EL CAMINO REAL: Visit from African, English bishops deepens partnerships
Episcopal News Service. September 28, 2009 [092809-03]
Pat McCaughan
Three bishops who met by chance during last year's Lambeth Conference spent a week in California recently, planning very intentional, international ministry together.
At first glance their dioceses -- Western Tanganyika, Tanzania; Gloucester, England; and El Camino Real, California -- couldn't have seemed more different.
And then each decided to take a closer look.
"We have more in common than might first appear," said Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves of El Camino Real, who hosted Bishop Gerard Mpango of Western Tanganyika and Bishop Michael Perham of Gloucester September 20-25 in the Central California diocese.
Conveying the cultural context of her diocese, a major agricultural center that also encompasses Silicon Valley, was a challenge, Reeves recalled. "We had a tour of Yahoo and from there went to our diocesan mission in downtown San Jose, where the poorest of that city are served," she recalled in a September 25 telephone interview with the three bishops.
"It was an amazing opportunity to understand the dichotomy of the very rich and powerful here and the very poor and powerless and how do you serve both (groups) and serve them well," she said.
During the week, a team of five from each diocese, including the bishops, visited churches and other sites, shared Bible study, Eucharist, meals and lots of conversation -- some more difficult than others.
One to one: real relationship
The unlikely friendship began in July 2008 when the bishops attended the every-ten-years Lambeth Conference. Perham and Gray-Reeves struck up a conversation while waiting in line to enter Canterbury Cathedral, he recalled. The next day, he met Mpango during a Bible study. The three began to explore possibilities of engaging shared ministry.
After Lambeth, they exchanged a flurry of emails. "Right from the start, we sensed the Holy Spirit at work," Perham recalled. "To some extent, we were simply responding to what we were being called to do. From the start, we were strong in prayer for one another, and that's as important as emails keeping us in contact and developing what we were doing."
By the first Sunday of Advent last year "we felt confident that we were committed to making this go."
They set ground rules. "We were honest with each other," Gray-Reeves recalled. "When we first met I was clear that our diocese was pretty liberal; Gerard [Mpango]'s is exactly the opposite. We were very clear that we weren't here to fix all the problems, and this was not just about outreach to poor, but about relationship and talking about the hard things in the communion."
The recent California trip was the third such encounter for the triad. They met first in Western Tanganyika in March, where they signed an official partnership agreement, renewable after five years. The next stop was Gloucester.
"When Mary Gray-Reeves came to my diocese, suddenly people understood why I was passionate about this partnership," said Perham during the telephone interview. "I've seen the same process happening in the Diocese of El Camino Real where people have been enormously affected by the enthusiasm of meeting the bishops and the teams."
Mpango's diocese is "very, very different from either of the others, partly because we are one of the developing countries," he said. "The church is growing and we share how our church is growing."
While the dioceses all encompass rural areas, El Camino Real is more diverse economically and racially, Gray-Reeves said.
Perham said he spent time "explaining to people here why we've had more difficulty about women as bishops, not one of your big issues."
Also discussed were the actions of the Episcopal Church's General Convention "and how some of those decisions are perceived and understood. We've tried to do that without rancor," Perham added.
"Despite our differences, we continue to be friends," added Mpango. "We are sticking together and learning from one another."
Another chance encounter inspired a group solar cooking project.
While visiting Western Tanganyika, a 12-year-old named Sadiki suddenly emerged from the bush, waving sugar cane, attempting to sell it to Gray-Reeves. He had been badly burned in a fire.
"He was terrifying-looking. I was terrified," Gray-Reeves recalled. The group left him on the road, but the memory haunted her. She preached about it and shared the sermon with Mpango, who committed to finding the youth. The bishops took responsibility for his medical care.
"He had untreated epilepsy, and during a seizure fell into a fire. He had issues of malnourishment and poverty, but this child is one of the poorest we know about," Mpango said.
"This morning, we got word that Sadiki had died. It's unbelievable that it happened," Gray-Reeves said during the September 25 interview. "His name means 'trust and believe' in Swahili. In Tanzania the very poorest children try to sell sugar cane to go to school. He had no hope of ever going to school, he was so poor."
Through that encounter with him she realized, "If he can be hopeful, I can be hopeful."
Sadiki's injuries inspired the group to begin a solar cooking project to help limit incidences of children falling into fires left burning, "which happen more often than you might think," Gray-Reeves said. "Sadiki's life ended at age 12, but he will not be forgotten in this diocese. It costs $50 a year to send a child to basic public education in Tanzania."
Mpango said partnership efforts planned over at least the next five years include educational scholarships and possible building projects to "address poverty and human need."
"The church is not a non-governmental organization," Mpango said frequently during the visit. "We are a faith community. We do everything in the context of our love for Jesus Christ. And God is calling us to make a difference."
There are more international visits planned and, the bishops suspect, encounters with the Holy Spirit.
Mpango said that, upon his return, "I'll tell people not to believe what you believe negatively about America. It's different than what you read. There are lots of believers. We may not agree with some things, but we are going together."
Perham agreed. "American hospitality is quite amazing," he said. "This visit helped confirm my view that the unity of the Anglican Communion is really important and we must all work for it and pray for it."