The triennial gathering of the Anglican Consultative Council this week in Belfast offers global representatives a chance to discuss, advance, and propose issues for the Church to consider.
Geremy Hema, the lay representative for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, is looking forward to joining members of the Anglican Communion in worship and discussion.
“We have Kaihapa (Eucharist) every day, followed by Bible study. I’ve been told the groups are rotated as much as possible, so you get the chance to meet as many different people as you can during those sessions.
“To be able to sit with people and reflect on the Bible, bringing our individual understandings to the scriptures assigned each day, is something I’m really excited about.”
A major focus of the week-long conference will be the Nairobi-Cairo proposals. There will also be to time for Global Conversations, where delegates deliberate on issues affecting churches and provinces across the Communion.
“I can imagine matters such as environmental stewardship, conflict and warfare, and the care of those who are suffering will be especially prominent right now.
“I also expect we will touch on issues that divide us. While this is an attempt to bring us together—to whakawhanaunga—we are realistic and honest, and we have enough integrity as Anglicans to acknowledge the things that separate us as well.”
As one of the four Instruments of the Anglican Communion, the ACC is the only forum where bishops, clergy, and laity meet at an international level. Approximately 100 delegates from the 38 Anglican provinces are expected to attend, including Archbishop Dame Sarah Mullally, in what will be her meeting as President of the ACC and the Most Reverend Hosam Naoum, Archbishop in Jerusalem who recently undertook a pilgrimage of peace in the Holy Land.
With so many people attending and a packed schedule, Hema will have some pounamu and chocolates to share with fellow delegates over a quick cup of tea.
“It’s in those moments that you find little golden opportunities. There will be people who think differently from us on a range of issues. Some won’t be experiencing climate change in the same way our Polynesian whānau do and may not appreciate how vulnerable our part of the world is. Others will have different views on the ordination of wāhine and our rainbow whānau.
“I always enjoy those small interactions. What I’ve found with Anglicans everywhere is that we’re curious about each other—about our experiences of faith and what the Church looks like in different parts of the world.”
On a personal level, the gathering in Belfast—alongside the Rev. Wendy Scott, who is travelling as the clergy representative—brings together Hema’s whakapapa and faith. His maternal grandparents migrated to New Zealand from the Republic of Ireland, and he hopes to reconnect with relatives while there, some of whom he hasn’t seen for more than 20 years.
“When Archbishop Don told me, I burst into tears and phoned my mum. She then called all her siblings, and my phone went hot with messages from Irish relatives wanting to know when I was arriving so they could plan their own trips.
“Being a second-generation Irish New Zealander is important to me. My grandparents came here because of sectarian conflict in their part of Ireland.
“I’m also really pleased to be travelling with Rev. Wendy, who was the vicar of Pahiatua Parish, where my grandparents settled in the 1950s. It’s where they attended karakia and where their funerals were held, so that connection—with Wendy and with Ireland—means a great deal to me.”
The 19th meeting of the ACC begins this weekend in Belfast with the theme of “Called to One Hope” inspired by the Letter to the Ephesians. The ACC will participate in a pilgrimage during the week that has been designed as a living encounter with Irish history with delegates crossing the Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry while visiting significant sites associated with the Irish peace process.