INSiGHT - February 2019 by Council for World Mission

February 2019

CONTENTS

February 2019

2 3

6 10

Pg 1 | INSiGHT

FOREWORD 2

Healing the Future: Hope for Tomorrow

DEVOTIONAL 4 5 7 8

Solidarity with the Vulnerable Prayer Worldwatch In Other News...

AT A GLANCE VIEWPOINTS 11 14 15 17 19 21 23 25 29 31 33 36

Grappling with the Legacies of Slavery The Story of Binta The Story of Albert A Reﬂection of Stories of Vulnerability Windrush Generation The Mysterious Hand of God Reﬂections from CWM’s Legacies of Hearing in Jamaica 4 Hearings, Broken Bodies & Justice The Colonial Oppressiveness of the Biblical Concept of Hospitality Poetries God’s Justice for Workers Together in Mission

TAKE A LOOK

YOUR SAY 45 46 47 49 51

“Please” is not for me Reminiscing Some Experiences as a Missionary with CWM A Good Fight Still Shamed and Shunned Class & Divide

FOREWORD

HEALING THE FUTURE: HOPE FOR TOMORROW In 2016 Council for World Mission (CWM) chose as its Assembly theme, “Healing: Hope in Action”. Over the years since then, we have been focusing on different aspects and expressions of that theme, believing that our prophetic and pastoral action, grounded in hope, could result in healing and peace for a bruised and broken society. This theme culminates in 2019 with a focus on the sub-theme, “Healing the future: hope for tomorrow”. The sub-theme speaks of a future that is inextricably intertwined with the present and the past. It acknowledges that the future is breaking in on the present and calling us into a healthy conversation with and reflection on the past without allowing ourselves to be consumed by our mistakes or those of others. Healing is the gift of God to be received and embraced as we claim the past, however hostile and painful; live with conscience and a quest for communion with others in the present, and commit to the future, where hope for something new characterises our action. Whatever the circumstances, our own or those of others, we will find that often the view of the future appears obscured by the struggles of the past or present. And yet God speaks and assures us of God’s plan of fullness of life, of hope and a future, and not harm. By God’s grace, it is within our capacity to be in conversation with and to reflect on the past, without being imprisoned by regrets or incapacitated by an impulse for bitterness or despair, that will inform the way we live in relationship with others today; and inspire us on our journey into the future. Then the “eyes of your (our) heart will be enlightened” (Eph. 1: 18, NIV) to confession and compassion; healing of the breaches will pave the way for reconciliation; and a new tomorrow, marked by patient listening and positive regard for each other and all of God’s creation, will emerge. It is hard; but therein lies the future, therein lies our tomorrow. In considering this subtheme for 2019, we have decided that children and youth, human trafficking and inclusive communities will constitute the lenses through which we engage it. We contend that tomorrow will be a better day if:

• priority attention is given to affirming and protecting the dignity and rights of our children and youth, providing space for their full participation in their own development; • human trafficking, as the cruel expression of modern-day slavery, is challenged and eradicated from trade and commerce, thereby affirming the dignity and worth of every human being; and • birth is given to a community where all are welcome, diversity embraced and living confidently and with a spirit of goodwill and generosity within a pluralistic society becomes the new epistemology. The design of our programme for 2019 takes all this into consideration and we anticipate that, in partnership with member churches and the ecumenical community, we will participate in God’s healing ministry and bring about a new day, a new season of hope in action and life in fullness for all, now. At this beginning of the year, it behoves us all to pause for quietness. Accordingly, we are all invited to give ourselves space and time to hear each other and to hear ourselves. God may be calling us to be part of the new tomorrow, where taking each other seriously defines the nature and quality of our relationships; where taking time to look into the eyes of children and young people, evokes our hearts to acts of compassion and advocacy for justice; where listening with care provides space for dialogue and understanding; and where living in responsible partnership with the environment activates and renews the life-giving breath of God for all creation.

Rev Dr Collin Cowan General Secretary

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DEVOTIONAL

SOLIDARITY WITH THE VULNERABLE By Rev Wayne Hawkins

Bible reading: Genesis 37:18-36 The brothers of Joseph are filled with envy at the preferential treatment he receives from his father and his dreams of power further incite their hatred. Genesis 37 tells the story of how the brothers conspire to be rid of Joseph and at the same time to make some money: “…they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming towards them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders.” Perhaps this is one of the first stories of human trafficking, but we know it is not the last. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported that in 2016 there were 40.3 million people trapped in modern day slavery; 15.4 million enslaved in forced marriage, 24.9 million in forced labour. This means that there are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. There are many different forms of human trafficking or modern slavery but it involves the movement or recruitment of people who are deceived or coerced with the intention of exploitation – people tricked into sexual or labour exploitation; domestic slavery or forced marriage; people forced into crime, or child soldiers or those who are exploited for the harvesting of their internal organs.

We are all vulnerable at different times in our lives, but perhaps we can turn to family or friends in those moments and find support. Modern day slavery takes advantage of people’s vulnerability and weakness to exploit and abuse them. While slavery takes many different forms the abuse of vulnerable people is common. People find themselves deceived by the promise of a wage or a better life only to discover that they lose their freedom, are sold on and enslaved. While modern day slavery is hidden it is an everyday problem and we are surrounded by people who have lost their freedom and find themselves imprisoned in plain sight. CWM places Jesus’ vision of “life in all its fullness” (John 10.10) at the centre of its missional understanding. Jesus the good shepherd speaks of a quality of life that is denied to many yet this vision continues to inspire us because we believe the world we live in is not the world God intends, and that the good shepherd will lay down his life for the world’s most vulnerable. The good shepherd’s vision and hope is in opposition to all those who come to “steal, kill and destroy.” All humanity – regardless of sexual orientation, class, gender and culture – is imbued with divine dignity and worth. This must mean as people who share this conviction, we oppose individuals and systems that “steal, kill and destroy” that dignity we find in all humanity. Remembering Jesus’ example to identify with the vulnerable, pushed out and exploited we are not to retreat into our own ‘churchy‘ world, but to stand with, alongside and for those who are more vulnerable.

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DEVOTIONAL

Bruce Birch says in Let Justice Roll Down, “God does not liberate without also calling us to the vocation of liberation. God does not confront the powers without calling us to confront them in God’s name.” We have been freed and liberated to participate in God’s mission of liberation. Or in the words of John 10.10 we enjoy “life in all its fullness” in order to share the same life with others. There is much about our world that enables thieves to “steal, kill and destroy.” Government policies and global economics that create poverty and vulnerability; corrupt organisations and systems that tolerate and support criminal gangs who traffick people; a wild consumerism that births materialism which turns away from the suffering of those who produce goods in factories that prosper on exploitation. The responsibility to end human trafficking lies with all of us. Those of who enjoy “life in all its fullness” are called to side with the weak and vulnerable rather than harbour ambitions for power and status. Christians in the developed world must look at attitudes to money – how we acquire it, use it and allow it to use us – business and profit. And the church throughout the world must raise a prophetic voice in a world where people are in danger of being trafficked and becoming traffickers. We are invited to work together to meet the demand of the gospel that all might have “life in all its fullness.”

Prayer Hospitable God Your upside down kingdom Makes room for the weakest and most vulnerable And reminds us that we too are often weak and in need. When we seek security in power and possessions Remind us that your kingdom Is discovered in the smallness of a mustard seed And the vulnerability of a child Hospitable God Confront us with the stranger in our midst. Welcoming Jesus You tell us that in caring and showing compassion to others We are caring for you. Where we overlook or ignore the vulnerable and exploited Remind us that “what you did for the least of these You did for me.” Migrant Jesus Surprise us with your presence in our midst. Welcoming Spirit You remind us that We are all one in union with Christ Where we focus more on our differences And what sets us apart Remind us that you make us one And by the power of your Spirit Transform us and your world Until that time when we together See your kingdom come On earth as in heaven. Welcoming Spirit Transform us by your power in our midst.

