Sermon preached by Bishop Anne – Sunday 4 March

Bishop Anne has released a text copy of her first sermon in the Diocese, preached last Sunday, 4 March, at St Andrew’s Cathedral – an extract is shown below.  It is available in full here.

There has been much speculation, some private, but much in the public domain, concerned with what my episcopate is going to be about, what my priorities are going to be. So let me take this opportunity to say this…

I am going to be talking about Jesus and his story – everywhere I can, to whoever I can. I am going to try to tell it all – yes his incarnation, and his resurrection, his ascension, his eternal presence with the Father and the Spirit….

But I am going to be speaking about Jesus who loves us, and is kind, and is merciful, who is compassionate towards us, who absolutely gets how life is for us, who desires full and abundant life for every person. I will be speaking about the cost of this – first of all for him, but also for those who follow, the cost of putting others first, of being a servant.

You know that there really is no such thing as Christendom any more. There are generations of folk who have not ever been near church, the majority do not know the story – especially those that are younger. They know nothing much about Jesus – except that maybe he was a good man, once, long ago.

So I will be inviting the diocese to share in this telling of his story with me – through your words, but also through what you do, and how you live.

Together we will tell the story clearly, robustly. We will tell it all, in every place that we can, to everyone.