Archbishop at 60

Happy Birthday to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, 60 today.2:01 AM Jun 14th via Twitter for iPhone

Rowan Douglas Williams was born in Swansea, south Wales on 14 June 1950, into a Welsh-speaking family, and was educated at Dynevor School in Swansea and Christ's College Cambridge where he studied theology. He studied for his doctorate – in the theology of Vladimir Lossky, a leading figure in Russian twentieth-century religious thought – at Wadham College Oxford, taking his DPhil in 1975. After two years as a lecturer at the College of the Resurrection, near Leeds, he was ordained deacon in Ely Cathedral before returning to Cambridge.

From 1977, he spent nine years in academic and parish work in Cambridge: first at Westcott House, being ordained priest in 1978, and from 1980 as curate at St George's, Chesterton. In 1983 he was appointed as a lecturer in Divinity in the university, and the following year became dean and chaplain of Clare College. 1986 saw a return to Oxford now as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Canon of Christ Church; he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1989, and became a fellow of the British Academy in 1990. He is also an accomplished poet and translator.

In 1991 Professor Williams accepted election and consecration as bishop of Monmouth, a diocese on the Welsh borders, and in 1999 on the retirement of Archbishop Alwyn Rice Jones he was elected Archbishop of Wales, one of the 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. Thus it was that, in July 2002, with eleven years experience as a diocesan bishop and three as a leading primate in the Communion, Archbishop Williams was confirmed on 2 December 2002 as the 104th bishop of the See of Canterbury: the first Welsh successor to St Augustine of Canterbury and the first since the mid-thirteenth century to be appointed from beyond the English Church.

Dr Williams is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding theological writer, scholar and teacher. He has been involved in many theological, ecumenical and educational commissions. He has written extensively across a very wide range of related fields of professional study – philosophy, theology (especially early and patristic Christianity), spirituality and religious aesthetics – as evidenced by his bibliography. He has also written throughout his career on moral, ethical and social topics and, since becoming archbishop, has turned his attention increasingly on contemporary cultural and interfaith issues.

As Archbishop of Canterbury his principal responsibilities are however pastoral – leading the life and witness of the Church of England in general and his own diocese in particular by his teaching and oversight, and promoting and guiding the communion of the world-wide Anglican Church by the globally recognized ministry of unity that attaches to the office of bishop of the see of Canterbury.

His interests include music, fiction and languages.

In 1981 Dr Williams married Jane Paul, a lecturer in theology, whom he met while living and working in Cambridge. They have a daughter and a son.

Reply to George

Christianity deserves no protection in law above other faiths and to do so would be “irrational, divisive, capricious and arbitrary”, a senior judge said yesterday.

In the latest clash between the judiciary and Christian believers Lord Justice Laws said that laws could not be used to protect one religion above another.

He also delivered a robust dismissal to Lord Carey of Clifton, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who had warned that a series of recent court rulings against Christians could lead to civil unrest. He called his idea for a specialist panel of judges to hear cases involving the practice of religious beliefs “deeply inimical to the public interest”.

To give one religion legal protection over any other, “however long its tradition, however rich its culture, is deeply unprincipled”, the judge said. It would give legal force to a subjective opinion and would lead to a “theocracy”.

Lord Justice Laws’s comments came in the High Court as he rejected a marriage guidance counsellor’s attempt to challenge his sacking for refusing to provide sex therapy to gay couples.

Lord Carey had given a witness statement in support of Gary McFarlane, 48, from Bristol, a member of a Pentecostal church. Mr McFarlane was seeking permission to appeal against an Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that supported his dismissal by Relate Avon in 2008.

Rejecting Mr McFarlane’s application, Lord Justice Laws said: “We do not live in a society where all the people share uniform religious beliefs. The precepts of any one religion — any belief system — cannot, by force of their religious origins, sound any louder in the general law than the precepts of any other. If they did, those out in the cold would be less than citizens and our constitution would be on the way to a theocracy, which is of necessity autocratic.”

The judge said it was right that he should address what the former Archbishop had said because of his seniority in the Church “and the extent to which others may agree with his views, and because of the misunderstanding of the law which his statement reveals”.

