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Editorial
The International Anglican Family Network is a well established network of the Anglican Communion. Through its newsletters, which have been published regularly for 12 years, it links together many thousands of Anglican Christians involved in family ministries across the world.
The range of topics covered in the newsletters � street children, fathers and families, HIV/AIDS, children and war � demonstrates the many areas of family problems where the Anglican Communion has been active in responding to people in need.
During these 12 years IAFN has always been a virtual network linked by the Newsletter. However, through a generous grant, the first Consultation since the inception of the Network was recently held in Kenya. It was held in Africa because Christians from that continent had been some of the most enthusiastic contributors to the Network. The topic of �Violence and the Family� was chosen because it was a theme which had recurred in the newsletters. We recognised that violence and the family was a worldwide issue but we felt that our African sisters and brothers would have particular insights into these problems.
32 people attended the Consultation, representing 17 African countries and a wide range of professions � the ordained ministry, Mothers� Union trainers and workers, teaching, social work, nursing, counselling and administration. The Consultation was chaired by Archdeacon Taimalelagi Matalavea, the Anglican Communion�s Observer at the United Nations and her co-facilitator was Dr. David Gitari, former Archbishop of Kenya.
Over the seven days of the Consultation the delegates considered three aspects of violence and the family:
- Violence between couples
- Violence against children
- Violence from the wider world
In each case they drew on their experience and that of their fellow- Christians in their home country to set out the nature of the problem and then made practical recommendations on tackling it in their Consulation report.
Some of the recommendations are specific to Africa and demonstrate how Anglicans there are being courageous in opposing traditional practices such as bride price, female genital mutilation and the abuse of widows, as well as taking the lead in tackling new problems such as the AIDs pandemic and being active in promoting conflict resolution and peacemaking activities.
But many of the recommendations are relevant to all parts of the Anglican Communion.
Violence against women is endemic across the world and the report calls on the Church to break the silence that surrounds all forms of violence.
Marriages are under pressure everywhere. The delegates identified the pressures which are common in Africa, and every Province needs to identify the pressure points in its own culture and see how the Church can respond.
Child abuse is also a worldwide problem. The report calls for action to help children speak out and receive counselling and support. But it also calls for the Church to be active in educating children on personal safety, in empowering parents to recognise and tackle abuse and in making the Church itself a place that welcomes and values children.
The report speaks with particular authority on violence from the wider world. The recommendations on working for reconciliation, caring for refugees and speaking out against oppression are based on the direct experiences of the delegates themselves.
But they also have a message specifically for the wider Church.
Many countries in Africa are brutally handicapped in their struggle for development by terrorism, drug trafficking, their burden of debt, the dumping of waste and by trade policies which favour the developed world. They call on the Church worldwide to make its members aware of this and to lobby their governments to fight against these evils.
This newsletter is based on material from the Nairobi Consultation and sets out some recommendations of the final report.* It also gives perspectives from other countries on the three themes of the conference � illustrating further the international nature of the problems. The delegates from Africa drew up their report after many hours of careful work rooted in their own direct experiences of injustice and violence. They left the Conference determined to work for a more just society and their prayer was that their report might stir the rest of the Church to respond with energy and compassion to families affected by violence. We hope that this newsletter will be a further stimulus to such action.
*Copies of the Consultation Report can be obtained from the Network office.
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