ACNS - Inaugural consultation for theological college Principals - stimulating and productive

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Inaugural consultation for theological college
Principals - stimulating and productive

Posted On : May 26, 2011 2:50 PM | Posted By : Webmaster

ACNS:

<http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2011/5/26/ACNS4872>http://www.aco.org/acn 
s/news.cfm/2011/5/26/ACNS4872

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<http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/ACO--Theological>ACO
- Theological

The first ever international consultation for
Anglican Communion theological college Principals
and Deans, gathering together representatives
from 27 countries, has been held in Canterbury.
We celebrate and affirm the vital significance of
theological education for the life and health of
the Church and the whole people of God. We
believe that good theological education has
transforming power, and can promote a global
understanding of Anglican identity. Our
consultation has contributed to the unity of the
Anglican Communion, as well as enabling various
models of ecumenical engagement to be explored.
We identified through our meeting a shared
commitment to fostering active and discerning
Christian discipleship which embraces holistic
mission and enables the building up of the Kingdom of God.
In our Bible Studies we explored a number of
passages from Matthew's Gospel, which focused on
the ministry of Jesus as a teacher and
highlighted Matthew's call to all Christians to
become disciples who bring out of their treasure
store what is both new and old (Matthew 13.52).
The consultation was held under the auspices of
TEAC (Theological Education in the Anglican
Communion), the Anglican Communion working party on theological education.
We particularly appreciated the rich diversity of
our meeting and the considerable number of
Anglican Provinces which were represented among
us. The disparity of resources available for
theological education between our different
Provinces was a challenge that we were conscious
of throughout our time together. We also heard of
a number of colleges and seminaries which lack
resources to the point that they are simply
struggling to survive. The absence of some
colleagues due to visa difficulties reminded us
of the challenges theological educators face in a
number of parts of the world. We also regretted
the small number of women at the meeting. This
was due to the under-representation of women in
such roles around the Communion.
The consultation was held in the International
Study Centre, Canterbury, England 12-18 May 2011.
We were grateful for the opportunity to worship
in Canterbury Cathedral and for the welcoming
hospitality of those who live or work there.
We were immensely privileged to be addressed by
Archbishop Rowan Williams. He described theology
to us as a 'position report', a description of
where we start and where we are now, namely
standing 'in Christ' by virtue of our baptism and
the Spirit, enabled along with Christ to cry
'Abba, Father.' Theology draws out implications
of being in that particular place. The Archbishop
asked us to explore how partnerships within the
communion can be better used to do theology
together. He challenged us not to lose sight of
the 'big picture' among all the varied
specialisms of theology, reminding us that 'the
reason we follow the star' is to 'discover how to
be human now .' The Archbishop ably conveyed to
us his own sense of the joy of theological
education and reminded us that if a theological
institution did not engender a sense of
excitement about being in Christ, then such an
institution was ultimately failing. (The complete
text of the Archbishop's address will shortly be made available.)
We express our thanks to Bishop Chad Gandiya,
Bishop of Harare, Zimbabwe, a member of the TEAC
Steering Group, who chaired most of our meeting,
and to Bishop Stephen Pickard, also a TEAC
Steering Group member, who led a number of key
sessions, in particular one on the nature of
being a theological college Principal. Other
contributions were made by TEAC Steering Group
members Revd Dr Patrick Tanhuanco, Revd Dr
Helen-Ann Hartley and Canon Dr Edward Condry, and
the TEAC Secretary, Mrs Clare Amos. There were a
number of invited speakers : Canon Kenneth Kearon
(Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion),
Canon Dr Christopher Irvine, Canon Dr Jeremy
Worthen, Dr Alison Le Cornu,  Mr Stephen Lyon and
Mr Jan Butter. Representatives of several
agencies or institutions (SPCK, USPG, Feed the
Minds, Christ Church Canterbury University)
shared in a session on partnership.
As the consultation has drawn to a close we have
gathered together our thoughts and hopes in a
number of practical proposals which we would like
to see taken forward. These include the following:
1.    Complete and publicise the database of theological colleges.
2.    Establish a Network/network/Association of
Anglican Theological Colleges and seminaries.
3.    Support the development of regional networks.
4.    Establish a mechanism ? through a social
networking site or similar ? for the exchange of
students and staff across the Communion.
5.    Seek to establish a fund to facilitate such exchanges.
6.    Facilitate conversations and dialogue
between theological college Principals, bishops and Primates.
7.    Seriously explore various possibilities to
assist with accreditation of theological courses.
8.    Explore with GlobTheoLib whether there can
be an 'interest group' for Anglican Studies on their website.
9.    Survey and collect syllabus from
institutions about teaching Anglican Studies
(ideally making these available online)
10.  Seek to provide (online where possible)
resources on Anglicanism in the languages of the Communion.
11.  Hold a further gathering for Principals/Deans in 3 years time.
12.  Include theological colleges within the Anglican cycle of prayer.
We wish to express our thanks to the Steering
Group of TEAC, the TEAC Secretary, Mrs Clare
Amos, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, the
Trustees of the St Augustine's Foundation and the
Trustees of the Archbishop of Canterbury's
Anglican Communion Fund, for enabling this consultation.
On our return to our Provinces we pledge
ourselves to sharing with our Archbishops and
Bishops, and with appropriate Provincial
structures, the significance and outcomes of this
consultation. The words of the following prayer,
written for TEAC a number of years ago, affirm
our commitment to the work of theological education:
Christ our Teacher,
you alone are the way, the truth and the life:
so lead the Theological Education group in its work,
building trust and understanding,
that, in sharing our stories, vision and resources,
all your people may grow in faith
and your whole Church built up in love,
in the power of the Holy Spirit
and to the glory of the Father.
Amen.
Victor Atta-Baffoe, Ghana
Oge Beauvoir, Haiti
William Danaher, Canada
Sabiti Tibafa Daniel, Congo
Maurice Elliott, Ireland
Mark Harding, Australia
David Hewlett, England
Allen Hill, Peru
Alinafe Kalemba, Malawi
Anthony Kame, Solomon Islands
Ian Lam, Hong Kong
John Madinda, Tanzania
Peter Moi, Papua New Guinea
Joshua Musiyambiri, Zimbabwe
Seth Ndayirukiye, Burundi
Andrew Norman, England
Barney Pityana, South Africa
Ian E. Rock, Barbados
Jerome Sahabandhu, Sri Lanka
Peter Sedgwick, Wales
James B. Sellee, Liberia
San Myat Shwe, Myanmar
George Sumner, Canada
Patrick Tanhuanco, Philippines
Jenny Te Paa, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Aladekugbe Williams, Nigeria
Jeremiah Guen Seok Yang, Korea
Douglas Travis, United States of America
John Masato Yoshida, Japan
For more information contact Clare Amos at
<mailto:clare.amos@anglicancommunion.org>clare.amos@anglicancommunion.org