Who do you think you are? A theological reflection on identity and mission in the Anglican diocese of Mauritius

ABSTRACT

This theological reflection uses O’Neill and Shercliff’s four sources approach to reflect on a visit to the Diocese of Mauritius in the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean. The inciting incident for the reflection was a comment made by a member of the clergy during a diocesan retreat which the author was leading. In the reflection, aspects of the author’s Mauritian heritage are held together alongside Anglican tradition, the history of Anglican work on the island, and postcolonial theology. Through engagement with Willie James Jennings’ work on languages and the historical missionary work of the diocese, the author makes suggestions to further the ministry and mission of the Anglican Church in Mauritius derived from mixed-race and postcolonial identity. This may be through further engagement with the lingua franca on the island, Mauritian Creole, alongside an in-depth knowledge of the culture and customs of this multi-ethnic society in order to create a posture of mission and ministry that is derived from the culture rather than imposed upon it through colonial legacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Theological reflection
• postcolonial theology
• Anglican
• contextual mission

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 I have given a concise overview of various approaches to theological reflection and their strengths and weaknesses elsewhere, in a short booklet entitled How to Do Theological Reflection (Dunlop 2022).

2 Following this, I decided to intentionally encounter postcolonial, non-western, and black theology and integrate some into my teaching. In particular I understood g the need for postcolonial, non-western approaches to theology and church practice in the UK and elsewhere (Lartey 2013; Reddie 2020).

3 These are various ways in which the Greek ‘διαλέκτῳ ἡμῶν ἐν ἧ ἐγϵννήθημϵν’ of Acts 2:8 have been interpreted by different Bible translations.

4 The first Mauritian-born Bishop of Mauritius wouldn’t come until 1976 with the institution of Bishop Ghislain Emmanuel.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Diocese of Ely; Tim Burke Memorial Fund.

Notes on contributors

Andrew Dunlop

Andrew Dunlop is Lecturer in Context-based Training and Pioneering at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and is currently finishing a PhD through the University of Roehampton looking at the ecclesiology of the mixed ecology in the Church of England. His teaching and research interests include contextual mission and ministry, contemporary ecclesiology, church planting, and theological reflection.