World Alliance of Reformed Churches News Release 7 December 2006
PACIFIC CHURCHES STRUGGLING FOR JUSTICE, WARC LEADER SAYS
Reformed churches in the Pacific are deeply engaged in the struggle to bring fullness of life for all in their various contexts, says Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC).
Nyomi has just completed an 18-day visit to WARC member churches in four Pacific countries *Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia * and Malaysia during which he held many discussions with church leaders on their witness and ways in which WARC membership enhances their mission.
?I was impressed by how our churches take the prophetic nature of the gospel to heart and I was struck by their openness to hearing about new expressions of faith that come from the Reformed family around the world,? Nyomi said on 7 December in Geneva.
?The gospel of Jesus Christ is being lived out faithfully by our churches in the Pacific as they daily challenge the deep seated injustices in their midst. I thank God for this witness of Reformed churches.?
In Samoa he applauded the vibrant worship life of the Congregational Christian Church in Samoa and encouraged leaders there to be more open to women and men engaging in leadership together in God?s mission.
He was touched by the reception he received in New Zealand which included a traditional Maori welcome and he paid tribute to the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand for its efforts to transform theological education programmes to meet current challenges in the country.
In Australia he thanked God for the ways in which the Uniting Church in Australia has been prophetically engaged, particularly on multicultural and ecumenical issues and through agencies such as the Centre for Christianity and Culture and projects that lift up the gifts of the Aboriginal communities.
?I was moved by the way the Uniting Church in Australia is creating space for all in the church, particularly for the Aboriginal people of Australia. The work and witness of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress gives wonderful testimony to this,? Nyomi said.
He also praised the church for its pioneering steps in consensus decision making and for assisting WARC in developing this process which was used at the 24th General Council held in Accra, Ghana, in 2004.
Nyomi met with the general secretary of the Australian church, Terence Corkin; James Haire, the director of the Centre for Christianity and Culture in Canberra; Sandy Yule of the Christian Unity Working Group; and Vince Ross, head of an Aboriginal project in Victoria.
In Fiji Nyomi took part in a workshop on leadership development along with Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, executive secretary of WARC?s Office for Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership. It drew 13 church leaders from around the Pacific.
The WARC general secretary made a brief stop over in Malaysia, where he praised leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Malaysia for their prophetic engagement and ecumenical development efforts.
He also thanked them for hosting a recent WARC consultation on the Accra Confession, the major statement on economic and ecological justice of the most recent General Council.
In several speeches and sermons delivered throughout his member church visits, Nyomi stressed the connection between spirituality and justice, calling on churches to heed the call to faithfully engage God and the world.
?Let us pray for justice,? Nyomi told the Victoria Council of Churches in Melbourne. ?Let us not make such prayers benign or only an outward show. Let us engage in that dangerous prayer for justice in which we hear and respond to God?s calling on us to be a part of the actions for justice so that, indeed, more people will have life in fullness * spiritually, socially and in other ways.?
The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together 75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries * united in their commitment to making a difference in a troubled world. The WARC general secretary is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. WARC?s secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Contact: John P. Asling Executive Secretary, Communications World Alliance of Reformed Churches 150 Route de Ferney P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva, Switzerland tel. +41.22 791 6243 fax: +41.22 791 6505 web: www.warc.ch