A handbook of councils and churches profiles of ecumenical relationships

Church Family: Lutheran

Africa

Eighty percent of the members are in the southern part of the country. This is the so-called Agro-Region IV and V, which is prone to drought. To equip God’s people for the ministry of all baptized persons, the church has two Bible schools where deacons, lay leaders, and volunteers in HIV/AIDS ministry are trained, and retreats and refresher courses for pastors and their spouses are conducted. The church has four hospitals, two of which have been designated Districts-Refer-ral hospitals by the government. One has also a nursing school. The church runs four primary and seven secondary schools, of which six have an “A-level” com­ponent. Nine of the schools have units for visually impaired and hearing-impaired pupils at primary, secondary and high school levels.

Some of the constraints and challenges the church is facing are the shortage of pastors and senior medical staff, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, unemployment, poverty and high inflation. The ELCZ is very grateful to its bilateral partners in mission and development (Church of Sweden, LWF, ELCA Division for Global Mission, Berlin Mission Society, VELKD, WCC and the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa-LUCSA), and to its service and development arm, the Lutheran Development Service (LDS-Zimbabwe).

Methodist Church in Zimbabwe

Church Family: Methodist

Membership: 112,529

Congregations: 1,541

District Bishops: 8

Pastors: 165

Evangelists: 13

Member of: WCC (1985) – AACC – ZCC – WMC

The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is the fruit of British Methodist mission activity in former Southern Rhodesia which began in 1891, while the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is of American origin. The church gained its autonomy from the Methodist Church in Britain in 1977. It suffered greatly during the military struggle for the liberation of Zimbabwe. It is estimated that during the decade of the 1970s church membership declined almost 50 percent. Since independence in 1980, the MCZ has been making strong efforts to build up its membership again. One of its major problems is in fact at present its growth, which necessitates large efforts to nurture the new persons coming into the church and places heavy demands on the church leadership. Another major prob­lem is the high death rate from HIV/AIDS and the many orphans who are in great need. In order to cope with the growing needs of the members there has been a great emphasis on training and about 90 percent of the MCZ clergy have been trained since 1987. Currently there are 116 ordained clergy of whom 14 are women. There are 79 student ministers and probationers of whom 11 are women.

Whereas in 1982 there were just over 16,600 young people participating in church activities, in 2003 the number was almost 54,000. The MCZ has eleven primary and nine secondary schools. In addition, there are four multipurpose community centres which are used for work among women, youth and non-church groups. The schools and centres, though belonging to the MCZ, are used ecumenically. Currently there is one missionary from the UK working with the church.

Church Family: Reformed

The RCZ has given high priority to Bible translation, production of literature in the vernacular, and to the training of pastors, evangelists and lay workers. An extensive educational programme, as well as medical services, have grown from the initial small beginnings. In addition to its various church activities, the church has a special concern for its school for the deaf and dumb at Morgenster, and the Margaretha Hugo School for the blind. The RCZ also has a number of secondary schools, a teacher-training college and a theological college, as well as two hospi­tals and several clinics.

Rapid changes in the political and social situation in Zimbabwe have meant that the church has had to find ways of adjusting itself so as to remain an effective spir­itual force in the country.

United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

Church Family: Reformed

Africa

The United Church of Christ is composed of local churches, councils, confer­ences and the general synod. It is active in evangelism, rural development, edu­cation and health care. Three vibrant evangelistic and revivalist movements con­tribute much to the life and witness of the church: the Volunteers (men’s association), Ruwadzano (women’s association) and the Youth Fellowship.

Asia

CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE OF ASIA

The Christian Conference of Asia began as the East Asia Christian Conference, which was constituted by a decision of churches, national councils of churches and Christian councils, whose representatives met at Prapat, Indonesia, in 1957. It was inaugurated at an assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1959, under the theme Witnessing Together. In the light of changing circumstances, the 1973 assembly, meeting in Singapore, agreed to change the name to Christian Confer­ence of Asia (CCA). The purpose statement of the CCA says that CCA exists as an organ and a forum of continuing cooperation among the churches and national Christian bodies in Asia, within the framework of the wider ecumenical move­ment, believing that the purpose of God for the church in Asia is life together in a common obedience of witness to the mission of God in the world. In order to be a member of the CCA, churches must “confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill their common call­ing to the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit”. National councils or similar bodies joining the CCA must also approve this basis. The CCA strives for the unity of the church in Asia, joint action in mission, Asian contribution to Christian thought and worship, sharing and fellowship among the churches in Asia and beyond, effective Christian response to the challenges of the changing societies of Asia, relationships with people of other faiths in Asia, human dignity and care for the creation.

Since the founding event, the churches and councils that form the CCA have journeyed through ten more assemblies:

The themes reflect the continuing desire of the CCA to relate the common Christian witness of the churches, which constitute a small minority in most Asian countries, to the wider context of the people, the nations and the religions in Asia. The biblical promise of “fullness of life”, not only for Christians but for all of Asia’s people, especially the poor and marginalized, has been a guiding con­cept in recent years. In pursuing this reflection, the CCA takes into account the rapid industrialization of Asia, in the framework of globalization, and its impli­cations of increasing social and economic injustice.

