One of the areas of Anglican Communion life which is growing strongly is the Anglican Networks. Basically they are gatherings of people across the world who are following a common theme and area of work. As with most things Anglican, there is no budget and a minimum of central organisation
I went to the session organised by the Environmental Network – Alan Werrity from St Andrews, St Andrews is our Scottish Representative. The session was run by Revd Ken Grey – a priest from Western Canada – with Revd Rachel Mash who is the Environmental Officer for the Province of Southern Africa. It is fascinating to just sit and listen to people from all around the world – developed and developing world – talking about the impact of climate change on their communities. We also have to recognise that this (very infrequent) meeting is about as ungreen as it gets in terms of environmental impact
This is Rachel Mash with Bishop Kito of Auckland. I spend part of Holy Week nearly ten years ago in her parish in the Capetown township of Khayelitsha – home for about 1.5 million people. She is also the person who, at very short notice, fixed up a sabbatical place for our Canon Dom Ind at Constantia, just behind Table Mountain.
I also went to the Family Network session which was being run by our own John Rea from the SEC. They have decided to focus on a programme to encourage universal birth registration. It ensures access to healthcare and education for children and protects them against trafficking, early marriage, conscription into military service …