24 July 2023
Bishops from 24 Anglican dioceses in 11 countries gathered over the weekend in the Mozambique capital of Maputo for 10 days of leadership orientation starting today in the first of a new series of regional events to support bishops’ induction and professional development across the Anglican Communion.
The General Secretary of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA), the Venerable Kofi deGraft-Johnson; the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo; the Chairman of CAPA and Primate of the Church of the Province of Central Africa, the Most Revd Albert Chama; and the Bishop for Episcopal Ministry in the Anglican Communion, Dr Jo Bailey Wells; will take part in the orientation programme for bishops from six Anglican Communion member Churches (provinces). This first event is being led by the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) with the support of the Anglican Communion Office.
The bi-lingual event will support both English- and Portuguese-speaking bishops and will include contributions from the Bishop of Portugal, Jorge Pina Cabral of the Lusitanian Church; and the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally of the Church of England.
The bishops taking part in the peer-learning initiative serve dioceses in Angola, Brazil, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan and Zimbabwe.
The host for the event is the Acting Presiding Bishop of the Igreja Anglicana de Mozambique e Angola, the Most Revd Carlos Simao Matsinhe, Bishop of Lebombo. He said: “My feeling is excitement. I already have a sense of fulfilment of this training because everyone is now here and I think we have got a lot to receive and a lot to give of the bishops and one another.
“Already God is working on this, so we look forward that everyone will leave this place very much strengthened and excited ready to face the challenges and opportunities that they meet in their ministry.”
Commenting on the initiative, the Venerable Kofi deGraft-Johnson, said: “it is exciting to have the opportunity for CAPA to continue in a ministry that it has been doing since 1984, a ministry that provides the opportunity for cross-cultural experiential learning and accompaniment of new bishops and their spouses as they assume their new roles in the ministries and services to the Church. The uniqueness of this year’s training is the breadth of participation and the first ever bi-lingual process and gathering of such a mixture of bishops and spouses.”
Bishop Anthony Poggo said: “this first international episcopal peer-learning initiative is a development that emerged from the Lambeth Conference. Various groups, such as CAPA, have organised occasional training and development events for bishops across the Anglican Communion. There is now a growing desire to work together to develop ways of not just teaching new bishops, but also to provide opportunities for bishops to learn from each other about how they build their ministries in their different local contexts.
“So we are delighted to partner with Canon Kofi deGraft-Johnson and his team at CAPA to deliver this bi-lingual event in Maputo – the newest province of our Anglican Communion.”
Bishop Jo Bailey Wells said: “leadership can often feel lonely. It is such a gift for bishops and their spouses to come away and spend time together, and especially to do so cross-provincially. The more varied our contexts, the more we recognise a common call and a common vision – and discover how we can empower one another with the challenges. I anticipate this meeting to involve deep engagement and hard work – and yet to overflow with joy!”