To the PCT 56th General Assembly Hon’ble Moderator, distinguished Officers and Guests, brothers and sisters - I greet each one of you present here this afternoon a very good afternoon in the name of our Risen Lord. I bring greetings from the Moderator, my fellow Deputy Moderators, the General Secretary, the Treasurer and the Trustees of the Council for World Mission. While I thank God for the ministry of those Officers and leaders who are laying down offices held by them during their term for which they were elected with the opening of this General Assembly I extend our welcome in the spirit of camaraderie to all brothers and sisters who will be elected and installed to their new positions in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan for the next term. We are a family called to partnership in Mission and I am indeed proud to be here this afternoon to represent CWM, a partnership of Churches in Mission. I am aware that you will be spending for next three days praying and deliberating on your theme of this General Assembly: “Let Cultures flourish: Let God’s Justice take Root”. We have a special call and responsibility to make our presence felt through our forms, functions and cultures, the promise of the coming reign of God. Its legitimacy resides soul in its nature as a servant and friend of God’s irrepressible hopes and struggles for a grander community. It has a social ethic, a koinonia ethic. Therefore, it has to subject itself to a continuous process of reformation. Today, when the market forces are propagating their version of the new world, featured by consumerism, information, and sophistication, in which many are excluded in this and when the religious fundamentalist too in most part of our world too are imposing their version of the nation which has the potential to marginalize some and fragment the community further, what alternative do we have to offer? A deeper involvement in social issues only can express our commitment and Christian obedience and that involvement should be considered as our mission in society. The socio economic and political issues in our respective countries demand us to be part of the liberating struggle and human suffering. CWM is at a very interesting and exciting turning point in its history. It has entered a phase of its history where the call for and the conviction about change, ring with passion prodding us to embrace change with open minds and unrelenting determination. For this formidable organization, with our 200 years of missional engagement, change is not a new or unfamiliar word. However, in the words of our former General Secretary it is perhaps “the most significant change since 1977”, when the London Missionary Society was converted to Council for World Mission. CWM is the child of change, the result of a thorough, heart-searching, identity-critique process. Today we celebrate the fact that the process of renewal continues as we seek to remain faithful to the calling God. In 2006 CWM Trustees decided to undertake a period of review of its mission, asking itself probing questions about the quality and impact of its engagement with the thirty-one member churches, its ecumenical partners and the wider community. I had the privilege of participating in this exercise since June 2006 as one of the members of the Strategic Framework group, later in the Strategic Review Group and now in the Midwife group, which is asked to help in the shaping of a CWM that is well positioned to make a difference so that we do not simply dream but experience a different world, through the work of our member churches and through initiatives and efforts beyond our member churches. We had come to that stage in our history where it was obvious that an organization committed to affirming the value and experiences of each other, needed to confront and challenge the implication of its name, its status quo and its ethos. CWM is the child of change, the movement from its identity as a British mission agency to an international community of churches sharing together in God’s mission. The process has been challenging, yet an exciting and rewarding learning opportunity out of which we have discerned the need and sensed the call of God to renew ourselves and make changes to the way we operate in order to fully live out our identity as a partnership of churches, committed to justice and prophetic witness. In just about fifty days from today the Trustees of the CWM will be meeting in Durban where we are expected to make a decision on this “change” that we have talked about for the last five years and I appeal to the members of the General Assembly as well as the international ecumenical bodies to lift us up in your prayer. I once again thank you for your invitation and also commend you all for your partnership in our journey together in God’s Mission. May the Love of the Cross, The Power of the Resurrection and the presence of the Living Lord be always with you. AMEN Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan
CWM Deputy Moderator
(from Church of North India) |