wfn.org | Episcopalians: West African church leaders plead for help in peace efforts

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

March 13, 2003

2003-058

Episcopalians: West African church leaders plead for help in 
peace efforts

by James Solheim

(ENS) A high-level delegation of eight church leaders from West 
Africa--including two Anglican bishops--is spending several 
weeks in the United States, at the invitation of Church World 
Service, for intensive consultations with government and church 
officials, pleading for help with peace efforts in their 
troubled region of the world.

The ecumenical leaders are from the Mano River Union countries 
of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, accompanied by delegates 
from the Gambia and Ghana, on a common mission to mobilize 
support for resolution of civil conflict and poverty in the 
region.

Until 1989, West Africans felt immune to the strife plaguing 
other parts of Africa, but then civil war erupted in Liberia and 
soon engulfed next-door neighbor Sierra Leone and most recently 
Ivory Coast. The conflict has displaced millions of people, 
severely damaged the infrastructure, and precipitated some of 
the worst human rights atrocities in recent history.

"Our children, who make up nearly half of our populations, have 
known nothing but war," said Anglican Bishop Tilewa Johnson, a 
member of the delegation, who chairs the Gambian Christian 
Council. He said that the region won't have peace until the 
ongoing crisis in Liberia is resolved. "When you put out a fire, 
to get it to stay out, you have to put it out at its source. In 
our region, the fire started in Liberia and spread," he said. He 
added that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is 
complicating the search for peace, convinced that the area is a 
testing ground for new weapons.

Prince Porte, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Liberia, 
agreed, arguing that the international non-governmental 
organizations "put the cart before the horse" when they sponsor 
refugee assistance and development projects in West Africa 
without addressing the most important question--the need for 
peace. "If we don't stop the war, we will always have refugees," 
said Porte. "To have sustainable development, you have to stop 
the fighting and sustain the peace."

A gift and a blessing

In welcoming the delegation to the Episcopal Church Center, 
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold noted that the church leaders 
"bring peace as the dominant concern in your part of the world 
as we here in the United States deal with the hideous 
potentialities of war. Your own experience can help us develop a 
different consciousness as we try to become better and more 
responsible global citizens. Your visit is a gift and a 
blessing."

In comments following a luncheon, Bishop Johnson said that he 
was impressed with "the strength of your networking as you work 
together to transform unjust structures--and do something about 
the sinned-against people of West Africa. We are here to give 
you first-hand information and encourage you to continue to act 
cooperatively because you have what it takes to make things 
happen. You have the capacity to discipline wayward, stubborn 
political leaders in the world," he added with a smile.

Both Griswold and Johnson praised the Africa Initiative of 
Church World Service, the relief and development arm of the 
National Council of Churches. "CWS gets us beyond ourselves--as 
does the Anglican Communion," said Griswold.

"Your visit reminds us that this is both a larger world and a 
very complex one, but also very small," said the Rev. Patrick 
Mauney, executive director of the Episcopal Church's Office of 
Anglican and Global Relations, who chairs the CWS board. Noting 
that "Iraq is taking so much of our attention," he said that 
"this may be the most crucial month in the history of the United 
Nations." And he observed that Africa is a major player, since 
the current president of the UN Security Council is from Guinea.

Shuttle diplomacy

Anglican Bishop Albert David Gomez, president of the Christian 
Council of Guinea and chair of the Interreligious Council of 
Guinea, reported that the churches in the region are taking 
seriously their role as a "voice of morality." Since there is 
often no dialogue between political opponents, the religious 
community has used its trust to bring both sides together in 
places like Liberia, sometimes using a type of "shuttle 
diplomacy" between different opponents.

At one time Guinea, a nation of eight million, was hosting a 
million refugees, many living alongside the local population. 
"Our churches are doing their best to bring back peace, give 
refugees a better quality of life, and provide work for youth 
and women so they can live in dignity," Gomez said. 

A CWS delegation visited Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the 
Gambia last July and in September brought together in Nairobi, 
Kenya, the leaders of 31 national ecumenical councils in Africa.

Shortly after their arrival, the delegation addressed a forum at 
St. James Episcopal Church in New York and were guests at a 
reception at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York. "You come 
here at a very important moment," said CWS Executive Director 
John McCullough, "because of events that will shape how we 
understand each other as a community of nations around the 
world. It's a particularly volatile time and I look forward to 
our engagement with leaders of the United Nations, the US 
government, and the churches on what is the quality of the world 
we want and how we will support each other."

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--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service. This 
article is based largely on reports from Church World Service.