Notes on the Day of Prayer and Reflection 2002
After the day some notes were written up by the AOCM committee. We present them here for those who didn’t make it.
The Archbishop Of Canterbury’s Message To The Ordinands And Candidates For Ministry Assembled At Birmingham Cathedral, Candlemas 2002.
It is both a privilege and a challenge to be called to the ordained ministry of the Church. This Day of Worship and Reflection gives all of you who are taking part an opportunity to celebrate this calling and to renew your commitment to it. Ministry in today’s Church and the Church of the future will be full of challenges, joy and tears. I hope that this event will help you explore some of these challenges, find encouragement from each other and be an occasion of spiritual blessing and renewal.
In bringing together staff and students, both Anglican and of other Churches, from all parts of the British Isles, the Day will be a celebration of shared convictions within a diversity of traditions. By meeting today in places owned by other denominations, and by welcoming those from outside the Anglican Church who train alongside our own candidates for ministry, the gathering also points to the fact that the challenges that face us have increasingly to be met at an ecumenical level.
May God bless this day of celebration and praise, reflection and fellowship.
+ David Hope, The Archbishop of York’s message:
“Please be assured of my prayers for all of you on this special day as we celebrate Christ the Light of the World, acclaimed by Simeon, and whose light we seek to reflect in the ministry to which God has called us. I hope the day will provide you all with the opportunity to learn from each other, as you come to recognise in a deeper and richer way the one ministry and one mission to which you have been called; I hope it may also celebrate the distinctive and diverse traditions within the Anglican Church, which can be so enriching and provide for the spiritual needs of the people within the parishes to which we are called in service.”
The Revd Dr Jane Shaw, “Gender And Authority”:
Outlined historically what she described as the ‘ebb and flow’ of attitudes towards women within the church. She stated that throughout history the church allowed women to be heard and to take positions of authority and leadership only to get ‘cold feet’ and to move back towards a position influenced by the prevailing culture seeking to silence and restrict them. Dr Shaw described how this pattern could be seen from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians through to the Act of Synod in 1993 as a long line of such reactions to the full inclusion of women in ministry and positions of authority.
Dr Shaw described how she felt that it should be a person’s gifts rather than their gender which should be the basis of selection for ministry and positions of authority within the church. Women had long served the church as Deaconesses and lay pastoral minister prior to 1987 and 1994, yet their many gifts and achievements went unrecognised and were not fully capitalised. She pointed out that in the selection process for the new Archbishop of Canterbury 50% of the possible candidates (i.e. women) were automatically excluded and that the next Archbishop, whoever he is, is most likely to have been trained for ministry only alongside other men.
Dr Shaw announced that she had been commissioned to write an article ‘What are the priorities for the next Archbishop of Canterbury with regard to women?’ for the Guardian newspaper which would appear in two weeks time and that she had warned Rowan Williams (sitting next to her) who introduced the session that she would be speaking about this! She stated that the next Archbishop should be more aware of the wider Anglican Communion and that the average Anglican is now black, African and female. Dr Shaw called for special provision to be made to allow such people access to theological training and that this should be a major concern for the new Archbishop. She also stated that it should be a priority for there to be more women Bishops (we should not stop at saying that we have one or two and that is enough) and, importantly, there should be a woman Archbishop within the Anglican Communion.
‘Plenary Session’ [by Edward Martin]
Dr Shaw also appeared in the ‘Question Time’ plenary session alongside other speakers Nicky Gumble, Robert Beckford, Rowan Williams and David Houlding.
She spoke of her opinions regarding variety in the church, the openness of its structures, the extent of its inclusivity, theological training and her understanding of ordained priesthood. To the final question ‘What do you find hopeful about the Church of England?’ she replied by saying “2000 women priests doing a fantastic job!”
The Revd. Prof. A. E. McGrath spoke on the topic of spirituality and Christian ministry (”Loving God with Heart and Mind: The Role of Spirituality in Theological Education”) [by The Rev. Oliver Crisp (chair of the workshop)]
His main concern was with the problem that ordinands seemed to have in integrating their faith experience with their study of theology at college, and the ongoing ramifications this had for their personal spirituality in their subsequent ministries (a common problem). He addressed this question by looking at several figures in the tradition who might be markers or models of how to develop a spirituality, including Thomas A Kempis and Isaac Watts. After a brief survey of these figures, he opened the seminar to discussion and comment from the floor. The idea being, that ordinands could share their own ‘good practice’ and struggles in faith, for mutual encouragement and edification of those present at the seminar.
There followed a time where ordinands from across the theological streams and with widely divergent views, comments and opinions, each shared what they thought their spirituality consisted in, and how they sought to integrate it into their daily lives. So from Renewal to High Churchmanship, with a lot in between, we heard how we should do what we have little natural ability in, since this means we rely more on God, such as public speaking for those not very good at it (a suggestion drawn from the writer, Watchman Nee). And we heard how the daily office is not about performance, tonal quality or pitch, but about joining with others in common worship. In addition, we heard that whether a service was hopeless, and the sermon boring or not, we could still meet God in the people we mingled with after the service, which might edify us. (These are just a few of the comments, to give a flavour of the diverse views represented).
Prof. McGrath offered a few comments where he thought it appropriate, but on the whole allowed these different voices to speak for themselves, in keeping with the spirit of catholicism, so valued in the Anglican tradition.
