Archbishop Carey

        The head of 70 million Anglicans around the world will lead a special worship service this weekend in a rare Cincinnati appearance.

        The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Leonard Carey, will commission 10,000 members of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio to become evangelists and spread the word of God to the unchurched.

        The two-hour Sunday service at Xavier University's Cintas Center ushers in the bold vision of the Right Rev. Herbert Thompson Jr. to increase membership in the diocese from 27,000 to 100,000 by 2005. The event coincides with the diocese's 125th anniversary and is the first time all 83 churches have been invited to come together.

IF YOU GO

Tickets are still available for the 11 a.m. Sunday worship service with the Archbishop of Canterbury at Xavier University's Cintas Center. Pre-registration is advised. Call 1-888-731-6117 or visit www.clearviz.org.

        The archbishop is “a figure that transcends denomination,” said Terri Thornton, a member of St. Barnabas church in Montgomery and coordinator of the event. “He is a symbol of the commonality we all share. ... We may do things a little differently, say things a little differently, but we share the (common ground) of our faith.”

        Anglicans and their American sister congregation, the Episcopalians, look to the archbishop in much the same way as Roman Catholics regard the pope, says diocesan spokesman Andy Figueroa. Although the archbishop is not a so-called Anglican pope and has no formal authority over members of the denomination, he is considered its spiritual and moral leader.

        Archbishop Carey generally accepts only two to three speaking engagements in the United States each year, says Jim Solheim, spokesman for the national Episcopal Church, based in New York. Mr. Solheim says the selection of the Cincinnati event illustrates that evangelism is an important concern for the archbishop.

        Evangelism is not traditionally associated with the Episcopal church. The denomination often is regarded as more focused on social action and questions of theology than with recruiting new members.

ABOUT THE ARCHBISHOP

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop in England and the head of all churches in the World Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States.   The archbishop places the crown on the head of the queen or king of England and sits in the House of Lords. The archbishop also performs the marriages for many members of the Royal family, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana.   Many schoolchildren are familiar with Canterbury from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which chronicles a religious pilgrimage.   Dr. George Leonard Carey was enthroned as the 103rd archbishop of Canterbury on April 19, 1991. He is the first commoner this century to be enthroned as the archbishop of Canterbury.

        “The bishop's vision goes against the flow,” Mr. Figueroa concedes. “It's against the recent tradition of keeping our religion to ourselves, of being politically correct in a secular world. ... But that's not being faithful to the Great Commission.”

        In the Bible, Jesus commissions followers in Matthew 28:19 to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

        The authentic practice of evangelism should include both social action and church growth, says the Rev. Stephen Carlsen, director of campus ministries at the Episcopal-affiliated Kenyon College, an hour northeast of Columbus.

        Long a promoter of social justice, the Episcopal church fought for racial equality during the civil rights movement and was one of the first to ordain women. Its discussion of same-sex relationships is among the most progressive of mainstream Christian denominations.

        But the same congregations often have been reluctant to share their faith in a personal way, the Rev. Mr. Carlsen says.

        One of a dozen members at St. Barnabas that originally shouldered the project, Mrs. Thornton says the group took inspiration from the phrase, “You may be the only Bible someone ever reads.”

        With the foundation established, the group began nearly a year ago to coordinate an event that mushroomed at every turn.

        From 12, the volunteer base grew to 400.

        Two hundred choir members, including a group from Westminster Abbey in London, will walk down the aisle with another 200 priests, acolytes and diocesan representatives. Every locker room in the Cintas Center will be used; they need all the hooks to hang clergy robes.

        The committee printed nearly 10,000 name tags for those who preregistered and sent mailings out every week for several months to all the churches.

        And then there is communion. Members across the diocese pledged to bake 1,000 loaves of bread.

        At the heart of it is Mrs. Thornton. The dashboard of her black Toyota Corolla is yellow with reminder Post-It notes. The three phone lines at her home buzz nonstop with calls, faxes and e-mails.

        The four to five hours of sleep she gets at night are preceded with anxious moments of hoping there's no snow. And praying for the health of the Queen Mother. After all, the archbishop is the personal chaplain for the royal family.

        But Mrs. Thornton has faith everything will be fine in the end.

        “There's a lot of churches praying,” she said, “and we've got the bishop and archbishop on our side.”
       

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