wfn.org | [ENS] French-speaking Anglicans set theological education,

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

French-speaking Anglicans set theological education, translation as
priorities

By Matthew Davies

ENS 080905-3

[Episcopal News Service] Theological education in the Anglican Communion
and
translating key liturgical documents into French were given high
priority as
the Anglican Francophone Network met in Montreal, Canada, July 12-19, to
help francophone leaders develop a ?better and deeper understanding of
partnerships? with North American Anglicans and Episcopalians.

?This is a major part of the Communion,? said Margaret Larom,
director of
Anglican and Global Relations. ?[The network] helps to raise the
identity of
French speaking Anglicans and to bridge the gaps -- the cultural,
geographical and historical gaps -- among the different pockets of the
French speaking Anglican world.

Representing approximately 4 million French-speaking Anglicans around
the
world, the Francophone Network was recognized as an official network of
the
Anglican Communion at the 2002 meeting of the Anglican Consultative
Council
in Hong Kong.

The network was preceded by the Executive Council of the French Speaking
Anglicans around the World and an association called
Rencontres-International which maintains and develops ties among
French-speaking Anglican churches and missions in the world.

Rencontres-International held its first international conference in
Limuru,
Kenya, with the logistic support of ANITEPAM (the African Network of
Institutions of Theological Education Preparing Anglicans for Ministry)
in
1995. Conferences followed in Canterbury in 1998, and Paris in 2001. In
2003, the first official meeting of the Anglican Francophone Network was
held in Mauritius.

Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe,
an
Episcopal Church diocese, explained that a phenomenal growth in
francophones
has occurred in recent years with very few resources in French.

?There is now a great need for such resources and also the training of
lay
and clergy leaders in that language,? he said. ?While English has
become the
dominant language of the planet, French remains the official language of
64
countries, and the other official language of the United Nations and the
Olympic Games.

The conference passed fifteen resolutions, including one declaring that
the
members of the Francophone Network are determined to remain in full
communion with one other, Whalon explained. ?The same resolution
called upon
the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary-General of the Communion
to
institute global conversations about how power is to be shared in the
Communion,? he said. ?Because several African members could not be
present
it was decided to seek their opinion before publishing that
resolution.

Bishop Roger Chung Po Chuen of Antsiranana in the Indian Ocean said that
the
meeting was instrumental in strengthening the bonds of unity in the
Anglican
Communion from the francophone perspective.

?The Francophone Network is another pillar of open dialogue, mutual
understanding and reconciliation facilitator in the ever diversified
Anglican Communion,? he said. ?One of our resolutions is to be an
active
Network in liaising with the Archbishop of Canterbury for consolidating
the
building up of effective links of affection in the lack of
inter-ecclesial
facilities which are causes of misunderstanding and conflict.

Translations of critical resources, such as Richard Hooker's Laws of
Ecclesiastical Polity, were called for and several other resolutions
dealt
with theological education development, Whalon added. ?Besides these
resolutions, there was much conversation about developing new missions
in
francophone countries in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific where there is
little
or no Anglican presence.

The Convocation of American Churches in Europe has recently launched
four
French mission congregations with possibilities for many more, Whalon
explained.

Dr. Ellie Johnson, acting general secretary of the Anglican Church of
Canada, brought greetings from the Canadian Primate, Archbishop Andrew
Hutchison, and spoke about some of the province?s work with
French-speaking
Anglicans.

?Canadian francophone Anglicans were delighted to host the conference
because they find great solidarity in belonging to this network of other
francophone Anglicans,? she said. ?Francophone Anglicans are widely
scattered in our Communion, and they clearly rejoice when they are able
to
come together to share their resources, stories and experiences.?

Emphasizing the importance of theological education and translation,
Johnson
said that delegates identified the need for key documents and liturgical
texts to be translated, noting that the issue of translation has not yet
been addressed by the Anglican Communion Office.

Larom said that the Episcopal Church had facilitated the French
translation
of the official Anglican Communion brochure because the Anglican
Communion
Office doesn?t have the financial resources. ?There are very few
theological
and educational resources -- most of the texts are in English,? she
said.
?So the need for money to make that happen is large and this is a
small
network. The purpose of this meeting was to help the francophonee
understand
the commitment of the North American partners.

The Rev. Canon Ogé Beauvoir, dean of the theological seminary in
Haiti, was
re-elected as president of the network. He described the vision of the
bishop of Haiti to host a seminary which would be available for
French-speaking Africans to come and study. For 25 years, efforts to
open a
seminary in the Congo have proved unsuccessful because of instability in
the
region.

"Lay and ordained leadership training remains the first priority of the
Francophone Network in the Anglican Communion,? said Beauvoir. ?We
need
leaders properly trained to sustain the growth of the francophone aisle
of
the Anglican Communion. Well trained leaders will not only celebrate the
diversities of the Anglican mosaic but also promote its unity."

Haiti is the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church which, according to
Beauvoir, has 112,000 members.

?The network also asked its member Provinces to consider placing on
their
saints' calendars James Theodore Holly (1829-1911), founder of the
Episcopal
Diocese of Haiti and its first bishop,? Whalon said. ?It also passed
a
resolution supporting a move to use ?L'Église Épiscopale du
Canada? as the
official French name for the Anglican Church of Canada. Canadian members
pointed out in their presentations that while the dioceses of Montreal
and
Quebec now understand their future to be in French, their are still
numerous
obstacles toward that goal.

Joanne Chapman, coordinator of the Episcopal Church?s United Thank
Offering
(UTO), which invites grant applications from the provinces, and Janis
Rosheuvel of Episcopal Relief and Development also attended the
conference.
The Rev. Mary Ellen Dolan, a priest in the Diocese of Rhode Island,
serves
on the network?s executive council.

Rosheuvel said that emphasis was placed on building partnerships with
the
francophone countries and provinces. ?ERD has been trying to build
links in
the francophone world for quite a while,? she said. ?We currently
have
partners in Burundi, Congo and Haiti and we were able to make a serious
connection with Bishop Chung from the Indian Ocean. We?re already on
the way
to funding a food security program which we hope will flourish during
the
coming year.

In addition to the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada,
the
Francophone Network includes the provinces of West Africa, Rwanda,
Burundi,
Congo, Madagascar, and the Indian Ocean.

The network expressed its appreciation for the ACC?s recognition in
Hong
Kong and the financial support from the Episcopal Church.

?I hope that the network can continue to grow and serve francophone
Anglicans through the production of TEE (Theological Education by
Extension)
materials and other forms of resourcing,? Larom said, ?so that we
can do
what the francophone Anglicans are asking of us.

-- Matthew Davies is staff writer and web manager of Episcopal News
Service.