Presiding bishop preaches at St. Paul's Cathedral in London
Episcopal News Service – London, England. July 25, 2010 [072510-01]
Matthew Davies
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori challenged those attending Sung Eucharist at historic St. Paul's Cathedral here July 25 to be "ready, willing and able" to speak out and take action against the world's injustices and indignities.
"Prophetic work is about more abundant life for the whole world, and it is about a home everywhere, a home for all," she said during her sermon for the feast of St. James. "Prophetic work is about challenging human systems that ignore or deny the innate dignity of all of God's creation … We lose our dignity when we tolerate indignity for some … The work of the cross is the most life-giving journey we know. Are you ready, willing and able?"
The motto "ready, willing and able," she explained, is used by the Doe Fund, a New York-based organization that helps to transform the lives of those affected by homelessness, poverty, poor education, alcoholism and drug addiction.
There is a human tendency, she said, "to insist that some are not worthy of respect, that dignity doesn't apply to the poor, or to immigrants, or to women, or Muslims, or gay and lesbian people."
Jefferts Schori underscored injustices in the Philippines, where religious and human rights activists frequently are the victims of political killings.
"The search for dignity is work that all members of Christ's body share," she added. "We're invited to join the band of prophets, share the meal and drink the cup. It can be dangerous work, but most prophets I know are also filled with joy." [The full text of the sermon is available here. A video stream of the sermon is due to be posted online here.]
The presiding bishop preceded her sermon by offering thanks for the Rev. Canon Lucy Winkett, canon precentor at the cathedral, whose ministry, she said, has "had an impact far beyond this place." Winkett, who enjoyed a career as a professional singer before entering ordained ministry, is well known in the United Kingdom as a writer and public speaker on a variety of issues dealing with culture, gender and music.
Music during the service included Mozart's "Great" Mass in C Minor, performed by the St. Paul's Cathedral Consort and the City of London Sinfonia and conducted by Andrew Carwood.
Following the service, Jefferts Schori greeted members of the congregation, which included a visiting group from Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, Texas.
Jefferts Schori is visiting London to attend the July 23-27 meeting of the Anglican Communion's Standing Committee. While she was preaching at St. Paul's, other committee members attended Eucharist at Westminster Abbey.
On July 23, Standing Committee members visited the Treasures of Lambeth Palace Library exhibition, which is displaying several historic manuscripts and documents, among which is the commissioning document for the construction for St. Paul's Cathedral.
The current cathedral -- the fourth or fifth to occupy the site since AD 604 -- was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. "Its architectural and artistic importance reflect the determination of the five monarchs who oversaw its building that London's leading church should be as beautiful and imposing as their private palaces," the cathedral website notes.
During its first two days of closed-door meetings at the Anglican Communion Office in London, the Standing Committee formally welcomed Canon Janet Trisk of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to replace Nomfundo Walaza, who resigned in 2009.
A press release from the Anglican Communion Office announced that the constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council, the communion's main policy-making body, has now been replaced by the new ACC Articles of Association following their formal registration by the U.K.'s Charity Commission.
The articles clear up some of the membership issues that had existed with the former constitution and enable the Standing Committee to fill the vacancies of its ACC members and provide "maximum flexibility in ensuring a balance of region, gender, and order…"
Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut will continue to serve on the ACC but as the episcopal representative for the Episcopal Church. Douglas had initially been elected to serve as the church's clerical representative on the ACC but has since been elected a bishop.
The Standing Committee also elected an ACC member to fill the vacancy left by Diocese of Iran Bishop Azad Marshall, who resigned in June. "That person will be contacted and, if and when that person agrees to serve, the name will be made public," the release said.
The committee noted the resignations of archbishops Henry Orombi of Uganda, Justice Akrofi of West Africa and Middle East President Bishop Mouneer Anis "and agreed that its response to them would express regret that their voices would be missed and that the committee's work was diminished when it lacked a range of opinion as well as full representation."
The committee discussed the decision by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to remove Episcopal Church members serving on the communion's ecumenical dialogues.
"The committee was assured that the archbishop had not acted unilaterally but with the support of the secretary general of the Anglican Communion; that they had acted within their powers; and that the action had not been punitive in intention," the release said. "Rather it had been taken -- following the breaking of the agreed moratoria -- in response to the needs of the communion in respect to ecumenical dialogues and faith and order bodies."
Williams had proposed in his May 28 pastoral letter that representatives currently serving on ecumenical dialogues should resign their membership if they are from a province that has not complied with moratoria on same-gender blessings, cross-border interventions and the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the episcopate. He specifically referred to the May 15 consecration of Los Angeles Bishop Suffragan Mary Douglas Glasspool and the unauthorized incursions by Anglican leaders into other provinces. Glasspool is the Episcopal Church's second openly gay, partnered bishop.
The decision affects five Episcopal Church members serving on Anglican dialogues with the Lutheran, Methodist, Old Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as one member of the Inter-Anglican Standing Committee on Unity, Faith and Order, who has been invited to serve as a consultant.
At least two other provinces have been asked to clarify the current situation regarding same-gender blessings and unauthorized incursions.
The committee continues to meet through July 27 and its agenda includes "finance, mission, the Anglican Relief and Development Alliance, evangelism and church growth, and unity, faith and order including the progress of consideration of the Anglican Communion Covenant by the provinces," an earlier ACO release said.
The Standing Committee usually meets annually but has met biannually for the past three years. It oversees the day-to-day operations of the Anglican Communion Office and the programs and ministries of the four instruments of communion -- the archbishop of Canterbury, the ACC, the Primates Meeting, and the Lambeth Conference of bishops.
Updates and resources regarding the Standing Committee meeting are available here.
The current members of the Standing Committee are:
- Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (chair)
- Archbishop Philip Aspinall of Australia
- Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church
- Archbishop Barry Morgan of Wales
- Bishop Paul Sarker of Bangladesh
- Bishop James Tengatenga of Central Africa (ACC chair)
- Canon Elizabeth Paver of England (ACC vice chair)
- Bishop Ian Douglas of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church
- Anthony Fitchett of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
- Dato Stanley Isaacs of the Province of South East Asia
- Philippa Amable of West Africa
- Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe of Ceylon
- The Rev. Canon Janet Trisk of South Africa