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Former Wheatleyan Editor Interviews The Archbishop Of Canterbury

News and Features Old Wheatleyans


Former pupil Beth Rowland, current News Editor of the University of Nottingham's student magazine 'Impact', was warmly invited back to Bablake as a guest when the Archbishop of Canterbury visited us earlier this week.

Beth has since blogged her observations on the visit, reporting directly on her brief interview with the Most Reverend Justin Welby. She has kindly allowed us to quote her report verbatim:  

“The real challenge in the Church is to find good disagreement.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury knows that there is division within the Church of England. It’s something he doesn’t shy away from, but something he doesn’t quite know how to sort out. The challenge he faces is to promote unity within the Church and keep everyone friendly.  

I met the Archbishop at Bablake, the school I attended in Coventry, where he spent the day promoting inter-faith peace and reconciliation. Meeting faith leaders from across the city, including Greek Orthodox, Buddhist and Muslim leaders, the Most Reverend spoke of a "commitment within Coventry to peace and reconciliation" and said that the "mutual understanding between faiths benefits young people in the city."  

The Most Reverend told me that he loves meeting other faith leaders, something he does a lot. “The challenge, as I've said to people today, is finding ways to be honest. There is too much being nice and polite, we should be able to be completely honest with each other, even though we have different faiths, and say 'I don't like that' or 'that makes me uneasy'."  

He continued by noting that "peace and reconciliation doesn't mean synchronism, it doesn't mean we all agree. The challenge is to find good disagreement and show respect towards each other." Ven Lobsang Dawa, a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition based in Coventry, said he was "impressed with how much time the Archbishop had for everyone and how genuinely interested he was in listening to the other faith leaders".  

Baptised myself by the Archbishop, in his first ever ministerial role as Curate of All Saints Chilvers Coton church in Nuneaton, it was amazing as a person of faith to be in the company of such a peaceful and devoted man. He was thrilled to hear that I have kept my faith and to hear that I have recently reaffirmed my baptism at St Nic’s in Nottingham. He had time for me and wanted to hear my story, something you might expect a person of his gravitas to have very little time for.  

I raised the issue of gay marriage as an example of the difference and controversy within the Church of England. He smiled knowingly – this is a debate the Most Reverend Justin Welby has had before.   “I don’t have a personal problem with gay people or gay marriage. I have gay friends and I support their relationships. The problem comes when we turn to scripture… it’s complicated. What do you think?”  

It is a complex issue and one that looks like it will never be resolved. So many priests have voiced their opinions regarding the matter and I could tell that the Archbishop is clearly the man that listens to many of their concerns. While we didn't solve the problem in our quick chat, I was struck by the intelligent and thoughtful air that the Archbishop exudes. His mission was to promote peace, and such a genuine and peaceful man completed that task with ease.  

The Most Reverend told me it was “wonderful” to be back in Coventry, having been ordained at Coventry Cathedral many years ago. “I love it here. I have to ration my visits here otherwise the other cities get grumpy”, he laughed.

Thank you, Beth, for an excellent and thought-provoking account.



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