Stepping Forward on the Pilgrim Way

I am delighted to be with you today and to be able to share in this great celebration. The theme I have chosen is that of `Stepping Forward on the Pilgrim Way'. We live in exciting and yet disturbing times at present in the Church of England and, this diocese has, I know, not been immune from them. How then can we step out in faith and seize those opportunities that God is presenting to us?

A sense of expectancy is, I know, not something that is shared by everyone. But that is nothing new. Two hundred years ago Bishop Butler was invited to become Archbishop of Canterbury. He declined, stating that he believed it "too late to try to support a falling Church". Looking around our country today we will discover a number of his successors. Some are in the Church - some are outside it - but their common concerns are prophecies of gloom and despondency. They delight to make predictions of imminent mortality - and lap up any pessimistic statistics that become available.

Their meat and drink is to predict that the Church of England has had its day - and ignore the statistical evidence showing that many of our congregations are growing numerically and also that we are actively addressing the serious issues confronting us.

Now I am not for a moment underestimating the challenges that face us at present. They are considerable, and require bold, imaginative, spiritual responses of the kind you are making. What I do want to take issue with is any understanding of the church that leaves God out of the equation. Yes, the Church is a human institution - with all the fallibility, weakness and contradictions that entails. You will certainly never find a perfect Archbishop of Canterbury or ever a perfect Bishop of Guildford. But it is never merely a human institution. It has been created by God himself - we are his church - and woe betide us if we lose sight of that fact.

Our Gospel reading just now emphasised that. We are God's people sent out by Jesus to do his work.

So, as we gather here today, to step forward afresh in faith, I want to issue a call for recommitment in three areas of our life as a Church. None of them are new. All of them you will have heard before. But they are vital if we want to step forward on the Pilgrim way into God's future.

We need:

• A Recommitment to a Serving God.
• A Recommitment to a Saving God.
• A Recommitment to a Renewing God.

1. A Recommitment to a Serving God

Jesus delighted to apply to himself those wonderful words from Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor." Those words too should define our mission as he commissions us and send us out to follow in his steps.

The Lord's servant is one who not only preaches the Good News but also puts it into practical action and that is a pattern for us to follow. The poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, those who mourn - all these and many more besides benefit from the ministry of the servant. Because it is God's mission he defines its parameters. His mission includes physical, spiritual and mental regeneration. One word sums it up for me - it is holistic. I mean by that that it relates to the whole of life.

It is holistic because it includes all people of every race, colour language and culture. One of the greatest privileges of my present calling is to be able to travel widely in different parts of the Anglican Communion. As I do so I am constantly amazed by the richness of our Communion. Aspects of worship vary widely though much of the Content is very familiar; buildings vary from huts in the middle of a jungle to our great Cathedrals; sometimes the language is English - at other times Arabic, French, Creole, Chinese or Swahili. What is so heart-warming is to see the huge variety of peoples and cultures in our Communion. As St Paul writes, "In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." All belong together and because the Gospel is holistic it is for us all.

It is holistic too because it relates to the entirety of human needs. Wilberforce was right when he saw that his faith had to be expressed both in denouncing the slave trade and through sharing the Gospel with others. Sadly there have been times in Church history when evangelism and social action have been seen as being totally separate things. One group can knock on doors and speak of Christ, whilst others can run a toddlers' club or raise money for a third world charity. I am glad this perception of separation is being challenged. As many of you will know I visited the Sudan last year. The scale of the suffering that the Sudanese are experiencing is almost beyond comprehension. One of the bishops spoke movingly of the connection between preaching the Gospel and ministering to people's physical needs. He quoted an African proverb: `Empty stomachs have no ears'. When people see love in action, they begin to hear the music of the words we utter. It is no good seeking to hive off `Evangelism' into a clearly defined little box, kept well apart from Mission, sitting in another one. As the Bishop's Council have rightly stressed in their Mission Statement, these two aspects of our faith belong together. They are a seamless robe and the Gospel will not allow the savage surgery which splits off social care from good news preached.

That is part of a holistic approach - but it is not all there is to it. It is also clearly seen in the faithful work and witness of many parishes and clergy. Pastoral care too is a part of God's holistic mission and it is to that mission that we need to recommit ourselves today.

