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
When George Floyd was murdered last year his last words were: I cannot breathe. Those words echoed around the world, summing up so many peoples experience of not having the space to be themselves, of being second-class citizens in someone else’s world. This is the antithesis of the belonging and the new humanity we have in Christ that the Christian faith declares. It is, therefore, a gospel imperative for the Church of Jesus Christ to oppose racism in all its forms, to prophetically call for racial justice, and to challenge the white hegemony which so often still controls the narratives of the world. Racism is a sin. Like all sin it must be confronted with a call to repentance and with the healing, reconciling promise of the gospel. Therefore, it was sobering and shameful for the Church of England to be confronted by the <em>Panorama</em> documentary last Monday evening with its own institutional racism and a number of shockingly specific instances where sisters and brothers in Christ have experienced racism in the Church of England. As you know, I was interviewed as part of that programme. I also speak as a member of CMEAC, the Committee for Minority Ethnic Concerns, where I have been privileged to work for the past eight years. There are things I said to the <em>Panorama</em> team which I wish had been included in the documentary, not least the clear condemnation of racism that I hope you are hearing clearly now. Nevertheless, I want to thank those who participated in the programme for their honesty and clarity. With Archbishop Justin, I want to emphasise our immediate response to the programme, which is that non-disclosure agreements should not be used except in the most exceptional of circumstances, and then only to protect the victim, not the reputation of the institution. We are sorry that this has not always been the case. You will also know that the Anti-Racism Task Force we set up last autumn published its inspiring, challenging, and – God willing – far reaching report on Stephen Lawrence day this week. It identifies five areas where urgent action is needed, namely – <ul><li>Participation, including appointments and shortlists for appointments</li><li>Education</li><li>Training and mentoring</li><li>Work with young people</li><li>Governance and structures…</li></ul> And some immediate things. Such as this Synod being encouraged to co-opt more ethnic minority members; establishing a Racial Justice Commission to look at our working practices, and hold the two of us to account; replacing CMEAC with a new standing committee of the Archbishops’ Council to oversee the work of the Racial Justice Directorate; and including ethnic minority clergy participant observers in the House of Bishops. In due course there will be a presentation and a discussion of all this at Synod. However, we couldn’t let this group of sessions pass without acknowledging the scale of the challenge and the call to action.So, I’m not standing here to defend our record. Nor am I saying everything will be ok. It won’t be, unless we take action. I’m saying that there is racism in the Church and it must be confronted. But no longer by words. We have to do something. We have to become the change we long to see. Both the Task Force and the Commission are now mandated to help us implement ‘significant cultural and structural change.’ It has our support. As Arun Arora has said: ‘Apologies and lament must now be accompanied by swift actions leading to real change. And as Graham Tomlin pointed out yesterday in a blog <em>Grace and Race</em>, ‘It is the gospel, not a secular agenda that drives the Church’s vison for racial justice so that the Church genuinely reflects and demonstrates the varied and multi-faceted wisdom and grace of God in Christ.’ I say this to you as a white man who has been on a long journey of learning, and still has, I’m sure, some way to go. But let me finish with a little story that radicalised me. Before I went to ordination training I worked at Saint Christopher’s Hospice in South London for a year. I was a ward orderly. I was the only white man on a team of amazing black women. We became good friends. They taught me a great deal. It was the time of the Brixton riots - only a couple of miles down the road. One of the women I worked with, Grace, was my partner on the Monday after the weekend riots. One by one, throughout the day, a succession of white men stopped her in the corridor and made the same demeaning joke, asking her whether she had been throwing bricks or smashing up bus shelters. Each time, she would patiently smile at their inappropriate joke. But in the afternoon, when a senior consultant made the joke for the umpteenth time, she snapped. She told this so-called senior man what she thought of his derisive humour. She stomped off. He turned to me and said – and I quote - “What is it with these people. Can’t they take a joke?” I took a deep breath. The deep breath that I can make as a privileged white man even though I was in a very low position compared to him, and I said that I’d been working with Grace all day and had been given the tiniest glimpse of the horrifying, persistent, degrading drip, drip of demeaning racism and how I was surprised she hadn’t snapped earlier and that he owed her an apology. The Church of England owes some of our sisters and brothers in Christ a much greater apology than this; and for much greater wrongs. But most of all we owe it to the nation we serve and to the God we love, that in this watershed moment – the week when George Floyd’s killer was brought to justice - we will now commit ourselves to change. For any of my own failings in this I am truly sorry. But let me remind you: one of our named strategic objectives is to be a diverse church. I’m determined to make that happen. Because it is a gospel issue. Because it is the theological vision of our belonging to one another in Christ that drives our mission. Because we all need to breathe. And because our facing this issue of racial justice is itself a movement of the Spirit breathing God’s life of unity and glorious God given diversity into God’s Church.