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AT A GLANCE

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DEVOTIONAL AT A GLANCE

WORLDWATCH

Humanity Wins You Might Have Missed Seven thousand refugees who have crossed the border of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa are about to receive full Guinean citizenship, thanks to an inclusive policy that accepts refugees. Since the government’s decision last year, the UN refugee agency has been working with a local contractor to produce and distribute ID cards, naturalisation and birth certificates for the refugees and their children, who have known no other home besides Guinea-Bissau.1 In Nigeria, building a mosque and church side by side seemed impossible after religious violence had intensified over last year. Residents in the Kudanden suburb were nervous when construction began on the new mosque, as it was situated next to a Living Faith church. But despite clashes between the two religious groups in other parts of the country, worshipers were determined to work together. The harmony in the community was aided by a memorandum of understanding established by leaders in the region. The chief of Kudanden, Gabriel Galadima, said leaders from both parties were brought together to recognize a mutual, peaceful, understanding. 2 Jews and Muslims met up at the East London Mosque to make 1,000 bowls of chicken soup for the homeless last November. This was their way of celebrating Mitzvah Day, a day of social action led by the Jewish community but involving people of different faiths and no faith. Across the UK, more than 2,500 servings of soup – kosher, halal, vegetarian and vegan – were being cooked at 20 venues, with soup-making events also taking place in Germany, Poland, South Africa and Australia. ³

UK electricity generation last year fell to a record low since 1994, with output from renewable sources rising to another record high of 33% of the total electricity in UK.4 According to charity Christian Aid, more than 5,500 churches in the UK - Catholic, Baptist, Quaker, and Methodist churches – have embraced the shift to sourcing all of their energy needs through green energy tariffs.5 It is estimated that the average annual church electricity bill is around £1,000, and British churches have diverted more than £5m from fossil fuels to clean energy providers. One of the largest faith-based divestment from fossil fuels was announced by over 40 Catholic institutions two years ago.6 Plan International Pakistan has launched a female-only rickshaw taxi service in the city of Punjab Chakwal, breaking gender stereotypes in a country where driving has been considered taboo for women. According to the International Labour Organisation, 75 percent of women don’t work due to the lack of safe transportation options, and it is estimated that less than five percent of women own a driver’s license. As these women drivers take this step towards financial empowerment, they also become role models for young girls in their communities. 7 Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in in January, promising to combat the "ideology of gender" teaching in schools, "respect our Judeo-Christian tradition" and "prepare children for the job market, not political militancy". He also called on all congressmen to help him rescue Brazil from corruption, criminality and ideological submission. 8

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/10/guinea-bissau-refugee-naturalisation-scheme https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/residents-support-next-door-mosque-and-church-despite-religious-tensions/ 3 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/18/mitzvah-day-jews-muslims-chicken-soup-east-london-mosque 4 https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-electricity-generation-2018-falls-to-lowest-since-1994 5 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/03/5500-uk-churches-switch-to-renewable-energy 6 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/03/catholic-church-to-make-record-divestment-from-fossil-fuels 7 https://plan-international.org/case-studies/breaking-barriers-pakistans-female-only-rickshaw-drivers 8 https://www.premier.org.uk/News/World/Brazil-s-new-President-promises-to-combat-ideology-of-gender-teaching-in-schools-to-respect-Christianity 1 2

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AT A GLANCE

IN OTHER NEWS... CWM Mission Development is organising a second workshop in the 2019 Consultation on Human Identities, Sexualities and Communities to focus on sexualities and disabilities. The overarching question for this consultation is ‘What is Empire doing to our humanness?’ We can trace the oppressive norms Empire has imposed on models and visions of humanness that have co-opted churches to perpetuating patriarchal and homophobic patterns of living and believing. Our diverse human sexualities and differently abled persons signify subversive lives, spirits and struggles which speak to mission in the context of Empire. The workshop will explore how subversive bodies are essential for creating the alternatives to empire where the kin-dom of God can be experienced. We will share visions of what the church looks like when it is a counter-imperial space where humanity in fullness is present in love and blessing. The aim of the programme is to develop resources and materials to support our member churches exploring these issues; deepen our understanding of mission in the context of empire and point to future programmatic developments CWM and its partners could explore.

Artistic interpretation of a transgender Jesus by Immanuel Paul Vivekanandh

Pursuing Justice and Peace for Taiwan The first Taiwan Ecumenical Forum (TEF) gathered 154 ecumenical leaders and youth representatives worldwide at the Presbyterian Bible College in Hsinchu, Taiwan last November. Themed “Asia Pacific Kairos: A prophetic call to journey together with the PCT in pursuit of justice and peace for the people of Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific”, the forum examined issues such as transitional justice for Taiwan indigenous people; women’s role in the pursuit of justice and peace; and Taiwan’s standing in the international community.

Photos by Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT)

Council for World Mission General Secretary Rev Dr Collin Cowan delivered the sermon for the opening service, reiterating that TEF is an invitation and opportunity; and a journey of discipleship in our pilgrimage towards justice and peace. Together with Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) General Secretary Rev Lyim Hong-Tiong, he also met with Taiwan Vice-President Mr Chen Chien-Jen, who graced the occasion. Mr Chen brought greetings and affirmed Taiwan’s commitment to working with like-minded countries to safeguard global core values of democracy, freedom, human rights in the Asia Pacific region.

Rev Dr Cowan delivering the sermon for the opening service of the Taiwan Ecumenical Forum in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

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DEVOTIONAL AT A GLANCE

A juridicial decree of exoneration of 1,505 Taiwanese political prisoners convicted during the “White Terror” period was held on 9 December last year. That day was the eve of the international observance of Human Rights Day. Last year marked 70 years since the aftermath of the February 28 massacre, also known as the “White-Terror” period in the 1950s for the massive suppression, murder and imprisonment of political dissidents. Taiwan Vice-President Dr Chen Chien-Jen who attended this assembly on behalf of the government, expressed that the exoneration declared to the 1,505 people is not enough for those people who suffered due to injustice. “We shall learn seriously from these historic lessons, and make the future of Taiwan become more and more progressive in the fields of human rights, freedom, democracy, and rule of law.” 2

The FJKM created a permanent National AIDS Committee in 2007, which connects church branches with representatives of FJKM schools, synods and seminaries for an integrated fight against HIV and AIDS spreading in Madagascar. It has also produced materials including sermons for pastors to talk about AIDS, educational flyers about HIV, AIDS and STDs and a booklet on HIV counselling to provide psycho-social care for those living with HIV and their families.1

Jane Thomsen, Director, Presbyterian Research Centre

Honouring women pioneers in ministry The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand Deaconess Collection was awarded a UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand award - prestigious documentary heritage status last November. Seminary students practice counseling techniques during AIDS training.

No Fear, No Shame With the theme “Do not be ashamed to be a witness for Christ”, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM) celebrated its 50th anniversary last year by promoting free HIV testing at all of its commemorative events, with FJKM President Irako Andriamahazosoa Ammi setting an example by being tested publicly last August. Although the HIV rate in Madagascar is less than 3 percent, risk factors for an explosive epidemic remain high, since there are high rates of poverty, mobility and sexually-transmitted diseases (STD).

1 2 3

Located at the Church’s Presbyterian Research Centre in Dunedin, the Deaconess Collection sheds light on pioneering women in ministry, who over 75 years served many of New Zealand’s poor and vulnerable. Besides the untold stories of these women in ministry in New Zealand, the Collection is also a rich, unique source of information about the rise of social services, gender inequality and the role of women outside the home in the 1900s. It is hoped that UNESCO’s recognition of the Collection will provide a springboard for their untold stories to be heard.3

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/witnessing-for-christ-in-the-fight-against-aids/ http://english.pct.org.tw/enNews_tcn.aspx?strBlockID=B00177&strContentid=C2019010300010&strCTID=&strDesc=Y&strPub=&strASP=enNews_tcn https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/presbyterian-deaconesses-who-served-nzs-poor-and-vulnerable-recognised-by-unesco

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VIEW POINTS

VIEWPOINTS

Grappling with the

Legacies of Slavery Picture of volunteers and staff of London Missionary Society in the 1900s.

The legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade shape the experience of millions of people in the world today, through the endemic, traumatic and intentional persistence of racial injustice, manifest in political, social, cultural, economic and religious life. These legacies cannot be written off as a thing of the past. With this in view, the Council for World Mission (CWM) decided to address the legacies of slavery with four aims in mind: • Assess its own story and complicity with the systems of enslavement and empire. • Understand better the urgency of achieving racial justice and the issues which intersect with it. • Find ways to advocate reparation with its member churches. • Discover anti-Imperial models of Christian mission in today’s world. Four Hearings were organised around the route of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. They took place through 2017 and 2018, in the UK, in Ghana, in Jamaica and in the USA. Concern was voiced early in the process that the Hearings would be talk without outcome. The core group became mindful that the Hearings were in danger of making African and African descendent people relive the traumas of racism without creating space for White people to address and own their part in racism and White privilege. The outcomes of this report cannot allow this either. These Hearings put CWM under a burden of trust. The exposure of the sins of racism past and present must not be obscured or evaded. 11 | INSiGHT Pg 88 | INSiGHT

CWM began to right the wrongs of its colonial past in 1977, by dismantling the Euro-centric basis of the mission relationships in the organisation. CWM became an organisation built on mutuality and partnership, sharing ideas, resources and people in mission as equals. The core group is confident that CWM can once again summon the will, hope and joy of committing to further this urgent task as it confesses and confronts the sin of racism in our history, present, churches, communities and systems.

