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Chiang Mai Communique
General secretaries and representatives of National Councils of Churches and National Christian Councils in Asia, staff of CCA and WCC, and resource persons attended a meeting held from 20-23 September in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo:Philip Mathew) NCC general secretaries issued the following communique As General Secretaries of National Councils of Churches and National Christian Councils from 18 Asian countries, we have come together in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for fellowship and reflection, guided by the theme of the Christian Conference of Asia�s 2005 Assembly: �Building Communities of Peace for All�. We are grateful for the support and work of CCA in bringing us together, and the input of members of staff from CCA and WCC. As an important part of our meeting we pledged our support for the upcoming CCA Assembly. As we met we were conscious of the changing dynamics of the world that affect our region, and of the relationships we have with those of other cultures and other places. These changes are described by words like North-South, globalisation, developing world, terrorism, consumerism, individualism, world economic order, empire, and so on. Collectively these terms describe a fundamental change that threatens our communities and undermines the progress of the human condition about which we have been so hopeful. We are now witnessing widening gaps between societies, and within societies. Individuals and communities are marginalised, and success seems to be measured by the ability to squander resources in unsustainable ways. Militarism is rising, and age old conflicts are re-emerging without the checks and balances that keep the balance between competing groups. We live in a violent world. Tragically, peace remains a quality of life and of being that is more often expressed by its absence than its presence. The desire for peace with justice continues to be evoked through the deep aching of the human heart. Human hope for peace is a rich theme taken up by the religions of the world, many of which are Asian in origin. All religions, in company with all humanity, are concerned about the lack of the peace with justice for which we long. We recognised that we as Christians also share in the trends of this violent world, and need to repent of our part in creating division and separation. Despite our high ecumenical ideals, we confessed that a growing ecumenical amnesia and lethargy means that we are not living up to the demands and challenges of our time. We recognised that the strength of ecumenism is in its involvement with the �grassroots�, a strength that the institutions we create must serve. Christians continue to believe that peace with justice is possible despite the continuing restlessness, violence, and inequality of the world. This belief is based on the witness and work of Jesus Christ. A key name ascribed to him, drawn from the prophet Isaiah, is Prince of Peace. Jesus gives us peace as a gift: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. John 14:27 NRSV We believe that God is now calling us to a renewed emphasis on this gift of peace, which is also our task, and is echoed in the longing of our hearts. It offers us an opportunity to renew the ecumenical spirit. This is more than idealism. It is evident that the illogic of violence fractures both creation and humanity. It drives humans apart into loneliness and dissatisfaction, while the deliberative and thoughtful path of peace brings them together and creates sustainable communities of hope. Through the many catastrophic wars of the 20th century humanity started to understand in practical ways many things about the self-defeating nature of violence and its destructive outcomes. Around the world, locally, nationally, and internationally, people worked hard to create peaceful alternatives because otherwise they feared the destruction of our race. That work for peaceful activity also came to embrace the integrity of creation. In many places Christians were at the forefront of these efforts, and now it is up to the generations who follow those pioneers to make sure these advances are not lost. We affirm that we still believe in peace with justice and its possibilities � spiritually, theologically, socially, and practically. We believe that peace with justice is possible and we pledge ourselves to its fulfilment. In the hope that God has given us, we make the following calls to the Christian communities of our region: 1. Reclaim our prophetic heritage and calling as a response to the emerging issues of our time, naming and resisting evils that perpetuate and encourage violence, poverty, and marginalisation. 2. Affirm local Christian communities as communities of justice and peace and that Christians be equipped as peacemakers in their societies. In the process of peace building we encourage the use of the resources of the Decade to Overcome Violence and its special Asian focus in 2005. 3. Identify structures that legitimate and perpetuate violence and injustice within our Churches, such as discrimination based on age, caste, disability, ethnicity, gender, and economic disadvantage, or abuse based on inequality of power sharing, and that we work to transform all such structures among us. 4. Recommit ourselves and our Christian communities to peace making in active co-operation with peoples other faiths and of no faith. posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 24, 2004 |
