The Archbishop of York. Dr John Sentamu, has challenged Anglicans worldwide to be agents of moral, social and economic transformation.

Preaching to hundreds in New York's Cathedral of St John the Divine on September 25, Dr Sentamu said "God is calling us to be part of transforming the world."

The sermon was part of an "Interfaith Service of Recommitment and Witness of the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)." Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church officiated.

The day was held in accordance with the Lambeth Conference's call that September 25 be a day of prayer, fasting and witness.

It also coincided with the day-long high-level event at the United Nations headquarters that urged world leaders to renew commitments to achieving the MDGs by 2015 and establish concrete plans and practical steps for action.

In his sermon, Dr Sentamu stated that "hope for the world" would come through transformation. He had those in attendance stand and recite to their neighbor, "be an agent of moral, social and economic transformation."

"I trust the ancient wisdom of the faith that I hold, to point the way to the future," he said. "Love wasn't put in our hearts to stay. It isn't love until you give it away."

He said that as "children of God" we should do our part because "it does make a difference."

Prior to the recommitment service a rally was held on the steps of the Cathedral where attendees, holding MDG banners, listened to Dr Sentamu; the Rt Rev James Curry, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Connecticut; and others set the tone for the service by reiterating some jarring statistics on poverty, and child mortality.

Since the church's 2006 General Convention, when the MDGs were set as the Episcopal Church's top mission priority, Jefferts Schori continues to call on Episcopalians and the wider global community to work together for their implementation.

"The MDGs are incredibly important for the Episcopal Church because they challenge us and provide an image of what we should be doing," she said. "[In addition] the ecumenical presence at this gathering is important because it takes the whole world to live out the Gospel."

'Education for all' initiative

Earlier, Dr Sentamu launched an "Education For All" initiative during a session of the UN's emergency summit on Millennium Development Goals.

Speaking in New York alongside Gordon Brown and Former US President Bill Clinton, Dr John Sentamu said: "We are halfway to the 2015 MDG targets and yet 75 million children remain out of school completely. Twice as many, mostly girls, go for a short while but then drop out.

"We may think we are making progress on education but the facts are that too many children around the world are receiving inadequate education and in many cases, no education at all....This is a scandal for many reasons. If we
do not educate our children, what hope can there be for the future? But it is also a scandal because it shows just how wrong our priorities have become."

The "Education For All" initiative is part of the Global Campaign for Education which seeks to provide free, compulsory public education, and to meet the third of the Millennium Development Goals: universal primary education.

Highlighting the urgent need for action the Archbishop said: "As citizens, and as children of God, we need to build a society where each individual can flourish and become the whole person they were created to be. Education is part of that transformative process for us to become fully human. ...

"Education is about finding out who we are, where we belong, and what the purpose of our lives is. It is not just about acquiring knowledge and skills - the root of 'education' is 'educare' which means to 'draw out'. We need to draw out from every person in every country, the gifts and potential they possess. As Christians, as educators, as human beings, our calling is to help others to attain their full humanity - not to beat them in the race but to share with them the prize."

Dr Sentamu also highlighted the work of the Edith Jackson Trust, one of the charities for which he is patron, and of their work to build primary schools in Southern Sudan:

"Southern Sudan has the lowest access to education than any other country in the world, with only 20% of children enrolling at primary school and less than 2% completing primary education. For girls, this figure is less than 1%. As a result 92% of southern Sudanese women and 80% of men are illiterate....Girls in southern Sudan are more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than complete primary education.

"Today we need to remember that we who have received the benefits of education have a responsibility to those who went before and those who come after us. That responsibility is to pass on the learning and discernment and wisdom, and to ensure all children are able to receive the benefits of that education."

In his welcoming address, the Very Rev Dr James A. Kowalski, dean of the cathedral, spoke of how "pleased God must be" about the assembly and said "we are praying that we will make it to the achievement of these goals."