Biblical reflections on hearing Ending the silence From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia[c] my suppliants, my scattered ones, shall bring my offering. Then they will pasture and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid. 14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies. Zephaniah 3: 10, 12,14

Depiction of Prophet Zephaniah

The Hearings gave opportunity to listen to many voices. The Prophet Zephaniah the son of Cushi is a Black voice to hear in the text. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah who prophesied in the days of Josiah, ruler of the Kingdom of Judah (B.C. 641-610). His name reveals that Zephaniah was Black. His father was probably a Kushite (Sudan or Ethiopia geographically) who had a child with a Hebrew woman. Another possibility is that he was possibly a Hebrew with dark skin that resembled Kushites, and was named such because of his skin. Kedar, Abraham’s grandson was also named so, because of his dark skin. The Core group raises a Black voice from the biblical text, because the Hearings reflected how such voices and characters have been silenced and made invisible in White dominated readings. Zephaniah invites restoration and healing and testifies to the joy which will flow from sharing in such sacred prophetic tasks. The Church needs to listen to the Zephaniahs of our text and contexts.

Calling out complicity and treachery The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them— that all should set free their Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should hold another Judean in slavery. And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that all would set free their slaves, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again; they obeyed and set them free. But afterwards they turned about and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them again into subjection as slaves. Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by granting a release to your neighbours and friends; I am going to grant a release to you, says the Lord—a release to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Jeremiah 34: 8, 11, 17

VIEWPOINTS One of the key repeated statements in the Hearings has been to ‘call out’ the systematic and persistent racism of Whiteness. White people and systems have been deceitful, deceptive and racist. For example, British history is often told as if this were the nation who abolished the slave trade, forgetting conveniently their complicity in founding it and the centuries of profit from it. The real and appalling truth, however, is that when slavery was finally outlawed, in the British Empire, the people who were compensated were the enslavers and not the enslaved. In 1833, Britain used £20 million, 40% of its national budget, to pay compensation to the slave owners. The amount of money borrowed for the Slavery Abolition Act was so large that it wasn’t paid off until 2015. Even after the act of emancipation slaves were expected to continue to work on the plantations as ‘apprentices’. This was slavery in all but name, as the apprenticeships were for up to six years and were without pay. There is a great deal White people and systems need to confess and restore. It cannot be said that this is all in the past, that African and African descendent people should just ‘get over it’ and move on.

Contested memories and silenced communities To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.” Luke 7:31-32 The Hearings made clear that the legacies of slavery are often contested by powers who profited from enslavement and who benefit still from the legacies of inequality in our economic system. African and African descendent communities have made their demands for change to come in acts and voices of protest, sacrifice, endurance and grace and all too often they have been ignored by White interests who have sought to silence them or to ‘correct’ or moderate them. The Hearings have taken place expecting a response. They are music for a new dance and an outpouring of grief and anger to provoke weeping and more.

Living the values of fullness of life for all creation, and resisting the norms of Empire we participate in God’s alternative’.

Recommendations: Healing, Hope and Action

Dancers performing for the Africa Hearing

Listen! Then if we have ears The Message to Philadelphia: ‘And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens: ‘I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut’ Revelation 3: 6-8 The spirit in which the Hearings took place are offered then as a doorway God has opened. Through this doorway change can come because the Spirit is speaking in the witness and leading of African and African descendent people. Where else should the Spirit turn but to a mission organisation? A mission organisation which recognises its complicities with Empire and seeks “Fullness of life Through Christ, for all Creation”, which ‘envisages a different world, a world inspired by the values of love, justice, peace and compassion. As CWM has said, ‘Our vision inspires us to action, to decisively and urgently live out our faith, walking together as partners in God’s mission and working in harmony with the whole of God’s creation for its freedom and wholeness.

The Hearings calls for CWM to be an agent of restorative justice that it might realise its own theme of Healing: Hope in Action. In the light of all we have heard and shared CWM must begin with acts and liturgies of concrete apology which lead to hopeful action and healing relationships. Healing the memories, traumas and injustices of the past and present calls for action rooted in the desire to confess and make reparation. Such action invites restoration for all and healing can begin as a gift of God’s Spirit amongst us. This is the hope we feel Christ has in CWM now, who has journeyed with us as an unseen participant and ancestor in each of these Hearings. The hope of Christ is seen in his power to rise up in the face of the forces of death and Empire to announce fullness of life for all, and we invoke this hope as an ever-flowing stream into the work of these recommendations: • Call for apology • Call for action on reparation • Call for action on whiteness • Call for the promotion of Black cultures and power • Call for theologies, missiologies and methodologies which amend for our colonial past • Call for programmatic development of the Legacies of Slavery findings • Call for further study and engagement • Call to others to join

Moments of realisation for some of the UK Hearing participants

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VIEWPOINTS

Visiting the national memorial in Montgomery, Alabama that commemorates victims of lynching allowed participants to connect the legacies of slavery with civil rights movements that confront racism in America today.

A word from the General Secretary Council for World Mission (CWM) has come a long way to have been daring enough to provide space for the Hearings on Legacies of Slavery to take place. In my role as General Secretary of CWM, and as one whose ministry, work and being have been devoted to overcoming the legacies of slavery in my own context and life, I regard this project and its outcome as strategic to the mission of CWM. Christian organisations, including our antecedent bodies, have been complicit in the active and systematic dehumanising and impoverishing of peoples and that they did so in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name. The deep feelings of hurt, is like Abelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blood crying out from the ground, calling for action towards healing and reconciliation and peace. If there is any organisation, with the historical encounters with suffering and struggle, that can hear these stories and rise to the challenge, it is CWM.

In 1977 CWM emerged as a way to dismantle our colonial mission past. We responded to the just calls of that moment in a spirit of joy and hopefulness and we can do so again. In a sense, this past has not been fully dismantled; we are still in a process of dismantling the power dynamics that divide and conquer. The Legacies projects calls on us to continue casting out the colonial evils of racism that violate the gift of community, the meaning of church and the integrity of creation. The Legacies Hearings also invite us to prayerfully consider the call to restorative justice as concrete signs of repentance and renewal. I invite us to step forward with fresh zeal, passion, commitment and courageous response to say, in our spirit of mutuality and mission, that we give ourselves to this journey; that we will embrace Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision of justice and peace; and that we will work towards fullness of life for all creation. May the God of justice stir us to act with holy outrage, causing the world to experience freedom and renew their faith in the God of life. ~ Rev Dr Collin Cowan

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I met Binta in a shelter for teenage Mums in Utrecht, Netherlands. She was nineteen years old and has a three month old baby son. Binta whispers and does not look you in the eyes. She does not talk spontaneously. Binta was born in Sierra Leone, where she lived with her parents. As a child she had a good life, her Mum took good care for her, she was a lovely Mum. Then, during the war her Dad died. Binta does not say how he died. When Binta reached the age of 15, her mother became ill and passed away. Binta has been to primary school, but after primary school she had no further education.

THE STORY

OF BINTA by Eva Hezemans

From the moment her Mum died, an uncle was responsible for Binta and her sister. The uncle forced Bintaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister to marry but her sister refused. The uncle hit her so hard that she was seriously injured. Because of a lack of money it was not possible to visit a doctor and so her sister died of her injuries. Now it was Bintaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s turn to marry. She was forced to marry an old man. After just a few months this husband died. Then her uncle forced her to marry an even older man. Binta escaped to her stepmother, the second wife of her father. In this village she met a Dutch man, who showed compassion, by telling her how sorry he was for her being so young and having so many troubles. He promised her that he would help her if she would go with him to the Netherlands. Binta did not trust him, but the man visited the stepmother and convinced her of his good intentions. Binta went with him to the Netherlands, where she then was locked up in a flat. The Dutch man brought men, with whom she was forced to have sex. After four weeks she escaped this situation, and after several shelters Binta came into Utrecht. Now Binta has many physical and mental problems. She feels pain all-over her body and she has a lot of heavy headaches. She sleeps badly and has nightmares. Binta does know the father of her son, but she does not know him well. They do not have a relationship. The father did not see his son, and Binta does not know how or where to contact him. Though she is very happy with her son. She is very proud seeing him learning new things. She sings the songs for him that her mother sang for her when she was a child. Sometimes her son cries, and that troubles her. Sometimes she has headaches and finds it very difficult when her son does not want to sleep and cries. How will this mother and son find a good way to live?

