Local practice. (Letters).

Dear editor,

On a Sunday morning recently I was in Stone Town, the old part of Zanzibar City,, and discovered I was just in time to attend the communion service in the Anglican cathedral. The service was in Swahili, but the hymn tunes and order of service were very familiar; so, despite being one of only two white people in the congregation, I felt quite at home. I was, however, surprised to find that the sexes were segregated for the service: the men sat on the right of the nave and the women on the left. I was unaware that this type of segregation had ever been sanctioned by the Anglican church; however, since it clearly reflects the customs and culture of Zanzibar society, it fit the setting.

I was unable to understand the sermon and I started wondering about what aspects of Anglicanism reflect local practice and what are at the core of our beliefs. It struck me that any bishop who represented this traditional society, where, according to conversations I had with village people, sex, even heterosexual sex, is never discussed, could never support or understand blessing same-sex unions. It would be quite outside his frame of reference.

As an Anglican, I am proud of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity within our tradition, but this experience confirmed my belief that we can never expect to reach consensus on issues that are inseparable from their underlying cultural value. Like many Anglicans I am concerned about the amount of time and energy our church is spending trying to find a unified position on same-sex marriages--surely a temporal issue. After my wonderful morning in Stone Town, I am even more convinced that we should give up the seemingly endless task of trying to reach world- or even country-wide consensus and that each diocese should have the latitude to reflect the mores of its members.

Catherine Gillbert

Saint-Lambert, Que.