Among the current priorities of the CCA are the strengthening of the koinonia of Asian churches and Christian communities, the healing of divisions in the churches and society, ecumenical formation, the expansion of the ecumenical fel­lowship in Asia to involve Roman Catholics and Evangelicals, and revitalizing the

Asia

Website: www.cca.org.hk

Aotearoa New Zealand Yearly Meeting (Religious Society of Friends)

Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship

Evangelical Christian Church, Bangladesh

Anglican Church Hong Kong (Sheng Kung Hui)

Council of Baptist Churches in North East India

Presbyterian Church in India

Isa Almasih Church (GIA) (Indonesia)

Christian Evangelical Church of Bolang Mongondow (GMIBM) (Indonesia)

United Muria Christian Churches of Indonesia (GKMI)

Union of Minahasa Protestant Church (GKPM) (Indonesia)

Korean Evangelical Church

Salvation Army (Korea)

1. 
   – Diocese of Sabah
   
2. 
   – Diocese of Kuching
   
3. 
   – Diocese of West Malaysia Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore
   

Independent Presbyterian Church of Myanmar

Methodist Church, Lower Myanmar

Presbyterian Church of Myanmar

United Evangelical Church of Christ (Philippines)

Baptist Sangamaya, Sr Lanka

Anglican Episcopal Church (Taiwan)

Asia

Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand

Founded in 1994.

Objective: To strengthen ecumenism and the ecumenical movement in South Asia.

Members: National Christian Council in Nepal National Christian Council of Sri Lanka National Council of Churches – Bangladesh National Council of Churches in India National Council of Churches of Pakistan

Population: 4,098,300 Surface area: 270,500 sq.km Capital: Wellington GNI per capita: 20,310 US$ Classification: Developed economy Languages: English, Maori Religions: Christian 59%; Buddhist 1%; Hindu 1% Christianity*: Anglicans 584,793; Catholics 486,012; Protestants 656,826;

Orthodox 6,300; Independent 64,266

The indigenous people of the islands that form New Zealand, the Polynesian Maori, arrived there some 800 years ago and called it “Aotearoa – land of the long white cloud”. Britain annexed the territory in 1840 and negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi, by which the Maoris ceded their sovereignty, but retained their perpet­ual rights to the land. The treaty was violated by the colonizers, and white settlers soon outnumbered the Maoris, who lost several land wars between 1843 and 1872, but resisted the assimilation imposed by the British. In 1947 New Zealand became fully independent as a constitutional monarchy within the British Com­monwealth. In 1975 the Waitangi Tribunal was established, to deal with claims of violation of the Treaty since 1840. Maoris constitute 14 percent of the popula­tion, Pakeha (people of European descent) 80 percent, and Pacific islanders and other immigants six percent. New Zealand has a modern, developed economy, based on the export of agricultural and industrial products. The Anglican Church is the largest church, followed by the Catholics, the Presbyterians and the Methodists. These churches have in various ways provided possibilities for the Maoris to have their own jurisdiction, without separation. Similarly, there have been two ecumenical bodies, for the Pakeha and the Maori. Churches have also been the first to add Aotearoa to New Zealand in their name. An interesting form of local unity emerged in the 1980s, called “cooperative ventures” between con­gregations of different confessions. There are several Pentecostal church group­ings and independent charismatic groups, and an Evangelical network.

*statistics from Aotearoa New Zealand

Note: The Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand no longer exists. The member churches decided to close the CCANZ as of the end of 2005. A “Strategic Thinking Group” has been set up to help the churches consider new options for working together. It is hoped that a new and more broadly based national ecumenical body may emerge. Further information will be published on the website www.ccanz.net.nz .

(Maori Council of Churches)

A Maori section existed within the former National Council of Churches in New Zealand (later the Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand). In 1982, the member churches of this Maori section decided to form their own, autonomous council of churches. The aim of the Te Runanga Whakawhanaunga I nga Hahi o Aotearoa is:

“In our own life, witness, and service, to try and make more visible our unity in Christ, and promote the concerns and programmes of the ecumenical movement among our own constitutional members.”

Member churches:

Anglican Church
Baptist Union

Catholic Church

Church Family: Anglican

Membership: 650,000

Dioceses: 9

Parishes: 552

Priests: 822

Member of: WCC (1948) – CCA – ACC

Website: www.anglican.org.nz

In 1814 the Nga Puhi Maori chief agreed to protect three missionary families who had landed at Oihi in the Bay of Islands. And so, on Christmas Day that year the first Anglican sermon was preached there, and the Anglican Church was established in these islands. Despite some early problems, missionary work –

Asia

The two world wars and the depression dominated the first half of the 20th century. The characteristic feature of the post-war phase was the building of a dis­tinctly New Zealand church, with New Zealanders themselves taking the leader­ship of that church. In the fields of liturgy, social attitudes, and the place of women in the ordained ministry, the church has been increasingly confident about its own convictions and insights. The charismatic movement has also made an important contribution to the life of the Anglican Church in New Zealand. Women were first ordained to the priesthood in 1977, and in 1990 the Rev. Dr Penny Jamieson was ordained as Bishop of Dunedin, the first woman diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion.

The Anglican Church in the islands of Polynesia (principally in Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa) was established as an associated missionary diocese in 1925. In 1990, the diocese of Polynesia became a diocese in its own right.

Since the 1970s, the Maori people in New Zealand have moved out of the shadow of European dominance. The church committed itself to a re-examination of the principles of bi-cultural development and partnership stemming from a re­consideration of the Treaty of Waitangi signed in 1840 between the British crown and the Maori tribes of New Zealand. The General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui adopted a revised constitution in 1992, which provides an opportunity for Maori, Pakeha (European New Zealanders) and Polynesian Anglicans to express their own tikanga (a key Maori term, meaning way, style or culture). The church is now a partnership of three streams – Tikanga Maori, Tikanga Pakeha, Tikanga Pasi­fika, which can express their minds as equal partners in the decision-making process of the general synod, and each exercise mission and ministry to God’s people in their own ways. With the adoption of this constitution, the Church of the Province of New Zealand became the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.