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The Church's One Foundation
By Ethan Vesely-Flad
Friday, February 18, 2005
Starting this Sunday, February 20th, leaders from Anglican churches around the world will gather in Northern Ireland to discuss the interwoven concerns around unity, communion, decision-making, and power. A small army of media
A week from now, we can assume that at least one official statement will be issued to the press, which will probably announce efforts made by these leaders to find common ground, and to respond to last October's "Windsor Report" (released by the Lambeth Commission).
To date, this Report has been received by some not as a document for response, nor to guide our communal dialogue, but as doctrine, a modern-day Council of Chalcedon announcing the new definition of the faith. And in response to whatever statement comes out of Belfast, we can be assured that at least a few of the voices there will complain that it is not strong enough, or that certain provinces in the Anglican Communion have not responded adequately to the Windsor Report's recommendations. There will be an ongoing drumbeat of loud cries for "repentance."
In "For the Soul of the Church," an article I authored for the Spring 2005 issue of ColorLines magazine (which was just made available yesterday on that publication's website), interviews with two dozen church leaders (most of whom are of African descent) revealed a dynamic interplay of racism, homophobia, and hunger for power in the international Communion. And I'll bet that no matter what happens next week in Belfast, we can be sure that these potent forces will continue to beat their drums some more.
Ironically, today the church's liturgical calendar honors Martin Luther, a man who refused to subscribe to the dogma of a repressive church. Many of the players in the global church debate would cast themselves as modern-day Martin Luthers, nailing symbolic lists of demands to the walls of the Communion in protest for perceived oppression.
In the midst of this mess, we must look for signs of hope in a broken church.
In recent years, the worldwide church has found common ground in addressing the issues of international debt and HIV/AIDS. Churches in wealthy nations have partnered with those in less-developed regions to share human and financial resources, and to press powerful international institutions for more funding and attention.
In the U.S., it is encouraging to see that these issues remain priorities for the Episcopal Church. As one example, the latest action alert from the Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN, which claims over 12,000 members around the country), focuses on international debt. In "Social Justice Advocacy as a Lenten Practice: Debt Relief and Farm Worker Protections", the EPPN follows up on the recent "G-7" meeting of financial leaders of the world's wealthiest nations. We in the U.S. are called to respond to this meeting by pressuring our legislative representatives and the White House, to increase its efforts around debt relief and combating HIV/AIDS.
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold spoke directly to these global concerns this month. In a press release responding to the Bush administration's proposed budget for 2005, Griswold expressed strong concerns about how this would affect AIDS work around the world:
Two years ago, I warmly applauded the President's call for $15 billion to combat HIV/AIDS overseas and his creation of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) to combat poverty and instability around the world. These are areas of deep concern for me, especially as I consider the plight of our 27 million Anglican brothers and sisters who live in sub-Saharan Africa. While I am gratified to see that both program areas received small increases over last year's funding levels, I am concerned that they continue to fall short of the commitments the President has made. In particular, I am troubled that the budget, for the second time in two years, significantly cuts the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and funds the MCA at just 60 percent of its promised level.
Africa is the region most visibly hit by the AIDS epidemic. In recent weeks, many people have noted that despite the massive international response to the disastrous tsunamis in South Asia, the pleas from Africa for AIDS assistance has gotten a feeble response.
With the government cutting its AIDS funding, the church's consistent focus on the pandemic is heartening. Yet even there we now find reason for concern. For the past two years, the Anglican Church's AIDS work in Africa has been coordinated by Nema Aluku, a tireless Kenyan organizer who worked diligently throughout the continent. Last month, however, Aluku left her employment with the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) to work with another religious NGO. We call on CAPA to quickly fill her position in the Nairobi office, as without staffing this imperative work cannot go on.
In a positive vein, just this week the Church in the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA) launched a new initiative to support HIV/AIDS education and prevention. A new web-based resource, spanning the work of the church across six countries, gives hope that our mission for reconciliation and social justice will be encouraged anew. In a quote that scrolls across the website homepage, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane provides a reminder about so-called "sinfulness" that could well apply to many of the debates in the church right now: "AIDS is not God's punishment for the wicked. . . AIDS is a disease."
Truly, with people dying each day due to AIDS and economic oppression, we can and must come together as a church in mission. Let us hope that the archbishops and primates in Ireland do not spend all of their time pointing fingers, making holier-than-thou calls for repentance, and "wordsmithing" the Windsor Report. We have work to do. Let us pray that their time together will lead to concrete actions for justice and mission.
Ethan Vesely-Flad is editor of The Witness, and is based in New York City. He may be reached by email at ethan@thewitness.org.
Published by The Witness (www.thewitness.org), February 18, 2005.