wfn.org | Diana's death evokes strong spiritu

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

November 13, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

97-2006
Diana's death evokes strong spiritual response, says Archbishop of
Canterbury

       (ENS) The church "needs to get out there with the people" and
offer "risk-filled love and acceptance" to non-churchgoers, Archbishop of
Canterbury George Carey said recently.
       Outlining his vision for the church in the next millenium, Carey
said the "remarkable responses" to the death and funeral of Princess
Diana underscore the urgency for the church to adapt to modern spiritual
needs.
       "Don't build too many barriers around church life," Carey
warned, according to published reports. "Don't make the finer points of
doctrine a reason for closing doors on people whose understanding of the
faith may be woefully inadequate. It may be that risk-filled love and
acceptance could unlock lives in which God is yet a stranger."
       "The church is not in the business of keeping a church
organization going but in bearing witness to Jesus Christ," Carey told
audiences in a series of mid-October lectures in England. He pleaded for
"a vigorous diversification as we try to make the glories of the faith
accessible to people where they are, now, and not where we might prefer
them to be."

Diana's funeral a wake-up call
       Citing the overwhelming spiritual response to Princess Diana's
death and funeral, which was viewed by millions around the world,
Carey said he hoped the "churches will take this much further, in
imaginative new ways. We must make more space for people to open
their hearts to God and express themselves--and not be simply content to
offer our own established rituals on a take-it-or-leave-it basis."
       Following Diana's death, Carey said that tens of thousands of
mourners created impromptu "rituals, such as the lighting of candles, the
laying of wreaths and silent prayer, through which they could express
their longings, their searching . .. on their own terms and in their own
way." This indicates that the apparent decline in formal religious
observances in Europe does not imply wholesale abandonment of the
spiritual and religious significance of life, he said.
       "I believe we need to pay more attention to the spiritual needs of
our day," Carey said, adding that he saw "the urgent need to have forms
of liturgy which connect with the wide variety of people" seeking
spiritual nourishment. He suggested that the church should "aim for
simplicity, beauty and brevity" when producing revised liturgies. The
Church of England is currently drafting experimental liturgies and
revisions to the Book of Common Prayer.

New ways of speaking
         "Let me stress again," Carey said, "that I am not advocating the
wholesale rejection of the traditional and well-loved from the past." But
he suggested that "we must develop new ways of speaking about the
Christian faith both in the words we use, and the ways we say them. We
must learn to avoid the technical language of theology and the
preciousness of `God-speak.' I am speaking about finding ways of
conversing that will allow the church to tell its story," Carey urged.
       "Let us bring to our aid novelists, poets, musicians and artists
who from their explorations touch the world of spirit and move
tangentially in the arena of spirituality," he said. "There are ways of
expressing the Christian message . . . that may resonate better and more
deeply . . . and may draw people on to explore questions of faith.
       Carey also encouraged the churches to "continue to do all we can
to translate the Christian message into social action." Social action and
outreach "give the church its authenticity in many people's eyes," he
added. "A caring church is an observant church, listening and reacting to
need" and "being proactive in seeing what might enrich the community.
Christian action is  . . .also a route through which those who value deeds
more highly than religious words can open their lives and hearts to God's
service and come to love him."
       Urging churches to "take evangelism more thoroughly into our
systems," Carey said "we must use our imaginations in showing that the
Christian faith makes all the difference. We have to be prepared to get
out there with people, for people, on their territory as well as ours.
       "If modern people are out of tune with the life of the church our
task is to make connections" which are meaningful, especially "at
moments of celebration and sadness," Carey said.