Document
delivered by its general secretary John Nduna to the WCC 10th Assembly Peace Plenary
Dear general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit, dear sisters and brothers,
I bring you greetings from the ACT Alliance family on this occasion of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches.
Today I am here on behalf of the ACT Alliance which is part of the body of the church putting faith into action. The body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one body, so it is with Christ… As you know, the human body is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? We all remember the words of Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians; the church as the body of Christ.
We are here to say, “we are your hands” and we don’t mean that in an exclusive way because we know there are others who also play that role; but we belong to the body and without the body we are nothing. We spring from the life of the churches and we want to contribute to the flourishing of the body.
The ACT Alliance is composed of more than 148 churches and specialised ministries working in over 140 countries to provide humanitarian relief, supporting long-term development and engaging in advocacy on behalf of people in poverty or suffering from injustice. We have extended the voice of the churches in the global climate change negotiations, we continue to respond to humanitarian crises across the globe in a way that enhances the dignity of those most affected by involving them directly in rebuilding their own lives and livelihoods and we support the on-going drive to build the capacity of churches and specialised ministries to do their work better.
We are grateful to the WCC for making us part of this life of this 10th Assembly and pledge our continued support to sustaining global Diakonia. We congratulate the WCC for creating space for the alliance and specialised ministries to play their full part in the life of the global church and look forward to continued partnership; a partnership that is not passive but one that is active; one that leaves room for exploring boundaries and differences but always with the knowledge that we are part of one body.
This assembly has chosen a theme of justice and peace, two concepts at the heart of Christian living. For us as ACT every aspect of our work and that of our members centres on these values. In our vision statement We say, ‘in the common task of all Christians to manifest God’s unconditional love for all people, ACT Alliance works towards a world community where all God’s creation lives with dignity, justice, peace, and full respect for human rights and the environment’.
Many of our members are present at this assembly and have actively contributed to the workshops, the Madang and the ecumenical conversations. We will leave Busan energised and enriched by the spirit experienced at the assembly and through our strategies and programmes we pledge to continue the work on the shared journey to justice and peace.
God bless you all!