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THE STORY OF ALBERT by Isobel McFarlane, Media Officer, Salvation Army

Albert, of British Nationality, always worked from leaving school. He says he got his work ethic from his father, who worked in the mines after serving his time in the infantry during the Second World War. Albert is a loner who never married, or had long term relationships. He has a simplistic outlook on life, with little real ambition or specific goals. He lived with his Mum and worked for a cleaning company, eventually becoming a manager. Over this time of thirty years he accrued a small pension. His mother died when he was 57 and from that moment on his life dramatically changed. He found he was unable to cope with any responsibilities, and eventually became homeless having suffered an emotional and mental breakdown. Whilst he was waiting to be allocated a bed at a night shelter he was approached by two men. He was offered work, accommodation, food and alcohol. Albert was vulnerable at this time and decided to join them.

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Albert was made to share a damp caravan with three other men and put to work laying concrete slabs and other sorts of groundwork/hard landscaping from 6am to 10pm, six days a week. The money he was promised was never given to him and when he complained about his conditions he was physically assaulted and forced to sleep outside with no shelter. Albert was too frightened to escape knowing the traffickers had a large extended family. He was sold for £3,000 to another family and moved to a different area on another site. He suffered these conditions for another four years, including being forced to drive uninsured vehicles and cold calling for work when told. He eventually escaped whilst working on a tarmac drive and took a train to London. He asked the Transport Police for help and they directed him to The Salvation Army homeless unit. Whilst at the unit, Albert was identified as a Potential Victim of Trafficking (PVOT) and entered into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). It was decided in his case that there were a lot of unsafe areas for him so The Salvation Army arranged for him to come into the care of the Medaille Trust and allocated to a safe house in the Hampshire area. On his arrival he presented as malnourished, disorientated, and scared. After initial medical assessments, risk assessments, and sensitive information gathering he was able to relax and begin the process of Rest and Reflection, having attained his Reasonable Grounds status within five days.

Although still vulnerable, Albert focussed on his future and felt he could “breathe” for the first time in a long time. Albert did not come with any alcohol or drug issues although his living skills needed to be addressed. During his stay at the safe house, staff were informed a bank account had been fraudulently opened and claims for Housing Benefit paid in. We were able to prove this was not under Albert’s control and although he has no local connections, the fact he had come from an area under threat of harm, the local Council managed to get him into a self- contained supported flat. Albert now spends his retirement volunteering in a charity shop and enjoys the communal entertainment and clubs where he lives. He is part of an on-going investigation regarding the travelling family, and intends to seek compensation if a conviction is upheld. Staff at the safe house were able to help him obtain assistance from outreach support agencies who continue to work on his behalf. Albert is now 65 years old, and we feel he has successfully reintegrated into the community. He remains grateful for all the support and direction received from The Salvation Army and the Medaille Trust.

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A REFLECTION OF STORIES OF By Wayne Hawkins

Vulnerability is a common human experience. We all know something of what it is like to feel vulnerable, perhaps through bereavement or loss; through arriving in a strange place or simply feeling emotionally dislocated and therefore vulnerable. At such times we are particularly susceptible to be exploited and taken advantage of – this is the story of both Binta and Albert. Binta is vulnerable following the death of her father and mother. In her bereavement she is placed in the care of an uncle who exploits her vulnerable state and eventually married her off to an elderly man. A seemingly ‘friendly’ meeting with a Dutch man sees her vulnerability further taken advantage of and she is trafficked and used as a sex worker in the Netherlands. Albert, like Binta, is already a vulnerable person when he experiences the life changing loss of his mother and he finds himself unable to cope with even the most ordinary of everyday choices and decisions. Whilst in this vulnerable state he is exploited for his physical labour and then sold like a ‘slave.” Albert’s story demonstrates that human trafficking is not something which happens to other people in other places, but can be very close to home and can happen to people like you and me. Both Binta and Albert experience personal vulnerability which is further exploited by people who take advantage of them for their own benefit. They are hoodwinked or duped into thinking people are their friends when they are in fact, looking to exploit them. Both survive in appalling living conditions and are unable to gain their freedom, until they manage to effect an escape and contact the authorities, who are able to offer them support and assistance.

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It is in the very nature of human trafficking that the people who experience this modern form of slavery are invisible. They are frequently locked and hidden away, even those in plain sight are often so terrified they are unable to seek help or speak out. Enrique Iglesias as president of the Inter-American Development Bank, said “The next century will be fascinating and a cruel century.” Given humanities scientific, technological and philosophical advances, human trafficking is absolutely inhumane and an example of pure wickedness.

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Of course, it would also be true that traffickers themselves can have deep-seated vulnerabilities and their participation in trafficking people expresses something of that vulnerability. But this can be no excuse for trafficking and its life devastating effects on people and their families. The Bible is replete with the stories of people who experience vulnerability and sometimes further exploitation. Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers was made vulnerable by their cruelty and lies (Genesis 37:12), he is further exploited by slave traders and Potiphar’s wife which lead to him being imprisoned. A sizeable chunk of the Hebrew Scriptures re-tells the story of the conquest and exile of both Judah and Israel. As victims caught up in conflict they are displaced and vulnerable, many are taken away into exile where they are put to forced labour. It is in this context of being far from their homelands that the people ask “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psalm 137:4). But also that these same displaced people develop new ways of synagogue worship when they find themselves without the temple and shape the Genesis creation stories in contrast to the creation myths of their oppressors.

When we turn to the gospel stories we discover that Jesus experiences vulnerability in a variety of ways throughout his life. His birth into poverty and homelessness, his forced migration to Egypt and throughout his ministry “no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Ultimately Jesus is taken by force in a darkened garden, tried against his will and executed because of his opposition and outspoken message of hope to the most vulnerable and exploited of his time. Even at the point of death Christ demonstrates care for the perpetrators of his own death and offers them forgiveness ((Luke23:34). In so doing, Christ’s challenge is decidedly uncomfortable as it calls us to care not only for the victim of trafficking but the trafficker. Pause and reflect: • In a moment of stillness can you think how Binta’s and Albert’s vulnerability might relate to your own experiences? Have you felt taken advantage of or has your vulnerability exploited by others? • How does Christ call us to respond to the traffickers and those who exploit the vulnerability of others? • How might your congregation participate in campaigns against human trafficking? For example, www.stopthetraffik.org

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Windrush Generation: Yes, we can sing the Lord’s song while in a foreign land!

by Rev Dr Sangkhuma Hmar

Rev Dr Sangkhuma with the members of the Windrush Generation.

In April 2018, many children of the Windrush Generation lost their livelihoods, and were brought to detention centres as they awaited deportation back to the Caribbean. These tragic news stories should not overshadow the achievements of the Caribbean community in Britain as they commemorated the 70th anniversary of this pioneering generation. Rather, it had cost them the opportunity to reflect upon the resilience, struggles and sacrifices of mainly young pioneers who came to Britain with “open hearts and hope in their eyes” to build a better life for Britain, themselves and their families. This, too, has happened in Wales. The Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) took their plight seriously and sent a letter to the Home Secretary in London expressing its solidarity and also had a debate on its progress during their General Assembly in Wrexham. Last year, a few people of Caribbean descent who settled in Wales had the opportunity to revisit their stories from Windrush Generation by organising events and rallies under the leadership of the “Windrush Elders”.

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They wanted to rediscover themselves, how they produced leaders like those from the Babylonian exile and pass their culture, experiences and journeys on to the younger generation. Those interviewed are retired steel workers, council workers, bus drivers and nurses who shared their stories with mixed feelings even though they were very positive as committed Christians. What is most encouraging to see is how their Christian faith has helped and sustained them through the changing circumstances of life. Some had experienced being refused to serve in shops and colleagues’ refusal to sit next to them; being stopped by the police four times in one day while driving just because he was an ethnic minority. Another recounted that a patient kicked her in the chest, while another told her to take her “black hands” off him. Another encouraging development from Windrush Generation was the formation of home based or community churches in Wales.

Since they felt that they are not welcomed by the established churches at the time, they formed their own fellowship in Newport, Cardiff, Port Talbot and Swansea where they provided a place to meet, worship God, have their culture and their ethnicity affirmed. They also provided a place to share their stories, gain spiritual strength and learn and develop skills in an informal setting and then put those skills to good use in the wider community and caring for others. They felt that things are very different for second generation Windrush descendants. Wales is multicultural now, and some people are kind and encouraging towards them. Both the middle-aged and youths feel that they are now more welcomed, accepted, appreciated, and valued by the churches and the communities they are now part of, even as they continue striving for equal treatment. Some of the first Windrush Generation are now able to “sing the Lord’s song in their newfound land” with a spirit of love, healing, hope and forgiveness.

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The elders of the Windrush Generation who survived the migratory journey from Jamaica to England on the HMT Empire Windrush.

Their religious fervour has impacted other black and ethnic minority Christian groups that have been inspired and influenced by their passionate worship, dynamic and inspirational preaching and powerful singing. Not only that, even those in established churches who had once rejected them have invited them back to use their church buildings for worship and fellowship! So a new expression of “migratory church” and “intercultural mission” have emerged. This will help the church to rediscover its missional impulses to re-evangelise Britain again.

Hearing their moving, inspiring stories will make you realise that the first generation of Caribbean people had a strong sense of identity, a community spirit and strong Christian values, which enabled them to overcome the cold indifference, racism (which resurfaced in Brexit) and hardship they encountered, and make a life here. For example, a Jamaican-born theologian was twice rejected from his application for a full-time ministry position whilst in London, but was later accepted by and joined the PCW and is now enjoying his retirement in Wales.

One of the main issues many from the first “Windrush Generation” at the events spoke of is that racism still exists even if it is more covert now. In partnership with the PCW through Cytun (Churches together in Wales), Evangelical Alliance Wales and Race Council Cymru, these passionate and loving Caribbean Christians are developing relationships with the wider church community and the Welsh Government. They speak out about the racism they encountered from their fellowship with white Christians and are also asking the government to do more for them.

The visit of the Jamaican High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr. Seth George Ramocan who met the Welsh government, the Windrush elders and the young people last year was another encouragement. No community decides its future alone. Whatever it means for the Windrush Generation to be Caribbean, Black, Asian and British is a political task.

A booklet is being prepared to provoke small or home group discussions on whether our response to racism and immigration can be conducted on more Christian terms. The booklet also aims to educate people to appreciate and value the difference Windrush Generation has made to Welsh society, particularly their fight for a more just and fairer society, and celebrate diversity through Black History Cymru in October with a slogan – “We are Wales and black history is a key part of that. The school curriculum should better reflect the multi-cultural population”. Rev Dr Sangkhuma Hmar is a CWM Partner in Mission, assisting two Presbyteries in South Wales for lay leadership development and equipping local congregations in mission. He is also working as Support Network Coordinator for Black and Asian Minority Ethnic Christian groups in Wales in partnership with Cytun and Evangelical Alliance of Wales.

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THE MYSTERIOUS HAND OF GOD by Keon Heywood, Guyana Congregational Union (GCU)

Old people say, “God works in mysterious ways,” but sometimes it is not always easy to see the mysterious Hand of God in all areas of life. However, I have come to accept that God is Spirit, and He is everywhere, and in everything, and that His Presence and Purpose are sometimes revealed in the unexpected. Oftentimes, He challenges His children by allowing them to face circumstances they would usually avoid and then, there are those times when He commands them to speak on issues which are otherwise shushed. My experience at the Council for World Mission’s Legacies of Slavery Hearing in Kingston, Jamaica, February 2018, has caused me to come to grips with the fact that nothing is taboo for the Almighty God, that His Response in the face of human weakness and confusion is, “Bring it to Me… let Me show you what I can do!” I was one of three representatives from the Guyana Congregational Union and was excited to be a part of this team, because I always had a desire to learn more about African culture. In my view, not enough information about Slavery and African history is easily accessible, and I saw the Legacies of Slavery project as an opportunity to dig in, to share and to learn. I remember as a teenager, at one of our Bible Study Meetings, I asked questions about slavery. My Minister gave a quick response and carefully diverted our attention to something else. I remember feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with his response, but that did not stop my curiosity. My questions lingered. In Jamaica, a few of those questions resurfaced – Where was God during Slavery? Who is God? Why was this evil thinking and behaviour perpetuated by an empire for so long? Why was the Church silent? Why was the Church complicit with this evil act? Would I be a Christian if it were not for Slavery? Is the Church telling the truth about her history? Is Christianity another form of Slavery? Why are there people of African descent who are still not economically empowered, when most of the world’s existing empires acquired great wealth from the Slave Trade? Why is it that many people of African descent are still being victimised and discriminated against, to this day? 21 | INSiGHT

Over four days, we examined the Legacies of Slavery from various perspectives; this was an exhilarating engagement. The presentations and discussions included Academic, Religious, Historical, Socio-Political, Cultural and other contemporary views on the subject matter. A positive impression was that the Church was talking about Slavery and it was not in a superficial way. I can only now understand why my Minister treated my questions about Slavery the way he did. I am not sure I might have been able to accept or process what he would have said to me. As I journeyed with the other participants at the Legacies of Slavery Hearing, it was clear that to speak about Slavery is very uncomfortable, but it is also necessary. As the meeting progressed, something unexpected was happening; I became increasingly bitter. Each day was full. Each day I endured a resurgence of hurt, anger, disappointment and a sense of powerlessness. I was angry at the fact that in Jamaica, colourism is so pervasive that many young people believe that they need to bleach their skin to feel accepted by society. I felt powerless when I learnt of Haiti’s history and the Independence Debt the country paid to its colonizers, which subsequently helped to cripple its economy. I was disappointed that, although Congregationalists were the pioneers of education to people of African descent in my own country (Guyana), the prevalence and influence of Congregationalism seems to be declining, and that many young persons do not wish to identify with ‘the slave Church’. But, I was heartened by the fact that CWM has finally engaged its Member Churches in a serious conversation about the Legacies of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. It was very easy to become consumed by hate, and a depraved state of thinking and being. However, it was the Acts of Lamentations at the close of each day which seemed to quell my anger and cause my heart to bend towards justice. Each night participants were given an opportunity to feel, to vent and to lament without fear of judgement. These Acts validated my feelings and my humanity.

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Instead of hate and wishes for the cruellest form of retribution to fall upon the enslavers and colonisers, there was a deep spiritual stirring within. Most nights, as I retired to bed, I wept as I was led by the Holy Spirit to engage in deliberate and specific Prayer. I prayed for my relatives, friends and other people of African descent who have not been exposed to these kinds of conversations, who are still suffering from the effects of Slavery, but are afraid to speak or cannot see the link between their current experiences and the events of the past. I prayed for the Church, CWM and those organisations that challenge the perpetuation of systems and cultures in which people are oppressed. I prayed for those who condone Slavery and all other forms of evil, that they would encounter the Divine, and experience grace and mercy. I also prayed for myself; that God would heal my wounds and restore my faith. It felt as if I was in Jamaica for much longer than 4 days, and it did not occur to me until we were singing the closing hymn, that the Mysterious Hand of God had performed a major surgery. The Legacies of Slavery Hearing in Kingston, Jamaica, was not merely another retelling of history. For me, it was the birth of a movement. It was an opportunity for the Church and CWM to self-critique, join in the advocacy for real justice and reparation for people of African descent, provide a space for awareness, healing and education, to commit to act on issues of relevance in our world and to challenge ourselves to develop a greater vision for the Church. We were no longer turning a blind eye to the pain of those who are suffering. We were moved to solutions. We were being true to our theological statement: Mission in the Context of Empire.

Fast forward to the beginning of May 2018; the Mysterious Hand of God was still at work. I was having dinner with a friend who is agnostic. From time to time, she and I would converse about Faith and Art. We took delight in challenging each other’s views. The conversation went something like this: Me: “I’m going to become a Minister.” Her: “Yay! So, you’re finally getting into politics! Which party are you joining?” Me: “No, not politics, a Minister of Religion…I’m going to Seminary to become a Pastor.” Her: “How can you, an Afro-Caribbean man, and an Artist, ever be comfortable with being a Pastor?” Me: “What’s uncomfortable about that? A Pastor fits right into my line of work. I can use the Arts to share the Word of God in a fun and more accessible way. I can also use my experiences and theological training to help people, to teach, to heal, to make the world a better place.” Her: “What about slavery? What about the fact that the oppressors of your ancestors have now become your god? Has there been any healing for people of African descent?” I smiled, and before I responded I whispered a little Prayer. Two hours later, the topic had changed. We were now talking about Poetry and Dance. There was no love lost between us, and I had a better understanding of my Call to the Pastoral Ministry. My life’s work is only just beginning!

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Reflections from CWMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legacies of Slavery Hearings in Jamaica by Bianca Gallant, Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN)

This is my sharing in the context of the Legacies of Slavery Hearings held by CWM (Council of World Mission) in London, Accra, Kingston and the US. I was also invited to attend the hearings in Kingston. What struck me in both, London and Kingston, was that both places have an actual history with each other - from coloniser and colonist, from slave-owner to enslaved and from emancipator to emancipated. It is also the fact that African-American people have especially suffered so much from what is now history. This factual history is comparable to the relationship between the Netherlands and Suriname. In Jamaica, the conversation took place in the context of the largest colony and sugar producer in the Caribbean. From this point of view, the stories were told about the history of colonisation, the resistance of Africans, the guilt of missionaries, the missed opportunities in the church and the contemporary experiences of Jamaicans, Haitians, Grenadians and Guyana.

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Alan Yates, former Moderator of General Assembly of the United Reformed Church (URC) and Ms Kenalsha Hazel of Guyana Congregational Union (GCU) at the Jamaica hearing.

The legacy after slavery is still clearly visible and palpable in Jamaica. The fact that so much material and mental wealth has been removed there and never sufficiently compensated is regarded as the most important cause of the backwardness of an individual and their country. Jamaica has literally been plundered and people are mentally deprived of their own African culture, values and norms. This also by the church at that time. Meanwhile, the church has taken on a very important role in Jamaica. This was clearly visible during our visit to the North Street Congregational Church where a childcare centre and a school were connected to it. A trip to a maroon village gave, as a beautiful contrast, the power of the Jamaican. This maroon village is completely independent of the state and, among other things, arranges this kind of excursions for self-reliance. At the hearings, one of the recommendations to CWM was that churches need to be more active in the process of achieving racial equality. Although in the Netherlands this point is on the agenda, both secular and in the church, my recommendation would be the same to 'the church' in the Netherlands. Let us (the church in the Netherlands) not only use moments like Keti Koti (abolition of slavery day) and December 5th (Sinterklaas & Black Peet), but also other moments of the ecclesiastical agenda to have a podium for this conversation and also to give a position on this.

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4 Hearings,

B Roken Bodies & justice by Rev Dr Michael N. Jagessar

â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śthe shortest way to the future is always one that involves a deep understanding of the past.â&#x20AC;? [AimĂŠ CĂŠsaire, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Culture and Colonisationâ&#x20AC;?, 1956:196]

Every human being is precious in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes and to enslave another person robs them of their humanity. Such is contrary to Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offer in Christ of full life for all. This reflection comes from one who is currently located in the United Reformed Church (URC), hails from the Caribbean (Guyana to be specific), and who was invited to participate as one of a group of listeners for the Council for World Missionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (CWM) initiated â&#x20AC;&#x153;Legacies of Slavery Projectâ&#x20AC;? (Legacies). I participated as I believe the project offers a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;kairos momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for CWM and its member Churches. The four hearings (UK, Ghana, Jamaica, USA 2017-2018) were necessary, painful, and challenging while serving as testimonies to the pervasive nature of racist powers, privilege and systemic structures. Legacies is not about bygone raping of a whole continent and its people: for many the ongoing effects continue to flourish in many forms: enslaving minds, wounding bodies, internalising lack of self-worth, persistent forms of racialised thinking that continue to shape social realities, and impoverishing communities of African and African descendent people. The Door of No Return at Elmina Castle in Ghana. Slaves were led through this door and to never return to African soil.

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As the hearings progressed, it was evident that participants grew in and engaged with a greater awareness of how oppressive habits rooted in mentalities, spiritualities and systems intersected. The inordinate desire for wealth/profit stood out as we grappled with the massive scale of the commodification of black bodies for profit through dehumanisation and exploitation.

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After four black girls were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, Welsh artist John Petts created and gifted them with a replacement stained glass window of a black Jesus beneath a rainbow of racial unity.

If the Jesus way of an economy of full life for all is what we are about as people of the way, then CWM and its Member Churches’ mission/vocation ought to be clear. It must be geared towards an economy of full life for all. Embodying freedom in Christ must be about freeing ourselves and others, identifying and countering the false economies that rob God’s creation of fullness. This must commence with a confession accompanied by an apology and made real in concrete acts of restorative justice. Healing memories, traumas and injustices of the past and present calls for action rooted in the desire to confess and make reparation. Surely this is what the Spirit is calling us to act upon and live out.

It was carried out by people who belonged to the body of Christ. Churches remained largely silent and was even part of the exploitation (intentionally and unwittingly). There were, though, a few dissenting voices within the ecclesial communities late in the trade. How could such an evil be allowed to thrive and perpetuate for several centuries? Where were the Christians? And if the progeny of those who have been hurt/dehumanised/ brutalised/exploited have been asking of the nations who were responsibly for that trade of human bodies and those who unknowingly may have benefitted from the wealth generated from the exploitation for an apology why is it not forthcoming?

While, an apology cannot undo harmful past actions, it can serve as a step to help address the ongoing negative legacies of those actions. This means not blaming anyone else and not making excuses for what the ancestors did. Hence, an effective apology must be clear, accepting responsibility for both action or inaction. Can this generation of CWM European member churches take this such a step of acknowledgment and apology? We have listened to one another. We have heard the pain of hurting sisters and brothers. The time has come for us to act.

Words with grit that bite – discipleship is costly

In 1970 when the late German Chancellor Willy Brandt visited Auschwitz, he fell on his knees in that place and begged for forgiveness for and apologised on behalf of his nation. Brandt, though himself imprisoned and persecuted by the Nazis, recognised the power of seeking forgiveness and apologising. Apologising acknowledges that the progeny of enslaved peoples had reasons to be hurt and angry. It is an empowering ritual as it communicates an acknowledgement of the injustice caused.

An apology carries the potential to repair harm, mend relationships, offer balm for wounds, and heal broken hearts. But for the potential to be realised it means we must ‘be in it for it to happen’. Repair and mending must take some concrete form of restoration/reparation. It is what constitutes justice. Taking responsibility through restitution or a promise to act is one way of recognising the evil of what happened and ensuring that such will not be repeated. Also, an apology will require interrogating identity and a disrupting of the stories we tell of ourselves (individuals, nations, ecclesial bodies etc).

How CWM and member Churches respond to the findings/ recommendation from these hearings must be intentional and work in progress with at least four inter-related conversation points. I would wish to challenge myself and my own ecclesial family (the URC) to this end. Apology as a necessary first-step The Transatlantic Slave Trade resulted in the exploitation, hurt, and death of millions of Africans.

Reparation as practical outworking

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VIEWPOINTS Given Europe’s narrative around freedom, equality, self-determination, and belonging, apologising for what happened during the Transatlantic Slave Trade is a call to confront fundamental historical and national myths: for instance, Europeans were not who they thought they were! This will require much pain in the soul-searching and much wrestling with what shape(s) restorative justice will take. Sacred conversation on all forms of exceptionalism including whiteness

The sanctity of whiteness depends on the demonising of blackness. Hence, every slave rebellion was represented as bloody and cruel – but not so for slavery! The enslaved were the brutes, not the colonialists. Historically, Black bodies have been marked by specific tags, which reinforce antiquated ideas in popular imagination that ultimately serve particular racialized and geopolitical purposes. Hence the need to return the gaze on whiteness, exceptionalism and our inherited theologies. This would not be easy: denial, diversion and push-backs are to be expected. A common rhetorical move to side-step this scrutiny and any consequent responsibility to wrestle with whiteness/exceptionalism is to claim another historical narrative

An urgent and critical need is for serious conversations around whiteness, exceptionalism and privilege. The theologies we have inherited come steeped in all three. These are so entrenched and invisible that good intentions largely fail to undo what is systemic and the legacies continue to rob us of ‘fullness of life’. Lack of scrutiny and honest conversations help these to remain intact through entitlement to rights and resources, knowledge production, comfort and attention, access to space, and deference etc. While exceptionalism is multifaceted, in the case of White Slaves picking coffee on a plantation. Source - Eon Images. Image date: ca. 1858. Exceptionalism the primary motive is to justify the (also one of oppression), claiming material dispossession of non-white ethnic/class/social identity or another people. identity that crosscuts whiteness. Distancing selves from the unpalatable For this colonial project to work one “guilt” of whiteness by claiming an needs an ideology to make the other additionally disadvantaged status less than human to exploit their (members of oppressed groups) bodies/beings with a clear conscience. deflects the fact of being recipients of We see it in slavery, empire, the some benefits as members of the various ‘make great again’ mantras, dominant racial group. A privilege of borders, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, whiteness is the ability to choose to be and much more. The need to keep oblivious to the effects of race and “Others” or anything that is not exceptionalism. But we need to normative in designated categories is counter and expunge the belief that part of a broader project to maintain Whiteness is superior and better than the capitalist order of things. the other shades of the human species. Blackness must be demonised, so that Idolatrous forms of exceptionalism whiteness can dominate. This is what that assume some a God-given right to happened to Haiti (for defying exclude/exploit others should be European powers) and happens rejected as false gospels, especially through the faces/bodies of migrants when the authority of Scriptures and and refugees sprawled across transforming power of the good news European media. of Jesus Christ are being deployed. 27 | INSiGHT

Following the money - the economic motive: The Transatlantic Slave Trade was not a peripheral happening. It was the economic heart of a specific period of globalization and capital accumulation. The hearings underscored this. Across the UK/Europe the landscape is still littered with visible signs of the accumulation of wealth from the enslavement of Black bodies as a result of the colonial project. In many cases the agents of Empire are effectively ‘white-washed’ as generous philanthropists with high Christian morals and values. Colonial capitalism (and its current manifestations) is a system rooted in the suffering, violence and denial of the humanity of the subjugated. The logic remains the same today: to secure human labour at a despicably low rate, to produce “cheaper” merchandise obtained for export at the expense of all other considerations. This is an economic system/model that find ways to commodify human bodies at all costs for profit. The first Black Republic (Haiti) is an ideal case-study on this profit motive. All the much talked about elements of the Enlightenment (equality-liberty-fraternity) were compromised, betrayed and eventually reversed by the French. Why? Because such ideas were not good for business and the French Revolution and the rest of Europe depended financially on slavery! Sadly, as our ecclesial communities are tied to the current neoliberal capitalist framework, we will be up for some very awkward but necessary conversations. For ‘Church’ has turned into an economic enterprise where grace is commodified where any call to give up privilege/power is like dragging a dead camel through the ‘eye of a needle’. Sometimes it feels as if Churches are ‘toxic beyond redemption’ and needs to die to release the Jesus way.

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May all-ness and livity be ours on this journey Caribbean Rastafarians deployed the term “livity” to speak a particular “way of life, that is, a righteous one. Comprehensive in scope, livity concerns our daily existence as well as our most fundamental relationships – specifically, our relationships with nature, other human beings, and the divine. But the deploying of this term is one way of signifying against colonial/ hegemonic/empire conceptions of freedom which has largely been shaped around crass individualism, insatiable acquisitiveness, economic growth and an inordinate desire to dominate. The Rastafarians use of ‘livity’ is of importance to any follow-up work related to ‘legacies’ as it underscores the complexity of the decolonial project and the risks of re-colonisation given the reach of empire. Jesus, that Galilean Jew felt the full extent of that reach as he was nailed to a cross because he dared to challenge the oppressive and exclusive inclinations among his own. He could not help being what/who he was: Galilean-Jewish-Male-Rabbi-Religious. But he also made decisions about the extent to which he would embrace the privileges associated with embodying that identity when it serves to exclude others. He subverted the privileges he enjoyed. We need more such subversion in progressing critical and constructive conversations around the implications of the hearings on Legacies towards an economy of full life for all. Theologically, our mandate is not to reach out and change others – but to change ourselves. The world is waiting to believe us. A personal view of Rev Dr Michael N. Jagessar who is responsible for the work of Global and Intercultural Ministries of the United Reformed Church (UK)

At the Ghana hearing, participants listened to the narratives of pain and struggle as they recalled and reflected upon the legacies of slavery.

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THE COLONIAL OPPRESSIVENESS

OF THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF

HOSPITALITY By Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre

On 21 June 1960, although still a toddler, I received an affidavit from the U.S. government demanding my immediate departure. Hospitality was not to be offered to me nor my family. The legal form received in the mail declared I was in violation of Section 242 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; in other words, I overstayed by tourist visa. At the time, I was living with my parents in the infamous Hell’s Kitchen. Although a trendy neighborhood today, back then, these were the slums which housed broken lives, on which the blockbuster musical Westside Story was based. We were living on the fourth floor of a rat and roach infested one-room apartment with no toilet. The bathroom was communal, shared with the other four tenants on the floor. We did not self-deport, becoming, what derogatively is called “illegals.” The irony of the situation is that I found refuge in the very country responsible for my expatriation in the first place. Our presence within the belly of the empire was not due to our desire to seek liberty, equality, or freedom. We did not leave our homeland in Cuba in hopes of chasing the so-called American Dream of achieving economic opportunities. Personally, I would rather have spent my days on my own land, among my own people, immerse in my own culture, speaking my own language. But for almost sixty years, I have been separated from the land which witnessed my birth, and have no doubt my bones will eventually be placed to rest in a foreign and alien land. Constructing the “Illegal” Those, as I once were, who find themselves within U.S. borders without proper documentation are labelled “illegal.” But the term used to describe their existence is neither neutral nor innocent because it connotes criminality, marking the one called illegal as inherently dangerous. Lacking proper documentation should not characterise one as a threatening or unlawful; nevertheless, the term “illegal” is insisted upon by the media and politicians because it constructs a moral framework which masks Euroamerican racism and fear of brown bodies. The Oppressiveness of Hospitality The biblical concept of hospitality has meant more than simply inviting a stranger to share a meal. Refusing to provide hospitality to the stranger could prove deadly for the sojourner passing through, for protection and benefits were tied to land and landownership.

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A stranger, having no claim to land, was exposed – think of the two angels visiting Sodom. For this reason, Jews are reminded of their patriarchs Abram, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, all of whom were aliens and thus vulnerable. Jews are constantly reminded of the hardship experienced in Egypt were once offered hospitality turned to slavery. Our responsibility to the alien among us is reinforced in the New Testament where followers of Jesús are called to show hospitality toward strangers, for some unwittingly entertained angels (Heb. 13:2). The biblical term used for “sojourner” or “stranger” connotes the hardship which today’s undocumented face. The word captures that in-between space of neither being native-born nor a foreigner. The stranger, the sojourner, the alien – then and now – remains vulnerable, only now that vulnerability is at the hands of those who profit off of their labour. For this reason, several faith institutions, i.e. the Catholic Church, choses to tie the plight of the immigrant with the salvation of nations which hosts them. Hospitality is thus based on three biblical assumptions: 1) Once the Jews suffered oppressed at the hands of the inhabitants of Egypt (Ex. 22:21), therefore immigrants require protection; 2) God always sides with and intervenes to liberate the oppressed (Ex. 23:9), therefore God sides against their oppressors, even when those oppressors are chosen; and 3) God’s covenant with Israel is contingent on everyone benefitting, regardless if they are Jews or not (Dt. 26:11). I argue that the employment of hospitality is damning to the cause of immigration justice.

Hospitality assumes the “house” belongs to the one who gets to offer the virtue of hospitality. Because they are good and generous Christians, they willingly and unselfishly share their resources with the less fortunate. Hospitality assumes the one receiving hospitality, the one who does not belong, has no claim to what is being offered for what is offered is a gift freely given. The only appropriate response is “thank you.” Missing is the colonial consequences of house ownership. This “house” which the dominant culture is willing to provide a room for the undocumented was built using the stolen natural resources and cheap labour of those now forced to leave the countries of origins. They leave due to a century of conquest known as Manifest Destiny and a century of imperialism known as Gunboat Diplomacy. They leave chasing after their appropriated goods. Hospitality masks complicity with empire building. Manifest Destiny, Gunboat Diplomacy, Banana Republics, and trade agreements like NAFTA is what made building the house possible in the first place. My sugar, my tobacco, and my rum built this house - and I want my d**** house back. Keep your hospitality, I am demanding what is due to me. You are doing me no favors by giving back what is mine. Rather than calling for the virtue of hospitality, our commitment to liberative justice would be more accurate by demanding the dominant culture wrestle with their responsibility concerning restitution (De La Torre, 2009:9-14). Maybe rather than calling the faithful to a virtue of hospitality, we should be asking what do we owe those who today we call “illegal” for over a century of invading, regime change, pillage, and rape. Miguel A. De La Torre is Professor of social ethics at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.

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CWM recognises that young people are full participants and contributors in God’s mission and are vital to the ministry of Jesus. As a process for leadership formation and nurturing, youth initiatives have been planned in the regions, as a platform for young people within member churches in the regions to come together, to grow and to contribute in addressing the challenges they perceive Empire poses; and God sends to address in mission. Two young poets performed at Groutville Congregational Church during the Youth Initiative in CWM Africa region last September.

Not because I’m black. But because my heart warms And tears run down my face When I think about Africa. I’m an African, Not because I live here, But because the African Sun lit my path. Because the air that I breathe Is for these majestic mountains. That air nurtured me Growing up. I’m an African, Not because I can speak Swahili, shona, zulu or xhosa. But because my heart is Shaped like a question mark, Just like Africa. I’m an African, Not because I’m black, But because my umbilical cord Is buried under the majestic Mountains of Africa.

by Miss Amahle Ngcobo, a member of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) Groutville Circuit.

