Anglican Communion News Service

Walking together with other towards just, participatory, sustainable society

The Synod of the Church of the Province of West Africa (CPWA), meeting in Conakry, Guinea from Monday, March 21 to Friday, March 25, 2011 under the overarching theme “TURN BACK, RECOVER YOUR DEAR LOVE (Revelation 2:5), among other things engaged the socio-economic-political context in which the Province fulfills her God-given Mission, without which the Church has no definition and clear identity.

Joy and Pain of our Situation in West Africa

While giving thanks to God for the abundant grace of natural and mineral resources such as gold, manganese, bauxite, diamonds, oil and vast expanses of rich soil, we also had reason to be pained by and to be penitent for the numerous and seemingly incessant hardships and misfortunes made manifest in political instability, wanton destruction of human life and property, displaced and in-between peoples. We are struck by the irony that the region so well endured by God has become almost synonymous with disease, especially HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases and poverty, a code for exclusion and marginalization of people from the bounty of God.

Guinea - Laboratory of Gospel and Socio-economic-political Challenges

Guinea, the venue of the Synod, helped to focus the issues and challenges to our faith conviction, especially as it is still emerging from political crisis and senseless loss of much human life. In that regard, we identified the grace of God in raising up the Rt. Rev. Albert David Gomez, the Bishop of the Diocese of Guinea and the Dean of CPWA to shine as a beacon and icon of humanity, sobriety, palpable, engaged and rational spirituality (obedience to God) and Christian conscience across the religious and denominational divide of the nation.

This learning was an experience of conscientization and became a catalyst in our search for understanding and for strategies of securing human dignity as “persons created in God’s image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27) as well as exploring avenues of strategic solidarity with victims in an informed and responsible manner.

The theme of the Synod was instrumental for raising a sense of urgency on the necessity of the Gospel engaging socio-economic-political issues.

Synod urges:

1. All Christians to live their faith commitment as agents of renewal through study and discernment of the will of God in our respective countries. In this regard, Synod urges all to endeavour to be rational and hold dialogue between Text of Scripture and the socio-economic-political realities and context, with the aim of shoring up human dignity and well-being (salvation) as bearers of the image and likeness of Christ.
   
2. All to work at realizing the prayer for (God’s) “kingdom to come on earth as in heaven.” (Matthew …..). In this regard, we committed ourselves and urged all others, Christians and non-Christians, to work at the translation of kingdom values of peace with justice, truth and truthfulness, reconciliation with righteousness in every day life and national life.
   
3. Since Churches have, time and again, been reactive in responding to crises and their victims, we urge all Christians to be pro-active as well in joining others to create structures that will approximate to the vision of the Kingdom of God and prevent and forestall contradictions of the marks of the Kingdom of God. (c.f. Matthew 25: 31 – 46)
   
4. We affirm that engagement with socio-economic-political issues as a means of realizing of God’s kingdom on earth and reaching out to the world outside the Church.
   
5. We affirm that the Church has a creative role in the search for Just, Sustainable, Participatory Society. But the ability of the Church to deliver depends on her credentials as a credible and honest brokers.
   
6. We urge our National Governments to see Religious Bodies as partners in socio-economic-political issues and vision creating.

The Most Revd Dr. Justice Akrofi
Archbishop and Primate CPWA