By Stephanie Taylor
“But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as was scattered. If you have ears, pay attention!” (Matthew 13:8-9)
In The Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells of how the sower’s seeds fared according to where they were sown. Those that were not sown with care in the right conditions did not bear fruit – they were eaten by birds; scorched by the sun; withered for lack of root; or were choked by thorns. The fate of the seeds that fell on good soil was very different, bringing forth much grain.
Parables help to paint a picture, to tell a story, in a way that we can instinctively begin to understand. They are memorable; they can change our perspective and help us to make thoughtful connections with our own actions. They are analogous in nature with their etymological root deriving from the Greek words for “to cast or throw alongside”. That is, they were intended for us to make comparisons and to understand a higher truth in a simple narrative, and ultimately to be inspired to action.
As Information and Knowledge Manager at the Anglican Communion Office, I find storytelling, analogy, and painting a memorable mental picture can be useful tools to communicate and enthuse about information and information sharing. I am passionate about the potential of information to empower, connect, and make things happen.
I am also acutely aware of the barriers and challenges to this. Information and technological literacy and access can vary hugely; we live increasingly busy lives, and the nature of information and communication has changed. We are overwhelmed and overloaded with information; in a world where information is plentiful it can be increasingly difficult to find what we need when we need it. The famous saying of ‘not being able to see the wood for the trees’ comes to mind.
Information can also be a dry subject or thought of as a bureaucratic exercise and yet, if managed well information can be so powerful.
I recently had the honour of addressing the conference of the Provincial Secretaries of the Anglican Communion and opened my presentation with the Parable of the Sower. I shared my vision of information as a small seed from which great things can grow.
For information to be effective it must be useful, shared, and well managed. As in the parable, information will only bear fruit, if the seed is used appropriately and is well tended. My message to the Provincial Secretaries was to sow their seeds of information in the rich, fertile soil of the Provincial Directory where it would be well tended and would grow into something much greater.
The Provincial Directory is a unique web resource providing key information on and contact details for the provinces of the Anglican Communion. This includes: primates, provincial secretaries and treasurers; dioceses, cathedrals and bishops; companion links; theological colleges, religious communities and mission agencies.
The Directory is used in a myriad of ways including for communication - as an essential tool for the Anglican Communion News Service and Anglican World quarterly magazine, and as a tool of reference for the media worldwide; for connection - to contact member Churches to offer greetings, prayer and support, to arrange meetings, conferences and dialogues, and share information; for action - to facilitate mission, advocacy, and the bonds of affection; and for prayer via the Anglican Cycle of Prayer which takes its data from the Provincial Directory.
Such a body of information requires a truly global partnership, a partnership which enables us to create something much greater than the sum of our parts; a synergy, deriving from the Greek for working together; or to return to the Bible: ‘A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body... Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body.” 1 Corinthians 12: 19-20; 27.
Right from its very inception, information and communication has been at the heart of the mandate of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC). The functions of the ACC as outlined in resolution 69 of the 1968 Lambeth Conference instruct the mandate to share information; to advise; to develop; to encourage; to help in the dissemination of information; to keep in review; to promote enquiry and research. Information and knowledge are at the very heart of these functions. They are the foundation and building blocks. They are the small seed from which great things can grow.
Through the Provincial Secretaries conference I have been able to forge friendships with and learn from brothers and sisters from around the Communion. Following the conference there has been a huge increase in information shared via the Provincial Directory. Delegates also told me how useful and beneficial the presentation had been; how much they had learnt about the work of the Anglican Communion Office. The Revd Canon Samitiana Jhonson, Provincial Secretary of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean said: “It was such an uplifting moment to be able to meet you all as a person and to listen to your passion and mission in God's vineyard.”
It was an enormous privilege to be able to share this mandate for information and to inspire and encourage by telling the story of the power and potential of information for the work of the Communion. We are doing nothing short of bringing forth the Kingdom of God; and telling the Good News. We are working together for the harvest.
In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)
It reminds me of the saying “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow” and so it is with information – we plant the seed and from it something much greater can grow. Who knows what someone could do with a little piece of information; who knows what God can do.
Stephanie Taylor is Information and Knowledge Manager at the Anglican Communion Office. Bible verses have been taken from the Contemporary English Version (CEV).