Dear Friends,
Bishop Roger recently visited England, as part of his new ministry. Here is his report.
Many people have asked me how the course I did for new bishops in the second half of January went and, since no one seemed satisfied with my reply, “Fantastic”, I have decided to tell you a bit more about it.
The course was sponsored by and held at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England. A total of 29 bishops attended coming from many parts of the Anglican Communion throughout the world. The fact that the course was being held at the very spot where the Anglican Church began really prepared our hearts for what was to come.
The Cathedral is really a beautiful and imposing building extending for 157 metres. Although nothing remains of the original building of Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, much of the present Cathedral was built in the 12th century. At present work is being carried out to restore the outer walls, roof and stained glass windows to their original state in a massive project that will cost £ 50 million (R$ 175 million).
A typical day at the course was split into three parts:
· Spiritual activities
· Talks
· Visits
The spiritual side began each morning at 7:30 with Matins (Morning Prayer) followed by Holy Communion. We must remember that in England at that time of the year, the sun appears (when it appears) after 8 o’clock and sets around 5 in the afternoon, so it was quite dark when we went across to the Cathedral. Then after breakfast, we had Bible studies. At the close of the afternoon, we went back to the Cathedral for Evensong which was sung by the Cathedral Choir composed of young boys and men.
The talks were given by bishops and other church authorities and focused on various aspects of the episcopal ministry, such as:
· The Bishop as a leader
· The Bishop and mission
· The Bishop and liturgy
· The Bishop and prayer
· The Bishop and his family
Unfortunately the talks mentioned the problems we as bishops would face, but did not give us many of the solutions.
The visits included a guided tour of the Cathedral, a visit to the workshop where they showed to us how they are restoring the stained glass windows and a visit to the library which housed books dating back over a 1000 years. For my benefit, they had on display a book written in the 17th century on Brazil which was opened on a map of Brazil. While the coast was filled with names of towns, such as Santos, São Vicente, and even Itanhaem, the interior was just blank. Of course, one night was reserved to show us a bit of the English traditions and so we went and visited a pub, part of which dated back to the 7th century.
On Monday 21st, we were all taken to Lambeth Palace in London which is where the Archbishop of Canterbury has his offices. We were expected at 10 o’clock. At 1 minute to 10, we filed off the bus to enter the palace. (I would like to see that happen in São Paulo.) We were greeted by people from the palace and from the Anglican Communion office and after some tea (naturally) were given a tour of the palace. During an informal lunch, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, went around chatting to each of us. After lunch, he held a press conference to officially launch the Lambeth Conference which will be held in July this year. We then had a group photo taken with the Archbishop.
I thought that he would then retire and rest, but no, he joined us for tea and then gave us a brilliant talk where he compared the mission of bishops with the principal festivals of the Church:
· The Christmas dimension.
Since God sent his one and only Son into the world to be with the people, so the bishop must be present with his people.
The Word became flesh, so the bishop must spread the Good News by word and example.
· The Easter dimension.
The bishops must proclaim that Christ died for our sins so that we might have abundant life.
The bishops must be contemporary apostles and proclaim His resurrection.
· The Pentecostal dimension.
Just as the apostles spoke to the people in their own language, so the bishop must speak to the people; listening, interpreting and mediating conflicts by coaxing both sides to sit together and talk.
Without a doubt the three highlights of the course were:
· Being with the other bishops in such a spiritually stimulating environment
· The trip to Lambeth
· A special tour of the Cathedral at night by candlelight.
My only problem now is to put into practice all that I learnt and experienced there to make it part of my episcopal ministry. I count on your prayers for me, our diocese and our Church.
May God bless you.
… Roger D. Bird
THIS SUNDAY, 2ND MARCH IS MOTHERING SUNDAY
Please bring a beautiful flower with you to the 10 o’clock service, when we
will be building a floral cross to honour our mothers whether living or departed.
BIBLE STUDY
From now until the Lambeth Conference in July, Bishop Roger will be leading a
Bible Study on the Gospel according to St. John every Thursday morning
at 10 o’clock in the Church House. All are most welcome.
THE ALPHA COURSE
Starting Sunday, 30th March at 11:30.