“It came as a surprise to find myself in a room with people gifted in all areas,” said Stuart Burns, Head of the School for Ministry in the Leicester Diocese, on the first meeting of the UK and Ireland Resource Hub for the Continuing Indaba Project.
Gathered at Ripon College, Cuddesdon (Oxford) in mid-April, the group of lay and ordained theologians began to explore the need for resource materials to support the forthcoming inter-diocesan conversations planned as part of Continuing Indaba.
The Cuddesdon meeting follows ‘hubs’ in Kenya, South Africa, Barbados and India which have met since October 2009, and (like them) was concerned with identifying topics both distinctive to the life of the church at home and of value in conversation with those working and worshipping in other cultures and places.
Briefing and discussion about the Indaba project and process led by Director Phil Groves was time well spent: “Anything that can enable Anglicans to be in conversation with each other can only be a good thing,” said Nicola Slee of the ecumenical Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham. “Queen’s is more broad-based than just Anglican, but it’s a sort of Continuing Indaba itself. We know how vital and how hard this process is, and how it’s affected by real issues of power, culture and who gets to the table.”
“The group gelled well,” commented James Woodward of St George’s Chapel, Windsor. “And the process was discussed and critiqued well.” Woodward, who has written on conflict as a potentially creative encounter, was “stimulated” by the meeting to offer a piece on the nature of conflict in and between people.
Welcomed by the College’s Principal, the Revd Canon Dr Martyn Percy, and Vice-Principal the Revd Professor Mark Chapman, the group included other academic theologians; representatives of mission organisations Bishop Michael Doe of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) and the Revd Stephen Dinsmore of SOMA (Sharing Our Ministries Abroad); Archbishop’s Council member and Head of the School of Politics and International Relations at Reading University Dr Philip Giddings; the Revd Sister Anita Cook, Provincial of the Sisters of the Church; and Dr Christine Stevens who teaches Psychotherapy and Counselling at St John’s College, Nottingham.
Conversation within the group took off as the day progressed – and not just within the formal sessions. “It was interesting – but frustrating,” said James Woodward. “We could have done with some more time!” Described by one participant as a day of “creative tension”, the meeting has already prompted participants to contribute a range of thoughtful resources.
The meeting began to explore likely issues in establishing conversation of equals across difference and potential conflict, and how to write or collate material to support the forthcoming conversations. “I shall probably contribute a couple of articles by others which address areas of language and discourse across genders,” said Slee.
She commended an extremely powerful reflection on 'Hearing to speech' by the American feminist and Christian educator Nelle Morton, which explores ways in which those who are silent (and silenced) may, with commitment and care, be enabled to speak of things that are difficult to articulate. “It's really an analysis of power, and I think has much to say to the kinds of cross-cultural conversations the Continuing Indaba process is attempting to enable, not only concerning gender."
Sister Anita considered the basis for a paper on communication and conflict transformation. “I could preface it with a couple of short reflections, one on us all being ‘earthen vessels’, and then introduce a couple of useful practical ways of being able to listen and respect each other and different points of view.”
Stuart Burns left the meeting with a better understanding of Continuing Indaba’s aspirations and process. “It’s about understanding what Mission is in the places where we’ve all been put. What does it mean to be a Christian in this context, and what does that mean for the global church?”