e u t r i v e h t O n a tie n c e of p BY PHIL
ONE OF THE MOST PROVOCATIVE YET PLAYFUL DESCRIPTIONS OF PRAYER EVER OFFERED WAS BY ROWAN WILLIAMS, THE WELSH ANGLICAN THEOLOGIAN WHO SERVED AS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY FROM 2002 TO 2012. WILLIAMS FAMOUSLY COMPARED PRAYER TO BIRD-WATCHING, AS BOTH ENDEAVORS REQUIRE ENDLESS PATIENCE AND STILLNESS WHILE IN PURSUIT OF AN OFTEN-ELUSIVE GOAL.
24
WAGMAG.COM NOVEMBER 2020
H A LL
Williams acknowledged patience and stillness are rarely seen as virtues nowadays, especially in a digitally driven society where almost everyone has an activist opinion to share on social media soapboxes. However, in a Sept. 20 Zoom lecture offered to the parishioners of Christ Church Greenwich, Williams insisted patience and crusading are not antithetical. “There's no big gulf between what the Christian tradition calls contemplation and action – no big gulf between prayer and activism,” said Williams, who became Baron Williams of Oystermouth after being elevated to the House of Lords in 2013. “We act so that the world will change into something slightly better, reflecting the will of God. Of course, we need to take the risks and accept the disciplines of transforming action. And that is an intrinsic part of our Christian discipleship. “But without the stillness,” he added, “without the dimension of careful watching, that action can suddenly become more and more anxious, hectic and paradoxical – and at the end of the day, self-serving. We need to step back to see a situation for what it is, a person for who they are, before we rush in with our activists’ solution. And that's very hard, especially in a culture where
