Green sees sporting chance for Church
Posted: 14 Sep 2012 @ 00:48
Legacy: Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Jessica Ennis
(centre), pass St Paul's Cathedral on their parade through
London on Monday
Credit: PA
Legacy: Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Jessica Ennis
(centre), pass St Paul's Cathedral on their parade through
London on Monday
THE Olympics and Paralympics have left a legacy of good will
between faith groups, and great opportunities for churches that are
willing to engage in sport, the head of the multifaith chaplaincy
for the Games, Canon Duncan Green, has said.
The London Organising Committee provided 162 volunteer chaplains
serving a wide variety of faiths and beliefs - to the athletes,
staff, and 26,000 members of the media.
Canon Green has worked on the Olympics project for more than
five years, and will oversee the winding-down process, which
carries on throughout September.
The Archbishop of Canterbury at the Olympic Village
Credit: LAMBETH PALACE
The Archbishop of Canterbury at the Olympic Village
"London will set the standard for chaplaincy at major sporting
events," he said. "We had a synagogue next to a mosque next to a
Hindu temple next to a Buddhist temple next to a church. Seeing
faiths working side by side was a wonderful sight. The Olympics
showed 204 nations living together in peace and harmony: I hope
there may be a bit of legacy there, and that that mood can carry
on."
He said that he believed that this summer would prove a turning
point for the country. "For many, it was about belonging; belonging
to a team, and being part of something that was so successful and
brought the whole country together.
"At the Paralympics, so many athletes had amazing stories of
what they had been through to get to London. And, in some
countries, these athletes weren't even properly recognised as
people because of their disability, let alone as athletes."
Some Paralympians had to borrow wheelchairs in order to compete.
The Christian disability charity Wheels for the World - the
overseas programme of Through the Roof - which restores and
distributes wheelchairs, gave out crutches and wheelchairs to
athletes and delegates from 26 countries.
The Games had also left a "massive opportunity" for churches to
engage with sporting organisations, Canon Green said. "Churches
have to wake up to the fact that we are nation of sports
lovers."