The Anglican Encounter in the South may seem "a somewhat mysterious body" [TLC, May 25], but there are very thoughtful origins to the Encounter's vision for dialogue among the so-called "third world" Anglicans.

The Anglican Encounter in the South seeks to provide a forum for Anglicans in the Southern Hemisphere who have few opportunities for such discourse with one another. The observations that we have made at ANITEPAM, the African-governed network of Anglican theological education programs throughout the continent, hold true for most of the "third world," namely that (aside from many bishops) most African church leaders and theological educators either have no experience beyond their own province or nation, or have experience only with partner churches in North America and Britain. There are few opportunities for Africans to experience the richness and diversity of the African church beyond their own region.

The idea for a "South-to-South" conference originated at a meeting of mission agencies in Australia in 1986. Four years later an advisory group established by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) met in Malaysia and revived the idea, Anglican primates endorsed the plan in 1991, and planning meetings took place in Nairobi in 1992. The Conference of Anglican Provinces in Africa co-ordinated the first Anglican Encounter in the South in Limuru, Kenya, in January 1994, under the able leadership of Canon Cyril Okorocha, of the ACC staff in London. The Kuala Lumpur meeting is a sequel.

It is my understanding that the Encounter does not speak for anyone other than the participants, but certainly the Limuru meetings raised a variety of critical issues to strengthen the witness of the Anglican communion. Whatever one may think of the Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality and the subsequent action of the Province of South East Asia, the initiative taken by the organizers of the Anglican Encounter in the South to continue such gatherings can only enhance understanding among provinces whose realities tend to isolate them from one another.

Leon P. Spencer

ANITEPAM

Birmingham, Ala.