Bishops to 'walk in witness' to church commitment to social justice
Episcopal News Service, Canterbury. July 23, 2008 [072308-03]
Pat McCaughan, Correspondent for Episcopal Life Media in Province VIII
Anglican bishops attending the Lambeth Conference spent July 23 focused on issues of social justice -- one day before they take to central London streets in a "walk of witness" against global poverty.
Papal envoy Cardinal Ivan Dias introduced the social justice theme the previous evening with an address, "Mission, Social Justice and Evangelization." Discussions about the United Nations millennium development goals (MDGs) and social justice issues continued in bishops' discussion groups throughout the next day.
At a July 23 news conference, Hellen Wangusa, the Anglican Observer at the United Nations was asked if the "walk of witness" was celebratory or in part a protest.
"It is not either-or," Wangusa said. "Progress has been made, but this is 2008, the mid-point and we haven't made progress enough. Part of the statement we are making is we cannot be complacent. What we have ahead of us is much more than we have achieved."
Bishop David Beetge of Highveld in the Anglican Province of South Africa said the mood of the walk will be prayerful. He said the witness of the walk is of huge symbolic significance.
"This symbolic act by the Anglican Communion, for whoever sees it -- if somebody who's hungry sees it -- knows the Anglican Communion cares about them. The fact that we can come from all over the globe and walk together is saying we're taking the MDGs seriously and we want to be in partnership with governments and business" to change lives.
He shared the story of a young boy he confirmed in his diocese and a year later when he visited the same parish, met with the boy's grandmother, who showed him a photograph of the confirmation. Her grandson had died six months earlier "and as he was dying, he held on to this picture," he said. "He always talked about his confirmation because on that day, he believed the church enabled him to be recognized as a real person.
"The MDGs are about the mission of the church, the mission of Christ, as Christ seeks to restore humanity, particularly for those living on the edge of humanity. Bishops are leaders of the church in their own dioceses, and for many of us who come from area where people struggle the MDGs help to focus ministry and mission of the church for the most vulnerable in our society."
His diocese, faced with an 80 percent unemployment rate and 40 percent HIV/AIDS infection rate in rural areas, has trained over 1,100 home care workers to enable those who are sick to stay in their homes.
"It says to governments that people matter ... more than arms, that people matter more than huge bureaucracies, that people matter and must come first."
He added that he is hoping for a greater partnership between faith-based communities and local governments. "I've been in AIDS work for 18 years now and there was a time governments were afraid to work with faith-based communities, but that's changing. Churches can meet people at the point of need.
"We're the only organization that has a place in every community where we meet with people every week. I would want to appeal to the church to use the facilities we have to enable us to develop our mission amongst the poor and vulnerable in terms of MDGs. Too many churches stand empty from Sunday to Sunday. We're trying to create safe places where anyone can come … three's a real potential for creative partnership."
Much the same is true for those still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast of the United States, said Bishop Charles Jenkins of Louisiana.
"The MDGs is not a program, it's a movement," Jenkins told reporters. He said that New Orleans is "the prime example of how the MDG goals of justice and caring for the basic needs of humanity need to be addressed. even in the United States. The kind of response we've had around the Anglican Communion,…has made a big difference in people's lives. If it were not for the work of the churches and the NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) nothing would be getting done."
Jenkins, in response to a reporter's query about whether the discussion of orthodoxy -- and the Episcopal Church's move away from it -- had arisen in the groups, as the church "losing its way," described himself as a theological conservative.
"There is certainly pain on both sides of this issue. We realize that and many of the things we're hearing and saying to one another are expressions of that pain," he said. But, he added that he believes the church "has made errors and will continue to make errors, I am proud to be an Episcopalian and will be part of the Episcopal Church, no matter what. There are some who believe the Episcopal Church has lost its way but I am not one of those."
Bishop John Chane of Washington, D.C., said the issue had been raised but "is not a break point in our ability to continue conversations that are absolutely critical to the future of the Anglican Communion in our role as 77 million strong pressing the issues very much on the minds of people -- economic stability, the environment, and the fact that two-thirds of the world's population is living on $1 -- one deflated U.S. dollar a day. That is absolutely a crime against humanity. That's become the bigger issue."