Lord Carey and other Christian leaders had expressed concerns after Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury and two other appeal judges ruled last December that Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar, was breaking discrimination laws by refusing to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

In his witness statement Lord Carey said: “It is, of course, but a short step from the dismissal of a sincere Christian from employment to a religious bar to any employment by Christians. I believe that further judicial decisions are likely to end up at this point and this is why I believe it is necessary to intervene now.”

The fact that senior clerics of the Church of England and other religions felt compelled to intervene directly in judicial decisions was “illuminative of a future civil unrest”.

Lord Justice Laws said that Lord Carey appeared to be arguing that the courts ought to be ready to uphold and defend Christian beliefs. But the judge drew a distinction “between the law’s protection of the right to hold and express a belief and the law’s protection of that belief’s substance or content”.

The Judaeo-Christian tradition had exerted a profound influence on the judgment of legislators but to confer on it preferential legal protection was deeply unprincipled, he said. It would mean laws being imposed “not to advance the general good on objective grounds, but to give effect to the force of subjective opinion since faith, other than to the believer, was subjective”.

Andrea Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, warned that the judgment would deny Christians a range of jobs because of their beliefs.

“The judge’s comments could lead in effect to a religious bar to employment, in which Christians could be prevented from being registrars, counsellors, teachers, social workers or work on adoption panels,” she said.

“We never attempted to argue that we could impose a Christian law, which the judge seems to suggest. We are simply talking about the principle of marriage, between a man and a woman, which has undergirded society for hundreds of years.”

Archbishop Anselm

Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033 – 21 April 1109) was an Italian, a Benedictine monk, aphilosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous in the West as the originator of theontological argument for the existence of God. In 1720, Anselm was recognized as a saint by Pope Clement XI.

The anniversary of Anselm's death on 21 April is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, much of theAnglican Communion, and in the Lutheran Church, as Anselm's memorial. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by Pope Clement XI, though he was never formally canonized.On 21 April 1909, 800 years after his death, Pope Pius X issued an encyclical "Communium Rerum", praising Anselm, his ecclesiastical career, and his writings. His symbol in hagiography is the ship, representing the spiritual independence of the church.

Almighty God, you raised up your servant Anselm to teach the Church of his day to understand its faith in your eternal Being, perfect justice, and saving mercy: Provide your Church in every age with devout and learned scholars and teachers, that we may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, for ever and ever. Amen.

