wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Fresh insights on reconciliation and forgiveness

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World Council of Churches - Feature
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 02/02/2005

RECONCILIATION AND FORGIVENESS:
LOOKING AFRESH AT AN EVER-PRESENT CHALLENGE

By Hugh McCullum (*)
Free photos and other feature stories
on CWME topics are available at
www.mission2005.org

Is reconciliation possible? What does forgiveness mean, and what is needed
for it to happen when the offence was a frightful one and the pain seems
insurmountable? These and other fundamental questions will be part of the
themes treated at the next Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
(CWME).

It is an incredible story communicating shock and horror. It is a story of
extreme trauma and violence. It is a story of rape.

A young Taiwanese girl was raped and murdered in one of those gut-churning, inexplicable events that leaves parents and friends in deep trauma,
demanding more justice than even the law can provide.

The mother was totally distraught and, as the months went by, the depths
of her pain grew. But then she learned that the murderer and rapist had
been caught, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. The crime
had been solved and dealt with, yet the grieving mother was left outside
the process. She developed a profound need to confront the killer and,
through an organization called Prison Fellowship (PF) Asia, she met the
prison authorities where the killer was awaiting death. It was not easy.
The authorities feared her revenge in this explosive situation but
eventually relented, though the meeting would be behind bars.

The emotion was intense. She repeatedly told the killer of her sleepless
nights, her disturbed emotions and the excruciating pain she felt since
the rape and vicious killing of her daughter. She was desperate to know:
"Why did you do it? How did you do it?" She wanted exact and graphic
details. She got nowhere; the condemned man said nothing, his eyes
expressionless, lips pressed into silence.

They met several times, each time with a representative of PF Taiwan, a
Christian organization, part of New Start Ministries based in Singapore.
Something was happening. Why did the mother go back when she was almost
torn apart by his cold, uncaring appearance? He seemed so distant, always
protected by prison bars. Who knows for sure why she continued to visit
the prison? PF Taiwan says it was leading him to repentance and confession.
One day, as the mother stood outside the barred room, she saw tears. Then,
an outpouring of regret and remorse. If anything, her torment increased
until her church teachings led her to accept his repentance and she, as a
believer, knew that she must offer her forgiveness. He was young, an
orphan, raised in various homes without love and parental caring.

Soon they were meeting without bars. She proposed to him, and also
convinced the authorities, that she be allowed to adopt this murderer and
rapist of her daughter as her own son. He agreed, and she reached out to
hug her new son. They embraced for a long time and, witnesses say, cried
for many minutes. She faithfully visited him every day, bringing him
home-cooked food, clothes and personal items. They were genuinely
reconciled. On the day after her last visit, he was hanged according to
the laws of Taiwan.

Rediscovering the ministry of the Spirit

This is one of many true stories from all over the world that have been
fed into the preparations for the WCC's Conference on World Mission and
Evangelism (CWME), to be held 9-16 May, 2005. The theme "Come Holy Spirit
- Heal and Reconcile" challenges the ecumenical movement to be "called in
Christ to be reconciling and healing communities." The conference will
take place in Athens at the invitation of the (Orthodox) Church of Greece.

Preparatory materials - reflections by theologians and missiologists from
five continents rooted in their own contexts: Orthodox, Protestant,
Pentecostals, Evangelicals and Roman Catholic - are now being prepared.
They all emphasize how seriously the Christian faith must take the two
intertwined visions of reconciliation and healing in a world many feel to
be out of control. There are several reasons why reconciliation has become
so prominent in the world today; among these reasons are globalization,
post-modernity and fragmentation.

Globalization has, in some ways, drawn the world together as never before
and even "highlighted human commonality," says the conference preparatory
paper "Towards mission as reconciliation." The downside to globalization,
with its diversity of interests and world-views, involves violent clashes
of cultures, religions, economic interests and genders. These clashes have
an enormous potential to produce not only hurt and grievance, but also to
plunge our planet into an almost perpetual state of war, violence, disease
and ecological disintegration, especially for the most vulnerable; the
poor, women, children and the aged.

"The economic policies of the richest countries have tremendous and often
highly damaging effects on poorer countries," the preparatory report says,
leaving "more victims than beneficiaries". Unfair trade laws, extreme debt
and structural adjustment programmes pay little regard to local wisdom,
"and it is the poor who suffer most* True reconciliation involves the
repentance of the rich and justice for the poor."

That preparatory paper, rich in world mission reflection and analysis,
points to many issues which churches and societies have dealt with as
single issues rather than holistically. The paper raises these matters
anew in an effort to discover fresh theological, biblical and liturgical
perspectives on reconciliation:

· global communication benefits some but widens the gap between rich and
poor and threatens personal and national identities, leading to social
fragmentation; families and local roots are displaced by migration, and
exclusion is widely experienced;

· the last CWME conference in 1996 in Brazil pointed up the plundering
of the creation's resources as well as denial of the rights of indigenous
peoples;

· in the climate of post-modernity, there is a resurgence of religions,
especially in their conservative forms; a proliferation of new movements
and a variety of spiritual experiences provide indications of a thirst for
spiritual experience;

· within the Christian faith, some churches continue to decline while
others are experiencing rapid numerical growth. The centre of gravity of
Christianity has decisively shifted from North to South, to the poorer
nations, and they are experiencing an increase in Pentecostalism that is
remarkable.

These and other issues provide a huge challenge to the church to preach
the gospel in all the world, recognizing that the Spirit of God has been
present in creation since the beginning. The challenge, argues the
preparatory paper on reconciliation, "is to confront the world situation
and rediscover the ministry of the Spirit to reconcile and heal."

But it is not only in the analysis and discussion of key theological
issues that we experience the need for an "emerging paradigm of mission as
reconciliation." It is also found in the struggles of people around the
world to live out this idea of reconciliation - as in the case of the
Taiwanese mother who was reconciled with a murderer and rapist - in a real
life situation. [1130 words]

(*) Canadian author and journalist Hugh McCullum is a member of the United
Church of Canada. Former editor of two large-circulation church publications and host of a national television programme in his country, he also
lived in Zimbabwe and Kenya. McCullum has had a long association with WCC
Communications. Among his books are "The angels have left us: the churches
and the Rwanda genocide" and "Radical Compassion: The life and times of
Archbishop Ted Scott".

[Sidebar]
The Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME)

To be held in Athens at the invitation of the Church of Greece, this is a
major international meeting of more than 500 representatives from all
continents and all major churches and denominations. Scheduled to take
place from 9-16 May 2005, the conference is being organized by the World
Council of Churches (WCC).

The main aim of the conference is to provide a space for Christians and
churches to exchange their experience and think together about priorities
in mission and the future of Christian witness. The conference seeks to
empower participants to continue to form healing communities in celebration and witness, reconciliation and forgiveness.

The theme of the conference "Come Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile!" is a
reminder that this mission does not belong to us, but is the mission of
God, who is present and active as Holy Spirit in church and world.

Coming from WCC member churches and the Roman Catholic Church as well as
Pentecostal and Evangelical churches and bodies, the participants include
young people, women and men working at the frontiers of Christian witness,
church and mission leaders, theologians and missiologists.

There have been 12 such ecumenical mission conferences since 1910. This
will be the first time such a conference is held in a predominantly
Orthodox context. [210 words] Website: www.mission2005.org

- - -

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