wfn.org | WESTMINSTER ABBEY CELEBRATION

[a.whitefield@quest.org.uk]

April 24, 1997 
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon James Rosenthal
Director of Communications, The Anglican Communion
London, England

1208 ACC

WESTMINSTER ABBEY CELEBRATION MARKS AUSTRALIAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN
ANNIVERSARY

In a service that included the participation of Archbishops and Bishops
from the Anglican Church of Australia and the Church of the Province of
Southern Africa, hundreds of people gave thanks for the 150th
Anniversary of the Consecration of the first four bishops of dioceses in
these provinces in Westminster Abbey in 1847.

The Most Revd George L. Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury led the opening
bidding. He prayed  "Today we remember with thanksgiving the first
bishops consecrated in this holy place for the dioceses of  Cape Town,
Adelaide, Melbourne and Newcastle, 150 years ago. We give thanks to God
for the faithful and dedicated lives of Robert Gray, Augustus Short,
Charles Perry and William Tyrrell. We give thanks for all those in this
land who contributed towards the work of the Church beyond these
shores.....These dioceses, which began as outposts in the British
Empire, have been instrumental in creating the rich and colourful
diversity we now call the Anglican Communion."

The consecration of the four bishops for colonial dioceses in 1847 was
both a sign of the expansion of the Church of England into the world
wide Anglican Communion and also  a sign post of Christian love and
active social responsibility, according to the Archbishops of Melbourne
and Cape Town, who preached at the service, Sunday, 20 April, 1997 in
Westminster Abbey. 

Archbishop Keith Rayner of Melbourne told the packed congregation that
the 29 June 1847 was a notable day for the four dioceses and also for
the Church of England and the whole Anglican Communion. "All of this
reflected a new commitment to mission which not only enabled the
Anglican Church to grow around the world but which brought vitality into
the Church of England itself. It is always true that where the Church
has a strong sense of mission, and gives of itself so that the Kingdom
of God may grow, the Church will itself be strengthened.

"It was no sinecure to which they went after their consecration. They
had a handful of clergy to minister to scattered congregations over vast
distances. In the midst of all this they had the task of building
diocesan structures from nothing and establishing new patterns of church
life and government suited to the radically different world to which
they had come...they were models of a style of episcopacy that was to be
significant for the evolving Anglican Communion. The philosophy of the
Colonial Bishoprics Fund was that the bishop was himself to be the
leader of the Church's mission. He was to be in the forefront, in the
places where the going was uncomfortable and tough. These four men lived
out that kind of episcopacy."

The Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town, reminded
the congregation of the Church's responsibility in mission today. "Our
fellowship as followers of Christ stands at the cross-roads of a new
challenge: to be true to the call to find human community through unity
in Christ," he said.

He emphasised that the command of Christ for Christians to love one
another, which was the mark of the early Christian community, must be a
feature of Christian community today. "In this new global fellowship,"
he said, "we have to live for Christ. But Christian love means active
social responsibility.

"So we ask how to show love and action in today's frenetic world. In
being busy for Christ we have to be prepared to share our resources. The
effects of poverty throughout the world, especially in the southern
hemisphere, are all-embracing. Famine, war, its aftermath and its effect
on children, the refugee crisis: all these and others threaten our
fellowship.

"The northern hemisphere has vast resources compared to developing
countries. In South Africa alone, the reported incidence of unemployment
increased by nearly 26% in the last twelve months. Forty percent of the
population lives below subsistence levels.

"This impacts on the sanctity of life to which Christ calls us. The
necessity to be involved in communities to prevent poverty is important,
as is the need to communicate to the world its debilitating effects. The
ethic of involvement and sharing has to become paramount in our thinking
and plans of action. For we are commanded to bear fruit and it is an
indictment on us as the Body of Christ if we do not do so.

"Sometimes we forget who we are. We live according to the standards of
the world, more than the standards of love revealed to us through the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the cross-roads of where
we stand. In an age of communication, we are called to communicate anew
the omnipresent truth of the life-giving vine: to serve the new
fellowship in the world."

Among those leading prayers and reading lessons at the service were lay
people from various dioceses, including Happy Mahlangu, Deputy High
Commissioner for South Africa and Lady Downer of Adelaide, as well as
the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Revd Harry Goodhew and the Bishop of
Newcastle, the Rt Revd Roger Herft. Hymns and prayers were offered in
English as well as Xhosa. The music was provided by a massed choir of
choristers from the Royal School of Church Music and the Mohobelo Choir
from South Africa.

Special prayers and offerings were received for the Church Mission
Society (CMS), the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
(USPG) and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) as well
as the Australian Board of Missions.

In attendance at the Abbey service were 50 Archbishops, Bishops and
clergy and lay members of the St Augustine's Seminar, the preparatory
meeting for the Lambeth Conference 1998, being held this week in London.
Church of England bishops also participated in the service.

An enormous Compass Rose flag, the symbol of the Anglican Communion,
hung in the Abbey and has been given to the Archbishop of Canterbury for
use at other great occasions in the life of the Communion.

A report by Canon Margaret Rodgers, Diocese of Sydney and Canon James
Rosenthal, ACNS.

Photos available