Eighteen bishops from Africa recently attended a month-long special training course for bishops organized by the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa.

Bishop Bright Ogu, chair of the participating bishops committee, paid special tribute to the gamaliel (great leader) of the training, Douglas Hambidge, the retired archbishop of New Westminster who led the bishops in Bible reflections and discussions on the role of a bishop as a leader, servant, teacher, pastor, administrator and symbol of unity.

"As far as I know this program is one of a kind in the Anglican Communion," wrote Archbishop Hambidge in Topic, the newspaper of the diocese of New Westminster. The bishops also had an opportunity to serve in various parishes in the Tanzanian diocese of Dar es Salaam.