Afro-Anglicans Gather in Toronto, Discover the Strength of Unity in Diversity
Diverse in their languages, yet united by their faith, more than 250 black Anglicans from Africa and the Diaspora met in Toronto, Ontario in July for the third International Conference on Afro-Anglicanism.
"History drew me to this conference, and its
relevance for black Anglicans the world over," said the Rev. Vernon LaFleur, a Guyanan in the diocese of Toronto. "I came to learn and participate in a way that would have some impact on the final communique of the conference."
The Afro-Anglicanism conference began in
1985, when more than 200 black Anglicans--bishops, clergy and laypersons from 17 countries and five continents--met in Barbados. Recognizing that there were experiences that they shared, they decided to hold gatherings of Afro-Anglicans every ten years. The initial gathering also brought forth the Codrington Consensus, a statement adopted by the Barbados meeting.
Conference participants came together under
the theme "Celebrating the Gifts of Afro- Anglicanism" with the following objectives:
To revisit the Codrington Consensus and identify
what has been achieved;
To embrace the Afro-Anglican ministry of reconciliation based on the spirit of the Lambeth Conferences;
To affirm the black Anglican community living in
Canada;
To support and promote the spiritual wellness of
Afro-Anglican clergy and laity;
To engage each other in learning and mutual un
derstanding;
To go forth with a renewed sense of mission in
Christ to our respective parts of the world.
Bishop Orris Walker of Long Island, chairman of the conference committee, welcomed attendees . He introduced dignitaries, including Mayor Hazel McCallion of Mississauga, Ontario, who told participants, "The Christian Churches are under challenge and prayers without action are worth nothing."
"If we want peace in the world, then the Western World must eliminate poverty and illness," McCallion said, "We must support the NGOs."
The opening Eucharist at St. James' Cathedral
took on a spirit of celebration, with steel and African drummers and praise dancers.
In his sermon, Archbishop Njongonkulu
Ndungane of Cape Town, Primate of South Africa, said, "I have been pondering what it means to be an AfroAnglican because identity is a fundamental marker of our selves. People who have been taken from their homes have a unique journey to find an authentic past to call one's own. My message to the conference is to hold on to each other."
"We have a new potential to build a bridge
within the Anglican Communion," he said. "What we have in common is far greater than what divides us."
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, retired
Bishop Suffragan Barbara Harris, Ndungane, and the Rev. John Peterson, former Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, now at the National Cathedral in Washington, were panelists exploring "The Anglican Communion: Our Global Village."
"Communion is God's own life embodied in a
community of faith," said Griswold. "We have gone beyond Anglican civility to a new place of really wrestling with differences in a much more substantial way. This is the only way in which we can actually discover what God is up to in one another's realities.
"God's fullness, God's imagination, is always
unfolding, and the invitation that God holds out to us in the mystery of communion is to discover more fully the person of Christ in one another."
"I think we have a number of issues with which
we continue to wrestle," Harris remarked. "I hope we
will, in good faith, wrestle with those issues in their broader context and not become so focused on one or another aspect, such as human sexuality, that we ignore the broader concern that needs to be addressed. We are in this fragile marriage of autonomous churches, and I think what is lacking among us is mutual respect."
Ndungane, saying he felt "honored and privileged" to be a part of the province of Southern Africa, reiterated his earlier message."Hold on to each other, and hold on to the Lord of our Church as he shows us a new way of moving forward."
Stressing the urgency of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Peterson said: "For us not to tackle the problem of hunger, poverty, HIV/AIDS and malaria is scandalous To not attempt to deal with the reasons is actually a nail in our coffin.
"If we don't do this," he added, "I believe as a
communion we are failing our churches, our people, the ecumenical community and this great communion and no wonder there is terrorism today."
In another panel entitled "The State of the
Anglican Communion, in a post Windsor Report World," the Rev. Dr. Michael Battle, part of the writing team for ECUSA''s response to the Windsor Report and a representative to ACC-13, said that To Set Our Hope on Christ was not "trying to be academic, or representing all the various sides in a cultural war." It was rather, he said, an effort to explain the theological and biblical reasoning behind such transitions.
"God's Spirit," he said, "often moves in profound ways."
Also part of the panel was Dr. Esther Mombo,
academic dean of St. Paul's United Theological College and one of the authors of the Windsor Report. "Dr. Mombo is really a voice crying in the wilderness," Battle said. "She gives insights into how Anglicans, especially in the Global South, do not need to participate in cultural wars that only demean the African community. She points to issues in Africa that really need to be addressed, instead of the issues dangled before them for monetary gain."
Young people made their voices heard during
daily informal sessions a panel discussion entitled "Claiming Elijah's Mantle." led by the Rev. Dr. Michael Clarke, rector of St. Mary the Virgin in the British Virgin Islands.
"We are the prophets of our church," Clarke
said. "We are the ones to call young people on their journey."
"We are growing up in an age of questioning
everything and accepting nothing," said Sadie Goddard
of Barbados, a member of the youth panel. "We need adults to help us understand what it is to be Anglican."
"We're asking that you teach us how to get closer
to God," added Randy Callender, another panelist..
The panel "Perspectives on Human Sexuality"
generated a lengthy but respectful dialogue. Panelists included Bishop John Holder of Barbados; the Rev. Robyn Franklin Vaughn, chaplain at Howard University; Atu Yalley, seminarian at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the Rev. Olive Baker of the Diocese of Toronto.
"We have been taught that human sexuality is
divine," Holder said.
"Sex needs to be preached in the pulpit and
needs to be taught in the seminaries," said Baker. "We must create a safe place for young people to go to speak about sex."
"We need to revisit the original sin," said
Yalley. "Why has the church been silent while our children are exposed to overt sex?" He also spoke of sex being used as a weapon in warfare, citing the abuse of women and children in Darfur.
Bible study sessions were held daily. Some of
the lessons looked at sexism and classism in the Bible. Workshops dealt with indigenous spirituality, human rights, new democracies, and the black family.
"The feelings of unity, not uniformity, make
me hopeful because I was afraid that our differences would be greater than our unity," said the Rev. Jayne Oasin, social justice officer at the Episcopal Church Center. "I left feeling that we have the ability to face some of the tough issues such as poverty and famine-that they could be addressed even as we continued to debate some of our differences,"
"The conference has changed the work I do
for the Episcopal Church because I was able to connect a name to a face and to be aware of how global our community truly is," said Sonia Omulepu, interfaith education coordinator for the Episcopal Church's Office of Anglican and Global Relations. "What struck me most profoundly, however, was the fact that we were able to engage in conversation on sensitive issues even though there were disparate points of view. We listened to each other in sisterly and brotherly love in spite of our differences.
"This confirms for me that we carry the Anglican Communion in our hearts and minds, and that we have the ability to unite rather than divide," she said. "In essence, the Afro-Anglicanism Conference is another instrument of unity."