~ ..lIlIl.ie«llrB hom the OUJJUJ MISSIONARY RESEARCH LIBRARY 3041 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. N . Y. 10027

December 1970 Vol. XXI, No . 12 Library-3041 Broadway (at 120th Street). New York. N.Y 10027 Telephone: (Area 212) 662·7100 Editorial Office--Room 678. 475 Riv ers ide Drove. New York. N.Y 10027 Subscription: $3 a ye ar; 1-15 copies, 35¢ Telephone ' (Area 212) 870·2175 each; 16-50 copies, 25¢ each; Circulation Office--637 West 125th St .. New York. N.Y 10027 more than 50 copies, 15¢ each Telephone (Ar ea 212) 870·2910

CHURCH UNION MOVEMENTS IN SOUTHERN ASIA (Possibility of New Church/Mission Board Relationships)

Wilfred Scopes Associate Secretary Sout hern As ia Of f ice The United Chur ch Board f or World Mi ni st ries United Church of Christ

It may be r ec al led that i n 1947 a notable event took plac e in Protestant Church history vrhe n Epis copal and non-Episcopal Chur ches united for the first time through the formation of the CHURCH OF SOUTH I NDIA.

Thi s event s t i mulated similar movements in adjoi ni ng ar eas , notably i n Pakist an , No r t h I ndi a and Ceylon , and we r ejoice that at least in two of the above ar eas the l ong negoti­ ati ons have now come t o fruition.

THE CHURCH OF

\ ~o r d ha s been r eceived that this new Church was inaugurat ed on Novembe r 1st at Lah ore, We st Pakistan, the f our part i cipat ing Churches being:

Anglican Church (C. I . P. B.C . ) Met hodi st Church of (MCSA ) United Church (Scottish and English Presbyterian s) Pakistan Lutheran Church

The se t ogether r epresented a member shi p of 200, 000, and thus the nevr Church becomes the l ar gest non - Roman Chur ch in Pakistan. It i s hoped that in due course the Unit ed Pre sby­ terian Chur ch of Amer ican or igi n wi l l also decide t o j oin.

For the present, f our dioceses ar e being organized in West Pakistan, and one in Ea st Paki­ st an , under the leadership of the first Moderator, the Rt. Rev. Inayat , the f ormer Anglican of Lahor e . He i s rightly determined that the life of the new Church will be r ooted and grounded in the life and culture of Pakistan.

I n the course of t he inaugur at i on service the ministries of the participating Churche s 2 were united by an appropriate ceremony of "laying on of hands" - "seeking from God for our ministers whatever of the ~ullness of Christ's grace, commission and authority each may need for the performance of his proper office in the ." Earlier the Churches had been united by the simple act of reading their resolutions.

Although Protestant Christians in Pakistan have strong ties with their brethren in North , the present political situation is such as to indicate that, at least for a time, fellowship between them will be limited. The presence of the Bishop of Iran at on November 1st, and his giving of the inaugural address testified to Pakistan's growing re­ lationship with Iran.

Pakistan's President, General Yahya Khan, graciously sent a message of congratulations with the reassurance "that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan means to stand by its pledges to accord just and equal treatment to all people regardless of caste, creed or color." The Muslim composer of the national anthem, who was present, spoke briefly in praise of the movement to unity among Christians, hoping that Muslims would learn from their example. Bishop Masih who has reported all this adds, "Such national recognition of the tiny Chris­ tian community - less than 1% of Pakistan's population is Christian - must encourage those who fear that a State whose ideology is firmly Muslim is no place for Christians." He adds, "One relic from the national past has been pressed into service by the new Church to claim Pakistan for Christ. In 1935 a small cross was found in the excavation of the an­ cient city of Sarkup, near Taxila, and with some other objects indicates the presence of Christians in north-western Pakistan in the second century A.D., thus linking up with the legend of St. as the evangelist of India. The Taxila Cross has been kept in Lahore Cathedral and is now used in the symbols for the new Church of Pakistan."

THE

Word has also been received that this Church was duly inaugurated on November 29th at , Central India, the six participating Churches being:

Anglican Church (CIPBC) * Baptist Church (CBCNI) * Disciples Church * Methodist Church (British and Australasia Conferences) United Church of North India (UCNI) *

Those marked with an asterisk are in part supported by one or more of the following North American Mission Boards:

Anglican Church of Canada Church of the Brethren, General Board, USA Presbyterian Church of Canada, General Board of Missions United Christian Missionary Society (Disciples of Christ), USA United Church Board for World Ministries, USA United Church of Canada, The Board of World Mission United Presbyterian Church, USA

It was hoped all along that the large Methodist Church in South Asia, related to the in the USA would also be joining, but to the great regret of all the other churches, this has not proved possible, at least for the present.

