So many members of General Synod – about 100 – turned up for the book launch on 10 August, the first day of General Synod, that we had to relocate very quickly to a larger space, made possible by the generous quick thinking of the Pullman Hotel staff. And it had to be a quick turnaround, because the launch was held in the short Synod lunch break. Many of those attending came, as recommended, with their lunch in hand!
Archbishop Jeremy Greaves, Archbishop of Brisbane, who launched our book, began by telling us of an earlier tight experience:
About 26 years ago, he said, he “drove with Garry Weatherill the 800km or so from Ceduna, West and North to Cook to bless and dedicate a plaque at the site of the former BCA hospital. We timed the short liturgy to coincide with the arrival of the train from Sydney on its way to Perth. The train arrived and people wandered over to see what the two robed clergy might be doing in the middle of the desert. Garry got halfway through the final prayer when the siren sounded indicating that people should get back on the train… the thought of being stranded in the ghost town of Cook for a week until the next train arrived meant there was a rush for the doors and Garry and I were left to finish the prayers by ourselves… at the risk of a similar thing happening… this will be short and I won’t keep you from your lunch or your next coffee.”
Thankfully, no siren sounded, and the throngs just had time to buy a copy – sometimes multiple copies – of A True and Lively Faith. Carol O’Connor, selling the books, was nearly swamped until Archdeacon Melissa Clark from Benalla stepped in and helped manage the rush. Thank you, Carol and Mel!
Introducing the book, the editor, Bishop Stephen Pickard, chair of the National Comprehensive Anglicanism Network, explained that the network is “not a single issue network but rather a forum for exploring together what it means today to give witness to the gospel and the unity of the church”. There was, he said, a great deal of energy among the group for a kind of ‘tracks for the times’. The Anglican Church, he continued, needs a renewed commitment to open and generous dialogue. “In times of uncertainty, dispute, division and retreat into tribes very soon the only people we engage with are those of the same echo chamber”.
He explained that the volume is an educational tool for individuals, parishes and groups to help Anglicans understand and appreciate the gifts we share and who are and what we are called by God to be and do. “It is our prayer and hope that this book will prove to be a good work and the fruit of the Spirit for the glory of God”.
He added that perhaps the most important part of the longer title of the book is ‘Volume One’, signalling that more will come!
Archbishop Jeremy continued that it was a fitting thing to launch this collection of essays at the start of this General Synod. “General Synod is one of the few occasions in the life of the national church when the full breadth and diversity of our particular part of the Communion is on full display – with all of its joys and challenges and frustrations. We come from different dioceses, different traditions and different experiences of ministry and have taken different paths to come to faith,” he said.
He continued: “We bring with us different convictions, different hopes and different concerns. And yet we gather (as best as we are able), as one part of the one Body of Christ, seeking together to discern what faithfulness requires in our own time and what the Spirit might be saying to the church if only we are able to hear her voice above the noise of fractious debate.
“Despite the pretty dull agenda for this Synod, it would be naïve to pretend that the coming week will be free from tension. Indeed, many of the divisions and disagreements that have shaped the life of our national church in recent years will no doubt be on display over the coming days as we give in to the temptation to dig in and do battle on behalf of our particular tribe or faction or clique.
“We gather carrying different theological convictions, different understandings of Scripture and tradition, and different visions for the future of the Anglican Church of Australia. There will be moments of frustration and disappointment, perhaps even moments when our differences seem irreconcilable. Yet the challenge before us is not simply to resolve every disagreement, but to discover how to remain faithful to one another in the midst of them.
“It seems to me that our task has never been to eliminate tension altogether – surely as impossible as it is undesirable - but to navigate it with humility, patience and charity, trusting that the Holy Spirit continues to lead us into truth, sometimes through the voices and experiences of those with whom we most deeply disagree. Perhaps one of the great tests for us is whether we can hold our convictions deeply while also holding one another generously… resisting the temptation to retreat into camps or tribes or cliques of certainty and instead, choosing the harder path of remaining in conversation as sisters and brothers in Christ.
“My sense is that this book is offered in the service of that task. While many of the themes explored in these essays resonate with the very contemporary questions of complexity, disagreement, discernment and the challenge of remaining together amid profound differences, to which the Primate alluded … this collection has its own origins and its own voice. It brings together theologians, bishops, clergy and lay leaders who share a commitment to a generous and comprehensive Anglicanism: an Anglicanism grounded in Scripture, the creeds, the sacraments and the historic ministry of the Church, AND confident enough to engage honestly with difference.
“The essays gathered here explore matters that are far from abstract, and for once they look beyond arguments about marriage and sexuality that so often consume us as a church.
They touch questions of biblical interpretation, mission, power, gender, church order and our common life together. They address issues that shape our parishes, schools and communities and, in many ways, the future of Anglicanism in Australia itself.
“What unites these essays is not that they offer a single answer to every question before us. Rather, they model a particular way of being the Church: one that believes disagreement need not lead inevitably to division; one that trusts that listening deeply to those with whom we differ may reveal something of God's truth that we have not yet fully understood.
“As Bishop Stephen Pickard reminds us in his introductory essay, Anglicanism has traditionally distinguished between those things necessary for the life of the Church and those matters on which faithful Christians may disagree. That distinction has never been easy to maintain and has nuances that do not translate easily to the floor of synod or the world of social media, but it remains one of the gifts of our tradition.
“In an age marked by polarisation and dogged certainty, a ‘comprehensive’ approach to Anglicanism offers a different witness. It calls us to humility rather than triumphalism, to curiosity rather than suspicion, and to the difficult but essential work of remaining in conversation with one another even when that is incredibly hard work.
“My hope is that this book will encourage not simply debate, but deeper reflection and real conversation; not simply more arguments, but perhaps a renewed commitment to the bonds of affection that hold us together as Anglicans.
“At a time when so many institutions are fragmenting under the pressure of difference, where discourse is increasingly driven by those at the poles, perhaps one of the Church's greatest gifts to the world is the witness that unity does not require uniformity, and that charity, patience and generosity are not signs of weakness but marks of Christian maturity.
“I want to express my gratitude to all those who have contributed their wisdom, scholarship and experience to this volume. My prayer is that these essays will strengthen our confidence in the Anglican tradition and encourage all sorts of people to continue the work of seeking truth together, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“If this book achieves anything, I hope it helps us to keep talking to one another, remembering as we’ve been told a few times over the past 24 hours that words matter, that it helps us to keep listening to one another and, above all, that it is one more contribution to helping us to keep walking together in Christ.
“I am very happy to declare this book well and truly launched!”
Almost all of the books on sale at the launch were purchased. One diocesan bishop bought 20 copies for his clergy! At General Synod the publication of A True and Lively Faith was acknowledged by Formal Motion. Copies of the book have been received by all Archbishops and the Primate. The publication has been met with excitement and a genuine sense of encouragement at the local level for the work of NCAN. A special thanks to all who contributed to the essays in the book and to the NCAN team who organised the book launch and communications at General Synod.
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