The Rev. John Talbird
The Theme of this year’s General Convention is Ubuntu. Why would a theme be chosen that is not readily understandable? It was done for good reasons. First Ubuntu is an African word showing our interdependent connections. That’s important for two reasons. One is our Anglican Communion is now made up mostly of people of color, and to use an African word shows that we are committed to a continuing relationship with our Anglican brothers and sisters. Second and most importantly it challenges our American and western view of personhood. There are other ways of seeing ourselves as human beings.
Ubuntu means “I in you and you in me.” The reason this may not catch our imagination at first, is because of our western/American view of who we are as persons. We see ourselves as individuals who choose to connect to one another thereby forming community. Ubuntu on the other hand, assumes that community is where we find our fundamental identity.
I realized this as I came across the county to attend General Convention. My perception was that “I flew to California,” because that is the way we usually say it. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was one person among many sitting on a plane which was being flown by a professional crew whose jobs were just one piece of a large network of persons preparing and maintaining airplanes on which people fly. There are air traffic controllers, airport personnel, people who set up programs so tickets can be purchased on line, and so on and so on. Each of these persons is connected to a network of families, organizations, institutions, each having their own story, but each connected to a larger story.
We discover who we are only in relationship to others. It not only takes a village to raise a child, as the African proverb says, but it takes a village to make a person into the one he or she is becoming. The deeper I go into relationship with my wife, my parents, or my children, the fuller I become a whole and complete person. “I am because they (you) are,” is another way of saying this.
This is the spirit of this convention. We are all connected to one another. One might add, whether we like it or not. We are all connected because we are all children of God and therefore brothers and sisters in Christ of God’s large family. One of the beautiful and spiritual moments brought this home to me on Tuesday when our Ecumenical visitors were presented to the House of Deputies. At the conclusion of their introductions a Christian, a Jewish and a Muslim singer (the three religions having Abraham as their common ancestor) sang prayers and then joined their voices together into what was called a “sung blessing to this house.” As their voices soared and blended with each other, I felt I was being anointed with a rich oil of blessing. Togetherness, unity, and beauty washed over the house. It was a moment of Ubuntu.