Preb Sandy Millar to become a Bishop

21/10/05

Bishop of London hails the appointment as 'a very welcome step'

The Most Rev’d Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, with the August 2004 consent of the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda, appointed a priest of the Church of England, the Rev’d Prebendary Sandy Millar, as Assistant Bishop in the Church of Uganda. He will be consecrated in Uganda on 27th November 2005.

Bishop-elect Millar will be licensed to act as a Bishop in Mission in the London Diocese using his wide experience as a church planter and growth practitioner.

Preb. Millar has a long history with the Church of Uganda, including preaching at Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi’s enthronement at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe, Uganda, in January 2004.

The appointment of Preb. Millar as a Bishop in the Church of Uganda is the result of exploratory discussions initiated in England in 2004 and has the full support and encouragement of the Archbishop of Uganda, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. The House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda was also very keen to support the Church of England in this creative mission initiative.

Preb. Millar, who was Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, London, from 1985 to 2005 and is currently Priest-in-Charge of St Mark’s Tollington Park, north London, has had a large international ministry for many years as one of the founders of the Alpha course. The Alpha Course is one of the world’s most significant missionary initiatives and is now running in more than 35,000 churches of all denominations in 153 countries.

The Church of England’s recent Mission-Shaped Church report urged a rethink of traditional formats, recommending that bishops should be ‘sufficiently free from administrative overload to be able to invest time in a more apostolic role, developing mission strategy and taking the lead in the discernment of priority mission initiatives.’

Requesting the Church of Uganda’s assistance in consecrating a Bishop in Mission to serve in London is part of the Anglican Church’s response to the Mission-Shaped Church report.

Archbishop Orombi said, “More than one hundred years ago, missionaries from the Church of England brought to us in Uganda the light and hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are very pleased now to be able to reciprocate and return to England, through Sandy Millar’s consecration in our House of Bishops, the Gospel message of life transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ, which Sandy has so powerfully preached his whole life.”

Bishop-elect Millar will be formally welcomed to the Province of Canterbury by the Archbishop of Canterbury and licensed by the Bishop of London at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral.

The Rt. Rev’d Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, said, ‘This is an example of collaboration between provinces to the benefit of the worldwide communion. We are enormously grateful to Archbishop Orombi and the Ugandan Church for making this possible.”

Bishop Chartres added, “Sandy Millar has unique experience in church growth and this new appointment makes it possible for his gifts to be deployed on a wide canvas. Sandy has got absolutely unique wisdom and experience about how a community flourishes; what the right balance between order and freedom really is. He is a Professor of Church Planting as well.”

In a message to his clergy, the Bishop of London also said, "Prebendary Sandy Millar has been elected by the Ugandan House of Bishops as an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Kampala. He will be consecrated in Kampala at the end of November. I hope to be one of the bishops participating in the ceremony.

"Sandy’s appointment is a recognition of his connection with the Church of Uganda and with the present Archbishop Henry Orombi in particular which stretches back nearly thirty years. It also acknowledges the world-wide significance of the Alpha movement in the development of which Sandy has played a crucial role. Earlier this month for example he was the guest of Christian leaders in China where Alpha now has a Shanghai Office.

"This step has been taken with the full support and encouragement of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The two Archbishops were in touch by letter about the proposal in 2004. The consecration of Prebendary Millar with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury could not be more different from the intrusions into the affairs of other provinces which formed part of the agenda for the Windsor Commission. Unsanctioned intrusions lead to fragmentation. This step by contrast recognises the reality of a wired up world in a way that promotes closer communion. The particular circumstances of this appointment make it very unlikely that it will establish a precedent.

"Prebendary Millar has of course retired from stipendiary ministry but he continues as Priest in Charge of St Mark’s Tollington Park in the Stepney Area of the Diocese. This church and parish will continue to be at Sandy’s request his principal contribution to ministry in London. It is envisaged however that he will be commissioned as an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese which already has the benefit of a number of Assistant Bishops – Donald Arden, Michael Baughen, Edward Holland, Khotso Makhulu and Michael Marshall. In many different ways they make a huge contribution to life in the Diocese of London.

"In the limited time available to him I hope that Sandy will be able to distil his unique experience of church –planting and make available as a mentor to some of the clergy involved in pioneering ministries the fruits of his own ministry and remarkable powers of leadership. His role in London will also be a vivid demonstration of our commitment to the themes explored in the report “A Mission Shaped Church”.

"Sandy will of course continue to respond to invitations as he does now but to suggest [as some people have done] that he might become a standard bearer for Church of England dissidents in other Dioceses is to misunderstand the man and to misunderstand the disciplines under which bishops in our church operate.

"The Area Bishops in the Diocese and I alike regard this as a very welcome step and an acknowledgement by the whole church of the international scope and significance of the leadership which Sandy has shown as Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton."