wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Asian Christian assembly: prophetic witness and reconciliation

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>World Council of Churches - News

ASIAN CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY HEADS FOR PROPHETIC WITNESS AND RECONCILIATION

>For immediate release: 15 April 2010

In a keynote speech on the theme of the 13th General Assembly of  the
Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) "Called to Prophesy, Reconcile  and
Heal", the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World
Council of Churches (WCC) said: "There is no true prophecy that  does not
speak both the critical truth and contribute to the building up  of a
vision, a dream of the new life in common."

The CCA assembly, which is taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,  15- 20
April, also reached "an important milestone in the ecumenical movement,"
Tveit said referring to the election of its first woman general
secretary.

The Rev. Dr Henriette Hutabarat Lebang was elected as the next general
secretary of the CCA, a regional body of over 150 member churches  from
different denominations.

In his 15 April speech, Tveit said that the "combination of callings"
expressed in the theme points to the "significant contribution"  of Asian
churches to the "global reflection of what it means to be one".

"From your Asian tradition I believe you are enabled, maybe more  than many
others, to see different perspectives together as a whole, in a  wider
harmony," Tveit said. As the WCC is going to hold its own assembly  in
Busan, Korea, in 2013, it will provide an opportunity to learn from  the
experiences of Asian Christians.

Prophetic witness and reconciliation for the Middle East

"The reconciliation of God through Christ is not ignorance of what  is
wrong, a minimizing of the problems of evil, sin and death," Tveit  said in
his speech on the assembly theme. "The forgiveness of sin is a proactive
act of God to stop sin, to break the evil circle, so that we shall  not
sin. Thus, the proclamation of the gospel of reconciliation will  always
also be a word of truth, a prophetic witness, a critical approach."

Illustrating the "bold accompaniment and costly solidarity" which  the
ecumenical movement owes its members "in their engagement for peace  with
justice and in their response to the call to prophetic witness and  mission
of reconciliation and healing", Tveit invited the Asian churches  to
respond to a December 2009 call by Palestinian Christians to stand  against
injustice, violence and occupation.

The call, entitled "Moment of truth: a word of faith, hope, and  love from
the heart of Palestinian suffering" has become known as the "Kairos
Palestine" document.

"Here our prophetic witness needs to be expressed through our love  for the
Palestinians as well as for the Israelis, as all parties need healing  and
reconciliation," Tveit said in Kuala Lumpur.

While Tveit said there were complicated issues at stake in the discussion
surrounding the appropriate means of non-violent resistance. However,  he
pointed out that "from the World Council of Churches the call to  not buy
products illegally produced in occupied territories and the call  to member
churches for proper stewardship of investments so as not to benefit  from
occupation remain both well known and unchanged."

Full text of the WCC general secretary's speech (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=17f7d70c334faea0a23a )

More information on the CCA assembly (Link:

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=99e98c91e18c5c4e5f2f )

"Kairos Palestine" document (Link:

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=c0116fcd5a833292fc34 )

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,  witness and 
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship  of churches 
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560  million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the  Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse  Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.