wfn.org | [ACNS] New plan of action for South African Church

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 3960     |     SOUTHERN AFRICA	 |     18 MARCH 2005

New plan of action for South African Church

>From the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA)

An intense three-day planning meeting of the Anglican Church in Southern
Africa this week has resulted in a call to action to all Anglicans to
address meaningfully some pressing issues affecting our society.

In his concluding remarks after the meeting (on Thursday 17 March) the
Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town and the Primate
of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, has reminded Anglicans
that the church is perhaps the only society that exists primarily for
its non-members, for those on the margins of society - the poor and the
excluded. He has asked a representative body of church clergy and laity
who attended the meeting to avoid falling into patronising attitudes
towards those worse-off and to look on all people with respect,
honouring their right to be treated with dignity.

The meeting reflected firstly on the state of the Southern African
Anglican Church, drawing parallels between the challenges it faces and
those faced by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a
whole. Some of these challenges are captured in the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), the recently released Commission for Africa
Report and supported by the philosophy and objectives of the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

"Clearly, pledging commitment to either MDGs or NEPAD is not sufficient.
It is for this reason that the majority of discussion in this meeting
has focused on the topic of development," said Archbishop Ndungane.

The Archbishop summed up subsequent discussions, which covered the
challenges of women's emancipation; improving levels of education;
making public services accessible to the poor; tackling HIV and AIDS,
Malaria and other infectious diseases; implementing the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and other challenges specific to the Anglican
Church such as sharing a common vision and building institutional
capacity in all church dioceses.

Various action plans have been recommended to address these challenges:

*Firstly, to create a pool of resources in the form of a human
development fund which is well co-ordinated and distributed with
proportional equity to all dioceses across Southern Africa. Archbishop
Ndungane proposes that this fund be used to strengthen infrastructure
and capacity in the poorer dioceses to enable them to facilitate more
effective social development and outreach programmes towards the
achievement of the MDGs.
*Secondly to popularise the MDGs within the church in order for it to
develop people-centred and community-driven social development
programmes that seek to achieve the MDGs. The Archbishop suggested that
this awareness and education process happens simultaneously with the
roll out of the HIV/AIDS programmes in the church, given that the MDGs
prioritise HIV/AIDS and disease in a specific goal. A timeline-related
plan has been called for in this regard.
*Thirdly, the Archbishop said that the church must commit to further
discussion on the issue of Anglican schools and the improvement of
access to education.
*Fourth, all dioceses must be involved in the creation of a poverty and
development training course - which currently has pilot programmes
scheduled for October 2005 - in order that it be a home grown, credible
integrated and holistic training tool for the Anglican Church.
*Fifth, existing HIV/AIDS and malaria programmes as well as TB
programmes should be embraced and enhanced across the region.
*Finally, there are three essential pillars for sustainable growth and
development. These are government, business and civil society - which
includes all faith-based organisations. Partnerships between these must
be encouraged and developed that establish common vision, develop models
for collaboration and strategies for implementation without negating any
existing relationships at a diocesan level. Proposals as to how this
could be facilitated will be discussed

"Let us make hunger history. Let us strive intentionally for a
generation without AIDS. Let us rise up and build," said Archbishop
Ndungane at the conclusion of the meeting.

For further information, please contact Penny Lorimer, Media Liaison for
Archbishop Ndungane, on 082 894-1522

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