The estimated membership of the six uniting Churches is 700,000, now intermingled in 16 dioceses. As in the case of the new Church in Pakistan, all ministries were united during the service of Inauguration, by a laying on of hands. 3

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW PATTERNSOF RELATIONSHIPS

From time to time at temp ts have been made t o r e -examine and r e - defioe the r elation ship be­ t ween the Churche s in I ndia and their supporting Mission Boards . The complex a nd baffling nature of these r elation ships have l e f t the par t ne rs in co nve rsat ion frustrated, and at t i mes, estranged . Di s cus s i on and action have gone through the pha se s of "de volution ," "Partnership" a nd "J oint Action f or Mission ." Yet the picture in 1970 i s still that of Churches in India heavily dependent on the Mission Boards which are ever exposed to the charge of bei ng pater nal ists and dictators.

The pre s sure s under which the Churche s i n India are living ar e recogni zed , e . g. national­ i stic asp i r at ion , gover nme ntal policie s, r e surgence of ol d religions, t he p sych ology of be i ng r e cipients.

The r e are pres sur es also on Mission Boards, not onl y those arlslng in re sp on se t o t he above , but also those now ve ry evident on the "Home Front , " e .g . t he changi ng philosophy of missions , attitude of Church const i t ue nc ies e spe c i al l y i n the light of the gr ievous needs f or mission "at home," wi t h a de crea s ing support f or "wor l d mis sion ."

At a me eting of Mis s i on Board Executives in December 1968, called by the Sout her n As i a De­ partment of DOM/NC C, Church-Mi s sion relationships were reviewed, and fol lowing a presen­ t ation by Mrs . Renuka Soma sekhar, the group agreed , among ot he r t hings :

To investigate the pos sibilit y of cr eat i ng an I ndia of f ice in line with her chal l enge :

"Can the mission boards now take a real l eap f'orward , a s f ar a s India i s co ncer ned , i n discontinuing their denominational India secretar iat a nd in joi ni ng togethe r in t he f ormation of one Indi a co ~~ i t tee in which the several secr e tar ies f r om t he var i ­ ous denominational boar ds wou.Ld hold a "concer n" portfoli o for the whole of I ndia on behalf of all the co -operat i ng boards?" ( pp . 52- 53 of "Missi on wi t.h Integrity in India")

It was at once evi de nt t hat the implement ation of this recommendation f or the whole of I ndia i s a t present i mpos sible, but conviction grew that the Inau gurati on of the Church of Nor t h India could provide an oppo r t uni t y t o initiate a whole new pattern of relat ions .i ps bet ween that Church and its suppor t i ng Mis sion Boar ds . The conviction wa s conf irrrled by t wo consultations with r epresentative s of the Negoti ati ng Committee, in October 15.16 9 at Seabur y House, Conn ., and in J anuary 1970 at Nagpur, Indi a.

Thus , on the r e commendat i on of thi s me eting of December 1968, a CNI- Relat ed Churche s Com­ mi t t e e was set up , consisting of staf f membe rs of the se ven Nor t h Ame r ican Boards co n­ cerne d . During 1969-70 this comm i t t ee met r epeatedly, and was encouraged by .ort h I ndia Chr i st i an leaders who expressed t heir co nvict ion that the new Church woul d wi sh t o rel ate t o Mi s s i on Boards at its l evel and would prefer t o deal wi t h one J oint Of f ice rather t han with seven separat e Mission Board offices .

EXI STING I ~~ER -B OARD COMMI TTEES RELATED TO OTHER FIELDS

11i s s i on Boar ds in North Ame r ica have accepted the Inter-Board st ruct ure in handl i ng re­ lationships wi t h certain fields .

In J apan f or over t wo de cade s there has been set up a Council of Co- operation composed of the Church of Christ in Japan and three other const i t uent bodies concerned wi t h education, social service and mi ssionary representation . This has been supported by 10 charter­ membe r agenci e s organized as the Interboard Committee for Christ i an Work in Japan . 4

Field requests for personnel and funds are received by this Inter-board Committee , and af ter careful s cr ut i ny are forwarded to each relat ed agency for response in the l i ght of agreed appor t i onment s .

At the present time ef f or t s are being made to move t owards a more inclusive st r uct ure .

In I ndone s i a the r el ated North American Boards work within the framework of the Divis i on of Over seas Ministries of the National Counci l of Churche s (DOM), and have set up a Work­ ing Gr oup whi ch maintains rel ations with the Indone sia Counci l of Churches and Indonesian denominations directly.

Al t hough there is co-operation in witness and service, in some cases individual Boards continue direct relationships with I ndone s i an Churches where historic ties exi st . More­ ove r , ac t i ons of the Working Gr oup rel ated t o policy, f i nances , personnel and ot her com­ mitments , may be referred back t o member Boards f or ratification on request of one or more members .

There have been ot her Interboards relating North American Boards to United Churches in the Phil i ppines and Hong Kong.

These structures are gl vl ng way to a DOM Working Group pattern in which maj or staff re­ sponsibilities will be shared in a col l egiate co - operation among the r egional secretaries of the various Boards wi t h onl y a limited dependence on DOM st af f .

IMPL ICAT I ONS OF APOSSIBLE J OINT OFFI CE IN NORTH AMERICA

The CNI -Rel ated Churches Committee faced a se r i e s of questions .

