'Indaba' brings Anglican leaders from India, England here

From Staten Island-

“Without sharing, we tend to stagnate.”

Canon Phil Groves of the Anglican Communion Office in London was among religious leaders from England and India who gathered at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, Rosebank, as part of the Continuing Indaba Project.

“The Anglican Communion is no longer predominately white, no longer predominately English or American,” said Canon Groves, who organized the trip.

The Anglican Communion worldwide has more than 85 million members in 160 countries. New York is one of more than 100 dioceses in the 2.3-million member U.S. Episcopal Church.

Indaba is a Zulu word that refers to decision-making by consensus, which the Episcopal church seeks in these modern times. The Indaba Project is a way of enabling conversation and new and fresh ideas, Canon Groves said.

More here-

http://www.silive.com/worship/2011/05/indaba_brings_anglican_leaders.html

ACC-14 Press Briefing 7th May 2009 with Canon Phil Groves

At the ACC-13 meeting in Nottingham a resolution was passed that asked the Secretary General to do a number of things in connection with the Listening Process. They included:
To collate relevant research studies, statements, resolutions and other material on these matters from the various Provinces and other interested bodies within those Provinces
To make such material available for study, discussion and reflection within each member Church of the Communion

To identify and allocate adequate resources for this work, and to report progress on it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to the next Lambeth Conference and the next meeting of this Council, and to copy such reports to the Provinces.

As a result of this motion The Revd Canon Philip Groves was hired as the facilitator of the Listening process to work within the Anglican Communion Office. Philip is a canon of All Saints’ Mpwapwa, Tanzania and continues his parish ministry in England. Following his presentation at ACC-14 and the announcement of The Continuing Indaba and Mutual Listening Project. In the podcast that follows he talks about the challenges and opportunities of the listening process and the role the new project will play in assisting people to hear and listen to God and to one another on the subject of human sexuality.

Podcast here-

http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2009/5/7/ACNS4613

ACC commits church to new stage of listening process

The 14th Anglican Consultative Council today welcomed the proposal for a “Continuing Indaba Project,” the next stage of the so-called Listening Process on the issue of human sexuality in the Anglican Communion. The process aims to listen to the experiences of homosexual persons and the response of various churches to them and the issue.

The project will involve five diverse “pilot conversations,” which would focus on mission issues and would not avoid hard questions related to sexuality, the authority of Scripture, faithfulness to tradition and the respect for the dignity of all.
Canon Philip Groves, Listening Process facilitator, said the hope is that these conversations will result in “a depth of agreement and the clarification of disagreements resulting in positive missional relationships.” He did not state where the “pilot conversations” would take place.

Speaking before ACC delegates, Mr. Groves explained that indaba is a Zulu word for “the process of decision making by consensus, common in many African cultures and with parallels in other non-western societies,” like the Sacred Circle, commonly used by native communities in Canada. Indaba was the term used for the process used at last year’s Lambeth Conference. He said that within the African context, indaba “is intended to include all parties” and to result in a common decision.
Mr. Groves said the project will adopt the consensus method by “drawing upon Biblical models, the traditions of the church and cultural methods across the Communion.”

More here-

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/acc-commits-church-to-new-stage-of-listening-process/?cHash=0980a0470c

Final reflections on the Indaba process

This is the web page version from the official Lambeth web site. You can also find the pdf there all 42 pages of it. Its long but its what they did and what they produced.

108. There were repeated statements of the desire to remain in communion while attempting to maintain a generous space for ongoing discussions. Although there has been a great appreciation of one to one conversations, there is the need to develop further trust in the relationships that have started here. In addition to previous expressions of regret by both the House of Bishops and the General Convention of The Episcopal Church[29], some individual bishops of The Episcopal Church have expressed apologies in their groups, noting that they had not previously grasped the depth of the negative impact that their action in the consecration of a bishop living in a same gender union had caused in many parts of the Communion.

http://www.lambethconference.org/reflections/document.cfm

Lambeth participants reshape 'indaba' process (sounds like some small mutinies going on)

Looks like the participants are taking charge and not letting the planners of the conference move them in a particular direction. I was once told that if you wanted something to pass quickly and with little discussion put it at the end of the meeting. (Doesn't Brando looking absolutely smashing in those brass buttons and that hat?)

"This conference -- the 14th since 1867 -- is the first to use the format and it was designed to provide a different method of communication than the sometimes-divisive resolutions and voting that are characteristic of parliamentary-style debate. Based on a Zulu concept, "indaba" refers to a group meeting where conflicts can be aired and a consensus agreement reached.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, speaking in a brief interview before the bishops' traditional group photo, acknowledged that "there are some frustrations, but it's important to let the process progress. We are working at getting it right." The majority of the groups are working as hoped, he said.

Bishop Jack Iker, Diocese of Fort Worth, said his indaba group "saw a dramatic change today" and "seized control of its own agenda." If the group waited to talk about such issues as sexuality, "we'd all be tired and impatient," so it decided to begin such discussions on July 28."

Its all here -

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_99407_ENG_HTM.htm

Video of Rowan Williams reflecting on Hopes for Lambeth

This is a seven minute YoutTube video of Rowan Williams reflecting on his hopes for Lambeth. Just a little on the dry side. Too bad Busby Berkeley isn't around to dress it up with a musical number. Oh well...

Its here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCJ1G_3WPjw

Bishops invited to sit under the Church’s ‘shady tree’ and give tribal politics a go

A story/commentary about the first try at the Indaba process from the London Times. Allison Lawrence (pictured with Mark) is quoted below _

Allison Lawrence, wife of the Bishop of South Carolina, Mark Lawrence, said: “They have taken a Zulu word and used it for an American concept. The African concept when you do an indaba is you talk, talk, talk until you agree. In these indaba groups, they talk a little and then someone changes the subject if they don’t like it. The Americans are feeling railroaded and manipulated. Even the Africans are saying, ‘This is not indaba’.”

Whole thing here -

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4381000.ece

Lambeth Conference Daily Account

From Episcopal Life Online -Three American Bishops give a brief account of their first day.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_99211_ENG_HTM.htm

In case you missed it Indaba is an African way of having conversation and listening.

"Indaba is a Zulu word for a gathering for purposeful discussion and is both a process and method of engagement, and offers a way of listening to one another concerning challenges that face the Anglican Communion."

Information about the process can be found here-

http://www.lambethconference.org/lc2008/news/news.cfm/2008/7/4/From-Indaba-to-Reflections