Sentamu ends fast with call for international action
-21/08/06
Dr John Sentamu, Britai
Sentamu ends fast with call for international action
-21/08/06
Dr John Sentamu, Britainís first black archbishop, today ended his week-long fast and vigil for the Middle East at York Minster with an appeal for concerted international action to secure a lasting peace.
“We must each and every one of us hold responsibility for seeking peace in our own time, in our own streets and in our own homes as well as continuing to pray for the world,” declared the Archbishop of York ñ second only to Dr Rowan Williams in the hierarchy of the Church of England.
Dr Sentamu shaved his head, was anointed with oil, and spent seven days in a tent inside his cathedral to show solidarity with those caught up in the Middle East conflict as the fragile ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon.
He was visited by hundreds of people, received thousands of letters (including donations to emergency appeals by Christian Aid and others), and excited much media interest for his personal anti-war stance.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also appealed for the global community – and the protagonists in the current conflict – to listen to the voices of the innocent rather than the drumbeats of revenge and violence.
Meanwhile, Dr Sentamu declared: “The events of the past weeks, in the Lebanon, Israel, the United States and Britain have demonstrated that we cannot afford any longer to leave the issues of the Middle East in the pending tray of unresolved business.”
He went on: “There is no greater recruiting sergeant for would-be jihadists than the conflict in the Middle East. Without urgent action on our part … the spiral of violence that has lasted longer than the whole of my lifetime – and I am 57 – will continue unabated, as new generations become mired in the enmity of their forefathers.”
“It is surely fear and anxiety which leads to aggression. We must build a sense of safety. If we seek for others an integrity and legitimacy of civil society, we ourselves must strive to think about our own,” the Archbishop of York concluded.
[Also on Ekklesia: Sentamu to launch week-long York fast against violence; Black Archbishop calls for magnanimity in Anglican row; Church must face racism, says black archbishop; Britain’s first black archbishop inaugurated; Black archbishop prays for racist abusers; C of E’s first black archbishop takes up post; Archbishop to visit home of London bombers; Don’t judge kids on hoodies, says redcap church leader; Black archbishop says Tutu shows us what respect means; Worrying new Anglican dispute about David Beckham; Episcopal Church USA faces pressure on Anglican gay split; Black archbishop attacks multiculturalism; Vote against racism, says archbishop, as BNP are exposed; New archbishop: Government’s asylum policy ‘inhuman’; Sexuality row may be irresolvable, says ex-Archbishop; Archbishop hears of Muslim shock over London bombings; Rich-poor divide a disgrace says church report; Zimbabwe church leaders debate how to handle Mugabe; Bishop attacks Howard’s crime policy]
Sentamu ends fast with call for international action
-21/08/06
Dr John Sentamu, Britainís first black archbishop, today ended his week-long fast and vigil for the Middle East at York Minster with an appeal for concerted international action to secure a lasting peace.
“We must each and every one of us hold responsibility for seeking peace in our own time, in our own streets and in our own homes as well as continuing to pray for the world,” declared the Archbishop of York ñ second only to Dr Rowan Williams in the hierarchy of the Church of England.
Dr Sentamu shaved his head, was anointed with oil, and spent seven days in a tent inside his cathedral to show solidarity with those caught up in the Middle East conflict as the fragile ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon.
He was visited by hundreds of people, received thousands of letters (including donations to emergency appeals by Christian Aid and others), and excited much media interest for his personal anti-war stance.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also appealed for the global community – and the protagonists in the current conflict – to listen to the voices of the innocent rather than the drumbeats of revenge and violence.
Meanwhile, Dr Sentamu declared: “The events of the past weeks, in the Lebanon, Israel, the United States and Britain have demonstrated that we cannot afford any longer to leave the issues of the Middle East in the pending tray of unresolved business.”
He went on: “There is no greater recruiting sergeant for would-be jihadists than the conflict in the Middle East. Without urgent action on our part … the spiral of violence that has lasted longer than the whole of my lifetime – and I am 57 – will continue unabated, as new generations become mired in the enmity of their forefathers.”
“It is surely fear and anxiety which leads to aggression. We must build a sense of safety. If we seek for others an integrity and legitimacy of civil society, we ourselves must strive to think about our own,” the Archbishop of York concluded.
[Also on Ekklesia: Sentamu to launch week-long York fast against violence; Black Archbishop calls for magnanimity in Anglican row; Church must face racism, says black archbishop; Britain’s first black archbishop inaugurated; Black archbishop prays for racist abusers; C of E’s first black archbishop takes up post; Archbishop to visit home of London bombers; Don’t judge kids on hoodies, says redcap church leader; Black archbishop says Tutu shows us what respect means; Worrying new Anglican dispute about David Beckham; Episcopal Church USA faces pressure on Anglican gay split; Black archbishop attacks multiculturalism; Vote against racism, says archbishop, as BNP are exposed; New archbishop: Government’s asylum policy ‘inhuman’; Sexuality row may be irresolvable, says ex-Archbishop; Archbishop hears of Muslim shock over London bombings; Rich-poor divide a disgrace says church report; Zimbabwe church leaders debate how to handle Mugabe; Bishop attacks Howard’s crime policy]