Bishops of “Global Center” meet and call for plurality and diversity to be celebrated as a rich source for growth, rather than a cause for controversy and division.
.jpg)
From May 18 through May 22 the Anglican/ Episcopal Primates of Brazil, Mexico and Central America, and the President of Province 9 of The Episcopal Church, together with Bishops from Brazil (Brasilia, Southwest Brazil, Recife, Curitiva, Mid-Brazil), Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Ecuador (Central and Coastal), Venezuela, Uruguay, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Mexico (Mexico, Western Mexico, Southeast Mexico), met in Costa Rica to reaffirm their statement of the “Global Center” position in the Anglican Communion and to share experiences and strengthen relationships.
This was the second meeting of this group of Bishops who are taking a position in the Anglican Communion which affirms the unity and diversity of the world-wide communion and seeks to chart a course which is different from the polarized positions of the so-called Global North and Global South. In late 2005, meeting in Panama along with the bishops of the dioceses of Haiti, the Virgin Islands, Nicaragua and Peru, the bishops invited “other Provinces in the Anglican Communion that do not identify or totally fit in the present vision of Global North and Global South, to develop this vision (Global Center) along with us and begin a journey on the path of reconciliation and bonding that will not allow the unity, as we know it, to be broken.”
I had the privilege of attending this meeting at the invitation of the Primate of Central America and representing CRISTOSAL, an NGO formed to support the ministries and people of the Anglican Church of El Salvador. I was there with representatives from ERD and Jubilee Ministries to offer support and listen to the needs and concerns of the bishops. It was a moving experience to join them in play and prayer, as well as observing their work sessions, and feel their deep belief in Anglicanism as a rich tradition of inclusivity. Their pain at the separations which continue to be provoked was side-by-side with their joy in their diverse experiences of the Body of Christ.
They were prophetic in their criticism of the ‘Global North’ churches which seem to say ‘we can do whatever we want and other churches of the Anglican Communion have no business interfering.’ And they were just as prophetic in their criticism of the ‘Global South’ for their homophobia and for going beyond their jurisdictions and not respecting the autonomy of other churches. They called upon the whole church to re-focus its priorities on mission and ministry, particularly in face of the crushing poverty which economic globalization has brought to so many churches and countries.
The statement which came out of the Costa Rica meeting said, in part, “our concern has grown because of the polarization regarding the biblical and theological positions manifested in the Anglican Communion, during the last years; positions known as Global North and Global South, non reconcilable in their character and putting the unity in the Communion at risk. In the midst of this painful controversy, we do not identify with either side, because they don’t fully represent the spirit of our thoughts.”
“We unanimously express our determination to remain united as members of the same family and will continue to come to the Lord’s Table, together.
“We invite our brothers and sisters in the episcopate, as well as all the members of the Clergy and laity who identify with this vision, to join together and work for an effective reconciliation, interdependence and unity in the diversity of our family of faith and so preserve the valuable legacy of which we are guardians.
“As disciples of Jesus, called to live out the mandate of love (John 15:17), we declare our commitment to be together and with all our strength, struggle for unity, as an act of obedience to His will expressed in the Holy Scriptures; trusting that the Holy Spirit… will guide and strengthen us on such a difficult journey.”
These are exciting words for the Anglican Church which seems stale-mated if not checkmated in its current controversy. It is a call for us to ‘center’ ourselves and not be torn apart by forces of polarization. Let us hope and pray that these seeds of reconciliation will fall in fertile soil.
For the full text of the Panama
and Costa Rica
statements click on the links.