Archbishop Williams must show real leadership

supposed to uphold the four traditional virtues of the Christian Church: unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity.
In short as followers of Christ, Christians are supposed to try to live the life of the Divine.
Given what we have witnessed in the Anglican community in Zimbabwe since 2007 when the Church split into the feuding Church of the Province of Central Africa and the Church of the Province of Zimbabwe ostensibly over differences over homosexuality, some Anglicans have been found wanting.
To make matters worse the fight in the Church, which erupted over matters of faith as they relate to homosexuality, has been narrowed down to a fight over Church property, in secular courts for that matter.
It is our conviction that whenever there is conflict in a Church, the clergy and laity should be guided by canon law, which is designed to resolve conflicts in a way that honours God and strengthens the Christian community.
In times of conflict, Christians should stand guided by Scripture because God’s ways of dealing with conflict are generally different from those of the secular world.
The wisdom and restraint that Christians display goes a long way in winning souls to the Church.
But what we have seen from the Anglican feud is an adoption of the ways of the secular world that hardly inspire confidence among both the converted and unconverted.
Both sides in the Anglican feud have used media spin as if they are in the midst of a political campaign; rallying their troops to soil, bash, or undermine opponents.
Sadly this has continued with the visit of the head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Since his arrival in Zimbabwe on Sunday, Archbishop Williams waded into the storm and is being quoted in the media questioning the faith of the Kunonga camp.
In so doing, Archbishop Williams has taken sides when the expectation was that he would be the arbiter to bring the warring camps together.
On their part those from Archbishop Kunonga’s Province of Zimbabwe haven’t exercised restraint either, calling the visiting cleric a homosexual among other epithets.
Archbishop Williams has his work cut out for him. He must strive to bring amity and unity to a community riven by hatred, bitterness and disunity.
He needs the courage of his convictions to address the fundamental issues that split the church.
We urge both groups to exercise restraint and temperance so that they can find each other.
While it is easy to resort to secular ways to win church battles as the world cheers, rarely are these the ways of the God we profess to speak for.
It is given that in time of conflict emotions often dictate behaviour. This is a human failing; we feel anger and the need to lash out. We feel fear and want to defend or attack. We feel wronged and seek revenge yet if we allow emotions to guide us, we only make matters worse, and fail as the clergy to give the leadership expected of us.
To this end we urge the visiting Archbishop of Canterbury to lead by example by mediating this dispute.
He should help the feuding sides find common ground for the Church belongs to no one but the God we all worship.
If Archbishop Williams leaves without bringing the Chuch of the Province of Central Africa and the Province of Zimbabwe to the table, he will have let down not only God but also the millions of clergy and laity that look up to him for guidance and leadership.
The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe is an institution; its pastoral activities encompass delivering health and education to millions of Zimbabweans, many of whom have been needlessly affected by the ongoing feud.