Monday, June 30, 2008

Rowan Williams Gets it Right. Again.

The full text of Rowan Williams response to the Gafcon declaration has been published on his website, at Thinking Anglicans, and elsewhere. It's a good and balanced response to what's happened, and concludes thus:

I have in the past quoted to some in the Communion who would call themselves radical the words of the Apostle in I Cor.11.33: ‘wait for one another’. I would say the same to those in whose name this statement has been issued. An impatience at all costs to clear the Lord’s field of the weeds that may appear among the shoots of true life (Matt.13.29) will put at risk our clarity and effectiveness in communicating just those evangelical and catholic truths which the GAFCON statement presents.

What has constantly struck me is a lack of patience on all sides, people who would rather rush to get on with things, rather than wait, listen, and take some time. The media exerts a certain amount of pressure in this regard, and blogland is worst of all.

Ruth Gledhill also quotes Tom Wrights response, which is worth a look, though I think her headline is a bit strong. Rowan Williams doesn't 'slam' anyone - he just raises his eyebrows slightly higher and asks thoughtful questions. I guess that doesn't really fit across a newspaper column though.

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