2/8/2016

​The World President’s address at the Final Dinner of the 21st GFS World Council, Swansea, Wales

3 August 2014

Introducing the theme

Distinguished guests, clerical and lay and my GFS friends.

What a wonderful 10 days we have experienced, as guests of GFS in Wales – and how well they looked after us, as we worked through many issues relating to GFS worldwide, as we heard from each GFS country, the highs and lows and challenges and as we looked to the future.  And that has culminated in the inspiring Closing Service we have all experienced.

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My thanks to Glenys for agreeing that I could speak tonight, particularly to introduce the theme I have chosen for Australia’s term as host country and mine as World President  and to talk a little about our vision for GFS worldwide during our term.

It  has been very humbling and exciting to be chosen as the World President by my colleagues and members in Australia.   I hope that you will find me worthy of that position.  Many of you know me well.  I have attended every World Council since 1984 in Japan.  I have always been particularly interested in the GFS world scene;  I have been honoured to be asked for and offered advice by a number of recent past World Presidents. 

Although I am still in part time employment, I work from home;  I have time to devote to GFS and I commit the next three years to serving GFS worldwide to the best of my ability and with God’s help. 

I have prayed and thought through the direction I have wanted to take in this position for well over a year.  I listened to sermons (sometimes even my husband’s sermons!!) read GFS history, particularly why GFS exists, talked to people, and of course prayed.   Always I seemed to hear the word “serve” and that was highlighted as I looked at our motto which is to bear one another’s burdens.  I reread old histories of the beginnings of GFS and was once again excited by all that GFS has offered to the church and society over nearly 140 years and stories were usually of GFS members serving others.

As a Christians, through our baptism,  we are all called to Our Lord’s ministry but I believe that as GFS members we have an extra call to fulfil  Our Lord’s ministry through our membership of GFS.  And I wanted to issue a personal challenge to each member of GFS around the world.  And so I have chosen as my theme

“You are called to serve through GFS”  or

“U are called to serve through GFS”

In the last few months I have been using a meditational book “Hear the Ancient Wisdom” written by Charles R Ringma but using statements from early church fathers to the pre-reformation.   And as I pondered the theme I had chosen I took to heart Charles Ringma’s words in one of the meditations – I quote Ours has become such a self-preoccupied and pragmatic age that the call to serve the other sounds most strange, even alienation.  Yet, it is at the heart of Christianity – end of quote.   For many in the secular world (and I again quote) We don’t serve, we just do our job and for this we are paid – end of quote.   So I would like us to concentrate on our call to service in the next three years.

It may well be that your call is personal as a member of GFS or corporately as GFS in your own country.   Over the next three years you will receive many communications regarding the theme and I hope when you come to World Council in Australia in 2017 you will report on how you have used the theme.

It is a broad theme.  It is really an in-ground part of being a GFS member but there are many different ways to serve and I challenge each GFS country to discuss the theme,  to use it to grow GFS and to strengthen each member in their service for Our Lord.

As this is not an easy theme for a letterhead or signature band at the end of an email we will also use an alternate version for our letterhead, signatures on emails and the theme for our next World Council – “Serving through GFS” .  Each Delegate will be given a USB stick with the various versions and it can be used as you wish.  I thank Cyrilla Eastwood (known to many of you – our Junior delegate in South Africa in 1999) for designing the logo.

What would we like to achieve as the Australian World Team of GFS?     Each member of the team has been chosen carefully.  Each has very specific skills to offer to GFS worldwide.  We hope that as we serve through GFS we can achieve our goals.  We want to improve communication between countries but not only communication – we want to inspire and assist all members to feel part of the world body and to participate in world matters.  But communication is a two way process and I think we can all improve our response to world letters and emails.  Expect a President’s Chat email to all country leaders each month.  I realise that there is a language challenge in some countries and I hope the country leaders can make this easier.

We would like to document roles and responsibilities for our world teams.  Most World Presidents in recent years have commented that the way to do things is often handed on by word of mouth and it is time we addressed this matter and provided some professional documents, both hard copy and digital which can be handed on to each world team.

Our two chaplains will offer their wise advice as we work on the theme of serving and will prepare some specific devotions for special occasions.  Communication in PNG is not easy so for the time being Father Isaiah can only be contacted via text or phone but we hope this will soon improve.

And let me briefly mention the growth and promotion of GFS.   GFS needs to grow.  What are you doing about growing GFS in your country?   In the western world it is difficult as so many other options are available to our young people and as the church loses its impact in so many places.  In developing countries it is likewise difficult because of communication and finance. But it is a challenge we need to take up.   I will be promoting GFS to every province in the Anglican Communion.   We are not very good in GFS at promoting the wonderful work we do around the world.  Just think of all the reports we have heard and discussed in these last days.  Wonderful work happening with children, with young women and now in African countries with boys and young men.  

I hope to improve the promotion of GFS.  It is another reason why we need our new webpage.   I have looked at the web pages of most of the provinces around the world where GFS operates.  The only province which mentions GFS as part of their ministry is Korea.  Ireland list GFS as ‘a useful link’.  I then went to diocesan pages and the same thing happened.  It is no better in Australia; our national church does not recognise GFS on their web page either.   Why are we not recognised?  I can only think because we do not talk to our national churches about the work we do.  I challenge  you again to see that the work you do is promoted and to ensure that you are recognised as part of God’s family in your diocese and province. 

So we move ahead into a new term of GFS worldwide; I hope each of you will walk with us as the World team, that you will go back to your countries ready to move ahead with new ideas, and together to serve through GFS.      May God bless you all on your travels and I hope to see you all in Perth, Western Australia in July 2017.

Thank you.

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(Canon) Val Gribble ML

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