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International Visitors Bring World Concerns to Convention

Episcopal News Service. August 6, 1997 [97-1913]

(ENS) Describing a world where "violence has come of age," guests brought a host of international concerns to the 72nd General Convention and called the Episcopal Church to respond to needs beyond the United States.

Deputies and bishops agreed that sectarian violence, crushing third-world debt and a very fragile peace in the Middle East should continue to be of concern to Episcopalians.

The convention opened with strong words from Archbishop of Armagh Robin Eames, primate of the Anglican Church in Ireland for 12 years.

Eames knows firsthand about terror and violence. He used his experience as a leading international peacemaker to challenge the 3,600 General Convention deputies, bishops and visitors to be instruments of the "peace of Christ."

"We must search for a new strategy of peace," Eames said. "There are many peace lovers but too few peacemakers."

"Perception can become reality overnight," he said, adding there is a need for the Anglican family to develop a "language and a new and deeper theology of peace."

Eames spoke of divisions in his own land and around the world.

"We've had a period of intense trouble and difficulties in Northern Ireland," he said. "Our hopes are often dashed by the lack of political progress." Eames said both "communities" -- Irish Nationalists and the Unionists -- fear for their futures.

Eames said he has always welcomed support from the bishops and clergy of the United States and noted that several U.S. dioceses have links with dioceses in the Church of Ireland.

Liberia rebuilding

Eames was not the only speaker to bring reports of war, efforts for peace, and support through the church. Bishop Edward W. Neufville of Liberia said that after eight years of civil war, his country has lost more than 200,000 people to violent death, and more than 1 million people have been forced from their homes, most of them becoming refugees to other countries.

But the Anglican Church of Liberia has remained strong, Neufville told the House of Bishops.

Neufville thanked Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning and the Episcopal Church for its support, both prayerful and material, as Liberia has "been plagued" by the civil war. Schools were closed and children have not been educated in the country for more than seven years.

"They are now crying out for education," Neufville said. "This is the time for the church to respond."

Bishop Barnabas Dwijen Mondal of Bangladesh spoke of the isolation of Christians in Bangladesh, where only one-half of 1 percent of the population is Christian.

We are cut off from our community, and one feels very lonely and alone" in a country with so few Christians, Mondal said. "But we rejoice in the Lord and in the fellowship of Christians."

Middle East remains a concern

The continuing witness of the Episcopal Church in the Middle East was praised by Bishop Samir Kafity, president-bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Kafity offered words of thanks and encouragement for support and witness to Palestinian people since 1848.

This support, particularly by Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning and his wife, Patti, has been especially important during the intifada when the Israeli government suspended Palestinian rights, Kafity said. Kafity presented a medal to Browning on behalf of Yassir Arafat, president of the Palestinian National Authority. Browning will be the third person to receive the medal, the highest award given by the Palestinian government. Both previous recipients also were Anglicans, Kafity said.

The convention responded by approving a resolution calling for Jerusalem to serve as the capital of two independent states, Israel and Palestine.

The future status of the city is of crucial importance to lasting peace and has long been a matter of contention. According to the Rev. Canon John Peterson, secretary general of the Anglican Communion and former dean of St. George's College in Jerusalem, the process to determine Jerusalem's status is widely perceived as having broken down while at the same time Israel's government has strengthened its control of the city and surrounding territory.

The resolution recognizes Jerusalem as the seat of the Abrahamic peoples -- Jews, Christians and Muslims, affirms that Jerusalem should serve as the capital for both Israel and Palestine, and calls on the U.S. government to "demonstrate a firm commitment to justice for the Palestinians as it does for the security of the state of Israel."

Other actions

In other international actions, the bishops and deputies concurred on:

  • studying the recommendations of the Fifth International Anglican Liturgical Consultation;
  • creating a new Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace with Justice Concerns;
  • commending the Guatemalan Peace Process and urging a commitment to economic aid to Central American countries from the U.S. Government;
  • assuring the people of the Diocese of Okinawa that the Episcopal Church "hears their concern over the impact of U.S. military bases on their daily life;"
  • expressing the convention's continuing concern for suffering in Rwanda;
  • clarifying the role of the Standing Commission on World Mission and broadening its membership to include more people with direct representation in world mission;
  • directing the Executive Council to initiate development of a Partnership for Global Mission in a way that pulls together many groups that work on mission while retaining the authority of the council over the work;
  • designating the last Sunday of Epiphany of each year as World Mission Sunday;
  • expressing appreciation for the ministry and witness of the Church of South India, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year;
  • supporting the work of Bishop Belo of East Timor;
  • supporting reinvestment in South Africa;
  • referring to interim body a resolution endorsing the "Statement on Sexuality" as issued by the Second Anglican Encounter in the south held earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur;
  • asking prayer for the people of Sierra Leone;
  • expressing concern for the safety and future of the people of Tibet and expressing a desire for further dialogue with the China Christian Council;
  • granting the Dioceses of Haiti and Dominican Republic a three-year extension to continue experimenting with their association with the Caribbean Region;
  • calling for a review of all military training programs such as the School of the Americas;
  • declaring the Episcopal Church's solidarity with persecuted churches;
  • accepting "Greetings from the Diocese of Cuba" and responding "with gratitude the greetings of peace and love from our brothers and sisters in the more than 50 churches and missionary stations throughout Cuba;" and
  • promoting reconciliation with Japan over injustices committed by both sides in World War II, expressing appreciation to the General Synod of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai and Presiding Bishop Browning for their efforts in seeking reconciliation.
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