(I) I n what ways would a J oint Of f i ce in North America differ from any of the Inter­ board structures?

(II)Would Mission Boards be willing t o set up such a Joint Of f i ce under a Governing Board that would be independent, autonomous, wi th authority to act on their behalf i n deter mini ng pol i cy and admi nist rat ion ? To what ex t ent would Mission Boar ds be prepared t o gi ve up responsibilit y f or deci sion mak i ng i n regard t o the use of funds entrusted to them?

(III) How should Mis sion Board r epresentation on the Governing Council of such a J oint Off ice be determined? - by degree of funding? by size of the Uniting Chur ch in the CNI ? - equal basis

(IV ) In addition t o Mission Board r epresentative s on the Governing Counci l of such a J oint Of f ice , would it be fitting and feasible t o include say three repre senta­ tives of the Church of North I ndi a t o share in decision mak i ng?

(V)To what extent would it be nece ssary for the denomi nat ional Boards to retain their separ at e India office s ?

(VI) Would the Mission Boards second their personnel f or service anywhere within the CN I, salary t o be met by the seconding Boards?

(VI I ) Would l oc al churches in North America l ose interest by the merging of historical ly related areas into s o large a Church, or would they be st i mul at ed by a vaster range of interest? Would the "pers onalizing of mi s s ion" be made more difficult? 5

(VIII) How would such a plan in North America fit in wi th procedures of Miss ion Boar ds in UK and Austr alasia whi ch are also related t o the CNI?

The se are onl y a f ew of t he major que stions t hat were raised. But it was r e cognized and r epeatedly reiterated that any posi ng of such que stions must be postponed until af ter due co nsultation wi th t he l eaders of the Church of Nor t h India.

THE RE CENT CONSULTATION I N INDIA

News has j ust come about t he consul tat i on held at Nagpur , De cember 1-2, f ollowing the I naugur ation of the Chu rch of North India. Those pre sent included the new l eaders of the Church and a number of r epresentatives from Oversea s Churches in Gr eat Brit ain, Austral ­ asia and No r t.h America.

Even from the partial r eports so far r eceived i t i s evident tha t there was a bold at t empt t o grapple wi t h the many large i s sue s, i ncluding new st ructures , and as one might expect , a var iety of vi ews vrere put f orward. There were those who f avored Inter-Board Consul ta­ t ive st ructures , with di rect relationships of Mis sion Boards t o individual dioceses . On the ot he r hand , ot he rs expressed the convict ion that the time had come f or consultative bodie s with more t eeth than mere consultation ; t hat di rect r elat i on ships to se ctions of the new Church would hinder the inner un i t y of t he Church ; that ove rsea s bodies shoul d r e­ l ate a t t he Synod l e vel. One Nor t h Ame r ican speaker opposed the idea of a Joint Of f i ce i n ~ o r t h America on the grounds t hat it would represent a concent rat ion of resource s and power t hat would be unequal and bi lateral. He favored an arran gement whereby all ove r seas par t ­ ner Churche s in UK, Australasia and North America would send r ep r e sentati ves t o r egul ar assembl i e s in India -r••rhere the CNI delegates would have a ma j ority vote . Ther e , he said, the t otal picture of mis sion oppo r tuni t y in North India woul d be r eviewed alongsi de t he t otal r esources available t o the Church of No r th I ndia and its par t ner s . Priori t i es ~ ould thus be e st abl i shed and al locations made .

It was learned that t he first meet ing of the CNI Synod i s planned f or April 1971, i n t he course of which further thought ...rill be given t o structures . It Has recormnended that at the synod meeting, ar range ment s should be made f or a nother east -we st consultation i n Janu­ ary 1972, t o co ns ider Kis s i on Board r elation ships to the Synod or the Diocese s. I n t he meanti me "it was agreed that any overseas Church Boards wi shing t o do so, shoul d begi n from J anuary 1st t o tran smit f und s through the Synod Treasurer. In this way t he 0 ynod coul d l earn f rom the experi ence as t o its value. It was unde rstood, of cou rse, t hat at l east f or thi s first year, vrhi le the new Church is getting organized, al l oversea s grants woul d be f onrarded to their historically r elated areas.

Thus, at l east, the debat e will r emain open , and all new insights gi ven due conside ration . The se , we hope will be shar ed with all concerned with the new Church of Pakist a "

~rr s . Somasekhar has wr itten in the booklet al ready r eferred t o (p.53 ):

"Uni on schemes pre sent Mis sion Boards and their related Churches with their bigge st chal lenge f or constructive, creative par tnership....To a great extent the true spirit of this (CNI) union wi l l be f urthered or hindered accordi ng t o decisions made by Mis­ s ion Boa r- ds in Europe and Nor t h America. Mission Boards cannot say "hands of f " at this st age . To mak e no decis i on is also a decision."

Bold but r esponsible action may set a pattern that can have f ar-rea ching i mplicat i ons f or wor-Ld mission. The new era into which we have now ent er ed demands a r enewa.L of mind a nd spi r i t wh i ch should issue i n new st ruct ures that are approved by par t ners in t his common task .