The Most Revd Howard Gregory is the Archbishop of the Province of the West Indies and Chair of the Committee on Human Dignity. He worked on the drafting group for the Lambeth Call on Human Dignity. In an interview with the ACO, Archbishop Howard shared his reflections on the Lambeth Call and why it’s so relevant to the life of the Anglican Communion at this time.
What shaped the themes in the Lambeth Call?
We cannot begin to talk as a Christian faith body without being aware and engaging with our biblical roots. So, we explored our biblical roots and foundation for a theological anthropology. How do we understand the human person as created by God and how has that been captured in theological language? There were certain affirmations about the human person as created by God. The uniqueness of each person means that there is diversity which is to be respected among other things. There is of course the understanding of our humanity as finding its fullest expression in the person of Jesus Christ. Those were some fundamentals.
We then looked at issues that have worked against the affirmation of the dignity of the person. This included enslavement; economic inequalities; racial prejudice; prejudice in terms of gender, sexuality. Something that we were conscious of is that as Anglicans we need to acknowledge the spread of Anglicanism globally as it relates to many of our provinces that exist today and that it was connected to colonialism and imperialism and a philosophy of racial superiority. And therefore, there is need for us having acknowledged this to recognise that even with that history, there is a multiplicity of ecclesiastical expressions and theological reflection connected with our various contexts and experiences and to take those seriously.
Appreciating our differences
One of the privileges I have had as a Primate is to see the Communion at work in different provinces and dioceses and how our common identity is being expressed liturgically. For example, I could be in a cathedral in South Korea and be experiencing a service in a language I don’t speak but I understand the service completely. When I was in Cape Town, South Africa, there weren’t any musical instruments, but those voices were powerful, and their sense of harmony moved me. Diversity is visible and for me that is part of the indigenization of the service and liturgy. Some theologies reflect the particular contextual experience of people. Their struggles for freedom and identity, their experiences of oppression, their expressions of hope. All these things come out. And some of that gets captured. I also find that in Oceania, the connection with nature, which is expressed in their liturgy and their prayers, points to indigenization as it relates to this part of the world. It is very important for us as Anglicans to affirm and appreciate our differences and uniqueness which is stressed in the Call.
What do you hope this Call will convey?
It is a statement of hope. It is not for the most part a programme of action that everybody can follow. We are being called to reflect on some fundamental issues raised in terms of Human dignity. How do we affirm in whatever context we find ourselves and recognise people’s struggle? For me in the Caribbean, transatlantic slavery touches at the heart of who we are. But this is not necessarily the experience of the Church in New Zealand or Australia, for example. They have their own difficult historical issues.
The Call also touches on another area which points in the direction of reparatory justice. What action can be taken to empower and transform the lives of those who have been impacted negatively by the violation of the dignity of persons? The Call speaks specifically to the Archbishop of Canterbury setting up a Commission on Redemptive Justice. And some of that relates to those places that have been colonised and enslaved. But it is easy for some parts of the world to say that we were never colonised or enslaved so that doesn’t relate to us.
In the Call, we point to some global expressions of injustice by those who continue to be enriched by how the economic systems are structured and what can be done in those contexts to bring change. It is important because I think in many contexts those issues have become very political. So the language of the Call will be seen by some as political depending on their orientation whereas others will say that it is very biblical.
What do you hope the webinar and series will achieve?
The Call was laid on the table at the Lambeth Conference. That is laying it out to leadership. But it must embody much more than leaders because the Call is a call to the 80-plus million Anglicans across the world. The webinar and the series are ways in which we are taking the Call to all parts of the Anglican Communion and seeing how ultimately it can find expression in our congregations. That might be through discussion, shifting attitudes, helping us to see our differences and appreciating uniqueness as a gift of God (rather than something to fight against). I hope it will also show how congregations might engage in programmatic activities that can put flesh on the bones of the Call.
Why is it important for the Church to think broadly and diversely about Human Dignity?
I don’t see how we can be the Church without facing those issues. History tells us what happens when we shelve, ignore and lay aside the whole matter of human dignity. It causes disrespect of persons created in the image of God. They become treated as a commodity. The Call is not about the past. It is about what is happening now and if we can read the signs, we will see why it is important.
