Carey Tells Lay Leaders They Must Be Prophetic Witness in the World
Episcopal News Service. September 16, 1992 [92185]
Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey -- leading cleric of the Anglican Communion -- brought a powerful word of encouragement to laity of the Episcopal Church in his first public speech during a 12-day visit to the United States.
Speaking to about 300 lay leaders at a consultation in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Trinity Parish of Wall Street, Carey said that "it is the lay members who are unquestionably those with the keenest perception of the needs of our world -- and they have insights which the clergy would do well to heed. They have countless opportunities to make Christ known in the world."
Through the marvel of telecommunications, Carey's message was beamed by satellite to almost 6,000 Episcopalians gathered at 55 locations in 30 dioceses across the country. After his address, many participants asked questions to clarify the archbishop's position on the theme of the conference, "Values in Vocation: A Challenge for the Laity."
The Rev. Daniel Matthews, rector of Trinity, said that Carey accepted the invitation after a conversation at the World Council of Churches Assembly in Australia because it offered an opportunity for dialogue with the church's laity.
Carey argued in his opening address that the church does not affirm the role of laity in the world and said that, once they cross the threshold of the parish, "lay people are given jobs or responsibilities that bear little resemblance to their undoubted gifts." That is tragic, Carey contended, because the church "loses out on the very resources God has provided for the church's well-being and growth."
Yet Carey said the good news is that "lay people have been discovered," that "the church is waking up to the fact that its task is too big and too important to be left in the hands of the few -- especially the few whose training and experience is mismatched when set against many of the needs of today's world."
Carey went on "to challenge a theology and a history which automatically assumes that the center of Christianity is the church rather than the world." He reminded his nationwide audience that "Christ came to bring us a kingdom, not a church," and that the church "has been and must always be a vehicle of mission to the world so that many may be initiated and come into the kingdom."
Calling for a Copernican revolution that could include the "suspension of all normal church activities to enable a start from a wholly new perspective," Carey said that such a move would stimulate the church to look beyond survival as an institution to a role as "the church of Jesus Christ in his world." Such a radical rearrangement of the church's agenda means that the church would be concerned with helping its lay members in their "frontline" ministries in the world, he said.
"If at the end of this radical rethinking, it is a more streamlined church that emerges, then I can promise you that such a church -- which has turned itself inside out -- will be a truly prophetic church," Carey added.
The archbishop called on lay leaders to "exercise a royal priesthood as Christians in the world," one that "takes our Christian humanity seriously," that takes the gifts of lay people seriously, but also takes prophetic witness seriously.
"My conviction is that the church which is engaged with the world and its demands upon individuals and institutions will be able to support, encourage and equip not only those at the front line but also those who from time to time require first aid," Carey said.
Empowering lay people for their ministry in the world will require a radical change in attitude, Carey continued, and an acceptance that "the local church and its structures must come second to the needs of those serving Christ in the world and the real needs of the communities in which we live."
In a brief biographical film introducing the evening, Carey said that he was initially frightened by the increased role of the laity while serving a parish in Durham -- until he saw that the laity were liberating him for his own role.
Responding to questions from Oregon, Texas, Illinois, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, Carey urged laity to "begin where you are." He told of reading in a parish bulletin that "the church is not bothered by change -- as long as it doesn't make any difference." Carey expressed his hopes that American laity would change the church and, through their unique ministry, also change the world.
At a breakfast closing the conference, Carey stressed the partnership role of clergy and laity. Carey was joined by Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, who said that the key to lay ministry is "recovery of the power in the baptismal covenant." Browning said that the church makes a mistake "when it takes gifted laity and makes them clergy" because it denies the power of lay ministry in the world.
In response to a question from Dr. Louie Crew, founder of the church's ministry with gay and lesbian Episcopalians, Carey admitted that he was still personally struggling with the church's attitude toward homosexuals. He said that he found some guidance in "the pattern of our Lord when he dealt with people on the fringe," noticing Christ's "ability to cross frontiers." Carey concluded that "the church of Jesus Christ is a church of blurred edges" and he looked forward to the day when "we can live with our differences."
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