Pope Deposes Seagull

Courtesy of The Edition

You will not fail to have noticed that a new chap, one formerly Jorge Bergoglio (the kids had fun trying to pronounce that, believe me), is now the somewhat unexpected Pope Francis. Lots of firsts (first Latin American, first Jesuit, first Jorge Bergoglio, and so on), lots of drama, and from me lots of prayers for a chap who seems to have struck the right note from the off. 

I will leave the specifics to the commentators and other self-appointed blogging experts, and simply observe something that struck me and others yesterday.

Do you know where you were when the present Archbishop of Canterbury was announced? The leader of over 76million Christians, the news of Archbishop Justin's appointment to a world-level Christian leadership role was greeted with as much of a whimper as anything. I doubt that they stopped Cash in The Attic, or delayed Eastenders for that. Were you waiting for the momentous news from the vantage point of a tent in Canterbury? 

Then you get the situation as just unfolded across the Tiber. People staring at chimneys. People tweeting about seagulls. People camping in Squares, waiting. Commotion, tension, expectation, smiles, joy! Then the smoke (which has its own Twitter Account). Tens of thousands of people cheering. Pomp, ceremony, pageant, more expectation, Sunday-best birettas, a new man emerges to the cheers of a world. 

I wonder what might be behind this. What do we learn about the new Pope? That he was a modest and humble man who did good work with the poor, cooked his own paella and took the bus. Of the Archbishop we learned simply that he did the Alpha Course and may once have had another job. Don't get me wrong, I am faithful to my leader and loyal too. I don't care what Course he did because the Spirit called him on. What accounts for the difference?

I have written about this before. You speak to a member of the Pope's church and they won't describe themselves as Christians, but as Catholics. A denominational pride and self-identity would quickly emerge and although international numbers are sliding for them too, you would be talking to a person who belonged to communities who knew that it was right to go to church, that it was not a matter for secrecy. They know that their leader is important to them and I frankly doubt of many Catholic bloggers bash their Pope. I see a reverent loyalty that is lacking in the corridors of the Church of England because we would sooner wage our own private wars, publicly. The Catholics also have a decidedly proud affection for ceremony and ritual whereas in our little church we seem to be afraid even of the title "priest" or indeed those roles that such a title demands. They have a way of marking the moment, making it special, binding it up in ancient ritual which despite being arcane, still works and still means something. 

I pray for the new Bishop of Rome as, in his way, I truly believe he prays for me and my family. I wish him a good and successful  pontificate as one, I hope, who will walk in grace and goodness with a heart for those matters that clearly meant so much to him before yesterday.  For the rest of us, I pray that we can learn a little from what we witnessed yesterday. 

Re-Calibrating with Justin

For those of you with young children who are resident in the Great British Isles, you may be forgiven for thinking that I am about to talk about Mr. Tumble. It may be that time will tell, but it is not my raison d'embarkation!

Today is an important day. Today we greet, with a joyful heart, our new leader and Uber-Shepherd - one Justin Welby as he starts his ministerial journey at the wheel of the Church of England, and also to the Anglican Communion around the world. May God bless him richly, each and every day.

Today is an important day because we, the Holy Tenants of God, have a new landlord. For priests, this is our equivalent (sort of) of that which our parishioners experienced when we processed into our new churches after the last interregnum. It is a time of uncertainty, gladness certainly, but a sense of wonder as to who this geezer is. 

For me part, all I know about ++Welby is that he can't wear a collar properly and that he is apparently owned by the Alpha movement (their words, not mine: "our man, Justin Welby"). As a sacramental and liturgical Christian, perhaps that ought to be setting me teeth on edge. However, I also believe God is behind all of this, so I am at peace and instead find find myself wondering what sort of shower he is assuming the leadership of from his new abode in Lambeth Towers.

The Church of England is, I think, at an important point in its own story. That isn't because of the many issues that nip at its/our gaitered ankles. It isn't because we are so broad that we are like a flimsy balsa wood aircraft - apt to collapse under the weight at any moment.  It isn't because no two Anglicans are alike or because the deistic view of the Other is much mitigated by what church you go to (which is to say that for some, the Spirit is to be adored, other Jesus Christ, and others the Father - and rarely in combination if I am honest). What will determine the future of our beloved Church of England, now led by a man whose collar doesn't fit, is how we learn to disagree. 

The shenanigans of the last few months tells me that the carcinogen in our cells is self-created. In the hands of bloggers and tweeters, article writers and pulpit be-moaners a church is being gentle dissected into unhappy cohorts of the mutually self-supportive. Maybe it was always the case - but it is clear that now the self-destructive appetites of English Anglicans is made manifest to all eyes.  Archbishop Justin will probably lead me into my fifties - and if he does one thing, I will age peacefully. If he can teach his little lambs some of that grace that seems lacking these days, he will have spent his decade well. If I or others can stand across a room in a decade and say, "I know you are different to me, but let's exchange the kiss of peace because I love you anyway", then we will be home and dry. 

In very simple terms, Archbishop: teach how to get along again. And may God be with you every step of the way. Amen.

The Next Archbishop of Canterbury

If we get past the means of the disclosure of this, the worst kept secret ever - it is important to note that the next out-working of God's calling in another human life is now before us. 

This, for those who have been living in a lead-lined box in the last week, is the Rt Revd Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham and man selected to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. He will, of course, succeed Rowan Williams to a job which places him at the nominal or actual spiritual head of the Anglican Communion and our own blessed Church of England. 

I know little of this man, and what I know I will state. He was ordained in 1992, is from the evangelical tradition, takes a biblically-based worldview, held a successful career in the oil industry before priesthood, itself perhaps precipitated by the tragedy of the death of his baby daughter. A bishop a mere year, he has shown promise on the international front, coming as he does with an instinct and knowledge for the world of finance and commerce. I don't own any of his books, or know if he has written any, so know little else about this man beyond what is stated above.

I hope that this appointment bring some things to pass:

• That the church can start to look to the future
• That we learn afresh to live as one church defined by a generosity among our internal differences
• That we acquire a leader who is first a man of prayer and conspicuous humility and holiness but also a credible man of the world who is gifted in the language of the world we live in now.
• That we acquire a spiritual leader who has the courage to be authentically himself, and not a puppet in the unfolding drama of the church
• That we acquire a leader who, among us all, has the most hope for our shared future

The Church of England in particular appears to be such a divided place these days. The ambitions that surround 'self' and 'rights' seem to dominate the agenda for us as an organisation for whom the notion of 'self' is better framed in the language of 'selflessness', that 'rights' are matched and exceeded by Christian responsibility. Whatever the rights and wrongs of each individual case, we have fast become a group of people synonymous with infighting, yet a group of people mandated by Christ to look beyond ourselves to meet the needs of a world in so much peril. 

I pray for this man, doing a job that will afford him little thanks. I pray for this man to whom I must be loyal, that his ministry be fruitful, that God's work be done through him and the sacred office he will hold. I pray for this man (and his family) who will, for the next decade or so, will be one of the most visible humans on the planet. I pray for those whose call was not to this office, despite their own private hope or belief and for those whose job was to discern God's will in this process. I pray for the Communion he will soon lead, that we all find the grace to puts God's will first.