our traditions and places ‘and go into the waves’, the Archbishop of Canterbury said today in his inauguration cermony at Canterbury Cathedral.
Preaching to 2,000 people inside the cathedral and millions more watching and listening around the world, Archbishop Justin said that fear imprisons us and stops us from being fully human.
Drawing on the story of Christ beckoning the disciples to leave the boat and walk across the waters, the Archbishop recalled Jesus’ words: “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.”
On the day of his inauguration – which he acknowledged helped him sympathise with Peter’s ‘fear and trembling’ – Archbishop Justin said that “our response to these words sets the patters of our lives, for the church, for the whole of society.”
Sermon at the Inauguration of the Ministry of the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Portal Welby
Canterbury Cathedral, 21st March 2013
(Commemoration of Thomas Cranmer, Feast of St Benedict)
Ruth 2:10-16; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Matthew 14:22-23; “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”, Matthew 14:27
To each one of us, whoever and wherever we are, joining us from far away by television of radio, or here in the Cathedral, Jesus calls through the storms and darkness of life and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”.
Our response to those words sets the pattern for our lives, for the church, for the whole of society. Fear imprisons us and stops us being fully human. Uniquely in all of human history Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the one who as living love liberates holy courage.
“If it is you tell me to come to you on the water” Peter says, and Jesus replies “come”. History does not relate what the disciples thought about getting out of a perfectly serviceable boat, but Peter was right, and they were wrong. The utterly absurd is completely reasonable when Jesus is the one who is calling. Courage is liberated, and he gets out of the boat, walks a bit, and then fails. Love catches him, gently sets him right, and in a moment they are both in the boat and there is peace. Courage failed, but Jesus is stronger than failure.
The fear of the disciples was reasonable. People do not walk on water, but this person did. For us to trust and follow Christ is reasonable if He is what the disciples end up saying He is; “truly you are the Son of God”. Each of us now needs to heed His voice calling to us, and to get out of the boat and go to Him. Because even when we fail, we find peace and hope and become more fully human than we can imagine: failure forgiven, courage liberated, hope persevering, love abounding.
For more than a thousand years this country has to one degree or another sought to recognise that Jesus is the Son of God; by the ordering of its society, by its laws, by its sense of community. Sometimes we have done better, sometimes worse. When we do better we make space for our own courage to be liberated, for God to act among us and for human beings to flourish. Slaves were freed, Factory Acts passed, and the NHS and social care established through Christ-liberated courage. The present challenges of environment and economy, of human development and global poverty, can only be faced with extraordinary courage.
In humility and simplicity Pope Francis called us on Tuesday to be protectors of each other: of the natural world, of the poor and vulnerable. Courage is released in a society that is under the authority of God, so that we may become the fully human community of which we all dream. Let us hear Christ who calls to us and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”.
The first reading we heard dates from the time of Israel before the Kings. It is the account of a Moabite refugee – utterly stigmatised, inescapably despised – taking the huge risk of choosing a God she does not know in a place she has not been, and finding security when she does so. The society Ruth went to was healthy because it was based on obedience to God, both in public care and private love.
Today we may properly differ on the degrees of state and private responsibility in a healthy society. But if we sever our roots in Christ we abandon the stability which enables good decision making. There can be no final justice, or security, or love, or hope in our society if it is not finally based on rootedness in Christ. Jesus calls to us over the wind and storms, heed his words and we will have the courage to build society in stability.
For nearly two thousand years the Church has sought, often failing, to recognise in its way of being that Jesus is the Son of God. The wind and waves divided Jesus from the disciples. Peter ventures out in fear and trembling (as you may imagine I relate to him at this point). Jesus reconciles Peter to Himself and makes the possibility for all the disciples to find peace. All the life of our diverse churches finds renewal and unity when we are reconciled afresh to God and so are able to reconcile others. A Christ-heeding life changes the church and a Christ-heeding church changes the world: St Benedict set out to create a school for prayer, and incidentally created a monastic order that saved European civilisation.
The more the Church is authentically heeding Jesus’ call, leaving its securities, speaking and acting clearly and taking risks, the more the Church suffers. Thomas Cranmer faced death with Christ-given courage, leaving a legacy of worship, of holding to the truth of the gospel, on which we still draw. I look at the Anglican leaders here and remember that in many cases round the world their people are scattered to the four winds or driven underground: by persecution, by storms of all sorts, even by cultural change. Many Christians are martyred now as in the past.
Yet at the same time the church transforms society when it takes the risks of renewal in prayer, of reconciliation and of confident declaration of the good news of Jesus Christ. In England alone the churches together run innumerable food banks, shelter the homeless, educate a million children, offer debt counselling, comfort the bereaved, and far, far more. All this comes from heeding the call of Jesus Christ. Internationally, churches run refugee camps, mediate civil wars, organise elections, set up hospitals. All of it happens because of heeding the call to go to Jesus through the storms and across the waves.
There is every possible reason for optimism about the future of Christian faith in our world and in this country. Optimism does not come from us, but because to us and to all people Jesus comes and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. We are called to step out of the comfort of our own traditions and places, and go into the waves, reaching for the hand of Christ. Let us provoke each other to heed the call of Christ, to be clear in our declaration of Christ, committed in prayer to Christ, and we will see a world transformed.
ENDS
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