Visit by the Bishop of Liberia to St. Wilfrid's
on the occasion of the Lambeth Conference
Adam May, July 2008
Come to Liberia urges the Bishop!
On Sunday 13th July 2008 at our 10.30am Eucharist, we were able to extend a warm welcome to the Right Reverend Jonathan Hart, the Bishop of Liberia and his wife, Mrs Frances Hart. The visit of the Bishop and his wife comes as part of the visit of sixteen Bishops and their spouses visiting the Diocese of Chichester from Friday 11th July to Tuesday 15th July. Bishop Jonathan and his wife are visiting the Arundel and Bognor Deanery over the weekend of 12th and 13th July as one of the visitors to the Diocese.
The programme of events for the Bishop and Frances has included a special service at Chichester Cathedral which included the installation of the Rev’d Mark Payne as a Canon, an Open afternoon at Camps Hill, near Pullbourgh with the Diocesan Family Support Work group and a social evening with the clergy and their partners in the Arundel and Bognor Deanery as well as visiting St Wilfrid’s Church for a Sunday Eucharist.
As part of the Eucharist, Bishop Hart was interviewed by the parish priest, Father Andrew Wadsworth about life in his country and what it means to be a Christian in Liberia. The Bishop informed us about the past of Liberia and indicated that he was a fairly new Bishop, having only been elected last January and consecrated in March. Bishop Hart has, however been a priest for 28 years this year. The Bishop spoke with passion about the vision for his Diocese in regards to offering a health and education strategy to those who are without.
Thinking about the Lambeth Conference, Bishop Hart spoke with conviction aout the need for unity among Bishops, Priests and laity. This comes following vast spread media speculation that up to a quarter of the Bishops in the Communion were not planning to attend the each decade Conference presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
Father Andrew asked the Bishop about what the English Church can do now to grow together. The Bishop strongly challenged us to venture into the unknown and be open and prepared to strengthen our links with the African churches.
At the end of the Eucharist, Father Andrew invited Bishop Hart to offer the final blessing, before having an opportunity to ‘meet and greet’ over refreshments.
Father Andrew Wadsworth welcomed the Bishop’s visit saying “I enjoyed welcoming Bishop Hart and his wife, Frances to St Wilfrid’s ahead of his visit to the Lambeth Conference. I am sure the Bishop felt very much at home in our worshipping community and enjoyed the visit himself. It was good to hear his words during our interview. With the Lambeth Conference coming up, we must pray for Bishop Hart and all the Bishops that they maybe open to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.”
