Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving*
and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
So we heard in Psalm 107 today, those of us following the Revised Common Lectionary.
Today these words resonated with me in light of Rowan Williams' resignation: not because I wanted to list off his acts during his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury as a litany of sorts. I am not sure I would be able to come up with a list of singular events that would compose such a litany.
No, these words resonated with me because I would like to offer shouts of joy for his courage to fill the position of Archbishop in a time riven within tension and dismay in Church. As I read the various takes on his resignation these last couple of days- including speculations about his successor- I could not help but ask, how can we sit by while some are calling him the Archbishop who failed to heal "the schism"?
No, he did not "fix" the Anglican Communion in his time. But he gave all of himself to his position and the Church we all know he loves. Let's offer thanksgiving for his leadership in such a time.
It seems to me, at least, that there is no way forward in times of unrest except shouts of joy and thanksgiving for what we do have: communion.
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