The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka Annual Report 2012-13
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1 2 THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF SRI LANKA ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13 An ecumenical pilgrimage… with the God of life 3 4 An Ecumenical Pilgrimage ...with the God of Life We believe in a living God, a God who lives and enables all living beings to exist, a God who is the source of life, a God who assures fullness of life and bestows on us the possibility of eternal life. We believe in a God who creates and sustains life, a God who affirms life. Human life therefore is sacred, because human life came into being through the very breath of God, which indicates the ultimate possibility of a closer relationship between God and humans. In the life and ministry of Jesus we find that death is defeated on the cross along with all agents of death. Death is the denial of life. The defeat of death is the affirmation of life, which is assured, experienced and made possible through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The proclamation of the risen Lord, is actually a proclamation that death is defeated, the agents of death overcome, and that eternal life and abundant life is a possibility for every human being. This is clearly summed up in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, ... I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10) and “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish...” (Jn 10:28). The final vision of the Reign of God is portrayed in the image of the river of life and the tree of life (Rev. 22:1- 4). “God of life” is a theme that runs through the entire Bible, from the creation to the consummation of the Reign of God here on earth, and in between the decisive intervention of God in human history, when ever life is denied. Our ecumenical pilgrimage is undertaken with the God of Life. It is a life affirming pilgrimage. The God of Life is the source, the basis and the goal of our pilgrimage. As we enter into the Centenary year of our ecumenical pilgrimage we need to be certain of the fundamental basis of our pilgrimage. Primarily it is a pilgrimage with the God of life, and it is a pilgrimage of God, to affirm the fullness of life. It is not an option for a Christian but an essential hall mark for everyone who is a Christian. The proclamation in word and deed of the fullness of life is also not an option. This is a pilgrimage with the God of Life, Triune God, who exists and manifests in unity and in relationship. A denial of unity is the denial of the Triune God. All stumbling blocks to unity, whether they be denominations, organizations, languages, ethnicity, caste, clan, race, doctrine, dogmas, rituals, traditions, etc., all are a denial of the Triune God. We need to therefore, affirm boldly and publicly that, disunity is sin, and the lack of commitment to find expressions for our unity is actually a denial of our faith in the Trinitarian God. We need to realize that the divided church is a manifestation of our denial of the Trinitarian God. 5 This pilgrimage is not a journey limited to of some likeminded people, instead the boundaries that defines us needs to broaden and include others, who are those outside of us. It is a journey of inclusiveness, for the God of Life is not the source of division and exclusion. A boundary that does not widen or expand negates the God of Life. The Centenary year will be authentic and the celebrations meaningful, if it enables us to be conscious of the basics and have clarity of the end vision of our pilgrimage. This is possible if we raise some fundamental questions about the nature of our ecumenical witness as we continue in this pilgrimage. Are we conscious as to with whom we are journeying with? Are we on this pilgrimage with the God of Life, the Triune God, or are we knowingly or unknowingly serving the agents of death and mammon, who deny life. Our ecumenical witness needs to be grounded on this faith proclamation. Our ecumenical witness needs to be sustained on the evangelical proclamation based on he mission of Christ was accomplished on the cross. We need to be rooted in the evangelical proclamation of the death and resurrection of Christ which ensures that death is defeated and life reigns. Are we proclaiming this Good News, with conviction in our journey? That is the task of our evangelical proclamation. We need to affirm life. The journey entails that we resonate with the pulse of the people in their socio economic and political realities in the name of the God of Life. Our ecumenical witness needs to be grounded on the prophetic proclamation, amidst the existing social realities that denies life. Being part of the pilgrimage is to feel the pain and suffering of any human being whose life is denied. Life denied by war, violence, abuse, harassment, exploitation, denial of land, water, shelter, food, and the legitimate rights of an individual or a community including the denial of the dignity, security and sacredness of life. We need to denounce evil and affirm good. We need to denounce injustice, and affirm justice. We need to ensure equality, dignity and security of all people everywhere. That is the task of our prophetic proclamation. May our ecumenical pilgrimage, very specially in this centenary year, be truly ecumenical, fostering unity among Christians and the wider community and be entrenched in our faith in the God of life, engaged in the evangelical proclamation of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, manifesting in the prophetic proclamation challenging everything that deny life may we live as signs and symbols of the messianic hope that finally life will triumph over death. The fullness of life will be experienced in the final Reign of God. Rev. W.P. Ebenezer Joseph General Secretary 17 August, 2013 Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King Jr 6 THE CONTEXT OF OUR PILGRIMAGE The ecumenical pilgrimage does not take place in abstract vacuum. The journey is entrenched in the contextual realities of the day. Our contextual reality today witnesses the accelerated pace of infrastructure development, specially focussing on roads and railways, airports and harbours, tourism and information technology. These do have benefits like creating employment, foreign exchange and the beautification of cities providing additional leisure activities. However, the rural agricultural sector seems to be neglected causing many problems to the ordinary people. The ever increasing cost of living, makes life miserable for many and do give rise to crime and corruption. Our weather patterns have changed and remain unpredictable. The impact of the climate change is alarming. Though we have not experienced major calamities, we see a definite change in the weather pattern which is creating flash floods, landslides and droughts continuously affecting some parts of our country. Agriculture based on rhythm of seasons is now becoming a lost cause. The rural poor seem to be the worst affected by this trend.. The issues of minority religious groups continues to be a concern and the churches will have to see beyond the violent attacks experienced by some churches. New forms of majoritarianism are emerging. Critical self evaluation and positive engagement with people of other religions seems to be an urgent need of the hour. We are confronted with problems of governance and democracy. The democratic space for the constructive engagement of the ordinary people is shrinking. The independence of the police and judiciary seems to be vital for restoring law and order and ensuring a people friendly political climate. Our ecumenical pilgrimage is passing through very rugged and difficult terrain. The challenge is further compounded by the fact that we are a divided Christian community in a fragmented society. The tasks ahead are not easy. The pilgrimage is not an easy one in the light of socio-economic and political realities of the day. THE COUNCIL The structure The organizational structure is being gradually revamped at the NCCSL to make it more viable, sustainable and appropriate. Some of the areas that need further clarity are as follows:- . Volunteerism is a key element in the organizational structure of the NCCSL. The Programme Commissions, the Executive Committee, and the Council is entirely dependent on volunteers.While this is a very positive feature, we need to address 7 issues of regular attendance at meetings, availablity when urgent demands arise, and extending advise, guidance on a regular and systematic basis to the council . The ownership of NCCSL by the Constituent Members needs improvement. The sustainability of qualified and committed full time staff. To ensure continuous financial resources to ensure the continuity of some long term programmes. To sustain the core values as a Christian religious organization. The infusion of faith and prayer dimension in the core of our planning and implementation. Activities now have an integrated and multi faceted focus and therefore the scope of such related programmes do not fall under the mandate of one particular programme commission. Hence we need to have mechanism for much more integrated and coordinated approach. The Constitution has been amended to give effect to some of the changes while the above mentioned issues are being gradually addressed. Capacity Building Based on the organizational capacity assessment done last year concrete steps are being taken to address the following areas, in partnership with ACT Alliance:- . Organizational development . Strategic plan for 2013-2016 .