God’s True Church- 50 Years Working Together

Recently we had the rather unedifying spectacle of the ‘Citrus Convention’ taking place in George Square in Glasgow, triumphalistically harping back to a sectarian conflict and ‘victory’ that is now almost 330 years old, that body pretending now, to be transformed into a fraternal and charitable organisation. The World Church has thankfully moved on from Glasgow 2015!

In contrast we have had the Pope in Turin this week, asking the Waldensians, whom the Catholic Church accused of heresy, excommunicated and persecuted for 800 hundred years, for forgiveness for their historically un-Christian and inhuman attitudes and behaviour. Instead of banging a drum outside their place of worship, Pope Francis was the first pope in 800 years to visit a Waldensian Church. The Waldensians are a denomination that have, to use a current and much-used phrase in certain circles, ‘punched above their weight’ in the Mission field. Their contribution to the spreading the Gospel here in Barotseland is both significant and substantial. The sins of the Waldensians were evangelisation by the laity and producing a Bible in the vernacular!

Horrors of horrors for some, the Pope has also suggested that being brothers and sisters in the faith, as in a family, does not mean you have to be identical, but you admit to having the same common origins, so we need to concentrate, with our eyes fixed on Jesus, on that communion that came before,

Pope Francis also criticised a world of ‘soap bubble values’, hypocrisy and delusion and urged the building of a world of love with an economy of creativity and courage, to replace the world that disrespects, uses and deceives people. The political elite all have interests in the arms industry and being ‘two-faced’ is the currency of the day. These vested interests failed to prevent atrocities such as carpet bombing and the Nazi persecution in Concentration Camps of Christians, Jews, homosexuals and gypsies.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit also marked 50 years of ecumenism. Unity remains at the heart of all our efforts for common witness and contributions to ensure justice and peace for people and creation, he said. We are grateful and proud of the 50 years as a working together, promoting ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue, peace, social justice and works of charity and humanitarianism. These are all ways for Christians to testify together to the real, though imperfect, communion shared by all who are baptized as we care for Earth, our common home. Together, we can address issues of community, cooperation, common interests, shared concerns, or even issues of controversy or conflict.

But, we confess in sorrow, that divisions still do not allow us yet to share in the fellowship of Holy Communion, but common purpose has thankfully been achieved on Baptism. Tveit said that there needs to be an awareness “of this deeper theological reading of our context” in a new phase of cooperation which cannot be business as usual, but an expression of our faith and a witness to the love of God revealed in Christ.

Metropolitan and Archbishop Nifon of Targoviste from the Romanian Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of the Catholic Church are members of the WCC Faith and Order Commission and reciprocal arrangements have been implemented, with active Orthodox and Protestant participation in Catholic forums.

 

News from our partners around the world

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND

The Church of Scotland convened its annual General Assembly in May 2015 and welcomed the new Moderator, Right Rev Dr Angus Morrison. 800 delegates came together to discuss, debate and decide on issues pertaining to the work of the Gospel and the building of God's kingdom in Scotland and beyond. 

There were also ecumenical delegates from many other Christian denominations, and partner churches around the world; some from areas where Christians suffer extreme persecution. All of us rejoice in membership of a wonderful extended family – not without its difficulties – but, nonetheless, marked by love and care for each other.

There was a moving speech from Rev Ram Kumar Budhathoki of Ebenezer Bible College in Nepal, who described the 42 seconds it took for the earthquake to devastate the country; and another from Rev Ibrahim Nseir from Syria, speaking of the persecution being experienced by our sisters and brothers there.

On the Sunday there were different acts – and styles - of worship: in English and Gaelic.  Heart and Soul in Princes Street Gardens in the afternoon was a time of open-air public witness and celebration of life in the church. The 2015 General Assembly gave encouragement and re-energised many to continue serving God with faithfulness, love, joy and hope.

THE METHODIST CHURCH

On the Methodist website the two most recent stories concern the United Mission to Nepal’s response to the recent earthquakes. Emergency food is still being delivered by truck to affected areas and by helicopter by Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Other needs are being seen to with the provision of psycho-social education and counselling and the provision of other household materials including mosquito nets by Rescue Network Nepal. The UMN’s 2 hospitals at Tansen and Okhaldlungaare are at full capacity.

