Date: August 23, 2021
Tomorrow, August 24, please join me in welcoming the Most Rev. Paul S. Sarker and his wife, Janet, for a three-week Communion Sabbatical hosted by the Center for Anglican Communion Studies.
Bishop Sarker is the former bishop of Dhaka and moderator of Church of Bangladesh, a Primate of the Anglican Communion. His wife Janet is the former education coordinator and a contributor to the Women’s Program of the Church of Bangladesh.
Bishop Sarker joins us as a Merrow Fellow, thanks to the generosity of friends and parishioners of Father Andrew Merrow, who created the fund “to explore and deepen our understanding and appreciation of the rich traditions and resources brought to our common life by our brothers and sisters from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.”
It gives me great joy to welcome the Sarkers, as they are our first in-person CACS visitors in a year and a half due, of course, to pandemic travel restrictions. They will be observing health protocols by quarantining in Wilmer Hall for the first five days, but as you see them walking outdoors around campus, and as they emerge from quarantine on Monday to join us in the chapel and for meals, please do greet them warmly and make an effort to learn from their deep experiences of leadership and ministry.
Bishop Sarker preached in the chapel and shared his expertise with the community and others last April, the original date for his visit. Take a moment to listen to “Green Anglicanism: Understanding Ecological Justice Theologically” with Hannah Matis, Ph.D., and the Rev. Canon Dr. Rachel Mash of Green Anglicans.
Bishop Sarker was appointed as the Moderator of the Church of Bangladesh in October 2007 and in December 2009 was installed as the Bishop of Dhaka Diocese. He then retired in February 2019. Over the course of his career, Bishop Sarker has been involved with many international Christian organizations such as the World Council of Churches (WCC). He was a substitute member of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion Office (ACO), and later a member of the Eco-Bishops and Interfaith Commission of the ACO. He and Janet currently live in Dhaka. They have two children, Olivia and Elvin.
We are pleased and honored to finally have Bishop and Mrs. Sarker here with us in person.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President