Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement on the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby; London Beyond Sight – the capital’s churches inspire; New proposals to enable women to become bishops
Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement on the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said yesterday that “all our prayers and mine” are with the family of Lee Rigby, the British soldier killed in Woolwich on Wednesday. In a joint press conference in Leicester with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, the Archbishop praised the responses of different faith groups to the incident and said this is “very much a time for communities to come together”.
The Archbishop made the statement during a visit to Leicester where he was meeting with Christian and other faith leaders.
“We have all been horrified by the brutal murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich. All of our prayers and mine are with Lee’s family, with his colleagues and comrades, and all those who witnessed this crime and all those in the community who have been so affected by it.
It’s very good to be here today with the Bishop of Leicester in whose diocese we are, with the Bishop of Woolwich, with the other Bishops of Pontefract and Bradford, and with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, who is Co-Chair of the Christian Muslim Forum. I want to recognise the response of churches, mosques and other faith and civil society groups as well as those of brave individuals who have done so much to bring our communities together at this time. The strong response from the Muslim Council of Britain and many other organisations has rightly emphasised that these acts have no place in Islam.
The Bishops of Southwark and Woolwich have visited the area in which this dreadful crime took place and have prayed with the local community there. Bishop Michael Ipgrave has met with other faith leaders in the Woolwich community and encouraged clergy and other Christian leaders to make contact with other faith leaders to ensure that this awful incident does not cause division. I want to commend very strongly what they are doing locally and to encourage Christian leaders more widely to do the same. This is very much a time for communities to come together.
As Patron of the national Christian Muslim Forum I know that the Forum is offering support and encouragement for these meetings to happen and I continue to hold all those working in these efforts in my prayers.”
London Beyond Sight – the capital’s churches inspire
Four London churches feature in a new project for blind and partially sighted people – London Beyond Sight.
Forty celebrities chose their favourite London landmark and then recorded descriptions – which are available as free downloadable recordings at www.vocaleyes.co.uk/londonbeyondsight.
The four churches are:
• Westminster Abbey, specifically the tomb of Edward the Confessor (chosen by The Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd John Hall)
• St Etheldreda’s Church, Ely Place (chosen by the broadcaster Julie Etchingham)
• St Pauls Cathedral (chosen by Sandy Nairne, the Director of the National Portrait Gallery)
• St Martin-in-the-Fields (chosen by actor Michael Elwyn)
Welcoming the project, Janet Gough, director of Cathedrals and Church Buildings for the Archbishops’ Council, said: “This is an inspirational project making the Capital’s buildings accessible to both sighted and blind people. I am delighted that churches feature as places of worship and individual prayer and contemplation, places that speak of history and inspire and serve today’s visitors.”
The Revd Dr Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, said: “Michael Elwyn captures elegantly and deftly what makes St Martin-in-the-Fields unique combination of architecture, culture, compassion, commerce, and congregational life so precious to friend and stranger alike. He describes succinctly what we aspire to be. This series perfectly embodies how visually impaired people can often see so much better than those who never pause to see.”
New proposals to enable women to become bishops
The Church of England has published, this week, new legislative proposals to enable women to become bishops which will be debated by the General Synod in July.
This will be the first occasion that Synod members have met since November 2012, when the previous legislation narrowly failed to secure the requisite majority in all three Houses, despite a 73% majority overall.
The proposals from the House of Bishops accompany the publication of a report of a Working Group which it had established in December. The Working Group’s report sets out four possible options for the shape of the new legislation. Of these the House of Bishops has recommended “the simplest possible legislation” (option one) which reads:
“A measure and amending canon that made it lawful for women to become bishops; and The repeal of the statutory rights to pass Resolutions A and B under the 1993 Measure, plus the rescinding of the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod.”
In addition, option one involves arrangements for those who, as a matter of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests being set out either in a declaration from the House of Bishops or in a new Act of Synod.
The short report from the Archbishops on behalf of the House sets out the text of a motion which invites the Synod to reaffirm its commitment to admitting women to the episcopate as a matter of urgency, require the legislative process to begin in November so that it can be concluded in 2015 and specify that the legislation should be in the simplest possible form.
The Business Committee of the General Synod met earlier this week and has scheduled the debate for the morning of Monday, 8 July in York. In addition, Synod members will spend a substantial amount of time in York on the Saturday in facilitated conversations, in which the various options can be explored further.
The Chair of the Working Group, the Rt Revd Nigel Stock, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, said on behalf of the Group:
“The mandate given to the Working Group in December reflected the House of Bishops’ view that new proposals would need both greater simplicity and a clear embodiment of the principle articulated by the 1998 Lambeth Conference that ‘those who dissent from, as well as those who assent to, the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate are both loyal Anglicans’.
“This mandate did not simply reflect the House of Bishops’ assessment of what was achievable, it also reflected its view of what was desirable – namely that the Church of England should retain its defining characteristic of being a broad Church, capable of accommodating a wide range of theological conviction.”