Archbishop of York challenges capacity audience to engage in mission

The Archbishop of York has challenged a capacity audience of eight hundred at Ripon Cathedral is to actively engage in the mission of the church. The Most Revd Dr John Sentamu was speaking on the role of the church in contemporary society when he gave the inaugural “St Wilfrid’s Lecture”, at Ripon Cathedral on Thursday February 19th.  

In his lecture, “Rethinking Mission: The Role of the Church in Contemporary Society” Dr Sentamu described mission as the reason the church exists. He told the Cathedral audience that whilst the country faced unprecedented problems the church had a major role to play.

Click play to listen to the lecture in full.

"Our present situation is a case in point.  We are facing unprecedented problems caused by the credit crunch, upheaval in world financial markets and a lack of confidence in leaders and institutions which we thought were ‘as safe as houses’. The crisis is global.

"In this situation, the Church has a major role to play in enabling people to see that though times are hard, there is hope and a way through.  This hope is rooted in the Good News of God, which endures and gives life and meaning, even when (and perhaps, especially when) the security of the world around us appears to be collapsing."

The full text of Dr Sewntamu's lecture can be downloaded as a PDF file here

High profile speakers

Dr Sentamu is the first of a series of high-profile theologians and public speakers to give lectures during the series, which aims to be “a response to the growing need for theology and education to interact with issues facing society in the 21st century.” Other speakers will include Professor David Jasper of Glasgow University (23 April), the Revd Dr. David Wilkinson of St John’s Durham (18 June), and Sikh writer and broadcaster, Dr Inderjit Singh OBE (19 November).  

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd Keith Jukes, said that the interfaith dimension was very important in giving the series appeal to people throughout the region. “The lectures underline the Cathedral Chapter’s commitment to making Ripon a centre of excellence in education and theological reflection.  The series also underlines our commitment to be a Mother Church of the Diocese of Ripon & Leeds and to provide an opportunity for people from right across Yorkshire and neighbouring counties to come together for teaching and debate in a way that will enrich their own ministry and mission.  Our partnership with churches of other denominations and with other faith groups is also crucial.”  

The series of lectures aims to promote public conversation and to contribute to the collective policy-making in economic, political and social spheres. It is an ecumenical project and  is jointly organised and sponsored by Ripon Cathedral, the Methodist District of York and Hull, the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and York St John University.