Regional church gathering in the Dominican Republic to focus on “being a good neighbour”

["Daphne Martin_Gnanadason" <Daphne.Martin_Gnanadason@wcrc.ch>]

World Communion of Reformed Churches  
News Release
22 September 2011
 
Regional church gathering in the Dominican Republic to focus on
“being a good neighbour” 
 
A Caribbean theologian and church leader says churches in North
America and the Caribbean have a responsibility to be good
neighbours and proclaim the need for healing and grace in the
post 9/11 era. 
 
“The world longs for the example of peace and unity that comes
when each becomes a real neighbour to the other,” says Yvette
Noble-Bloomfield, Regional Deputy General Secretary with the
United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
 
Noble-Bloomfield will be preaching at the opening service of a
gathering of regional churches in the Dominican Republic that
will focus on the theme “Who is my neighbour?” 
 
The reference comes from the biblical story popularly known as
the story of the good Samaritan found in Luke 10.25-37 that
responds to the question of who is to be considered a neighbour
and how such a person is to be treated.
 
Representatives of two regional church networks are set to meet
in a joint assembly in the Dominican Republic from 24-30
September to explore the question of what it means to be a good
neighbour in light of current regional and church relations where
issues of security are at times seen to override concerns for
human rights.
 
“Though the question of how to treat neighbours is age-old, it
requires a new level of commitment. For us as churches, we have
to 'get it right' or the world we are seeking to serve will never
believe us,” says Noble-Bloomfield who serves as Vice-President
for Caribbean and North America with the World Communion of
Churches (WCRC). 
 
The assembly serves the Caribbean and North American Area
Council (CANAAC) of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
(WCRC) and the Caribbean and North America Council for Mission
(CANACOM), a network of churches involved in mission in the
region. Organizers expect 74 delegates and observers to gather in
the Dominican capital Santo Domingo. 
 
The objective of the assembly is to implement the WCRC strategic
plan for working more closely with member churches through
regional groups such as CANAAC and CANACOM. 
 
Neal Presa, CANAAC Convenor, says the assembly “will put in
place strategic initiatives over the next two years to implement
and contextualize WCRC's core priorities of communion (church
unity) and justice in this region."
 
WCRC General Secretary Setri Nyomi says: “Our communion can be
understood as concentric circles of neighbours committed to
building unity and to advocating for justice for all. This image
represents the vision, mission and directions to which the WCRC
strategic plan points. The theme chosen for the assembly makes it
possible for the constituency in North America and the Caribbean
to reflect on the best ways of moving forward the vision and
aspirations of the communion.”  
 
The programme for the assembly features celebration of the
twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of CANACOM.  Other
programme highlights include a Theological Institute for 15
seminarians and young pastors from the region under the
leadership of theologians from Haïti, Cuba and Canada,
exploration of the assembly theme through worship and Bible study
sessions as well as visits to the local area to become familiar
with issues touching the lives of the churches in the Dominican
Republic. 
 
Looking back over the period since the last joint assembly in
Guyana in 2008, Presa says CANAAC provided significant leadership
and funding for the Uniting General Council that founded WCRC.
The regional council also sponsored consultations on economic and
social justice concerns in the United States, Jamaica and South
Africa.
 
News of the assembly will be posted to the WCRC Facebook site
and blog. See links on www.wcrc.ch ( http://www.wcrc.ch/ ) 
Additional coverage will be available by following Twitter
hashtag #CANAAC2011. Comments are invited by sending Tweets to
@nealpresa or posting to the Facebook site.
 
 
WCRC was created in June 2010 through a merger of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical
Council (REC). Its 230 member churches representing 80 million
Christians are active worldwide in initiatives supporting
economic, climate and gender justice, mission, and cooperation
among Christians of different traditions.
 
Media Contacts:
Kristine Greenaway
Office of Communications
Email: kgr@wcrc.ch 
tel: +41 (0)22 791 62 43;
fax: +41 (0)22 791 65 05
www.wcrc.ch ( http://www.wcrc.ch/ )