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“We are facing many sins of profound injustice, such as casteism, racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, colonialism, economic exploitation, the unequal distribution of power and resources, and the corruption of our relationships with creation, alongside so many kinds of alienation.”
Pillay noted that these sins push people apart. “In a world like this, wounded by divisions, the churches are called to witness to the indestructible power of love to bring together and reconcile,” he wrote. “Through the faith they proclaim in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the churches are called to bear a counter-cultural witness: the hope of unity, justice, and peace.”
And yet, despite Christ’s invitation to unity, the churches continue to remain divided, Pillay wrote. “Amid this division, affecting both the world and the churches, Christ’s call to unity rings out even more profoundly,” the WCC message reads. “I hope that this gathering occasions among you an ever deeper unity in the love of God made visible in the person and presence of Christ Jesus, so that it becomes manifest in your shared faith, common prayer, sincere deliberations, and growing consensus on the many less than irenic issues facing the church itself.”
Pillay urged the Dutch Reformed Church not to lose heart. “A transformed society is achievable,” he wrote. “For with God all things are possible!”
WCC Message to the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa
