If award were given for silly hats, the mitre, the official head gear of a bishop, would surely be a strong contender. It has to be said though that the sight of the massed ranks of mitres at the funeral of Pope John Paul II was impressive. Synchronised swimming is as nothing compared to the way those mitres were donned and discarded in strict liturgical sequence. The bishop’s mitre is of course his symbol of office signifying the Holy Spirit of God. On Pentecost Sunday – May 15th – we commemorated the moment when Almighty God assured humanity that he was and is very much with us guiding, empowering and leading us into the future.

In St. Luke’s Gospel Jesus promises his disciples “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). Firstly, this is clearly the continuing work of Jesus himself even though he was no longer physically present among them, but secondly, the power he exercised throughout his ministry would now be committed to his continuing body, the Church. And so “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…”
(Acts 2:1-4).

The office of bishop symbolises the power of God at work in the church in the world. When we consider examples of the awesome power in the created universe we can only be humbled by the responsibility given to the church at that first Pentecost. The bishop’s mitre is the symbol of the might and power of God at our disposal as we each constitute parts of the Church.

Pentecost is about commitment – God committing his power into the care of the church. Today that is you and me. There are, thankfully, numerous examples of the way that commitment is honoured, sometimes sacrificially. But there are also too many examples where lack of commitment leads to discouragement, frustration and failure in the church. Instead of the dynamic body of people we could so easily be, living, trusting and working together in the power God has given, we find too many ‘mighters’… “I might be there. I might be able to do it. Then again, I might not!” Are you a ‘doer’ or a ‘mighter’?  In our life together at St. Christopher’s Cathedral we need more commitment and fewer ‘mighters’, Good intentions are not enough. Because of the ‘fluid’ nature of our congregations it is essential that each person takes seriously their commitment to the service of God.

Elsewhere in this issue of TBAN you will see that the Church Council is addressing this issue under three headings:

Worship and Spiritual Growth
Funding and Giving
Fellowship and Pastoral Care

The effectiveness of this strategy is dependent on the commitment of everyone playing thei part rather than leaving it to the few. As we celebrate Pentecost, please pray for our “New Directions” strategy, that it may be Christ-centred and Spirit-filled and that you may identify the commitment you can make to the life and work of the church in this place that God has committed to us all.

Finally our congratulations and prayers go with those who were confirmed by Bishop Clive on Easter Eve:

Pat Smith, Melanie Blassi and Sandeep Audi. Sandeep was also baptised at that service.

Alan Hayday