Essex County Council Service

April 27 2007

“Let everyone be subject to the Governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God” Romans 13:1

These words speak to us in the midst of a growing concern about attitudes to politics, institutions of government and to people in political life.  We are part of a growing conversation about the need to recover respect in our society.  We can be in no doubt that recent decades have witnessed a draining away of public confidence in our political institutions and in those in authority.  Cynicism and a distancing of the people from politics are on the increase.

These words of St Paul are striking.  The church was tiny and had no status.  It was soon to be the victim of persecution and it had been founded on a gross injustice carried out by the Roman Imperial system in the execution of Jesus by crucifixion.  The Roman Empire was not democratic and had imposed itself by force across the Mediterranean world.  Yet the apostle is in no doubt.  Government is provided by God for the well-being and safety of the people.  It is a good and worthy of our respect and submission.

For those involved in Government – who carry authority at whatever level – the meaning of this for you personally is that the task you undertake is a vocation – a calling.  We take on responsibilities rooted in God’s goodness and it is to God that we are ultimately accountable.

So church and government have a common point of reference.  Our office is a gift of God for people’s well-being and we are called by God to the task.

We share a common vocation and so we share in the difficult task of reversing the growing cynicism in the public’s mind in our institutions.  Cynicism, boredom and disinterest are destructive of the common life we share in society.  That is why I believe we Christians have a duty not only to pray for all involved in political life but to take an active interest in its well-being.  I similarly think that you have a duty to take an interest in the quality and well-being of the churches and of all involved in meeting the spiritual needs of our time.

Respect for the institutions, prayer for those involved and our obedience to the authorities is not a recipe for blind agreement.  We do not lose our critical faculties.  We do not baptise what governments do.  We are called to respect and honour these provisions for the common good and to play our part, in a democratic society, for their flourishing and goodness.

Today we celebrate the history and life of the County of Essex and the long and honourable history of its governance.  We do so in a culture in which our history can easily be stereotyped.  We have a task not only in building respect for the institutions of governance but of building the confidence of our people in their history, culture and sense of identity.

This week the church celebrated Mellitus who first brought the Gospel to the East Saxons and became the first Bishop of London.  With Cedd coming after him the Gospel was established in these parts in the 7th century and we have enjoyed an unbroken and unique history of innovative and even radical Christian culture ever since.

Let us be clear. Essex, far from being stuck in some stereotypical identity of the 1970s and 80s is on the front line of change and development in our country and across Europe.  What happens here is the shape of the future. If we are to speak for our people we need confidence in our identity and a growing respect for those in authority who seek to address these needs.   Steering the County through this time is an awesome task.

It is not my task to make party political points.  But one issue, it seems to me, dominates our agenda.  The development proposals for this region and for our County.  We have a history in this County of Government thinking, for honourable reasons, that simply building houses is the way to build for the future.  Having done that we give a nod in the direction of what is called ‘sustainable communities’.  Is it not time we turned the argument round?  That would mean beginning with the human agenda of community living – the things that make people’s lives good and wholesome – and then moved into thinking about what this means for homes (not houses) and services (not infrastructure).  We start, as people entrusted with a divine task for the people, to use languages that are human rather than structural and functional.

If we are to succeed, even at this late stage, we need strong leadership working in partnership with every face of or common life.

That is why respect and honour for government is so important and why cynicism and non-participation so damaging.

As Paul says, Governing authorities are to be God’s servants for our good.

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