CWM Assembly Statement

Approved by Assembly

The second Assembly of the Council for World Mission (CWM), bringing together 150 delegates from the 31 member churches and 6 global ecumenical partners, met in Ocho Rios, Jamaica from 18-27 June 2006. The event was hosted by the UnitedChurch in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI) and was preceded by gatherings of youth and women. 

Setting the scene

Assembled as a global community of churches, we reflected on our present work and on the mission direction to which God is calling us at this time under the theme of “take home the good news”. We affirmed that God’s mission, rooted in the life and witness of our Lord Jesus Christ, must address concretely the challenges and opportunities presented by our different contexts.

The Assembly affirmed that the Church is called to proclaim the good news ecumenically, in dialogue, in common witness, in collaboration and in a spirit of humility so that ‘the world may believe’ (John 17:21). We acknowledge that our divisions are in direct contradiction to the unifying witness of the gospel.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit we sought wisdom and direction in positioning ourselves as CWM to rise to the awesome challenge of the 21st century, of human suffering and destruction of nature and our environment.  The Assembly also considered:

• the relationship between gospel and culture and the quest for new ways of following Jesus together.
• a resurgence of religious fundamentalisms.
• the emergence of increasingly diverse religious and pluralist societies.

We acknowledge our dependence on God’s grace and guidance as we seek to give substance to our calling. 

In our deliberations we identified the following major strands:

• the definitive nature of the local context in the church’s ministry and mission;
• the necessity of equipping the local congregation as the primary agent of mission;
• the importance of home and family;
• the relationship between healing and reconciliation;
• the translation of the major global challenges into locally relevant forms.

Shared experience

The Assembly was inaugurated with an exuberant and inspiring opening service of worship, in which the colourful and creative talents of the Caribbean were fully brought to bear on the occasion. With the Assembly theme forming the backdrop for all activities, the daily worship services featured meditations that explored the spiritual depth and breadth of the theme. The daily Bible studies with their emphasis on contextual reading, interpretation and application of Scripture, helped the Bible to speak to us in a new and powerful way.

We recognise that more care should be taken to ensure that all the diverse constituencies are heard and understood, but that also needs to find new ways of working together which do enable participation across all. The Assembly nonetheless affirmed the God-given unity of the CWM family, and acknowledged that this gift was to be valued, cherished and nurtured. We celebrated the fact that CWM is a place where the pattern and style of engagement is personal, communal and pastoral, and that our journey together is as important as our destination.

During the last Assembly we identified globalisation and economic justice, HIV and AIDS, interfaith relations, gender justice, care for the environment and new ways of being church as priority issues. There is still a need to address these in greater depth.

Declaration

We declare our ongoing commitment to the “Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Matt 28: 18-20 and Acts 1:8), and to the embodiment of mission through transformation, reconciliation and empowerment. To this end: 

• We celebrate our common life as both hearers and bearers of the good news in our global, regional and local contexts.  

• We commit ourselves to the interfacing of gospel and culture as we seek new ways of following Jesus together.

• We acknowledge that mission ‘embraces’ local knowledge and local contexts and that the good news is already embodied locally.

• We commit ourselves to deepen the relationship with our global, regional and local ecumenical partners.

• We affirm anew the conviction that the gospel invites all persons to experience fullness of life (John 10:10).

• We pledge ourselves to a faithful prophetic and compassionate pastoral approach in pursuit of God’s mission.

• We therefore commit within the next three years, to:

• building up family life, with special reference to the abuse and violence towards women and children.
• enabling and equipping young people to learn, grow and participate fully in the life and work of CWM at every level.
• building women’s capacity and potential to exercise mission and ministry, despite economic, cultural and educational discrimination.
• addressing issues of masculinity and male concern.
• building capacity to respond to economic poverty  and deprivation.
• promoting an environment of openness, mutuality and reciprocity in regard to interfaith relations.
• strengthening ministries of health and healing, with particular reference to HIV and AIDS.
• giving urgent attention to ecological and environmental stewardship.
• developing a ministry of sharing with the stranger in our midst (including migrant communities).

In recognizing the local church as a primary agent of mission, the Assembly calls on CWM and its constituencies to be more intentional about facilitating leadership development in the local congregation and resourcing churches to work together locally and regionally.

• We commit ourselves to working together in a partnership of mutual respect, in which we listen to each other, and support one another in seeking appropriate contextual responses to the challenges encountered.

• We commit ourselves to finding new ways of learning, communication and enhancing understanding cross-culturally within the CWM family.

• We pledge to take home and share the good news of our commitment to building, becoming and being a community of hope.

We celebrate, affirm and commit ourselves to the foregoing because of the conviction that the people of God in every local community around the world, however poor, weak or disadvantaged, are an integral part of God’s mission for challenging and changing all that denies people fullness of life.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

26 June 2006.