wfn.org | Message of NCC India Assembly 2004

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

  NCC India <news@nccindia.org>

MESSAGE OF THE ASSEMBLY

We, the delegates from twenty-nine Member-Churches, Regional Councils,
Related Agencies and All India Christian Organizations, gathered for the XXV
Quadrennial Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India in the
renowned Sarah Tucker College, Tirunelveli, hosted by the CSI, Tirunelveli
Diocese from February 10 - 13, 2004, deliberated on the theme, Towards Truth
and Peace: Celebrating our Common Pilgrimage.

We praise the name of our Triune God, the Source of all life, who has
created, redeemed and sustained us to this day. As believers and followers
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came into this world as the
Word-Incarnate, we affirm the value of Life in Abundance which is a
promised gift of God for all. We believe that the Church is constantly
reminded to live out the meaning and purpose of its existence in this world,
as a community striving for Truth and Peace, defined within the framework of
Love and Justice.

We struggled to unravel the challenges in our common pilgrimage with people
of different faiths, cultures, traditions and histories within the
pluralistic context of our nation. The Church acknowledges the
religio-cultural plurality as a gift from God, and the way in which it is
constantly guided to live and work for the values of Gods reign on earth.

We realise that we are meeting at a crucial time in history. The
geo-political climate in the world and in our own country, has changed
drastically after the aggressive invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in the
name of War on Terrorism. The unprecedented communal violence which
followed the Godhra incident rocked our nation.  The violence unleashed on
the minorities, categorising them as enemies can never be erased from the
collective memory of the people. Christians, as a religious minority in our
country, feel intimidated when discriminatory laws, like the anti-conversion
law, are enacted. The silence and condoning attitude of the State cannot be
ignored when the communal forces try to destroy the secular fabric of our
nation by imposing a monolithic culture.

The escalation of violence against the Dalits, Adivasis, the indigenous
peoples and women continue unabated. The perpetration of the evil effects of
globalisation swallowing up the lives of the poor, stand before the Church
as stark realities to be addressed. People who are afflicted with HIV/AIDS
are desperately crying out to break the chains of stigma and discrimination.
People from these marginalized sections of our society need to be recognised
as human beings with dignity, created in the image of God. People of all
walks of life, from different faith and religious traditions need to come
together to address this issue of violence in our society. The Decade to
Overcome Violence should be acknowledged as the kairos and top priority of
the Church in this millennium.

It is time for the Church to engage itself in an exercise of introspection
to consider its own failures and weaknesses to live up to the kingdom values
that Jesus taught us. The Church faces the danger of losing sight of its
role and purpose in this world, if corruption is not condemned as evil and
rooted out of the Church. Corruption should be denounced as sin! The leaders
of the Church are expected to be role models in leading an exemplary and
simple life, being accountable to the Church and to the society.

The Church also needs to rediscover its lost vision, realise its calling to
be a prophetic voice in society, to be rooted firmly in the Word of God, and
guided by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In order to do that, the churches in our country are called upon :

	To empower the local congregations through worship, proclamation,
nurture
and service.
	To build bridges between ecumenical organizations such as the
National
Council of Churches in India, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, the
Evangelical Fellowship of India, and other ecumenical bodies, and work
together on issues that affect our common witness and pilgrimage.
	To affirm the role and participation of the Youth and give them their
due
share and rights in the decision making bodies of the Church.

The Church calls upon the State :

&#61607;	To uphold the secular fabric of our nation and ensure the
security
of every citizen of this country. The fundamental rights of the citizens
should be protected at all cost.
	To condemn and combat all communal/ fascist forces that exist in any
religion and culture, as it jeopardises the relationship of living together
as community.
	To co-work with all sections of people in society to strive for goals
of
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
	To ensure that the norms of justice and fairness will be followed in
the
up-coming Lok Sabha elections and the rights of every citizen in this
country will be protected.

The Church affirms its strong support:

	To jointly work with the Government to support the cause of enhancing
the
life of children, especially the girl child.
	To stand for the affirmation of the rights of the marginalized
especially
the Dalits, Tribals, Adivasis, Indigenous peoples and Women and combat the
violence meted out against them.
	To condemn and combat caste which is an evil that has robbed people
of
their right to be treated as human beings.

We the delegates of the Assembly, solemnly stand by this statement and
communicate to all, the message that we as a community will strive to
journey towards Truth and Peace and celebrate our fellowship in this common
pilgrimage.

-  Participants of the XXV Quadrennial Assembly of NCCI

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News letter : N C C India