Anglican Communion Environmental Network meets in Peru

By ENInews

14 Aug 2011

The Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN) has met in Peru from 4-10 August 2011, in a conference on environmental ministry that also included Roman Catholic and ecumenical partners.

Hosted by Bishop Bill Godfrey of the Diocese of Peru, representatives from Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Fiji, Canada, Melanesia, Brazil, Madagascar, Tanzania and Mexico reported on environmental work in their respective jurisdictions.

The partners have been creating an action plan which will become a template for provincial, diocesan and parish-based ministry, the news service said.

The plan is intended to connect with environmental ministry at the United Nations and in relation to the 17th meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (known as COP 17) in Durban, South Africa in December 2011.

Participants learned of climate-justice initiatives occurring between provinces and regions within the communion and are learning of life in the Peruvian church.

The Anglican Church of Peru is a missionary diocese with growing churches in South America's third-largest country. Half of Peru's population live in poverty, making it one of the poorest countries in Latin America.

The Anglican Diocese of Peru is responding with initiatives that make a practical difference to people’s lives, reaching over 2,000 people each week.

Local guests at the event included Dr Andrew Leake who works in the Argentine Chaco, an immense lowland covering half of Paraguay and huge areas of Bolivia and Brazil.

Leake has a programme related to deforestation and the protection of indigenous people's lands, the news service said.

The Catholic and ecumenical partners included in the conference are working to care for creation and seek justice in both industry and agriculture.

The ACEN last met in Canberra, Australia in 2005 at which time it published a statement on climate change.

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]