The first meeting for reflection on how to execute the project took place in Enugu, Nigeria, from 08 to 13 January 2001, at the Divine Love Retreat and Conference Centre. The participants came from: Britain, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania and the United States; some of them are working in countries other than their home origins. All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) was represented in the person of Rev. Arnold Temple. Altogether there were 17 persons in attendance.

Many local "dignitaries" from ecclesiastical and academic circles attended the opening ceremony as guests, expressing words of welcome to the Standing Committee.

In the first part of the meeting, participants presented papers dealing with manifestations of African Religion in general and according to regional settings. Three of the presentations drew our attention respectively to women perspectives, African Independent Churches and the Muslim experience. Two covered both the world of the Diaspora in the Western Hemisphere.

The second part of the meeting took up themes that emerged out of the lecture presentations and were discussed in three smaller groups (see below). There was from the outset a consensus that African Religiosity has a positive contribution to make to the world.

Facets of African Religiosity include: a cosmology in which God is central and supreme; the reality of lesser spiritual beings (good and evil); the origin and nature of the human persons (cf. archaeological findings of early or original human beings in Africa); the value of persons (babies, children, women, men, and the family); a holistic approach to life that avoids the division into "sacred" and "secular"; dynamic expressions of religiosity through rituals of worship, prayer, sacrifice, dreams and visions, rites of passage, music and dance. The Committee sought areas of study that might be given priority of further study. Suggestions included the mediating role of spirits, the role of ancestors vis-à-vis that of Jesus Christ, a holistic understanding of life and what it entails, and a Theology of celebration. That way, Church and academic institutions would be involved at various stages of the project.

Having identified briefly the nature of African Religiosity, the Committee was of the opinion that this religious contribution is still going on at present and not merely something of the past. The contribution, though obvious within Africa, is also present in Europe, the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. The Committee placed emphasis upon the value systems, which, through their respect for such entities like the family and community, have a positive impact and thus the potential to contribute to our world. However, one Committee member sounded a cautionary note, that there are some negative spin-offs, such as ethnocentrism, that could result from an excessive preoccupation with family and ethnic group ("tribe").

The discussion groups took up the following subtopics: (i) The African Person, (ii) The Nature of African Religiosity and (iii) Theological and Ethical Issues in African Religiosity. It was agreed that each group pay attention to women's contributions.

In African understanding, the person is first identified in relationships. To be a person, male or female, is to have the gift of life and to belong in relationships. The primary relationship is an interpersonal kinship bond in which one could say: "I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am."

The familial kinship expresses this linkage in relationships, which in turn extend into the clan, the tribe and wider community. This is the primary context of indigenous Africa, in rural villages, and to a large extent in the urban areas. It is interpersonal kinship, which (in theory) accompanies a person from birth to death. Each person is in the "we-are" kinship of biological, anthropological, sociological, psychological and historical realities.

The discussion group took note of other contexts outside of Africa, especially those of the "Diaspora" in the East and Northeast (Australia, Asia and Middle East), in the West (the Americas and the Caribbean), and in Europe.

The group made observations and raised questions for further consideration. For example, the destruction of Africans systems of life by former and present conditions of slavery (currently going on in some Arab countries), needs to be faced seriously and dealt with by the United Nations and the international community. African descendants (Diaspora) in the West are in the process of "defining" themselves. In the course of history, they have been called or called themselves by many names, such as in the use of African as a noun and African as an adjective.

All this points to the need for research and action, dialogue and communication. Existential questions arise, such as: What is Africanness in the Diaspora? Can one share or lose Africanness? How, why and when can that happen? What is Africanness in the Diaspora? What does it mean to be a human being in spiritual terms of humanity, in biological and anthropological terms, a citizen of any country or nationality?

Seminars and Workshops could further explore the African Person under topics like:

Female and male as corporate and interdependent beings.
Kinship systems in familial and communal life.
Expressions of spirituality and wholeness in all forms of worship.
Life stages through the rites of passage.
Enhancing values of cherishing, respecting, honouring, and venerating.
The stewardship with things and nature, in harmony and life.

1. That members maintain contact with their local constituencies (via email, the Internet or other forms of communication), in order to stimulate thinking about the content and value of African Religiosity, and its relevance for our world.
   
   
2. That follow-up seminars/workshops be held on various features of African Religiosity.
   
   
3. That consideration be given to holding a separate seminar for Francophone participants.
   
   
4. That consideration be given to holding a major multifaith meeting on Women in African Religious life.
   
   
5. That workshops be held not only in Africa alone, but also in dialogue with Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. There would be value in a similar dialogue with the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Oceania.
   
   
6. That the members of the Committee who presented papers revise them, with a view to eventual publication, when the Project has taken off more concretely. This entails editorial work to be done and publication arrangements to be made.
   
   
7. That the Standing Committee, with the support of PCID/IRRD, meets sometime in the future, to monitor the progress of the study Project and to make recommendations for further developments.
   
   
8. The Committee also made suggestions about regional and international organisations that might be contacted and made acquainted with the Project. Mentioned were theological institutions and consortia, associations for the study of religion, and key persons (men and women).
   
   
9. The Project would also seek persons and institutions that might make a relevant input in the ongoing process.