A strong wind is blowing in the household of God. Amidst the
winds of rapid social change which are raising wave after wave onto our shores
in this new century, another kind of wind has started to blow. A single yet
solitary wind which is encircling the Christian community and pulling them,
slowly, together.
Last Wednesday evening, I joined a social gathering of
church leaders, organised by the Ecumenical Centre for Research, Education and
Advocacy (ECREA), as part of its sustained dialogue process. Those in attended
represented the diversity of the Christian faith that exists in Fiji. There
were leaders of churches that are members of the Fiji Council of Churches as
well as those which belong to the Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji. There
were some who belonged to both group as well as those that belong to neither.
The general agreement in the room that evening was that it
was time that the churches in Fiji begin to seriously think about how they
could work together for the common purpose of the Kingdom of God and just as
important, how they could speak together on issues which affect the society in
which they serve. While this wind has been gently blowing for some time, with
various church leaders and civil society organisations quietly fanning the
glowing embers, all those gathered together felt that the time had now come to
fan those embers into a flame.
The Christian term for such a feeling is the awareness of “Kairos”, an ancient Greek word meaning the "right
or opportune moment." It is used to define a specific time that exists in
between regular time ("Chronos"); a moment of undetermined period of
time in which something unique and special happens. The Christian understanding
of Kairos is that “this is God’s appointed time”.
The following day, I began to facilitate a two-day symposium
on Communication Rights for Peace, organised by the World Association of
Christian Communication (WACC) Pacific and supported by the Ecumenical Centre
for Research Education and Advocacy (ECREA), the Citizens Constitutional Forum
(CCF), Fiji Media Watch and FemLINK Pacific. Many of the same church leaders
were there. Building on the momentum from the previous evening, the statement for
the International Day for Peace they collaborated on, is perhaps the first
combined statement of this magnitude by Christian leaders in Fiji for over a
decade.
The statement is a reflection on Archbishop Peter Chong’s
address at the opening of the symposium which challenged church leaders to dismantle
unequal power structures in society and to speak not only to their members but
to the context of 21st century Fijian society. The statement also
serves as an affirmation of the context in which the leaders of diverse
Christian communities can speak with one voice. It is also a proclamation to
society as well as a message of empowerment and encouragement to the members of
these faith groups on living their faith both personally and publically in
society.
Below is the full text of the statement:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of
God.” (Matthew 5:9)
We, servants of God call to lead in
Christian Churches in Fiji[i],
having reflected on the imbalance of power structures and a coup-culture in
Fiji; and the role of the Church in communicating a just, compassionate and
peaceful society; recognise that:
·
It is no
longer possible for us to pray, preach and do theology with our backs to the
suffering of the people;
·
This is an
opportune time (Kairos moment) among the Christian Churches in Fiji to move
towards working together in our common mission of the proclamation of the
gospel and to speak with a common voice on issues that affect the society in
which we live and serve;
·
Peace as
Shalom is living in active anticipation of the fullness of life; understood by
us as the gift of God through Christ.
·
Peace
begins with each person practising equality, simplicity and humility.
Peacebuilding continues especially in the midst of intolerance and injustice
existing as patron-client politics.
With one voice, we affirm that:
·
Our God is
a liberating God who hears the cries of the people (Isaiah 61:1 / Luke 4:
18,19).
·
The
Kingdom of God
o
exists
when there is peace, love, justice freedom and respect for human dignity;
o
extends
wherever God’s will is done on earth;
·
we are
called to participate with God in bringing about God’s Kingdom.
With one voice we proclaim to society:
·
The path
to democracy must be inclusive and participatory and walked in humility and
love.
·
True
democracy in Fiji includes the transformation of power structures from
patron-client to one in which people participate freely and responsibly in the
political affairs of our country.
·
True
democracy in Fiji exists when the culture of silence has been transformed into
a culture of dialogue in which all people are empowered to speak up, voice
their concerns and express themselves.
·
Faith,
both in its personal and public expression, can help us move towards democracy.
·
In the
tradition of the Prophet Micah we call:
o
For the transformation to a society of peace
where, “swords are to be beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning
hooks” (Micah 4:3)
o
For
the transformation to a society of respect, compassion and justice where, “Everyone will sit under
their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid”
(Micah 4:4).
o
For the transformation to a
society of tolerance and inclusiveness and recognition of our diversity where,
“all the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the
name of the Lord our God forever and ever.” (Micah 4:5)
With one voice, we say to our communities of
faith, the Body of Christ in Fiji:
·
We are
called to model God’s love in our day to day life.
·
We are
called to speak truth in love – that separates evil from righteousness.
·
We are
called to act with trust and faith in God’s liberation.
·
We are
called to listen to the hurt of God’s people and inspire them to hope.
·
We are
called to live in holiness, simplicity and humility.
·
We are
called to strengthen our relationships with each other and build relationships,
through dialogue with our neighbours.
·
We must
commit to working and speaking together in our common mission of contributing
to the actualisation of God’s Kingdom and God’s shalom.
We express our appreciation to WACC Pacific,
the Ecumenical Centre for Research Education and Advocacy (ECREA), the Citizens
Constitutional Forum (CCF), Fiji Media Watch and FemLINK Pacific for their
support and collaboration with us in this symposium and we affirm our
commitment to work with civil society organisations as we walk towards a truly
democratic, peaceful and prosperous Fiji.
While the International Day for Peace is on the 21st
of September, tomorrow (Thursday 19/9) there will be a “Peace Vigil” at the
Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral. The Peace Vigil, between 1.30pm to 2pm is a
space in which people can either quietly reflect on peace and the need for true
peace in our context, or they can sing or share peace messages. This will be a
wonderful opportunity to reflect on the call of these faith leaders for peace.
Regardless of our faith traditions, we can draw inspiration
from this bold and passionate message from these faith leaders, who have been
inspired to speak with one voice and commit to walking with all Fijians in the
journey to true democracy.
“Simplicity, Serenity, Spontaneity”
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