George still has his uses

Lord CAREY of Clifton
1st Witness Statement
Exhibits [none]
9th April 2009
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL A2/2009/2733
On Appeal from the EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
EAT Case No: 0106/09/DA
On appeal from the:
BRISTOL EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS
CLAIM No: 1401179/2008
BETWEEN:
Mr G McFARLANE
Claimant
And
RELATE AVON LTD
Respondent
______________________________________
WITNESS STATEMENT
Of LORD CAREY of Clifton
______________________________________
I, Lord Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury 1991-2002, of the House of Lords, London SW1A OPW WILL SAY AS FOLLOWS:
Introduction
1. I was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991- 2002. I was the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and I was responsible for the spiritual welfare of 70 million Anglicans in the worldwide communion. I was created Lord Carey of Clifton upon retirement.
2. I have served in a number of theological colleges. I am the holder of M.th and PhD degrees. I was the Principle of Trinity Theological College, Bristol and was Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1988 – 1991. I am the Presentation Fellow of Kings College, London,
Fellow of Christ’s University College, Canterbury and Fellow of the Library of Congress. I am President of the London School of Theology. Until 2009, I was a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and Co-Chair of the Council of 100, which is an interfaith body seeking reconciliation between the West and Islamic worlds. Currently, I am Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire and I am the recipient of 12 Honorary Degrees. I am the author of 14 books.
3. I make this Witness Statement in support of the appeal/ application of Gary McFarlane to the Court of Appeal for his case to be heard before the Lord Chief Justice (Lord Justice Judge) and a specially constituted Court of Appeal of five Lord Justices who have a proven sensitivity to religious issues. I believe that I have a sufficient interest in this case.
4. The facts contained in this Witness Statement are within my own knowledge. Where a fact is not within my own knowledge, I state the source and believe it to be true.
The Need for a Specially Constituted Court of Appeal:
The decision of the Court of Appeal in the cases of Ladele v Islington LBC:
5. I am bound by my commitments as former Archbishop of Canterbury to defend the spiritual requirements of the Anglican Communion and of all sincere Christians. I am also bound to consider the rights of religious minorities.
6. Recent decisions of the Courts have illuminated insensitivity to the interests and needs of the Christian community and represent disturbing Judgments. The effect of these decisions is to undermine the religious liberties that have existed in the United Kingdom for centuries. If there is to be a limitation of Christian liberties in Britain, this should be a matter for Parliament.
7. I am not a lawyer, but have taken an interest in these decisions. I have been advised that decisions in certain cases have made the following determinations.
8. In the recent case of Ladele v London Borough of Islington (MR, Dyson and Smith LJJ) (EAT Elias P), the Court of Appeal held:-
 Paragraph 45. It was a legitimate aim for Islington to have a policy ‘requiring all its employees to act in a way which does not discriminate against others’ and
 Paragraph 49 ‘permitting Ms Ladele to refuse to perform civil partnerships would necessarily undermine the Council’s clear commitment to ... their non discriminatory objectives ...’;
 Paragraph 39. The Court of Appeal held that the correct comparator with Ms. Ladele is ‘another registrar who refused to conduct civil partnership work because of an antipathy to the concept of same sex relationships, but which antipathy was not connected to or based upon his or her religious beliefs’
9. I wish to address these issues as a cleric and as a senior Churchman. In short, I wish to dispute that the manifestation of the Christian faith in relation to same sex unions is ‘discriminatory’ and contrary to the legitimate objectives of a public body. Further, I wish to dispute that such religious views are equivalent to a person who is, genuinely, a homophobe and disreputable. I will deal with these two issues.
10. The description of religious faith in relation to sexual ethics as ‘discriminatory’ is crude; and illuminates a lack of sensitivity to religious belief. The Christian message of ‘love’ does not demean or disparage any individual (regardless of sexual orientation); the desire of the Christian is to limit self destructive conduct by those of any sexual orientation and ensure the eternal future of an individual with the Lord.
11. The field of sexual ethics and Christian (and other religious) teaching on this subject is a field of complex theology for debate by the Church (and other religious) institutions. The vast majority of the more than 2 billion Christians would support the views held by Ms. Ladele. The descriptive word ‘discriminatory’ is unbefitting and it is regrettable that senior members of the Judiciary feel able to make such disparaging comments.
12. The comparison of a Christian, in effect, with a ‘bigot’ (ie. a person with an irrational dislike to homosexuals) begs further questions. It is further evidence of a disparaging attitude to the Christian faith and its values. In my view, the highest development of human spirituality is acceptance of Christ as saviour and adherence to Christian values.
This cannot be seen by the Courts of this land as comparable to the base and ignorant behaviour. My heart is in anguish at the spiritual state of this country.
13. It is, of course, but a short step from the dismissal of a sincere Christian from employment to a ‘religious bar’ to any employment by Christians. If Christian views on sexual ethics can be described as ‘discriminatory’, such views cannot be ‘worthy of respect in a democratic society’. An employer could dismiss a Christian, refuse to employ a Christian and actively undermine Christian beliefs. I believe that further Judicial decisions are likely to end up at this point and this is why I believe it is necessary to intervene now.
Ewedia v British Airways:
14. The recent decisions by the Courts on the right of Christian freedoms to wear Crosses appears to display a worrying lack of awareness of Christian religious and cultural manifestations. In Eweida v British Airways (Sedley, Carnwath and Smith LJJ) (Elias P in the EAT) the Court of Appeal held it reasonable for judges to be unaware that Christians wear Crosses visibly around their necks as a sign of fidelity to the Lord Jesus. The Court of Appeal held evidence of such a practice was required (paragraph 18).
15. In the recent Exeter Employment Tribunal case of Chaplin v Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, the Tribunal rejected the evidence of another nurse because she had removed her Cross upon instruction and has thereby not sustained a ‘particular’ disadvantage with the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.
16. By letter to the Sunday Telegraph dated 28th March 2010, I wrote a letter jointly with Bishops of Winchester, Chester, Hereford, Blackburn, Litchfield and the former Bishop of Rochester expressing concern at the treatment of Christians by the Courts. I am confident that I have substantial support from those in the Church of England and other Christian denominations.
Conclusion:
17. This type of ‘reasoning’ is dangerous to the social order and represents clear animus to Christian beliefs. The fact that senior clerics of the Church of England and other faiths feel compelled to intervene directly in judicial decisions and cases is illuminative of a future civil unrest.
18. I am concerned that judges are unaware of these basic issues on the Christian faith; further it is difficult to see how it is appropriate for other religions to be considered by the Judiciary where the practices are further removed from our traditions.
19. It is for this reason I support the application by Mr. McFarlane for his appeal to be heard under the direction of the Lord Chief Justice and a freshly constituted five member Court of Appeal.
20. Further, I appeal to the Lord Chief Justice to establish a specialist Panel of Judges designated to hear cases engaging religious rights. Such Judges should have a proven sensitivity and understanding of religious issues and I would be supportive of Judges of all faiths and denominations being allocated to such a Panel. The Judges engaged in the cases listed above should recuse themselves from further adjudication on such matters as they have made clear their lack of knowledge about the Christian faith.
Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts contained in this Witness Statement are true.
Signed: Lord Carey of Clifton

