For the Sake of the World

On Sunday's BBC Breakfast with Frost, Sir David Frost interviewed Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA.

The conclusion is worth noting;

DAVID FROST: Is it possible do you think, Bishop Griswold, that in the end the only way that these deep divisions can be solved is by saying okay, no more Anglican union as such, we'll just be a sort of federation of different churches? Is that the only way to solve this one?

BISHOP GRISWOLD: I think it's worth pointing out that the Church is for the sake of the world, not for the sake of its own self preservation. My sense is that if we draw deeply from the well spring of grace and goodness and divine compassion that is at the very heart of the Church's life, we will find a way to continue forward with our different perspectives.

I think it's worth pointing out that Anglicanism, historically, was an effort to contain radical differences, a reformation consciousness in a Catholic consciousness within a context of common prayer, in which one point of view was not the answer but the ability to come together around word and sacrament.

And I think that continues to be the heart and centre of the Anglican experience and that, I think, could carry us through these difficult times.

Well said, Most Reverend Sir.

J.