wfn.org | [ENS] Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane: Statement on Windsor

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EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE
								
 From Southern Africa's Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane: Statement on 
Windsor Report

Episcopal News Service
Issue:
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Posted: Monday, October 18, 2004
Corrected:  (view corrections)
 From Archbishop of Cape Town Njongonkulu Ndungane: Statement on the 
Windsor Report

At Virginia Theological Seminary, USA
The Feast of St Luke, 18 October 2004

[ENS, Source: Anglican Communion News Service] Today is an important day 
for the Anglican Communion.

I want to begin by congratulating Archbishop Robin Eames and the members of 
the Lambeth Commission for producing such a comprehensive Report in such a 
short time, and in such testing circumstances.
This is a substantive Report which requires careful consideration. It 
provides the Anglican Communion with space for reflection, dialogue and 
reconciliation. I call on all parties involved to take that process 
seriously, so we can restore a deeper unity to our Communion, and continue, 
with increased concord and purpose, the mission of Christ's Church.

The Report does not discuss the detailed issues of homosexuality - and 
neither shall I. As was its mandate, it invites us to engage with wider 
issues of shared fellowship and how we handle disagreements and divisions 
within the Anglican Communion. That is what is at stake here. Regarding 
homosexuality, the Church of the Province of Southern Africa is committed 
to the loving pastoral care of all its members, including those who 
experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. We continue to 
require all unmarried clergy of whatever sexual orientation to be celibate, 
and we do not bless same-sex relationships. We are meanwhile continuing 
with the process of listening, pastoral care, reflection and monitoring, 
which the Lambeth Conference initiated.

It would be premature to offer detailed comment without first digesting the 
Report thoroughly. I also want to underline the importance of considering 
it as a whole, and not just to concentrate on the recommendations. On first 
reading, it seems to me that we have been given the rich gift of a deep 
theological and spiritual reflection on the nature of the common life of 
God's people, as members of the body of Christ, of the one, holy, Catholic 
and Apostolic Church, and of the Anglican Communion. There is so much here 
which can build up and nurture our common life - we have the chance to make 
this a 'win-win' opportunity. We must grasp this chance with both hands.

I am particularly struck by the emphasis that has been given to the 
delicate relationship we must sustain between autonomy and interdependence. 
As the Report says, 'Communion is, in fact, all about mutual relationship.'
The question of relationships between Christians who are different has been 
a challenge to much of my ministry. I am convinced that our understanding 
of the God in whose image we are made can offer fertile resources for 
considering unity and diversity.

Bearing the divine image, we are created for common life by the God who is 
three Persons and yet One. God is Trinity, this mysterious concept which is 
hard to define and yet available to our experience: the nurturing Creator, 
the redemptive Saviour, the life-giving Spirit. An enigmatic community of 
persons, distinct individuals and yet inseparable, united in the love that 
is at the heart of their being, for 'God is love.'

So God creates us, to be in loving community with one another; a community 
that reflects the revealed life of the Trinity. These three mystical 
persons, distinct yet complementary, are one in purpose. None of the three 
is superior, nor inferior, to the others; none acts independently of the 
others, but always with mutual awareness and in relation; none takes over 
another's particular role or characteristics or responsibilities; none acts 
at the expense of another. They are always open to one another, but never 
consumed or indistinct. Indeed, they show us what it is to enjoy freedom 
within a relationship of interdependence, a living example of the 
autonomy-in-communion, which the Report explores.

This must be our model. Can we live and work and order our world like this? 
Granting everyone equal status, equal opportunity? With give and take? 
Prepared to share together, equitably, honestly and vulnerably? Living 
reciprocally rather than hierarchically? Conscious of being bound in a 
single shared humanity, in which, if one suffers, all suffer?
The recommendations of the Report are a challenge to us. They confront us 
with what it means to take seriously the bonds of affection that constitute 
our commitment to each other. They demand tangible acknowledgment of the 
common life to which we are called in the body of Christ, with both its 
freedoms and its interdependence. We must see them as the living expression 
of our vocation of Communion which the Report explores so thoroughly.

This is the dynamic that breathes authentic life into the structures and 
governance of our Communion and the Provinces, Dioceses and Parishes in 
which it subsists. Our present form of corporate life has two 
thousand-year-old roots. The Anglican Communion itself has evolved over the 
centuries and we look back with heartfelt gratitude to the grace of God 
that has brought us to this place.

Where we see the need to renew our structures, such changes must carry with 
them their own legitimacy. For this we must consider them through the due 
synodical processes. As Anglicans we stand firm on the principle that 
bishops, clergy and people together share in governance. Legitimate change 
will come from the full engagement of parishes, diocesan synods, and then 
of Provincia Synods, Governing Bodies, and Conventions, in considering the 
Windsor Report, and all that flows from it.

The structures that we have, though not perfect, have been effective 
vehicles for the expression of the mission and ministry of the Church 
throughout the world. We must not lose sight of our calling to be 
ambassadors of reconciliation, heralds of God's compassion, ministers of 
his mercy in the realities of this broken world. We face issues of war and 
peace; the scourge of poverty; the blight of HIV/AIDS, of TB and malaria - 
the Anglican voice must continue to be raised, and with increasing unity 
and purpose.

As we engage with the Windsor Report, let us together heed Paul's warning 
to the Corinthians, 'I urge you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not 
to have factions among yourselves, but all to be in agreement in what you 
profess, so that you may be perfectly united in your beliefs and 
judgments.' (1 Cor 1:10). We must hold fast to that which binds us 
together, realising that this alone has eternal significance. Dissension 
and factions, like selfish ambition, jealousy and discord, are the products 
of the sinful nature within us (Gal 5:20), that will be destroyed on the 
Day of the Lord (1 Cor 5:5). Let us therefore not waste our energies on 
things that are perishable, but fix our hopes on what is lasting and 
imperishable.

Our God promises to work for good in all circumstances, for those whom he 
loves and calls. Let us respond to his loving call by working with him so 
that he may bring a greater good out of the pain of our current
circumstances.

The Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane
Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Church of the Province of 
Southern Africa