News from South Africa

Greetings from Boksburg, South Africa

After eight days of hard work the TEAM Conference - Toward Effective
Anglican Mission: Prophetic witness, social development and HIV and AIDS -
came to an end on 14 March. More than 400 people from 32 of the 38
provinces of the Anglican Communion, gathered together in Boksburg, South
Africa, to discuss our call to God's mission in the world of today. This
conference has energized all of us, as a Communion, to seriously contribute
to the achievement of the MDGs and, more importantly, to do so in the
context of God's mission.

We began each day with eucharist - led by a different region each day, with
great variety in style and song - then Bible study, in the same small
groups, after breakfast. These discussions, focusing on the Bible and the
day's theme, provided our foundation for the day. We heard excellent
presentations and panels, beginning with Archbishop Ngongonkulu Ndungane of
Cape Town, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who
grounded our deliberations in the theology of mission. Plenary sessions
were followed by a group of workshops to choose from. Conversations around
meals gave an opportunity to talk to some of the many people we met in more
detail. The days were long, full, and inspiring.

Sunday fell, happily, in the middle of the conference, providing a welcomed
change of pace. We were invited to attend one of about a dozen churches
around the Johannesburg area. Wherever we went, we were uplifted by their
warm hospitality and the varied expressions of faith lived out in their
worship. The church in Daveyton had much wonderful singing, in four
languages simultaneously and alternating quite naturally between hymns most
of us would recognize from Hymns Ancient and Modern and hymns from their
own musical traditions. The sermon was made even more interesting by the
synchronized interpretation and, before the rector blessed the children as
they went to Sunday school, he told the congregation that they were
struggling with the passage: "and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us", asking for their prayers, that the Holy
Spirit be with them.

There is very good news and audio coverage on the Episcopal News Service
at: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_23466_ENG_HTM.htm so rather than
giving you more details on the conference here, we urge you to read the
articles and listen to the audios. For some of the presentations, the full
text is available through the news story. We especially recommend the
coverage of the opening eucharist; Archbishop Ndungane's opening address;
Archbishop William's presentation: Knowing the Lord; speakers set MDGs in
theological context, which includes Hellen Wangusa (excellent); but they
are all well worth reading. The keynote address of the Archbishop of
Canterbury is on his website at:
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/070313.htm

If you read nothing else, the must read is Archbishop Ndungane's concluding
remarks, which amount to the executive summary of the conference and its
conclusions and call to action, at:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_83593_ENG_HTM.htm (If you are unable
to access this, let Helena know, and she will send it to you in the body of
an e-mail.)

Other information, including the programme, can be found on the TEAM
website at: http://www.team2007.org/index.htm

There is much from this conference that we, as women, will want to advocate
and pursue. More to follow as we review the summary and reports. Suffice it
to say now that it was a superb and inspiring conference, examining what
God demands of us in caring for the poor and suffering and all of His
creation in the world of today.

Networking and links

There was excellent opportunity for networking and we were able to speak to
many, both men and women, lay, clergy and bishops - even archbishops -
about IAWN, the gathering in New York and our statement, giving out the
brochure, statement and resolution ACC13-31. Jenny Te Paa included the
statement in her presentation on the second day and it was very well
received and sparked a lot of interest. We had a surprise parallel event on
the UNCSW experience where several talked about how they brought it home
and the experience in New York.

A number of parallel events were led by other delegates who have been at
the UNCSW/IAWN sessions, including Lisbeth Barahona (Parallel event) on
Gender, Trade and Entrepreneurship; Claudette Kigeme (Seminar) on Investing
in Human Security to Prevent Conflict and Promote Peace Building; Hellen
Wangusa (Workshop) on Education as a Basic Human Right; and Martha Gardner
(Seminar) on Climate Change. Mugisa Isingoma, from the Anglican Church of
the Congo, was to lead a fully signed-up seminar on Bottom-Up Solutions:
Grassroots Women Participate in Post-Conflict Reconstruction, but was
unable to attend due to visa problems.

We invited all the women we talked with to join the IAWN network, and hope
many of them will respond.

Meeting of ACC network representatives

Kenneth Kearon called a meeting on Saturday, March 10, of all the
representatives of ACC networks. We found this very instructive and
helpful. In the course of this discussion we realized that in fact IAWN is
doing quite well. The discussion centred on how each network was doing, its
structure and succession. All of us have problems of communication and
funding. Most of the others meet very rarely, while others have big
meetings every 3-5 years. Some are more active than others. Kenneth said
JSC is very supportive of the work of the networks. All networks are
expected to submit yearly reports to the JSC as well as a triennial report
to the ACC.

The Anglican Communion website is being redone. All networks will have a
link on the site and the IAWN Steering Group will be updating our website
over the coming months. (More on this as it develops.)

Conversation with Hellen Wangusa

We had a delightful and informative conversation with Hellen one evening.
She very much regretted not being in New York for the UNCSW but visa
problems (still unresolved) and other matters made it impossible. Hellen
has an amazing grasp of both the UN and the ACC, and a real sense of what
she wants to do. She strongly believes that we should always keep what we
do in a theological context, and not be just another NGO, but a strong FBO
(faith-based organization). We feel it will be a joy to work with her.

Our comments and reflections

Discussing all this with Lisbeth Barahona one evening, we agreed that there
are exciting possibilities ahead. And that our work has more direction and
clarity after being here.

The Anglican Communion rarely has meetings that bring so many together from
across the Communion. As those of us who have been in New York for the
UNCSW know, there is great and wonderful diversity in our Communion, and a
deep commitment to the mission of our church. The same was true in
Boksburg. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know others, share
concerns and joys, and build and strengthen relationships across the
Communion - a significant outcome in itself. Everyone there was deeply
committed to furthering together the work of Christ in the world.

In mission,

Esperanza Beleo and Helena Mbele-Mbong

IAWN representatives at the TEAM Conference