wfn.org | African churches want to harness power of unity

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Dec. 8, 2003  News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212)870-38037New York7E-mail:
newsdesk@umcom.org7ALL-AF-AA-I{584}

NOTE: See UMNS story #576 for related coverage. Photographs are available.

By Carol Fouke-Mpoyo*

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (UMNS) - Africa's ecumenical movement is getting new wind.

Church leaders are intent on harnessing the potential of pan-African
Christian unity for the well-being of the continent, judging from the All
Africa Conference of Churches' 8th Assembly in the central African capital
city of Yaounde. 

"This may mean speaking out to those in power in ways that will not always
make us popular, but we have a responsibility to God and to the continent to
do so," said the Rev. Mvume Dandala, the group's new chief executive.
Dandala, a Methodist pastor, drew a standing ovation after giving his report
to the assembly.

The Nov. 22-27 meeting of delegates from the conference's 169 national member
denominations and 27 national ecumenical councils was part business meeting
and part family reunion. The event drew representatives from 39 countries.
Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the 40-year-old organization is Africa's largest
ecumenical body. 

Drawing on Nehemiah 2 for its theme, "Come, Let Us Rebuild," the assembly
committed to a 10-point plan of action on HIV/AIDS; set in motion a
restructuring of the organization aimed at making it an example of integrity,
prophetic witness and self-support; and resolved to promote good governance
by Africa's nations. 

Dandala said churches must hold the new African Union accountable to its own
commitment to ensure that member countries are "governed democratically,
responsibly and transparently."  Religious leaders also must examine the
values and strategies employed in the union's New Partnership for Africa's
Development to make sure those are accompanied by values and principles that
the church believes should guide stewardship of the world's resources, he
added.

"The church must ... constantly subject capitalism to the values of the
Kingdom of Christ, where caring for and sharing with the weak are the
operative maxims," said Dandala, the immediate past presiding bishop of the
Methodist Church in Southern Africa.

The years since the conference's 7th Assembly in 1997 in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, have been rocky ones, marked by management and budget problems.
However, staff reports show much ongoing work, including advocacy for an end
to Liberia's long-running civil war. But funding from members and
international donors declined, partly because of their own financial
struggles and partly out of concern about the effectiveness of the
conference's management.   

One general secretary stepped down and an interim was appointed, serving for
18 months until Dandala took office. The organization undertook a
wide-ranging process of reflection and consultation, summing up its
recommendations in a "concept paper" titled, "The All Africa Conference of
Churches We Want in the 21st Century." 

Agnes Abuom from Kenya, the World Council of Churches' vice president for
Africa, presented the paper to the assembly, which approved the plan to
restructure and reorganize the conference.

The Nov. 22 opening worship drew some 8,000 - including delegates and the
wider Cameroonian Christian community - to Yaounde's broad May 20 Boulevard.
Worshippers included Mozambique's President Joachim Chissano, chairperson of
the African Union, who that afternoon gave the keynote address opening the
assembly.   

His words were both harsh and hopeful. Chissano said the assembly theme,
"Come, Let Us Rebuild," prompted him to ask, "Who destroyed Africa?" for the
continent to need rebuilding. He asserted that Africa is responsible for its
current woes and should not put the blame on past colonial governments. 

Chissano, a Roman Catholic, affirmed the importance of the church, with its
capacity for mobilizing people from the grass roots and its experience in
providing services such as education and health, both crucial for
development.   

As the assembly proceeded, speakers and resolutions addressed a wide range of
issues under four sub themes: health and healing, Africa and democratization,
human rights, globalization and poverty, and the "selfhood" of the African
church. 

African Americans and Africans engaged in an evening of dialogue, and the
outgoing and incoming general secretaries of the World Council of Churches -
respectively, the Rev. Konrad Raiser and the Rev. Samuel Kobia - spoke about
the worldwide ecumenical movement and African churches' place in it. Kobia is
a Methodist from Kenya; Raiser belongs to the Evangelical Church in Germany.

They challenged Africa's churches to make ecumenism real "on the ground" in
local communities and to join forces for radical structural change in the
living conditions of Africa's working poor. 

A full day was devoted to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, ending with a candlelight
vigil and service of commitment to a 10-point plan of action.

The Right Rev. Nyansako-Ni-Nku, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of
Cameroon, was elected as the conference's president for the next five years. 
He had harsh words against corruption and greed in both church and state, and
emphasized the importance of a strong voice from the churches. 
# # #
*Fouke-Mpoyo is media liaison for the  National Council of Churches USA and
served on the communications staff at the 8th Assembly. 

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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