wHatever bishops may become involved in on the national scene they are first and foremost ‘local’.
They bear the name of a place; that is the community in which they share worship, take responsibility for the care of people and commend the Church’s life and message. We are not at liberty to wander where we will, or to speak on public issues without an awareness of the thoughts and feelings, the concerns and celebrations of their own place.
So my memory of being a bishop is not abstract. It is rooted in 10 years’ experience of Dudley and Worcestershire. I have been nourished by beautiful landscapes, stimulating colleagues, and communities with vibrant social and industrial histories.
Above all, my experience has been of generosity and hospitality. Thank you for having me, I was taught to say as a child after a visit, and it seems an appropriate thing to say at this moment.
The churches have been having me, sharing their experience of worship and parish life. Communities, enterprises and institutions have been having me, demonstrating their sense of purpose and the values of their common life. And – particularly as I write this – I would want to say thank you for having me to the newspaper editors and broadcasters who have given me a great deal of space and time to share thinking and, as a result, gain reactions to what I have said and thought. Bishops have very little right to enter and speak, and therefore life has been full of your graciousness, of being welcomed on to others’ territory and experiencing their friendship.
The local memories with which I am left are above all positive.
For all of us these have been years of rapid change, of some serious crises, for example in the motor industry and in the world of farming. This is no place in which to be insulated from the turmoil of life, but it is a place where these events have brought out of people immense resources of care and imaginative action, in our churches and in society at large. Even when things have been really difficult, my locality – the diocese of Worcester – has been a place of hope, in which human compassion and the Christian message of God’s constant care continue to enrich and sustain our life together.
So my last word can be thank you for having me – for thanks to you it has been a wonderful place to be.