Another ministry, in partnership with the Church of Scotland, is ‘Out of Africa … into Malta’, which helps families fleeing from Africa who end up in Malta. Here migrants are detained in ‘open centres’ which United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) say breach basic human rights. They also face rejection by many on the island.

St Andrew’s Scots Church ministers there, focusing particularly on families, with babies and young children. Many are from Sub-Saharan Africa and have harrowing tales to tell of journeys through war zones, across the desert and human trafficking rings. St Andrew’s has become a natural focus for many non-Catholic African Christians, as worship and fellowship are important aspects of this ministry too. The work now involves integration – moving families into Maltese society, and enabling them to become financially independent and socially integrated.

COUNCIL FOR WORLD MISSION

In his 2015 Easter message, CWM General Secretary, Rev Dr Collin Cowan spoke of the recent floods, droughts, earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis in Malawi, Madagascar, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands that brought death and destruction in their wake.  It has been a time of great sadness for many but also an opportunity for bringing healing and hope to the stricken.

 

Good Friday has its own pain, terror and brokenness, and creation today groans under the pressure of our irresponsible lifestyle, such disasters seem to be creation’s Good Friday! Appeals for solidarity and support and the humanitarian response following these natural disasters demonstrate humanity’s goodwill. The resilience shown by those affected and the abundant supply of God’s grace amidst the chaos brings renewed hope and confidence.

 

The message of Easter is that God’s gift of life cannot be stolen, killed or destroyed by evil, natural disasters or by humans failing to care for creation. Acts 10:29-30 says that ‘God raised him from the dead”, defying logic and declaring life forevermore. Easter is a time to speak life into and from all circumstances of lifelessness; and to present the God of resurrection as hope for the broken. Confident that “we serve a risen Saviour” is our guarantee for the future.

 

CEVAA

Cevaa brings together 35 churches around the world from Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific and Latin America Its English name is the Community of Churches in Mission. Its main story is its Secretary General and the Executive Secretary responsible for Cluster Projects and People Exchanges travelling to Cameroon to meet with the heads of the three churches: EEC (Evangelical Church of Cameroon), UEBC (Union of Baptist Churches Cameroon) and EELC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon).

 

The second story is a summarised French translation of the article on the Synod website called ‘Turbulent Times’ which looked at the consequences of climate change on local people in Western Province. 

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

The World Council of Churches website leads with the Rev Phyllis Wong Mei Fung, Minister of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Union Church (KUC) urging the Church to work ecumenically to take seriously the needs of the excluded, marginalised and oppressed so that all can receive God’s love, grace, justice and peace, and in particular women, children and gender minorities. Patriarchal structures, globalisation, distribution of resources and environmental issues all needed to be challenged

An international conference on peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held in Geneva recently invited DRC churches to consolidate existing ecumenical initiatives and consider new ones.

Work groups reported on sexual and gender-based violence and responses to HIV/AIDS, natural resources and their exploitation, and human rights and humanitarian concerns. Preparations were also made for and monitoring elections this year as well as the 2016 Presidential Election.

The denial of visas to youth delegates in particular was a problem but the conference was live-streamed to Kinshasa’s United Methodist Church allowing it to be followed there.

The final communiqué voiced concern for youth, children, women and other vulnerable persons, in the DRC and the need for education and employment, training in non-violence and peace-building, and preventing gender-based violence and harassment.

CHURCHES COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA

CCZ reports that the Zambian Government recognises and appreciates what the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has been doing over the years with its pro-poor agenda.
It has also been a moral voice that has brought to Government’s attention many ills in mining.

The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) in partnership with local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) want to reduce voter apathy by increasing voter education ahead of elections. It supports greater powers and autonomy for the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to enhance voter confidence and urges all political leaders to take a strong stance against political violence and intolerance. The churches are useful to the Electoral Commission as they have a wider coverage nationwide through their various respective local structures.

The CCMG  is made up of the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship in Zambia (EFZ), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR). The Churches generally have a wider coverage than the commission nationwide through their various respective local structures.