Staff members from all three Council for World Mission (CWM) regional offices gathered for an all-staff meeting on 25 July where employees from the London and South African branches joined virtually with their Singaporean peers via Zoom.
This was the first all-staff meeting since the conclusion of the CWM Assembly in June and it also marked the inaugural physical meeting between newly minted CWM Moderator Dr Natalie Lin and the rest of the CWM staff as she made her first stopover to the Singapore office in a three-day visit.
Moderator greetings
As part of her greetings—many meeting her for the very first time in person—Lin once again voiced her gratitude for the support that she enjoyed en route to her electoral success.
“I really want to thank all of you for giving me this great opportunity to get to know you more closely, and also to learn how to serve God in this CWM family,” said Lin. “If it were not for the warm friendship, support, and prayers of all of you, I would not be able to have this wonderful opportunity to serve in this ministry.”
“I thank God as well in calling me to represent my local church, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) in this season when I can work and learn together with all our partners in the universal church to raise up the kingdom of God.”
Reflections about the Assembly
CWM Deputy General Secretary, Dr Sudipta Singh, presented his keynote address for the meeting which encapsulated his reflections on the Assembly that was widely acclaimed to be a success by the attending delegates.
The keynote took on an introspective tone as Singh gave a heartfelt and profound look back on the Assembly and its far-reaching influence on future CWM projects and planning.
Singh condensed the Assembly experience into four emergent theological themes that ran through much of the event:
- Justice instead of hierarchy/patriarchy
- People’s power instead of Imperial power
- Resurrection instead of death
- Hope instead of despair
Singh then further expounded on the themes and emphasised the importance of the church’s role in furthering God’s justice by rising up to confront and dismantle oppressive structures, serving as harbingers of hope for oppressed communities, sharing the strength of resistance, speaking truth to power, and possessing the will to embody a “dirtified theology of mission” as the church becomes the vanguard for ecological and social justice.
A look into GreenFaith
The all-staff meeting also extended a special invitation to Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, to give an introductory presentation on the crucial work that the organisation has done to further the cause of climate and ecological justice.
GreenFaith is a multi-faith, grassroots community committed to rouse a moral awakening to the sacredness of Earth and the dignity of all people by appealing to global bodies to turn away from the rampant conquests, extractions, and exploitations of the world’s resources and allow for the spirit of cooperation and community to thrive.
It echoes CWM’s longstanding campaign to build life-flourishing communities and destroy death-dealing corporate practices. GreenFaith and CWM seek to move against new and insidious fossil fuel/extractive projects and related financing, and support a just transition, the creation of green jobs, and the prevention of loss and damage caused to climate-vulnerable regions.
“I would encourage CWM members to learn about the different fuel fossil development projects underway in the different regions where you work,” said Harper.
“Listen to the stories and the voices of those who are being hurt and displaced by these projects and learn and think about the ways that your member churches can become involved in the multi-faith resistance and movement for climate justice.”
The Lord is our portion, cup, and security
The meeting was closed by Dr Natalie Lin with a sharing from Psalm 16 that detailed King David’s perspective on his relationship with God.
In the psalm, David identifies God to be the source of his security and sustenance and at the same time acknowledges God’s faithfulness towards him.
In the same vein, Lin candidly credited God for blessing her with a fresh new direction and season in her life post-retirement with her new CWM appointment. She exhorted the CWM staff to also hold onto the faith of God’s plan for each of their lives, and no matter the age or life stage, that they may be in, they can always find renewal in Jesus Christ.