Canterbury

by Sally Hastings
Bishops' Spouses Communication

The use of violence to enforce religious beliefs was denounced by Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in an address to the Spouses' Programme at the Lambeth Conference, Monday, July 27.

Giving a keynote presentation, "Together in God's Mission: The Vocation of the Anglican Communion in the 21st Century," Archbishop Carey said, "We are often told 'religion is a cause of the problems. Just look at what is going on in the world today between religious groups, whether in Northern Ireland, the Sudan, or the Middle East.' But I reply, you will not find true believers killing people or blowing up houses or injuring others."

The Gospel is about peace, he continued. "Anglicans have made a fine contribution to making peace and building bridges between communities." He added that the Anglican Church is a rich, international world church on its way to becoming "a Communion."

"But we shall only become a real 'Communion' when we learn the lessons of sharing the suffering, the pain, and the distress of one another; the poverty and the denial of justice; along with the sharing of our riches and resources."

After visiting the Sudan, Archbishop Carey returned home burdened by what he had seen but frustrated that there was so little he could offer immediately. He called for the setting up of a crisis fund. "I began an appeal and raised £400,000 within a few weeks and sent money to the Church. But I should not have had to do that, even though I was glad to do so. If we really are a Communion, we should have structures to assist one another," he said.

He spoke of his initiative, the Anglican Investment Agency, which he described as a simple but imaginative way the Communion can use the huge funds of the developed churches to help the developing churches.

He also referred to the "scandal" that so few provinces of the Anglican Communion pay their full contribution to the Anglican Consultative Council's (ACC) budget.

"Should we not return home from this conference to our provinces and say that our dues to the ACC budget must be paid because we weaken the Communion by our reluctance to give?" he asked.

The presentation included Peter William's video footage of Archbishop Carey in Mozambique and spot photos by Jim Rosenthal of Anglican World magazine.

Focusing on the vocation of the Anglican Communion in the 21st century, Archbishop Carey said that the church was already learning that it must welcome people, care for them, ensure that they feel at home in worship, and relate the Anglican faith to the needs of people outside. Growing churches are welcoming, with lively worship, Archbishop Carey noted. "Services can be a lot brighter and more interesting than they often are. They need to be culturally relevant to the people we minister to," he said.

Archbishop Carey also encouraged Anglicans, particularly those in the West, to be less apologetic about being spiritual.

"The world wants us to speak of God, to speak of our faith, our love of God, and the meaning of life and death," he said.

Posing the question, "What is distinctive about the Anglican Communion?", Archbishop Carey said, "We have never claimed that we are the final form of Christianity or that we are a perfect Communion. What we have claimed is that we are both 'catholic' and 'reformed.' Anglicans are also 'earthed' and 'anchored in real life.'"

He argued that Anglicans have never been comfortable just preaching the Gospel, but have always endeavoured to live it and put it to work. As examples, he listed the five particular forms of ministry in which the Church has been active:

• healing, including setting up hospitals and clinics;
• education, schools, colleges, training and teaching programmes world-wide;
• empowerment and helping people to help themselves through development work;
• conflict resolution and protesting against all that dehumanises people or strips them of their human rights; and
• compassion for the weak.

"'By their fruits you will know them,' said our Lord to all who follow him. We are there among the poorest of the world and we are glad to be," Carey said.

Carey also paid tribute to the role of women, noting that "women are the natural 'priests' of the home; they are at the epicentre of family life; indeed, the family swivels around the mother." He added, "But women can also be natural evangelists and the transformers of society with their gifts of relationships and their connections in the community. I want to encourage these gifts for the sake of the kingdom."

A video featuring work by women in India, produced by Colleen Samuels, brought to life the Archbishop's praise for women's ministry. He added his thanks "for the support you give your bishop partners; thank you for the sacrifices you have made, and for the way you support and help us."