CWM Assembly 2009 communiqué
Saturday, 27 June 2009 11:52
From 20 to 27 June, delegates from 31 member bodies and ecumenical guests met as CWM’s 2009 Assembly in Mamallapuram, just south of Chennai, India, where they were generously hosted by the Church of South India and CWM’s South Asia Region.
India – a microcosm of the world
As we enjoyed lavish hospitality, we were keenly aware of the contrast between our comfortable surroundings and the realities of life for most of the billion people who live on the Indian sub-continent.
This sense of contradiction was reinforced when we visited community schemes supported by the Church of South India.
The deep contradictions we face on our shared journey of mission were constantly before us
CWM is called to partnership in Christ to mutually challenge, encourage, and equip churches to share in God’s mission.
These projects, which included work with rural Dalit communities, children affected by HIV and AIDS, slum dwellers in Chennai, agricultural development, women’s microcredit schemes, and people from the alienated transgender community, drew from us an awareness of potential new mission frontiers within our own countries and contexts.
Our daily worship reflected many facets of Indian Christian spirituality. Our study of the Bible, in the light of the issues arising from our visits, offered us fresh and critical thinking.
Together with the stories of mission we shared from our own regional contexts, such as the South Asia region's work to stamp out human trafficking, they reminded us again and again that life is potentially rich, yet fragile and ambiguous.
The deep contradictions we face on our shared journey of mission were constantly before us. We recognised India to be a microcosm of the world and prayed that, propelled by God’s Spirit, we may be strengthened to identify and engage with the complexities of life in our home communities.
Live the Good News
Our Bible study, worship and the mission stories provided the context from which we launched the theme for the Assembly and for CWM for the next three years – “Live the Good News”.
In his address, general secretary Rev Dr Des van der Water reminded us that “nothing is real until it is local”. The challenge to make the good news a characteristic of our lifestyle was also explored by retiring Moderator, Rev Dr Roderick Hewitt.
The challenge now stands for us to seek ways to be a partnership where churches can share resouces and act together so that all their members can become local expressions of the good news we have come to know through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
From Ocho Rios to Mamallapuram
We celebrated the steps we have taken from our last Assembly, in Ocho Rios in 2006 to Mamallapuram today.
Among these were celebrations of CWM’s 30th Anniversary in 2007 and the associated Mission Consultation in Singapore that year.
We were reminded of our ongoing commitment to solidarity with churches in crisis, in particular those in Zimbabawe, Myanmar and Madagascar.
Our continued ecumenical partnerships have been given continuing expression, focused especially through initiatives such as our shared response to the Accra Confession through the Oikotree movement, together with WARC and the WCC.
The general secretary spoke of the development of greater coherence and depth in our programmes and we also learned of innovative ways of helping equip church for mission with children.
We further heard that CWM has set aside significant additional resources to help regions work more effectively together in mission.
A new strategic framework
The strategic framework for CWM’s work, adopted the previous week by the Trustee Body, was presented to the Assembly. It includes a new statement of CWM’s mission – “called to partnership in Christ to mutually challenge, encourage, and equip churches to share in God’s mission”.
The framework further articulated CWM’s vision and values along with five focuses through which its work will find expression.
- Building life-giving community
- Equipping for mission
- Seeking renewal and transformation
- Sharing common resources
- Engaging with the world
The incoming Trustee Body, which includes a representative from each of the member bodies, will now develop a detailed strategic plan based on the new framework.
Call for Spirit-led leadership
Newly-elected Moderator Rev Dr Prince Dibeela spoke of a sense that CWM stands “on the brink of something new”, echoing the thrust of Dr Hewitt’s call for spirit-led leadership to ensure that churches are open to the growing impetus for spirit-led change.
Led by the Spirit, challenged and sustained by the scriptures and engaged by the complexity of the worlds in which delegates live, the Assembly recommitted itself to sharing in God’s mission through the churches.
Feed me!