Secondly, we need to step forward through

2. A Recommitment to a saving God

In many ways this follows from a commitment to God's holistic mission. His vision is one that encompasses the whole of society - not just those with religious inclinations. The anointing of the Servant by the Holy Spirit is for service not just to the Church, but to the world.

One of our failings in recent years is that we have tended to concentrate overmuch on internal matters. Our priorities have often been church centred perhaps with survival as their focus. But we need to move beyond survival and beyond mere maintenance. The gospel is for everyone.

As we look at our society, indeed at any society, we are reminded of our need of the Christian faith. Much has been written recently about the decline in moral values. We live in a society which is losing touch with its traditional religious and moral roots. It is confused and struggles to make sense of what it believes. Individualism and relativism have seeped deep into our culture. Knowledge `about' has outstripped knowledge `of'. We know the price of everything as someone once said, but the value of nothing. `I shop therefore I am' is fast becoming a watchword of our day and, in that climate, it has become very difficult to construct a sense of common purpose around an ethic of service to others. Yet one of the urgent tasks we have - not only the Church of England, but with our sister churches - is to bring the Gospel into our civic culture and to support all those seeking to bring Christ's values into their place of work.

Hence, as a Church we must not become small-minded. I am very concerned that the ways we treat those who rarely if ever come to our services should reflect the fact that the Gospel is for them as well as for you and me. Perhaps there is one word we need to recover these days in representing the richness and very heart of our Christian faith. It is the word `generosity'. The generosity of God who gives his own life for the world and who continues to give himself abundantly. So don't build too many barriers around Church life. Don't make the finer points of doctrine a reason for closing doors on people whose understanding of faith may be woefully inadequate. It may be that risk-filled love and acceptance could unlock lives in which God is as yet a stranger.

If I may give a personal illustration, I remain immensely grateful that the Church to which my parents took me to be baptised in not turn them away on the grounds of their non-attendance on a Sunday. It was a generous Church that received them and perhaps the Vicar perceived the flickering faith they had. Years later, that act of generosity on his part bore fruit both in my own life and in the lives of several other members of my family. We must beware of introducing policies that sound theologically correct but which fail to encompass the humanity and spiritual aspirations of those whom we serve. Our model should be that of the servant in Isaiah who does not "break the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax".

Our commitment as the Church of England is to the people of England. It is something I cherish. And we should never limit our mission to one section of society. Ours is a faith for all people everywhere. Like some other faiths, it is a missionary faith and, whilst seeking at all times to maintain friendly and courteous relationships with members of different faith communities, we should not be afraid to speak of our own beliefs with respect, tolerance and sincerity.

Thirdly, as we step forward, so we need

3. A Recommitment to a Renewing God

That passage in Isaiah looks forward expectantly to God's future. A future shaped by God. A future into which he has breathed new life. Here suffering people find hope; tears are turned to joy; sacred buildings, presently in ruins, become alive once more as God restores the glories of Israel. Of course, our situation is different. We cannot simply identify our Church or Nation with the people of Israel. But what doesn't change is the fact that God can breathe new life into individuals and communities. He can make dry bones live again.

Let me offer two illustrations of situations which were changed through expectant faith. I think of the tiny church I visited when I was Bishop of Bath and Wells. The congregation was rarely more than 20, though even that was impressive considering that the hamlet itself had only a very few houses. They needed £80,000 for urgent repairs to their roof and building. I remember going along to a harvest supper and I encouraged them to seek ways of making their building more open and welcoming. When I went to launch the Appeal my heart sank. It seemed such an impossible target for such a tiny group of people. Yet I found a real confidence in God and a determined group of people led by an enthusiastic lady church warden. I moved to Canterbury but 18 months later a triumphant letter came that announced that the Appeal was finished - they had raised over £100,000. It was a courageous act of faith and reminded me of the power of God to confound us.