Sentamu Surprise

Scarborough Futurist Theatre Summer Shows Brochure arrived today and who will be appearing alongside the likes of Billy Pearce, the Chuckle Brothers, Ken Dodd, Chubby Brown, Basil Brush and the music of Abba, Joe Longthorne, Elvis, Queen, Jane McDonald and Robbie Williams ? Our own Archbishop in 'Sentamu by the Sea'.

Arcbishop Sentamu will lead this evening telling his extraordinary story. A retiring collection will be taken. "Any excess of income over expenditure will be donated to a current 'world emergency'. Tickets from the Futurist Box Office in person or send a self addressed stamped envelope. Max 2 per person. Groups contact box office. Admission by ticket only.

Canterbury to Synod

Extract from Archbishop's Presidential Address

"Something of that 'tragic' awareness is hard to avoid when we look at the decisions that face us in our Church. Most hold that the ordination of women as bishops is a good, something that will enhance our faithfulness to Christ and our integrity in mission. But that good is at the moment jeopardised in two ways – by the potential loss of those who in conscience cannot see it as a good, and by the equally conscience-driven concern that there are ways of securing the desired good that will corrupt it or compromise it fatally (and so would rather not see it at all than see it happening under such circumstances). And for both many women in the debate and most if not all traditionalists, there is a strong feeling that the Church overall is not listening to how they are defining for themselves the position they occupy, the standards to which they hold themselves accountable. What they hear is the rest of the Church saying, 'Of course we want you – but exclusively on our terms, not yours'; which translates in the ears of many as 'We don't actually want you at all'.

Sentamu and Rome

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has suggested that ex-Anglicans who join the Roman Catholic Church as part of the Pope’s Ordinariate Scheme will not be “proper Catholics”. He made this claim in an interview with BBC Northern Ireland journalist William Crawley, who has put the transcript on his blog.

Dr Sentamu is displaying what appears to be deplorable ignorance. To put the record straight: any Anglican joining the Ordinariate will be as Catholic as the Pope. It’s as simple as that. Hat-tip to an Anglican friend who intends to follow this course of action and, like me, is outraged at Dr Sentamu’s misrepresentation.

Here’s the relevant section of the interview:

Archbishop Sentamu: “If people genuinely realise that they want to be Roman Catholic, they should convert properly, and go through catechesis and be made proper Catholics. This kind of creation [the Apostolic Constitution] — well, all I can say is, we wish them every blessing and may the Lord encourage them. But as far as I am concerned, if I was really, genuinely wanting to convert, I wouldn’t go into an ordinariate. I would actually go into catechesis and become a truly converted Roman Catholic and be accepted.”

William Crawley: “So those Anglicans who take advantage of the Apostolic Constitution, you’re saying, would not be ‘proper Catholics’?”

Archbishop Sentamu: “Well, I mean, I’d be very surprised –”

William Crawley: “What would they be if they are not ‘proper Catholics’?”

Archbishop Sentamu: “They would be what they are: an ordinariate of the Vatican.”

Dr Sentamu is perfectly entitled to criticise the Pope’s offer and to discourage Anglicans from leaving the Church of England. What is he is not allowed to do is mislead the public about the status of those people who convert under the provisions of Anglicanorum coetibus, for they will be true converts and true Catholics.

