wfn.org | Pakistani bishop calls for church partnership in Afghanistan

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 25, 2002  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-33-71BP{070}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this report.

By the Rev. Larry Hollon*

LAHORE, Pakistan (UMNS) - A bishop of the Church of Pakistan thanked members
of a United Methodist delegation for their denomination's mission work in
his country and invited them to be partners in rebuilding Afghanistan.

During a Feb. 18-27 fact-finding visit to Christian communities in the
Middle East and Pakistan, a United Methodist delegation of four bishops and
two top agency executives met with Bishop Samuel Azariah, head of the Church
of Pakistan's Diocese of Raiwind. The united church includes Methodists,
Presbyterians and other Protestants.

Speaking before an audience of about 150 pastors and religious workers,
including the visiting delegation, Azariah recalled mission involvement that
led to the creation of schools, homes for homeless children, hospitals and
many local churches.
 
"We do not want to be a mission project; we want to be full partners in
carrying out global mission," the bishop said. "The church has a challenging
role in Afghanistan now. Let there be a joint mission of rehabilitation and
development working together as partners. We know the people, the language
and the culture (of Afghanistan)."

He described the difficulty that Christians face as a minority community in
Pakistan. "It has not always been easy to be a minority people in a Muslim
society," the bishop said.  "But the church has maintained a prophetic
voice. American Methodists came to the poor and those on the margins."

This prophetic voice continues in various ways today, he said. The church
operates a residential hostel and school for poor, orphaned girls and a
progressive school for developmentally challenged children. It also has
ordained two women clergy, a controversial action in an Islamic republic.

Bishop Ann Sherer, of the United Methodist Church's Missouri Area, reflected
on the meaning of that work. "By ordaining two women, they are saying this
is how the church values women - as leaders. And similarly, by operating a
school for developmentally challenged children, the church is demonstrating
that it values all people, even those the larger culture may not value."

Despite extreme pressure from radical Muslim groups - including deadly
attacks on Christians - Azariah said the church has seen an improvement in
recent weeks as a result of new government policies aimed at protecting
minorities and imposing limits on Muslim schools that teach radical
religious doctrine.

A positive sign, albeit one that comes as a mixed blessing, is the
government's return last month of the Lucie Harrison High School, which was
appropriated 20 years ago. The move may signal changes that will make the
church's work in humanitarian and educational missions easier. However, the
school buildings, currently serving 1,000 girls, have not been maintained,
and rehabilitating them to make them safe will be costly.

At a meeting that included Protestant, Roman Catholic and Muslim
participants, as well as U.S. and Pakistani government officials, the
delegation heard pleas to protect the rights of minority communities and
stand in solidarity with them. Responding to an earlier statement of
solidarity brought by United Methodist Bishop Elias Galvan of the Seattle
Area, Christians voiced appreciation for the delegation visit. A former
Pakistan Supreme Court justice asked the bishops likewise to support with
"sympathy and affection" Muslims in the United States who were not
participants in the terror of Sept. 11.

The exchange highlighted the complexity of protecting the integrity of
minority faith communities and raised the question of how the United
Methodist Church can make a positive contribution, said Galvan, president of
the denomination's Council of Bishops.

"It highlights the prophetic witness the minority community makes in an
Islamic society," he said. "It is a very unique witness. How does the United
Methodist Church protect minority faith communities wherever they exist?"

The delegation is identifying such questions on its trip and will develop
them for further discussion in a report to the Council of Bishops. 

In addition to Galvan and Sherer, the delegation includes Bishop S. Clifton
Ives, West Virginia Area; Bishop Beverly Shamana, San Francisco Area; James
Winkler, general secretary (top staff executive) of the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society; the Rev. Larry Hollon, general secretary of
United Methodist Communications; and Liberato Bautista, associate general
secretary with the Board of Church and Society.

After leaving Pakistan, the delegation moved on to the Middle East for
meetings with Israeli and Palestinian government officials and religious
leaders.
# # #
*Hollon is the general secretary of United Methodist Communications, with
main offices in Nashville, Tenn.

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United Methodist News Service
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