Episcopal News Service March 9, 2007
South Africa's president welcomes archbishops of Canterbury, Cape Town into dialogue
Thabo Mbeki reinforces continuing partnership with the Anglican Church
By Matthew Davies
[ENS] South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki reinforced his dedication to continuing partnership between his government and the Anglican Church during a March 9 meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, and Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Southern Africa.
The meeting, requested by Ndungane and attended by the president's director general, Frank Chikane, was held at the president's residency in Pretoria, about 60 kilometers from Boksburg where more than 400 Anglicans are meeting for the Towards Effective Anglican Mission (TEAM) conference.
"That the Archbishop is in the country and that we're able to meet helps us to reinforce the message that our common work is not yet done," Mbeki told media gathered after the meeting. (Full text of media briefing: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_83292_ENG_HTM.htm)
"There are these common challenges of peace, of development in this country, on the continent, of poverty and so on, and questions of morality, of the soul," he said, noting that the government works very closely with Ndungane in addressing those issues. "So I am very, very glad that the Archbishop of Canterbury came, the head of the Anglican community globally, in reality to reinforce this partnership which is indeed very, very long-standing."
Mbeki acknowledged that the role of the Anglican Church, both domestically and in the rest of the world during the struggle against apartheid, is well known. "So we will continue to maintain [that relationship] to address the new challenges of the day," he said.
Williams described the conversation as "wide-ranging, instructive and encouraging," and noted that South Africa has a very special place in his heart "as in the hearts of many people in the Anglican Church."
Referring to the TEAM conference, which is addressing the church's involvement in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Williams said that the meeting with Mbeki offered "a very special opportunity to discuss ... some of the ways in which the church here in South Africa is contributing, especially at the grass-roots level, to the meeting of those goals, and how more effective partnership between the churches and government here could help take forward those crucial goals for the good, not only of this country, but of the whole continent."
Williams described his visit to South Africa in the '80s -- when he and his wife, Jane, did some work for the local church -- as "a crucial time for us, and it has been wonderful to be back in the country to see the changes, see the challenges, to pick up some old friendships and to make some new ones."
Full story and photos: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_83293_ENG_HTM.htm
An audio stream of the media briefing following the meeting with Mbeki will be available later today at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_23466_ENG_HTM.htm. More information about TEAM is available at the conference website at http://www.team2007.org. Continuing ENS coverage is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_23466_ENG_HTM.htm.
-- Matthew Davies is international correspondent for the Episcopal News Service.
- - - - - - - - -
To SUBSCRIBE to Episcopal News Service, send a blank email message, from the address which you wish subscribed, to join-enslist@epicom.org and include "subscribe" in the subject line.
Send QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS to news@episcopalchurch.org
ENS provides information and resources which we consider to be of interest to our readers. However, statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein, are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of ENS or the Episcopal Church.