Bishop Andrew Rumsey | Place

Opening remarks by Rt Revd Dr Andrew Rumsey, Suffragan Bishop of Ramsbury in the Diocese of Salisbury.
Panel on Place
By being a national church, and by inheriting the mediaeval system of parishes and dioceses, the Church of England naturally lives within the borders of a nation and the bounds of each local parish. What are the merits of the established church being rooted in the local life of a people? Do we have a greater or a lesser need for roots today? Do attachments to place hinder the energy of the Church’s mission to every person and nation? George Herbert and Robert Herrick, two celebrated Anglican poets, were country parsons, serving long ministries in a single parish. Was there something distinctively Anglican in their love of place? This session will explore the significance of the Church’s rootedness in place and parish for its ongoing legitimacy in the nation.