He should apologise immediately. (Damian Thompson)

The blogger Returns

Sorry about my absence since 19 th but our computer has been out of action.

Important events have been Sentamu visits to St Saviour on Sunday and consecration of new bishop for Whitby in York Minster yesterday.

And removal of witnessing Christian from the Celebrity Big Brother House.....

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THE Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, paid a special visit to a Scarborough church yesterday to deliver a sermon encouraging greater faith and hope among people in the town.

Dr Sentamu was preaching at St Saviour’s Church, in Gladstone Road, and spoke to a congregation of more than 100 people about the life of Ananias, who was chosen by God for his readiness and willingness to carry out his duties.

During the evensong service, led by Peter Williams and assistant priest Fr Graham Waring, Dr Sentamu addressed worshippers in an occasionally animated sermon by appealing for positivity during unsettled times and calling on them to repeat the faithfulness shown by Ananias.

He said: “The church is made up of ready, willing and faithful disciples. Through Christ we can overcome all things and we should all see an opportunity in every difficulty, a rose instead of a thorn, and turn ordinary lives into extraordinary ones.

“In Haiti, after the recent earthquake disaster, there was a young boy who had been trapped for eight days but when he was found he was waving to the cameras and almost saying ‘look at me’.”

“That is the robust faith we must have and our faith should be infectious because far more vital than what we do is what we are.”

Dr Sentamu also told the congregation he had thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Scarborough and the church – which is currently without a priest – and joked about making them pray for a new one.

He added: “It is nice to be here in Scarborough at St Saviour’s Church and I would like to thank Fr Graham Waring, Peter Williams and the church wardens for keeping the services going during the interregnum.

“I am praying that you will soon get another priest and I urge you, if you aren’t already, to do the same.

“In fact, you should do it straight away or I will come looking for you and make sure you do!”.

THE new Bishop of Whitby has been consecrated at York Minster by the Archbishop of York.

Bishop Martin Warner, formerly the Canon Treasurer of St Paul’s Cathedral, was consecrated as the new Bishop of Whitby by Dr John Sentamu at a ceremony yesterday.

Bishop Warner said: “Preparations for the consecration in York Minster have been humbling and astonishing. People going back to my childhood have sent messages of prayer and support. “They all seem to think this is what God is calling me to do, and after a time you begin to believe it! Also, the opportunity to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ in one of the most varied and exciting parts of Britain is what keeps me going when I think of the awesome responsibility of being a bishop. I’m looking forward to learning the art of my new life and work.”

Dr John Sentamu described Bishop Warner as a “man of great faith and integrity who has a real heart for serving the community”. He said: “I am sure that his passion for helping others will shine through.”

Bishop Warner replaces the Right Rev Robert Ladds, who resigned to return to life as a parish priest in London.

Actor Stephen Baldwin has become the fourth celebrity to be evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house.

The crowd chanted "Get Stephen out" as host Davina McCall delivered the news the public had indeed done that.

The born-again Christian showed off a "Jesus" message T-shirt and looked up to the sky as he left the house to audible boos amid the cheers.

Your kind of archbishop?

Ruth Gledhill blogs:

A fantastic story, possibly apocryphal but one that has a certain ring of truth about it, is doing the rounds among mums in London.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has a son who is of school age and who, like any schoolboy and certainly like my own young son, loves nothing more than a good play date.

This boy was apparently round at a friend's house the other day when his dad, Dr Rowan Williams, appeared on the television, as he does.

'Oh look,' piped up the boy's school friend. 'There's that man on the telly who does the hoovering at Pip's house.'

Mitres off to you Jane, you've got your priorities right. I think you might just be deserving of another bottle of Times champagne for this coup in domestic ecclesiastical politics.

But have things deteriorated this far, that the Church Commissioners can no longer fund a cleaner at Lambeth Palace?

There are times when I love our most humble of Archbishops, and this is one of them. Thank you Dr Williams for this Maundy Thursday moment, a reminder at the start of Advent of where all our priorities should be.

..and a reader comments

Oh Ruth you do like to peddle this myth that this man is humble - where is the evidence for this? His actions have shown him to be the classic biblical "wise man" who thinks himself clever but whose actions prove to be foolish and disastrous. This surely is a sign of arrogance and pride not humility.

