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I would like to end my report by quoting the last prayer which was read in the closing worship of the conference in Zambia:
God our Father
At first creation, you set the world’s
Corner-stone in place
While the morning stars sang together
And the angels of God all shouted for joy.
In the new creation, your grace has
Dawned upon the world with healing for all.
May Christ, the sun of righteousness
Shine in our hearts forever
And draw on us to that light
Where you live in radiant glory
Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Carlos E. Ham
Zambia / South Africa, 25 March – 5 April 2004
ANEX I. Theological reflection working group
How does mission as "evangelisation" relates to mission as "development"?
- Most of us would agree that these aspects of mission cannot be separated from one another. However, most would also agree that there remains a tension between church activities that often tend to
focus on the one or the other.
- The terms "mission", "evangelisation" and "development" are highly contested and in constant need of redefinition.
- Most of us would agree that mission is God's work towards comprehensive well-being for the whole Earth community and that the church is an instrument in God's mission. However, an emphasis on
multidimensional, holistic or integrated mission does not yet help us to understand the relation between kerugma and diakonia (to mention only two aspects). The relationship between God's work and our work also calls for further
clarification.
The working group proposes that the insights emerging from the conference may be captured in the following description of mission:
To participate in God's mission is to be crying and struggling with others to live today with dignity.
This description calls for further clarification:
Why are we crying … ?
- Economic injustice
- Political oppression
- Violent conflict (domestic, racism, ethnic inter-religious)
- Patriarchal oppression
- Environmental destruction
- Disease (HIV/AIDS and other threats to health)
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