Anglican Provinces in Africa have witnessed the election of the first crop of six Anglican women bishops in the entire continent. This presents a great opportunity as the position of the bishop is that of influence, authority and power.

On 11^th January 2024, the six African Anglican female bishops; Bishop Filemona Teta of Angola; Bishop Vicentia Kgabe of Lesotho; Bishop Dalcy Dlamini of Eswatini; Bishop Elizabeth Awut of South Sudan; Bishop Rose Okeno of Butere, Kenya; and Bishop Emily Onyango of Bondo, Kenya – collectively known as the “Africa Six’ gathered at St Paul’s University in Nairobi, Kenya to share their ideas and inspirations about “Christian Leadership for the 21st Century.”

They acknowledged:

1. The need for ethical and transformational leadership for the Anglican Church in Africa today as well as other faith-based groups within ecumenical and interfaith circles.

• Women bear the brunt of the triple threat of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancies. Since women faith leaders have proximity and deeper connection to these threats, they can effectively respond to them. 

• The need for a faith based grounded sex education and the multi-faceted challenges of politics, economics, technology, ecology, religion and culture.

These challenges call for collaboration between the Church and theological institutions to conduct relevant research aligned to the mission of the church and lived community realities.  There is need for collaborative research initiatives, advocacy that will drive public policy, and short courses for faith leaders across Africa. 

The average Anglican is a woman in her 30s living in sub-Saharan African on less than four dollars a day.  Consequently, the Anglican church in Africa must have a special focus on youth and women and mentor them into leadership in the church.  As the centre of gravity of Anglicanism has shifted to the African continent, the church has the opportunity to drive leadership transformation in mission and theological research locally and globally.   

To address these challenges the Center for Anglican Women’s Leadership and Research in Africa (CAWLRA) was set up at St. Paul’s University to engage with the Anglican church in its mission and in leadership development.