Thomas challenged us: "This work of churches confronting climate change matters to all and can increase our relevance and impact in a broken world".
When he greeted the group, Thomas reminded us that David would have wanted to be here, celebrating the work of churches to address the real-world challenge of climate change.
In order to remain so, church leaders must encourage believers to be curious about their faith and the work of their church.
So the £160m income from the church commissioners that would normally go to the parishes to support the everyday work of the church now largely has to be used to make good the shortfall.
The other key, he says, is that they take the work of the church seriously.
The return of Jesus after 15 centuries of absence from the world interferes with the work of the church.
Mr. Martins called such accusations "an orchestrated campaign to destroy and to criticize Bishop Macedo and the work of the church".
Going to St Nicholas Harpenden in 1986, he was able to develop the work of the church there, not least with Hebrew and Greek classes for the congregation.
"There's more need than ever for the work of the church, so it's ironic we're not exempt from the same factors as everybody else".
The establishment of the European universities after 1100 was also the work of the church; these institutions were stimulated by Arabic scholars, whose writings introduced Europeans to Aristotle, thereby laying a foundation for later Scholastic philosophy and theology.
The work of the church leaders, which remains unfinished, has been alternately criticized as too little, too late, and praised as an important step in setting the church back on track.