More like the obsequious Uriah Heep than the authentic humility of Cardinal Hume. And just like the mock Eucharistic services of the COE used to be called (washing feet included)it is and he is a Blasphemous Sham!

POSTED BY: JEFF BROADBENT | 3 DEC 2009

Sentamu's Advent

Archbishop: "Please Walk With Me This Advent"

Friday 27 November 2009

This Advent I would like to invite you to join me in saying the Litany from Common Worship (as adapted) and the Prayer of General Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer as part of your daily prayers.

The Litany may be used as part of, or instead of the Intercessions. At Morning Prayer the General Thanksgiving can be used at the end, and in the Eucharist it may replace the Post-Communion Prayer when using Common Worship.

My prayer times will be morning, midday and evening. Please pray with me.

I wish you a blessed and prayerful Advent.

+Sentamu

THE LITANY (from Common Worship – Parts I – III adapted)

I

Let us pray.

God the Father,

All have mercy upon us.

God the Son,

All have mercy upon us.

God the Holy Spirit,

All have mercy upon us.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity,

All have mercy upon us.

II

From all evil and mischief;

from pride, vanity and hypocrisy;

from envy, hatred and malice;

and from all evil intent,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

From sloth, worldliness and love of money;

from hardness of heart

and contempt for your word and your laws,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

From sins of body and mind;

from the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

From famine and disaster;

from violence, murder and dying unprepared,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

In all times of sorrow;

in all times of joy;

in the hour of death,

and at the day of judgement,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

III

By the mystery of your holy incarnation;

by your birth, childhood and obedience;

by your baptism, fasting and temptation,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

By your ministry in word and work;

by your mighty acts of power;

and by your preaching of the kingdom,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

By your agony and trial;

by your cross and passion;

and by your precious death and burial,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

By your mighty resurrection;

by your glorious ascension;

and by your sending of the Holy Spirit,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

IV

Hear our prayers, O Lord our God.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Govern and direct your holy Church;

fill it with love and truth;

and grant it that unity which is your will.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Give us boldness to preach the gospel in all the world,

and to make disciples of all the nations.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Enlighten N our Bishop and all who minister

with knowledge and understanding,

that by their teaching and their lives

they may proclaim your word.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Give your people grace to hear and receive your word,

and to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bring into the way of truth all who have erred

and are deceived.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Strengthen those who stand;

comfort and help the faint-hearted;

raise up the fallen;

and finally beat down Satan under our feet.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

V

Guide the leaders of the nations

into the ways of peace and justice.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Guard and strengthen your servant Elizabeth our Queen,

that she may put her trust in you,

and seek your honour and glory.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Endue the High Court of Parliament

and all the Ministers of the Crown

with wisdom and understanding.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bless those who administer the law,

that they may uphold justice, honesty and truth.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Give us the will to use the resources of the earth to your glory,

and for the good of all creation.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bless and keep all your people.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bring your joy into all families;

strengthen and deliver those in childbirth,

watch over children and guide the young,

bring reconciliation to those in discord

and peace to those in stress.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

VI

Help and comfort the lonely, the bereaved and the oppressed.

All Lord, have mercy.

Keep in safety those who travel, and all who are in danger.

All Lord, have mercy.

Heal the sick in body and mind,

and provide for the homeless, the hungry and the destitute.

All Lord, have mercy.

Show your pity on prisoners and refugees,

and all who are in trouble.

All Lord, have mercy.

Forgive our enemies, persecutors and slanderers,

and turn their hearts.

All Lord, have mercy.

Hear us as we remember

those who have died in the peace of Christ,

both those who have confessed the faith

and those whose faith is known to you alone,

and grant us with them a share

in your eternal kingdom.

All Lord, have mercy.

VII

Give us true repentance;

forgive us our sins of negligence and ignorance

and our deliberate sins;

and grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit

to amend our lives according to your holy word.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

have mercy upon us.

PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING

(from the Book of Common Prayer)

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,

we thine unworthy servants

do give thee most humble and hearty thanks

for all thy goodness and loving-kindness

to us and to all men;

[particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.]

We bless thee for our creation, preservation,

and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for thine inestimable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,

for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And we beseech thee, give us that due sense

of all thy mercies,

that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,

and that we shew forth thy praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives;

by giving up ourselves to thy service,

and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness

all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost

be all honour and glory, world without end.

Amen.