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Presidential
Address by the Rt. Revd. Stephen Venner, Bishop of
24
Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until
daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail
against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and
Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is
breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you
go, unless you bless me." 27 So he said to him,
"What is your name?" And he said,
"Jacob." 28 Then the man said, "You hall
no longer be called Jacob, but
Speaks
to us today
"Wrestled"
- people disagree, sometimes violently
"When
the man saw he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck
him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of
joint" - opponents don't always play fair
Then
he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking."
- let's call it a day and go our separate ways
But
Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless
me." - I need to know who you are … to listen
to your story, understand what you think, how you tick,
why you are as you are and believe what you believe
So
he said to him, "What is your name?" - the
opponent wanted to do likewise
"You
shall no longer be called Jacob, but
Conflict
is everywhere
Between
nations - so many examples of which
Between
races - parts of
Between
individuals - recent programme about racism among police
cadets could have been replicated anywhere …? even
in the Church? … + violence, abuse etc
Even
in the Church! - current conflict within the Communion,
stories from some congregations (in other dioceses)
Sadness is that the Church should be showing how things
can be done better.
Kent
Partnership asking questions about quality of life in
Individuals
are. In
But
how do we locally deal with conflict, with strong
disagreements, with neighbouring churches that seem to
take a very different line on important issues than we
do?
+ABR:
"Tolerance is hard work"
Work
being done in deaneries is, I believe, very important. We
listen to each others stories … are affected by them
… begin to value each other as true parts of the
Church's witness to our localities.
Interestingly,
when thinking about the rich variety of peoples in their
country,
the
South
Africans call themselves a rainbow people
The
Good News is a Gospel of peace. But peace is expensive.
Perhaps as we look at our mission to the world, we might
reflect on whether or not that may be precisely what the
world needs. Which is why, to add yet another dimension:
the debate about the future of
Today
we thank God for the Saints and Martyrs of England. Many
of them lived through tougher times than ours, and
emerged as people whom future generations called
"blessed". May that be true of us too.
The
opportunities are all there. I pray that in this part of
God's world we may show in our lives, in our
relationships, in our worship that there is truly "a
better way". And that under God, we like Jacob can
be changed.
+
Stephen
November
2003