Or I think of the visit I made to the Coptic church in Egypt just before I went to the Sudan. That Church has undergone an astonishing renewal over the last 20 to 25 years. Central to that resurgence of faith are two remarkable men, Father Mattu and Pope Shenouda. Father Mattu is a monk. He rarely goes outside his monastery, which, when he became Abbot 25 years ago only had 6 or 7 monks. He then opened it up to parish groups for retreats and spiritual renewal. His talks on the Bible opened up the scriptures to clergy and laity alike. The response was quite amazing. That monastery has grown into one that now houses 130 monks. If that spiritual renewal was at the heart of the resurgence, then Pope Shenouda is the human dynamo who energised it. He has raised the expectations of clergy and people. He has focused on the need for education and theological learning. He has launched Sunday Schools and Youth events. Many of the Coptic Churches in Egypt now have Sunday schools which would leave us gasping. One church I heard of has 450 Sunday School teachers! I believe there is a challenge from that Church to our own. I wonder if your Parish is focusing on the young as the Coptic Church is doing. If we do not have programmes for young people we are failing the Church both of the present and the future.

However, I am sure that many of you can tell your own stories of faith renewed, of lives touched and churches which have grown either numerically or spiritually. As the recent report `Signs of Life' showed, there are plenty of good stories of faith around and we should not be shy to tell our story of what god is doing with us and among us. The Springboard Team, which I got going just a few years ago, tell me how they are discovering a real thirst for God wherever they go and of people's lives being transformed through meeting with the risen Christ. Together with our sister churches in our land we have a ministry and a mission to all. We have nothing to apologise about - we have a faith worth celebrating and it is worth celebrating it together.

Let me as I close share three final thoughts with you, which express something of my vision for the Parishes and churches of this country.

First, we must increasingly aim to become "seven day a week" Churches. Such is the pressure on Sunday now, through commercial expansion, leisure opportunities and family commitments that if we allow Sunday to be the only day in which Christians gathered together, we shall find commitment to Christ diminishing. Sunday schools don't have to meet on Sunday! Bible study groups can be a focus for worship alongside our regular services on Sundays. Let us cultivate a vision of the Church as a body which reaches out with the holistic Gospel in a million and one different ways into the community and then make your Sunday activities significant elements within that wider programme.

Secondly, spirituality must remain the heartbeat of the Church. We are here, not to be alternative social agencies of care, but to be the body of Christ whose mission is to lead people to God. It was the Gospel which impassioned those who first preached the Good News here. That same Gospel, anchored in the love of God, is the fuel which will keep you burning through a thousand disappointments and discouragements. Maintain your joy in worship and deepen your knowledge in the love of God.

Thirdly, encourage one another and work closely together. The ministry is too important to be left only to the clergy. We need one another if the Gospel is to be shared. I saw in a parish magazine some years ago this sardonic message, that paints so graphically the dangers of becoming activity-based and reliant on just a small group of people.

`Our church has 576 members, but 110 live too far away to come regularly, so that leaves 466 to do all the work. 96 of them are young mothers, so that leaves 370 to do all the work. 75 of them are students at college, so that leaves 295 to do all the work. 115 are elderly and frail, so that leaves 180 to do all the work. 90 are important business people, so that leaves 90 to do all the work. 68 are Sunday School children, so that leaves 22 to do all the work. 20 say they have done their whack already, so that leaves you and me. I am exhausted - good luck to you'. Don't allow just a few to carry the burden. If it becomes a burden the Gospel won't shine through. We have to share the lead together.

I began with the pessimism that existed in this land two hundred and fifty years ago and the words of Bishop Butler. I do not want to leave you with the idea that I am dismissive of our problems. Of course not. We do have great challenges facing us, let us be in no doubt of that. But they are also challenges we can face and overcome together. Of course they will take us into a risk-laden future for Christ never promised that things would be easy. But the challenge is to see them from his perspective.

And that challenge must be meet by commitment - our commitment to a serving, saving and renewing God. I love these words of a former Bishop of Bradford, Geoffrey Paul: `There is no way of belonging to Christ save that of belonging to the glorious rag-bag of saints and fat heads who make up the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.'

My fellow saints and fatheads, God has entrusted to us his good news. As we step forward together on the Pilgrim Way let us capture afresh that great vision of cooperating with a holy and living God in love, hope and expectant faith, and let us go out this Trinity Sunday in the power of his Spirit to live and work to his praise and glory.