The Church of England in Norfolk and North-East Suffolk
Clergy mailing
TO: LICENSED CLERGY
FROM: The Revd Jan McFarlane on Monday 11 February 2008

Bishop of Norwich re: Archbishop of Canterbury
For your information here is what the Bishop of Norwich said to the congregation of St Mary's, Martham before preaching there on Sunday 10th February.

"At the beginning of Lent, the Church asks us to reflect on the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and the way the devil sought to throw him off course at the start of his ministry. The Archbishop of Canterbury has had his own wilderness experience in recent days. He must be tempted either to curse the media or think that intelligent public debate is impossible in our country. It’s clear that few of those who have rushed to judgment have either read the Archbishop’s lecture or know much about sharia law. This isn’t the place to engage with that subject, though the way religious minorities are accommodated is a pertinent issue, not least because Christians themselves are increasingly being treated as a minority within a secular society. While I want to move on to preach from the gospel today (relevant in itself) I also want to make one point. In our present Archbishop we have a quite remarkable Christian man. He’s the most intelligent and learned person I’ve ever met. He’s also one of the most prayerful, genuinely humble and holy people I’ve ever known. That combination is probably what makes him a threatening figure to a society that is so superficial, celebrity-obsessed and self-absorbed. So do pray for our Archbishop and see the media frenzy for what it is – and see beyond it too." The Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich