THE COMMUNION OF CHURCHES IN INDIA

We the delegates from the Church of North India, the Church of South India, and the Mar Thoma Church at the first General Assembly meeting of the Communion of Churches in India at Santhigiri, Aluva, Kerala, from March 7 – 10, 2004, thank God Almighty for enabling us to come together. The Joint Council of the CNI, CSI, and Mar Thoma Church founded in 1978, through its journey of pilgrimage of 25 years, is giving a new visible expression in the form of the Communion of Churches in India .

We affirm that we are brought together by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the vision and yearning of Jesus Christ to call humankind towards that unity which exists in the triune Godhead. Trinity is the basis, model and challenge for the unity of churches.

Diversity is to be celebrated while unity is to be affirmed. The Indian panorama is diverse, socially, culturally, religiously, economically and in several other ways. Diversity should enrich the community rather than fragment it. A similar scenario is seen in the life of the church. Therefore, respecting and accepting each other’s uniqueness amidst plurality as a reality is essential to foster the unity of the churches and humankind.

We the members assembled at this historic moment discern the growing insensitivity and intolerance in the name of gender, religion and politics, and the need to confront them with the power of reconciliation generated from the Cross of Jesus Christ.

We affirm life as a gift from God and it is our mandatory responsibility to sustain it in its fullness. The visible expression of the fullness of life should be manifested through transparency, accountability and responsibility both within the church and the wider society.

We express our concern about globalization which has resulted in the marginalization of the poverty stricken majority. ‘The feeling good’ of the upper-class minority is diabolically opposed to the deplorable life experience of the poor and marginalized majority.

Our call to the nation and government –

• We call upon the nation to uphold the secular and democratic fabric of India .
• We urge the government to ensure free and fair elections.
• We urge the citizens to utilize their voting rights discretely and dutifully.
• We call upon the government to refrain from channeling the lion’s share of the national budget to procure armaments and instead, invest in the development of the poorer sections of the society and the welfare of all the people.

Our pledge to the community –

• We express our solidarity with the growing struggles of the Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized people.
• We commit ourselves to join forces with all secular movements in actions to ‘overcome violence’.
• We pledge ourselves to give priority to inter-church and inter-faith dialogue and relationships.
• We shall endeavour to maintain the ecological balance and environmental preservation through concrete programmes.
• We shall organize women’s and children’s developmental programmes leading to their social, economic and health improvement.
• Special need based programmes will be introduced for differently abled persons.

Our recommendation to the churches –

• We recommend the churches to be on the side of women and children in capacity building and ensure the rightful status of women in the church and society and enable children to enjoy their childhood.
• We ask the churches to be involved in peace building processes in the contexts of conflicts.
• We want the churches to focus on the importance of improving the quality of family life through their participation and contribution in the church and society.
• We challenge the churches to collaborate with government, non-governmental, and faith-based organizations to eradicate from our country poverty, corruption, female infanticide, flesh trade and HIV/AIDS.
• We want the churches to understand that our minority status should not be conceived as weakness, but strength, to be like salt, light, and leaven.
• We implore the churches to evolve appropriate programmes to nurture the spiritual growth of its members with specific focus on the youth.
• We emphasize the dire need of Bible teaching, liturgical life, and personal devotion as foundational to our Christian life and mission.
• We invite churches professing the same faith and creed to join the Communion of Churches in India in this pilgrim journey towards unity which Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour prayed for – ‘so that they may be one as we are one’.
• We encourage the churches to celebrate the formation of the Communion of Churches in India , by organizing relevant programmes and projects at the grass-roots level, regional and national level in a phased manner.

In our coming together as the Communion of Churches in India , ‘the body of Jesus Christ’, our task is to illumine the Christ-likeness within us so that all may be drawn to Him who is ‘the author and perfecter of our faith’. This communion calls for commitment towards a life of sacrifice, service and witness.

We the members gathered at the first General Assembly of the Communion of Churches in India endorse this message and recommend to the churches to implement it with conviction and commitment.

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