WARC - Churches mark anniversary of statement calling racism a sin

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

> World Communion of Reformed Churches
> News Release
> 26 September 2011

Churches mark anniversary of statement calling racism a sin

Churches today are marking the 25th anniversary
of a declaration that racism is a sin. The
declaration known as the Belhar Confession was
adopted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in
South Africa on 26 September 1986. The
confession, issued in the context of the
anti-apartheid movement opposing the countryâ??s
legislation that segregated people by race,
attracted wide attention from churches and secular organizations.

A message to mark the anniversary issued by WCRC
General Secretary Setri Nyomi says: â??The World
Communion of Reformed Churches deems the Belhar
Confession as one of those gifts to the church
worldwide which is still relevant today ­ not
just to the South African situation of the
19980â??s. There is much to be done yet for the
justice and reconciliation theme it so eloquently articulates.â??

The message is addressed to the moderator of the
Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (UCSA)
Thias Kgatla. In 1994 the Dutch Reformed Mission
Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa united to form the URCSA.

The Belhar Confession declares: â??We believe
that separation, enmity and hatred between people
and groups is a sin. Therefore, we reject any
doctrine which in such a situation sanctions in
the name of the gospel?the forced sepaaration of
people on the grounds of race and color.â??

In church terms, a confession is a declaration
before God and the world of what the church
believes.  As such, it defines the criteria for church membership.

Formal adoption of the Confession continues to
this day with representatives of the Reformed
Church of America (RCA) and the Synod of the
Christian Reformed Church (CRC) voting in
meetings held in June 2009 in the United States
to accept the Belhar Confession as a foundational
statement of belief that defines the terms of church membership.

The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa is
still unable to affirm the Belhar Confession and
is therefore a â??suspended memberâ?? of the WCRC
pending acceptance of the document.

The full message by Nyomi, addressed to the

Moderator of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa follows.

The Belhar Confession and a worship service based
on the Confession are available on the WCRC website:

Belhar Confession

http://www.wcrc.ch/sites/default/files/BelharConfessionTextSeptember%201986 
%201.pdf
Belhar Worship
http://www.wcrc.ch/sites/default/files/Belhar%20Worship%20September%2026%20 
2011.pdf

Rev. Prof. Thias Kgatla

Moderator, Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

> 21 September 2011

> Dear Moderator, dear sisters and brothers,

It is with great joy that we join with you in
celebrating this 25th anniversary of the Belhar
Confession.  The World Communion of Reformed
Churches deems the Belhar Confession as one of
those gifts to the church worldwide which is
still relevant today ­ not just to the South African situation off the 19 80s.

> Before the coming into being of the World
> Communion of Reformed Churches, the World
> Alliance of Reformed Churches had held the Belhar
> Confession as a standard which our member
> churches should take very seriously ­ right from
> the 1980s.  We were therefore happy to bbe
> associated with processes in which churches
> outside South Africa were considering adopting
> the Belhar Confession.  We also recall its
> linkage with the Status confessionis declared in
> our 22nd General Council in Canada in 1982.

For these and many other reasons we rejoice with
you in this anniversary.  The impact of Belhar is
tremendous.  There is much to be done yet for the
justice and reconciliation theme it so eloquently
articulates.  We thank God for the Belhar and
will continue to be a partner in lifting it up as a standard.

On behalf of our president, Dr. Jerry Pillay,
WCRCâ??s executive committee, my colleagues in
Geneva, and the entire WCRC family, we salute you
at this anniversary and pray that the message of
the Belhar Confession will continue to inspire, challenge and bring hope.

> May God bless you.

> Sincerely yours,

> Setri Nyomi (Rev. Dr.)
> WCRC General Secretary

>