Oceania Anglican Leaders’ Fono (FONO) Toktok Stori / Meeting

Honiara Hotel, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Final Communiqué

26/05/2023

Fellowship and Growth in Regional Anglican Diversity was the theme of the 4^th gathering of the Oceania Anglican Fono (aka FONO) that brought together the Primates and General Secretaries from the 4 Anglican Churches in Oceania namely the Anglican Church of Australia, the Anglican Church of PNG, the Anglican Church of Melanesia, and the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia.

This 4^th FONO was hosted by Archbishop Leonard Dawea of the Anglican Church of Melanesia together with his able team from the 19^th – 21^st of May 2023 in Honiara.  This FONO included visits to the Women’s Christian Care Centre and the Holy Communion Service at Saint Barnabas Cathedral on Sunday to mark the presence of the 4 Primates of Oceania present for this Forum.  For this auspicious occasion the sermon was delivered by Archbishop Philip Richardson of the ACANZP. 

The FONO shared its deep gratitude for the wonderful and powerful service that epitomized a cultural adoption of the liturgy of the Holy Communion by the cultures of the Solomon Islands.  This FONO expressed its deep gratitude for the hospitality that was shared by the Solomon Islanders and also expressed their gratefulness at the gifts and meals that were prepared by the people of the Church for this occasion. This Forum was also privileged to have Retired Bishop Terry Brown of the Anglican Church of Canada (former bishop of Malaita), and Rev. Bruce Woodcock of the Episcopal Church in the US.

With the theme:  “Fellowship and Growth in Regional Anglican Diversity”, this FONO focused on the following key themes namely:  Intentional Discipleship and the roles of the Churches as well as the implications of this theme on the FONO members aspiration to work together, Theological Education and its challenges in terms of its future, Climate and Disaster Preparedness Response that focused on lessons learnt from experiences of FONO member churches and the Pacific Seasonal Workers Scheme and its repercussions on Pacific communities.

On Intentional Discipleship, the FONO members reiterated their Commitment to the Anglican Communion and reminded themselves that despite the many differences, they chose to work through their differences and remain in the wider Anglican Communion.  The FONO members also noted the critical role of cultural norms and values that undergird many of the FONO members’ communities.  Working in the region calls for a clear respect for those values and cultural practices.  In addition, the FONO members acknowledged that the development of resources around Evangelism was urgently needed to begin to address the issues and concerns raised about the relevance of the Anglican Communion.  Lastly the FONO members were invited to share information on the developments at the global level regarding the Anglican Communion and its aspiration to remain as one body with many parts.

On the theme of Theological Training, FONO members discussed and shared their respective hopes and challenges about theological education in their Churches.  Of importance from the discussions was the call to begin a reflection on a deeply rooted Indigenous theological education within the Region. These discussions need to involve the Primates of FONO as such a development has real significance for the Anglican Communion.

Another suggestion that was tabled by the FONO members was the aspiration to create “Centres of Excellence in Theological Education for the FONO members.   For example, a Centre of Excellence could be located in the Diocese of Polynesia and could provide Anglican Formation for the FONO members.  

Such a centre would support what is happening in ACOM and ACPNG in terms of a mechanism with regional focus on Pacific theology. This idea is now in the design stage and partners are committed to the design.  This concept is to be developed into a proposal for the consideration of the FONO members at the next FONO.

On the theme of Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness, the Solomon Islands Ministry of Environment was invited to present its priorities and programmes focused on the Environment.  The ensuing discussions raised issues around Loss and Damage and access to Loss and Damage compensation.  Issues such as the relocation of communities was a key issue for the Solomon Islands and Oceania.  Under this theme the Pacific Islands stand to be most affected by Climate Change and sea level rise. 

The FONO was privileged to have received a report from the Oceania Regional Anglican Alliance Committee (ORAC) on development work that is taking place within Churches throughout the region.  The recommendations from the ORAC were grouped into 4 priorities namely:  Agents of Change, Gender Justice and Safe-Guarding, the Environment and Climate, and Disaster Resilience and Response.  Overall, these recommendations invited the FONO members to support the initiatives of the ORAC and keep the FONO members informed on the developments of these specific areas of interest to the Oceania member countries.

On the issue of Labour Mobility, the presentation from MFAET of the Solomon Islands government opened a Talanoa on the impact of labour mobility schemes and highlighted the need for greater consultation both in sending and receiving countries and the representative agents (High Commissions and Embassies in receiving countries).  In discussing the social impacts of the labour mobility scheme, the presentation also triggered discussions around the role of the church and other Faith Based Organisations and institutions on how FONO members can provide better networks across Churches to monitor and accompany the labourers overseas.

In keeping the momentum and drive to work together, the FONO members felt that it was indeed critical that the FONO is convened on a yearly basis until further notice.   Furthermore, the FONO members noted the proposal to convene the respective principals of FONO Theological Schools with a view to discussing greater collaboration on concrete topics and issues of common concern to them.