"Our continent has a profound spirituality and a belief in mysticism that is deeply rooted in our traditional cultures," said participants in the third dialogue session between the Alliance and the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC). "We share a commitment to developing and practising a Christian faith that addresses these spiritual realities."

Representatives of both organizations met in Lagos, Nigeria, in March as the guests of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim - the church of OAIC co-chair Baba Aladura Otubu -and of OAIC Nigeria. Building on two previous meetings (Nairobi, 1998, and Kigali, 1999), they celebrated their growth towards mutual understanding and their common desire to address the crises on the African continent.

They reaffirmed the Kigali Statement of 1999 as still relevant to the problems and challenges facing Africa, and commended it again to member churches with its recommendations for action.

From their hosts they heard of the challenges that Christians face as Sharia law is enforced in certain Nigerian states. They endorsed the desire to work towards relations with Muslim brothers and sisters that would permit the full practice of both faiths and rejected killing people "in the name of God" as foreign to African tradition.

They celebrated diversity as God-given and described their own identities as "open and inclusive". It was necessary to encourage full participation in decision-making in church and society.

They recognized a common concern for providing all church members with an "appropriate" education, "rooted in African culture and values". It was important, they said, to provide theological education in an ecumenical context and in a way that would enable ministers and church workers to engage with current social issues, eg, questions of governance and HIV/Aids.

The WARC co-chair of the dialogue is André Karamaga, president of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda and an Alliance vice-president.

A final session of dialogue will take place in Nairobi next year. It will fill some gaps in the conversation so far - the interpretation of scripture, the role of the sacraments and the ministry of women - and propose concrete steps that the Reformed and African Instituted churches can take together "as part of our common witness on this continent".