African Responses to New Hampshire and New Westminster: An Address*

When I received a letter from president of Historical Society asking if I would consider being speaker at this year's annual meeting, I was flattered.1 Then I read fine print: Would I consider talking about the position of third world Anglican churches in current crisis...it would be helpful to have a clearer picture of response of African churches than rather cryptic press accounts sometimes provided. The crisis, of course, is situation we now find ourselves in as a global communion following two events in North America: decision at General Convention 2003 to ratify election of a man who is a practicing homosexual to be bishop of New Hampshire, and his subsequent consecration, and decision by diocese of New Westminster in Canada to allow blessing of same-sex unions within diocese and production of a liturgy for that purpose. These events have resulted in a perhaps unprecedented negative response by many in communion. With regard to letter of invitation, I must be fair, topic was left completely up to me. I was in no way coerced to speak about this subject. But letter made its point: Grave misunderstanding is far too easy if we know little about context from which a statement is made or a position is taken. Even those of us Anglicans who live within same culture have had a difficult time communicating with each other recently. How much more confusion is possible if we speak from differing culture contexts? The topic which president's letter suggested was both timely and crucial. But I immediately saw potential landmines. First, although I have lived in Africa and I love Africa, and although I have spent much of my academic life seeking to comprehend that wonderful place more deeply, I am not an African and I cannot presume to speak for Africa.2 Africa is an immense, varied, and complicated place. I am well aware that whatever I say some of my African friends will be well within their rights to question my judgement, or even my presumption to render an opinion. There is no one African position on subject of homosexuality; neither is there one monolithic opinion about wisdom of actions of Canadian and American churches, although it is quite clear that there is a majority opinion. second, I was immediately aware of who my audience would be for this talk, and aware that many in room would not share my own opinions about meaning of present situation. And finally, I am deeply conscious that our present troubles have left many of us emotionally raw. The issues of sexuality with which we have been struggling (and which can now be seen to involve also issues of culture and race, of money and power) touch all of us at deep levels of our being. Anger is not far from surface of conversations. I have told my students many times that I would much rather be a church historian writing about these events three hundred years from now. I see my task to attempt a description of some of more important characteristics of Anglicanism as it has emerged in non-western world, and especially in Africa, over past several generations. It is now clear that missionary movement of nineteenth century gave way in twentieth century to a Christianity whose centre of gravity (to use wonderful turn of phrase of Andrew Walls) had shifted south.3 More and more, in twenty-first century and beyond, theological and ecclesiological agendas of global church, including Anglicanism, will be set not in New York, Canterbury, Geneva, or even Rome, but in Nairobi, Lagos, Beijing, Singapore, and Lima. There will probably come a day when students wishing to do doctoral research in church history will find it necessary to learn Korean, Mandarin, and Yoruba, and students wanting to do advanced research in biblical studies will find Spanish more helpful than French, and Kiswahili and Arabic of more relevance than German or English. …

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