God and the workplace must reconnect, says Sentamu

|PIC1|The Archbishop of York said today that there should be no separation between the life of faith and the workplace.

Speaking at the launch of the new God at Work course at Holy Trinity Brompton, Dr John Sentamu said there was a “desperate need” to reconnect faith in God with the workplace.

“All of life is religious and there is a desperate need to reconnect the sacred and the secular. There is no more urgent time than now to break down the compartmentalised thinking that separates trust in God from the world of work,” he said.

He called for greater recognition of the good work Christians are doing in the world.

"Many Christians are living out their lives as the church dispersed in the world of business and commerce every day," he said.

"They are involved daily in building the Kingdom and have the daily challenge of living by a set of values that the world thinks are mad.

"Their counter-cultural work and calling needs to be recognised, affirmed and supported."

His comments come as primary school receptionist Jennie Cain faces disciplinary action after she sought prayer from friends when her five-year-old daughter was scolded by a teacher for sharing her Christian beliefs with a classmate.

In another high profile case, nurse Caroline Petrie was reinstated after she was suspended for offering to pray for a patient.

Dr Sentamu said God was “actively engaged” in the world of business and “especially wealth creation soaked in business ethics”.

“God is involved in the whole created order. God not only came down to earth in Jesus Christ but he continues to be very down to earth,” he said. “We sometimes fail to do justice to the down-to-earthness of God. For the God we see in Jesus Christ is get-at-able!”

He acknowledged, however, the struggle involved in balancing business and ethics.

“There are no simple answers. In the current economic and financial crisis it is easy to point the finger of blame – it’s more difficult to identify practical solutions,” he said.

He reminded Christians that they were able to bring to the discussion a God-given vision of justice and righteousness.

“It is not as if we are the only ethically-minded people on the block – far from it,” he said. “But what we are called to in Christ often asks of us more, and beckons us to a bigger vision. We need to be shaped by that vision, and give ourselves to it, whatever it costs and however long it takes.”

The God at Work course has been put together by HTB churchwarden Ken Costa and aims to help Christians handle stress and make tough decisions.

On the web: www.godatwork.org.uk