Friday 17 April 2009

Inclusion and Welcome - What Rowan WIlliams said

I referred yesterday to Rowan Williams' comments about inclusion and welcome without being able to give the source - the unforgiveable sin! So here it is, though to go right back you must follow a link to the Nederlands Dagblad, and the page on that website doesn't seem to be working.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/barrow/article_06099rowan.shtml

This link is to a comment on the Archbishop's interview by Simon Barrow. As one would expect, the Archbishop's comments are nuanced and carefully thought out, and Simon Barrow adds his own 'take'. At the heart is the issue of how people need to change when they encounter Christ. I think the Archbishop is saying that 'inclusion' implies that no change is necessary for people who are newly included, whereas 'welcome' implies that there is a community with certain values that the newcomer is welcome to embrace - and this may mean change.

When I encounter what Rowan Williams has to say, it makes my brain feel like the size of a pea. It's very easy to hijack what he says and turn it into soundbites to support one view or another. Anyway, if you have time read this article and if you can access the Dutch website all the better.

I've just got back from the hearing the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra again, so my mind is still full of Tchaikovsky and Bernstein. I'm glad to report that classical music is not dead, and that this week 58,000 people will have been through the Royal Festival hall hearing the orchestra (I had that from the head of education at the South Bank Centre, that I sat next to).

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