“Encouraged” “inspired” and “heartened” were some of the comments expressed by a range of people who met the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, during his two day visit to the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Accompanied by his wife, Caroline, Archbishop Justin visited St Luke’s Episcopal Church – a cafe church project in Dundee run in partnership with the Church Army, where he addressed a packed church of people involved in the project, chatted with some pupils from the local Academy and met other members of the community and said “Here we see a community that clearly has real challenges but it has the capacity to face them which is inspirational,”
“I think this is exactly what the church should be doing. This should be emulated around the country, both in Scotland the rest of the UK.
“I want us to be the kind of church that welcomes everyone.
“We want a world where it is not necessary for people to sleep rough in church doorways, where it is not necessary to have foodbanks or refugee camps, and there are enough resources for everyone.”
During the two day visit the Archbishop met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon; attended a reception for church and other faith leaders; met with the College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church; and gave a blessing on a new church graft project of churches in Fife. He also spent time meeting with and addressing clergy in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane.
Commenting on the visit, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev David Chillingworth says “The vitality and distinctiveness of the Scottish Episcopal Church was much in evidence as Archbishop Justin shared the life of our Church and the energy with which we approach our ministry and mission.
“The visit of Archbishop Justin and his wife Caroline to Scotland was a gift. We greatly valued the warmth of their friendship and the encouragement which they brought to us”
The visit marked the last of the Archbishop’s visits to his fellow Anglican Primates– the most senior of the bishops or archbishops in each autonomous Province of the Anglican Communion – during in his first 18 months in office
