Lord Hope: ‘Let’s throw off the bureaucracy’

BISHOP DAVID HOPE (Lord Hope of Thornes) retur ned to a subject he frequently addressed as Archbishop of York when he preached last week at the consecration of the Rt Rev Glyn Webster as Bishop of Beverley on 25 Januar y.

“How the church today needs urgently to shake off the disabling shackles of hierarchy and bureaucracy so that it can be free to travel light, to embrace an altogether new asceticism… to live the gospel light so that the light and life of Jesus may be the more manifest to all,” Dr Hope said.

“Look at the gospels – did Jesus ever form a committee, set up a working par ty, dream up a Synod? No – he simply met people where they were – Peer and James and John – and called them.”

The former Archbishop reminded the new bishop that while he was being ordained to ser ve a particular community he must r emember that he was a bishop for the whole Church and needed to be a bridge-builder who would seek to further the unity of the Church.

As well as being ready to speak out when the situation demanded it, the new bishop would also need to learn when to be silent.

Referring to the recent General Synod vote on women bishops, Dr Hope urged all to “exercise par ticular care in ensuring that their sometimes strongly felt and str ongly held views on this matter, as indeed in others, ar e expressed with care and understanding one towards another”.