Sharing the Gospel of Salvation

This evening I was at the 2010 Greater London Presence & Engagement Network lecture held at Southwark Cathedral.

Following the General Synod debate in February 2009, the House of Bishops was asked to produce a report on their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain's multi-faith society. Sharing the Gospel of Salvation is that report and tonight's event saw Dr John Azumah, Director of the Centre for Islamic Studies at the London School of Theology, give a keynote address responding to the report. A guest panel featuring Revd Jan Ainsworth,  Revd Canon Dr Jane Freeman and Revd Mark Poulson also shared their reactions to the report and keynote address. The event was chaired by Revd Dr Toby Howarth who helped with the writing of the report.

The twin emphases found in the report firstly of dialogue and mission, and secondly of proclamation and demonstration, were generally commended by those contributing. John Azumah was particularly enthusiastic about the content of the report but also raised questions about its intended audience, the lack of Global South voices in its development, and minimal reference to the phenomenon of reverse mission. Jan Ainsworth spoke about students learning from, as well as about, faiths within education. Jane Freeman highlighted the importance of acknowledging colonial and oppressive aspects of Christian mission as well as learning from positive examples in discussing the history of mission section within the report. Mark Poulson thought the report should have addressed the trauma of conversion, particularly for those who convert from another faith.

The main issue debated was the perceived mismatch between the original motion which seemed focussed on evangelism and the examples of good practice in the report which seemed focussed on demonstration rather than proclamation. Toby Howarth explained that this had been a matter of debate within the drafting group with the concern being that giving specific examples of proclamation could then have been open to misinterpretation through media reporting. Instead anonymised examples had been included within a different section of the report.

To my mind this very cautious approach to the media which had clearly influenced the structure and presentation of the report seemed to undercut the argument made in the report that the Church of England should be confident in its proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel. It seems to me to reflect the common but, I think, misplaced perception among much of the Church that Christianity is under attack or persecuted as a result of the UK becoming increasingly multi-cultural and multi-faith. By contrast, Mark Poulsen gave the example of conversations about faith occuring in the playground of the school his children attend. This multi-cultural context provided more opportunities for such conversations than many other contexts. I would also want to argue that the increase in multi-faith contexts within the UK has provided more opportunities for the discussion and sharing of faith than was previously the case and has been the prime mover for faith communities, including the Church, having a voice once again in the public square instead of the private role for religion for which secularists argue.

Finally, in comments from the floor Guy Wilkinson, Inter-Faith Relations Adviser to the Archbishop's Council, made the case for Presence & Engagement parishes (those with significant multi-faith populations) being viewed by the Church of England as test beds for its future mission.

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Thea Gilmore - God Knows.