You are not alone and are not expected to be the saviour of the Church of England. Only the good Lord can do that
George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, quoted in The Sunday Telegraph, 28 September
There needs to be a judicious silence from the Church on specific policies. The Church has no more expertise than anyone when it comes to the ins and outs of how we handle migration, for example. We squander our influence when we offer easy platitudes
Ibid.
Sometimes it rains and you get wet and miserable. But don’t despair and don’t confuse public opinion with the last word in the argument, let alone the will of God. Ultimately, you answer to God rather than the commentariat or the opinion polls. If you’re going to be wrong now and then — [and] you will be, believe me — be wrong for the right reasons, not following a crowd or a fashion
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, quoted in The Times, 29 September
The difficulty with being a theologian [is] they might be good at speaking to other theologians or other intellectuals, but not necessarily very good at addressing the general public. . . I think all you can ask of the new Archbishop is that they’re able to speak about their Christian faith clearly and authentically. They can’t do more than that. It may be into a hostile environment, it may be twisted; but that’s all we can ask of them
Richard Harries, former Bishop of Oxford, Sunday, Radio 4, 28 September
“Jesus-freaks” and “basement Bible bashers” is how my subject has been described, to my face, by my peers. Yet the study of God is enlightening and allows one to think about how we approach life, and ultimately death. What other subject encourages young people to create a community with great, juicy debates about morality?
Phoebe Davies, recent theology graduate, The Times, 20 September
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