Dioceses in U.S., U.K. and Africa hope for ‘continuing Indaba’; Global pressure on Brazil over ‘Earth’s most threatened tribe’; Christian communicators support indigenous radio project in Peru; Christian, Muslim leaders condemn church attacks in Kenya
Dioceses in U.S., U.K. and Africa hope for ‘continuing Indaba’
ACNS – Three bishops from the U.S., U.K. and Africa say the indaba conversations they participated in are a valuable way to help hold the Anglican Communion together.
Bishop of Gloucester [England] Michael Perham, Bishop of El Camino Real [California] Mary Gray-Reeves and Bishop of Western Tanganyika [Africa] Sadock Makaya have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury reflecting on their Indaba process, stressing the importance of the project and the hope that it will be expanded within the Anglican Communion.
Indaba is a Zulu word meaning “a gathering for purposeful discussion.” Continuing Indaba, an official ministry of the Anglican Communion, has for three years been promoting cross-provincial/diocesan dialogue, visits and the production of theological resources aimed at supporting the process of enabling “conversation across difference.”
The church in and around Gloucester has been linked with the Church in El Camino Real and with the Church in Western Tanganyika since 2008. Because of this existing partnership the archbishop invited the three dioceses to be one of the five initial Indaba groups. All three bishops saw this as a huge privilege and agreed to take part in the project, which started in 2011.
It was a fairly intensive exercise as each diocese was visited in a nine month period starting in Africa in June 2011, finishing in Gloucester in March of this year. During these visits, members of the three Indaba groups, ordained and lay, worshipped together, studied scripture, talked and learned about the culture of each country.
Perham spoke of the importance of the Indaba project, saying, “I think it is very important, for the holding together in unity of the world-wide Anglican Communion does demonstrate to the world that Christians, diverse in their theology and their culture, can live in harmony. That, in a divided and broken world, is a message worth hearing and a model to follow well beyond the confines of the Church. ‘Blessed are the peace-makers,’ says Jesus, and this is one way of our being on board his work of healing and reconciliation.”
In the letter to the archbishop, the bishops reflect on their time together, their hope that the Indaba model can be shared beyond our Communion to the wider church and the hope that the continuing partnership between the three dioceses could be a significant part of that work.
Text of letter at:
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/other/news-items/c/sliders/article/dioceses-in-us-uk-and-africa-hope-for-continuing-indaba-10935//abp/141.html
Global pressure on Brazil over ‘Earth’s most threatened tribe’
Ekklesia – Dozens of British politicians have joined an international campaign calling on Brazil to save “Earth’s most threatened tribe” by halting illegal logging and land invasions in their territory.
Expressing their “concern” and “alarm” to the UK Parliament, the MPs say Brazil must take action before the Awá tribe are driven to extinction.
In the parliamentary motion, the MPs “urge [Brazil] to bring a halt to illegal logging and stop invasions of the Awá’s land”.
Only 460 Awá live in Brazil’s north-eastern state of Maranhão. Survival International say that their land is being destroyed faster than any other Amazon tribe.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16801
Christian communicators support indigenous radio project in Peru
The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) has chosen as one of its project partners in 2012 an organization in Peru that helps indigenous people find their voices in a society that often ignores them.
http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5769
Christian, Muslim leaders condemn church attacks in Kenya
Faith leaders in Kenya condemned attacks on two churches on 1 July in the northeastern town of Garissa that left 17 people dead and 66 injured, according to police.
http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5772