Message from the First Meeting of Asian Ecumenical Officers to the Christian Churches in Asia

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

We have met for three days as representatives of thirty-six Asian churches associated with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) to consider the theme “Unity, Dialogue and Peace: Ecumenical Challenges in Asia Today”. We have been privileged to be the guests of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), meeting in Pondok Remaja PGI, Cipayung from 30 June to 2 July 2009. We thank PGI and its member churches for their generous hospitality.

We have been particularly impressed by the fine result achieved through cooperative working between the international, regional and national ecumenical bodies in the holding of this meeting and we commend this model for the preparation of future meetings. We have particularly appreciated the value that is added to our sharing from the full participation of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia and its member churches.

The call for this meeting came from the ecumenical officers from Asia, gathered with ecumenical officers from other regions in Geneva in May 2008. The objectives of the meeting were to strengthen the fellowship of WCC and CCA member churches in Asia by bringing ecumenical leaders together for prayer and discussion and thus also to strengthen regular contact between member churches and the WCC and CCA in striving for unity and common witness and service in the Asian context.

In our meeting, we have shared in worship, including a moving traditional Sundanese welcome and dedication of the time to God and a sermon from Bishop Soritua Nababan on John 17.21 and Isaiah 2.4, refreshing our understanding of unity as the gift we receive of God’s own life and love. We also studied the Bible together with small group discussions on Mark 5.25 to Mark 6.6 and on Mark 6.7-13; 30-34, on the basis of notes prepared by Bishop Philip Huggins.

We have listened to the keynote address from Professor James Haire in which he affirmed that Christianity in Asia need not be, in any way, derivative from forms of Christianity developed elsewhere, and that it has been a pacesetter in the matter of Christian unity.

We have shared stories and other information about the churches that we represent, including the particular struggles of churches in situations of conflict and difficulty. We have heard from four national situations of long-term oppression and suffering, currently in critical transitions, and the appeals of those churches for prayer and solidarity in action. We have prayed and reflected together on how we might more meaningfully express our oneness in Christ in the face of these challenges. 

We have also shared experiences and reflections about inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, as part of a broad peace-making agenda that is based upon justice for all. We were privileged to listen to Dr Ahmad Suaedy, Director of the Wahid Institute, who shared with us the “2008 Annual Report on Religious Pluralism in Indonesia”, which identified critical threats to religious pluralism and the need to protect the freedom of religious belief and practice of all Indonesian citizens.

We received an update on the present programmes and activities of the WCC and CCA, which contained the challenge to each of our churches as to how we might be more closely involved with these activities. We have been impressed by the opportunities of ecumenical formation for young people. We urge churches to recognize the importance of peace-building through dialogue and working together with other partners.

We have heard the challenge to do more things together. We have noted in particular the importance of effective communication, of regular and mutual prayer, and of visits and other forms of supportive cooperation. We are committed as ecumenical officers to seek ways of innovation for the strengthening the ecumenical movement. We intend to continue to work together, despite barriers and differences, in the pursuit of unity and peace through dialogue; and to bringing this into the life of our churches at all levels. We call on the churches to recognize afresh God’s gift of unity and peace for all people.

We have found our time of meeting and sharing to be worthwhile and call for further meetings to strengthen this level of contact between the churches of Asia. We affirm the continuation of the WCC Global Ecumenical Officers meeting on a semi-regular schedule and look to CCA to assist in coordinating occasional innovative meetings of Asian Ecumenical Officers. We encourage all churches in Asia to consider joining in these meetings.

As we return to our churches, we ask all Christians to pray with us for more visible unity in our efforts to serve the mission of God in the world; so that we may receive the strength of God through the Holy Spirit and so be built more fully into the body of Christ.