January 18, 2005

A new chapter of history in the Anglican Communion began today as the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon was officially commissioned as Secretary General in a service in St Andrew's House Chapel in London. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, presided at the liturgy and preached the homily.

In his homily Archbishop Rowan Williams spoke of the challenges that await the new Secretary General and spoke of our identity as a Communion. "So Christ takes hold of us and we of him. He becomes part of our life, our identity. He has made it by his grace and freedom, so that we become part of him, his body," he said. "As we seek to live out the apostolic calling, we have to see ourselves as bound, bound up, in him, and bound up in each other. To minister to a Communion - not just to one church, one congregation, one locality - to minister to a Communion worldwide, is surely to minister into this reality. We are bound together, because we are bound in Christ; bound in the one hope of our calling. Prisoners of hope, together. There is nothing we need more than to be reminded of how we are bound with Christ and with one another in that way."

Portions of the service were taken from Prayer Books and service books used around the Communion including Kenya, Ireland, the USA, New Zealand and England. The music included hymns, songs and chants from Africa, Ireland, England and South America. A selection from the writings of the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, was read during the service.

Taking part in the service were Mother Lillian CSA, the Rt Revd John Paterson, chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council, who hosted the day, the Most Revd Clive Handford, Primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd John Neill, the Dean of Canterbury, the Very Revd Robert Willis, and the Dean of St Paul's London, the Very Revd John Moses, the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral Dublin, the Very Revd Desmond Harmon, and Mrs Fung Yi Wong from Hong Kong.

Anglican Communion Office staff members Susanne Mitchell and the Revd Dorothy Penniecooke also took part. The gathering took place in the Anglican Communion Office formerly the Convent of the Community of St Andrew, which is about to mark its first year of operation. Following the words of commissioning, Archbishop Rowan gave Canon Kearon a Compass Rose symbol as a mark of his new office, especially created by Canterbury Pewter in Virginia.

During the one-hour service special prayers were offered for the victims of the Tsunami disaster and a special offering, for the use of the Primate of Southeast Asia for disaster relief, was collected from the 100-member congregation.

Among those attending the service and lunch were the Irish Ambassador to the UK, HE Daithi O'Ceallaigh, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd Robert Eames, members of the Compass Rose Society led by Bishop-elect the Revd Canon Philip Poole of Canada, and members of Inter Anglican Finance Committee.

During the reception the Archbishop of Dublin said, "A very happy occasion and very good to see so many representatives of the Communion. Very particularly, I'm happy to see Kenneth coming over here to lead the Anglican Communion with such encouragement from his friends in Dublin and with such warm ecumenical support."

The Rt Revd John Paterson, chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, said, "I am delighted to welcome Canon Kearon on behalf of the ACC, the most representative body in the Anglican Communion."

Also attending the service were ecumenical guests from the Russian Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Council and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster.

The commissioning comes within 12 days of the arrival of the new Secretary General to St Andrew's House. After settling in he and his wife will be living in the precincts of Lambeth Palace. The Revd Canon Kenneth Arthur Kearon was born in Dublin in 1953. After education at Mountjoy School he attended Trinity College in Dublin where he studied Mental and Moral Science for a degree in Philosophy. After further study in Cambridge and Dublin, he was ordained deacon in 1981 and priest in 1982. He served a curacy in the parish of All Saints Raheny and St John's Coolock in the diocese of Dublin & Glendalough and then was appointed Dean of Residence at Trinity College.

In 1991 he became Rector of the parish of Tullow (Dublin) before becoming Director of the Irish School of Ecumenics in 1999. He has also, since 1995, been a member of the Chapter of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, and has served as its Chancellor since 2002. Kenneth is a member of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, Co-ordinator of Auxilliary Ministry (NSM) Training in the church, and a member of the Irish Council for Bioethics.

He is author of Medical Ethics: an Introduction (Columba 1995) and has contributed to a number of volumes on Education, Family and Medical Ethics. Kenneth is married to Jennifer, and they have three daughters.

Anglican Communion News Service, London