Categories: uncategorized
Date: 01 August 2008 09:24:18
Last night I was blessed again, this time by sloping off from Peterson, AD & TP and going to an Inclusive Church seminar. The title was "Inclusive Imperative: Anglican Welcome". Revd Doctor Richard Burridge (Dean of Kings College London) and Nomfundo Walaza (Chief Executive of the Tutu Peace Centre in South Africa) were exploring the gospel roots and practical application of inclusive ethics in a seminar.
Richard Burridge's powerpoint actually showed a different title "BEING BIBLICAL: Slavery, Sexuality and Inclusive Community". He talked powerfully about how we need to realise that similar, yet different debates have occurred, where both sides have used biblical texts as proof texts to support their arguments. The examples he looked at were the Slavery debate in the 19th century and aparthied in the 20th century. I am not going to into exactly what he said (apparently his site will have details). The key message, though, was we need to look at the whole of Jesus teaching and life together. We also need to realise that both sides will have things to sacrifice and change within their interpretations of the texts, (which we need to look at fully). Most importantly we will need to step back and listen to others on all sides.
Nomfundo Walaza talked about what she had learnt from her experiences in relation to aparthied in South Africa which could be applied across. Her starting point included using the quote "None of us are free until all are free" which includes freedom for all sides. She also spoke of the importance of rehumanising the dehumaniser in order to engage with them and listening from the bottom up. Key to her talk was the importance of exorcising the demon of "othering" and getting rid of the idea that people deserve to be treated differently. She said that "marginalisation comes from taking the view that people are like us but not of us." This "othering" and "marginalisation" she said took the form of "the other" becoming "not fully human" because we accept bits but leave behind the rest of them, which means we only accept half the human.
What was clear from this discussion; how the "sexuality question" the bishops had apparently been discussing earlier in the day, had been framed; from the Gene Robinson lecture last week and from what I had picked up listening to people around the site, the days I had been up there, is that mission is really central to what they have been talking about in all areas. The centre of their discussions seems to have been how do the answers they were coming up with enable the church or disable the church in mission. The problems seem to have been coming from the fact what enables the church in mission in one culture or context appears to be disabling them in others. This came across really powerfully to me during the question time at the seminar listening to bishops and other speakers from the south.
What the solutions will be only time will tell, but what is clear is that the majority of both sides are trying to act bibically with integrity in order to further the gospel. As both speakers made clear last night what needs to happen now is for everybody to sit down and to engage in serious bible study together, and really listen to each other and to the people that they are seeking to reach in mission so they can learn from each other and from the gospels in order to find a way to move forward.
On a final note I have to say yet again the internet world has enabled me to have an amazing experience in real life and to be really blessed. Being able to connect with the fringe of Lamberth has been wonderful and massive thanks to those who have enabled me to have experience it in the way I have.