Very Revd. Gordon Mursell (Provost of Birmingham Cathedral), “The Call to a New Future: Meeting the Changing Face of the Church” [by Jon Swindells]
Argued that our future had been called into question. He compared our situation with that of Jonah and the Minervites. We need to be a church ‘calling into question’. He identified three main areas of crisis. First, on the numerical church attendance had declined over the last fifty years, although there seemed to be a levelling out at present. Second, the church faced a financial crisis. Finally, there is a spiritual crisis in our society, with no overarching world view or shared truth-claims - a process of secularisation. The Church was being ignored by society (Ref. Callum Brown - Decline of Christian Britain). The Bible testifies to the importance of calling the Church to its future. Jesus’ ministry was ‘future’ orientated and concerned about where you are going or realising the potential of what you could become. Mursell drew on the nomadic theme in Scripture. The Hebrew scriptures testify to a “nomad” God, who continually holds His people in the tension of being settled and nomadic. This analogy of the ‘nomad’ God was useful in this visioning of new ‘less attached’ future. We need to build ourselves portable sanctuaries or as Rabbi Hugo Gryn used to say ’spiritual rucksacks.’ Mursell then addressed the question of what should the church be offering each of its members?
He used Mark’s image of the ’stretcher bearers’ (Mark 2) as an illustration of a ministry that helps people make connections. We were not to have such a precious opinion of ourselves. He said that the language of the new Common Worship was still massively churchly. He wanted the Church to be, in the words of the architect Richard Rogers, an ‘open minded space‘ and not a ’single -minded space’ both in relation to physical space of church buildings, but also in terms of how the church operates. Three shifts in emphasis were needed:
- a greater role for lay leadership and NSMs;
- the Church to be ‘Kingdom’ orientated not ’self’ orientated;
- that ministry be less about ‘professionalism’ and more about ‘a ministry of grace’. We had lost the Sabbath, the spiritual rhythm of life. We need to be a more ‘playful people of God,’ and learn to take ourselves more lightly and in doing so allow for a greater imagination of difference.
Pedagogy in the age of Crack Cocaine.
This workshop was taken by Dr Robert Beckford, lecturer in Theology in the University of Birmingham and one of Britain’s leading Black Liberation Theologians. Dr Beckford began the session by challenging the ordinands to answer a series of questions which he asks Afro-Caribbean prisoners. They included: ‘name five Africans in the Old Testament’; ‘name five Black Theologians working in Britain today’; ‘quote two passages of Scripture associated with economic emancipation’ etc. He then pointed out that the first question should have proved no difficulty - the majority of characters mentioned in the Old Testament are African! Having suggested that many people might be ignorant of this, he then went on to say that those of us who hope to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be aware of the issue of Race and the inherent Colonialism which still affects the Church. How can we begin to preach the Gospel if we aren’t sensitive to the issues facing the people we are preaching it to? He then invited discussion from the people attending the workshop and there was general agreement that this was a serious point. It was also felt that there might be an issue of conscience in siding with a Church which was not sensitive enough to the issue of Race, but Dr Beckford pointed out that as ordinands, we are in the best position to do something about it and to challenge the status quo from within.
Dr Beckford then went on to ask questions vis-รก-vis gender, pointing out that Black women face a ‘double jeopardy.’ There was yet again a great deal of consent and some valuable insights given by Revd. Dr Jane Shaw who pointed out that African women are also constrained by their culture and given that they constitute the greatest proportion of Anglicans in the world this is undoubtedly a problem. We are not hearing the voice of those who make up much of the Church.
We were then enjoined to ensure that our Colleges were sensitive to the issues of Race and Gender and that our theological education took in such aspects. It was felt that all of the Colleges represented at the session took these issues seriously.
A Catholic vision of the Church of England.
This workshop was given by the Master of the Society of the Holy Cross Fr. David Houlding SSC and was attended by thirty people. Fr. Houlding introduced himself and pointed out that he was primarily a Parish Priest (in the Diocese of London) and that his work as Master of the Society and chair of the Catholic Group in Synod was secondary. He began by outlining an Ecclesiological framework in which he stated that there was not such a thing as the Church of England but merely the Church in England - we are all part of the Church Catholic. He pointed out that the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church had contributed to this understanding of the place of the Church in England and also pointed out that it was in fact a central point of Anglican Ecclesiology, referring to the declaration of assent made by all Anglican Clergy. This belief was, according to Fr. Houlding, central to the Ecclesiological vision of Archbishop Michael Ramsay. Having outlined his Ecclesiology he then moved on to discuss the history of the Catholic wing of the Anglican Church, pointing out that it was distinguished as much by its pastoral care and service of the poor and marginalised as it was for its exuberant Liturgy, referring to the early examples of Fr. Lowder (of St Peter’s London Docks) Fr. McKonnachie (of St Alban’s Holborn) and the later example of Bishop Trevor Huddleston CR. He felt that this dimension had sadly been allowed to slip and called for Catholics to regain their sense of mission and service, citing the need for help with the dispossessed of today, a point he illustrated by using the example of Asylum seekers who often seek refuge in his own Parish. He finished his presentation by quoting the call of Bishop Frank Weston (Bishop of Zanzibar) to serve the poor.
Fr. Gordon Mursell (Dean of Birmingham Cathedral) had been asked to respond to Fr. Houlding, but he found himself in agreement with much of what had been said. He asked Fr. Houlding what he thought about the issue of dis-establishment to which Fr. Houlding replied that establishment brought benefits but that it would always have to be viewed pragmatically - we must always beware that there may come a time when we have to think about changing the status quo.
The “quote” from Archbishop Rowan’s sermon is as follows:
“Candlemas celebrates a figure who is glad to withdraw once he’s witnessed the encounter between Jesus and the world. One of the challenges for ordained ministry is whether we can celebrate such a grateful withdrawal when we’ve witnessed such an encounter, rather than intruding ourselves and our agenda into the encounter.”