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I’m an African child from the dusty streets of mother Africa, an African child who owes his loyalty to the people of Africa and their struggles. I’m an African child who hates seeing our beautiful God-given continent portrayed as a charity case by the rest of the world. As they call it Africa I call it home, a home which continues to bleed heavily, although the population gets younger but our problems get older. I’m an African child who will continue to fight for the interests of my fellow African brothers and sisters who face major problems, I’m an African child who’ll continue showing the rest of the world how beautiful our continent is, you might not see the beauty of Africa on TV but the beauty lives within each and every single one of us African children. I’m an African child who will never give up no matter what, an African child who first accepts that I’m African not only because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me. I’m an African child with rough hair and dark eyes, I might not have blue eyes and blonde hair that some perceive as “beauty” but I’m African and proud of it! I’m an African child who will one day travel around the world and have to answer silly stereotypical questions about my home (Africa). I’m an African child and there’s no one in the world I would rather be than to be African. When an African boy sees an African girl he sees a sister, and when an African girl sees an African boy she sees a brother.

by Miss Nosipho Ngcobo, a member of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) Groutville Circuit. February 2019 | 32

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God’s JUSTICE FOR WORKERS

By Rev Philip Vinod Peacock, Executive Secretary for Justice and Witness, World Communion of Reformed Churches

Slavery exists in several forms around the world even today. Human trafficking for all forms of work including sex work abound around the world today. In many third world countries and particularly in Asia, working in industries that are hazardous at exploitative wages is the norm. This can be those who work in brick kilns in India, garment factories in Bangladesh, shoe factories in Indonesia, mines in the Philippines or as domestic workers in other parts. Workers in garment industries there have been struggling for a just wage, a just wage within an industry which has made its profits on exploitative wages. Perhaps as Christians we should ask what is the perspective of God on justice and particularly justice for workers. Perhaps one Biblical text which speaks very strongly on this issue is Matthew 20:1-16. At first glance this is indeed a very disturbing story, there is something odd about the fact that those who did a full day’s labour get paid as much as those who only did an hour’s work. Yet this gospel text speaks to us about the justice of God which is manifestly different from our sense of justice, a sense that not only disturbs us but calls us to look at the world in an alternative way. To facilitate our understanding of this text we shall be looking at three different points. The first is that the justice of God is for all. The second is that the justice of God is from the perspective of the least and the last is that the justice of God is for the undeserving. But first the justice of God is for all. The justice of God is for all: Apart from everything else of course what is immediately striking about the parable is that everyone who was waiting for employment was called. No one was left behind, and this is the first thing that we have to remember about the justice of God, that it is for all, all are called into the love and fellowship that the justice of God calls us into. We as humans though have other concepts of justice, what is becoming exceedingly clear to us around the world is that justice is only for the powerful and influential. It is a well-known fact that the law courts around the world work in favour of the powerful. Several years ago we organized a vigil against the death sentence which was awarded to a man, Dhananjoy Chatterjee who was convicted of rape and murder. We were one of the few groups who were standing vigil and we received a disproportionate amount of press coverage. A few days after the incident that a vendor in a local market who saw us on television commented to me that Dhananjoy would not have received this sentence had he been wealthier. And this is a fact the world over, the wealthy are able to either get acquitted or receive lesser sentences. A while ago in India there was a case of a workers riot in a car manufacturing unit where one of a the management staff was killed, a large number of workers have been arrested and even more suspended from duty. Yet at the same time, when workers in a factory die there is no similar action taken, and workers deaths under suspicious circumstances in factories is actually far more frequent than we would like to admit. 33 | INSiGHT

VIEWPOINTS What is important for us though is to note that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s justice does not act on the behalf of those who are powerful but works for those who are powerless and excluded. It is in this sense that the justice of God is for all. It is for all precisely because unlike the justice of the world it works for the powerless and the marginalised.The fact is that the justice of God welcomes all, irrespective of caste, community, creed, lifestyle choice, gender, ethnic identity and ability. And if the church is to reflect the justice of God then the church must become a welcoming and inclusive community that gives space to everyone. The justice of God is from the perspective of the least: The second point that we shall consider is that the justice of God is to be understood from the perspective of the least. If we read our text from the perspective of those who have been labouring all the day then we shall indeed consider that a grave injustice has been perpetrated. However if we read the text from the perspective of those who were called at the last hour we shall indeed find that this was just. After all didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t those who were called last also have families to feed, they too had needs to be met, it was hardly their fault that no one had offered them work even though they were waiting there since the morning. Perhaps if we are to look at the world from their perspective we would see things differently. In a labour saturated market it is the owners who have the upper hand simply because they can always beat labour down due to a scarcity of employment opportunities. This is the way that capitalism functions, it is a system that is heavily tilted in favour of the owners and they are the ones who can dictate terms. Moreover with the weight of propaganda on their side they also hold the power of persuasion. Further while we are constantly holding the right to make a profit and the right to a free market as being fundamental rights in modernity we do not hold the right to work and the right to a just wage as being equally important. In this passage we find that it is the landowner who hold firmly to the right to work and the right to a livable wage. We must understand that to the ears of peasants and farm workers in Palestine this theology of reversal where it is the landlord who is fighting for justice for workers would have been like music to their ears. The landlord knows what it is like to look at the situation from the perspective of the least and the last. The justice of God therefore calls us to consider the situation from the perspective of those who were called last, to see and to evaluate their need before making a judgement.

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VIEWPOINTS The endearing image of justice in our times is of a blindfolded woman holding a pair of scales. The intent of the blindfold is to indicate to us that justice is blind, that justice does not see who the person concerned is. This is very unlike the idea of the justice of God, from the Bible we have the image of a God who sees, a God who hears and a God who responds in justice to those who are oppressed. The justice of God is therefore one that acts from the perspective of those who are least. Therefore the justice of God acts from the perspective of the Hebrew slaves rather than that of Pharaoh that God acts from the perspective of David rather than that of Goliath. God acts from the perspective of the oppressed. In this parable also we see that the justice of God works from the perspective of those who are called last, God sees their need and responds to it. This should be a perspective that we work from as well, it is time for us to look at the world from the perspective of those who are excluded, those on the outside, those who are marginalised, the eyes of garment workers in Bangladesh, labourers in factories in India, from the eyes of children in sweatshops in the Philippines and Indonesia…for these are the eyes that God sees the world from! God’s justice is for the undeserving: Finally we are called to consider the fact that God’s justice is for the undeserving.

Right throughout this Bible study we have spoken about how the justice of God is for the powerless, the outcaste, the least and the excluded but the question that we have to ask is what about the powerful, those who exclude others, those who perpetrate all kinds of injustice and discrimination? Frankly they are the ones who do not deserve justice. Does the justice of God have no place for them, are they excluded from the justice of God so to speak? The answer is a resounding NO. The justice of God is for all and it welcomes all those who are willing to live within the principles of God within its fold. To those who oppress others and perpetuate all kinds of discrimination, to the powerful who trample upon the powerless, God calls into repentance and into God’s Kingdom. The message that Jesus comes to bring us is that even though we do not deserve it, though we are guilty of much sin, if we truly repent and turn to God, God accepts us into God’s fold. In fact God takes the first step by sending the Son who shows us that we need not be trapped in sin but a way is open for us. Therefore even though we do not deserve it, though we are guilty of participation in injustice, though we have participated in the injustice of slave labour by buying at outrageous prices that which is produced at an exploitative wage, it is the justice of God that opens a way for us. The way for us to access that justice of God though is to stand in solidarity with the ones who are suffering. These suffering ones, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick and those in prison are the ones that Jesus calls his sisters and brothers (Matthew 25) today and the question to us is what have we done for the least of these the brothers and sisters of Christ.

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TOGETHER IN MISSION

Council for World Mission (CWM) General Secretary Rev Collin Cowan spoke about CWM’s work during the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church (URC) and CWM’s relation to URC last July. Reform Magazine Editor Dr Stephen Tomkins sat down with Rev Cowan to discuss immigration issues, CWM’s engagement with member churches, the concept of empire and how it influences a different approach to missions, the Windrush Generation and more. Photo by Anna Siggelkow

When you were appointed in 2011, you had difficulty getting a visa to work in the UK. Was that part of the reason CWM moved to Singapore in 2012? It made it more urgent. I started working in Jamaica and came here once the visa was granted. Shortly after that, the decision was made to relocate the organisation to Singapore and that was my first task. But the decision was already made in 1977, when CWM came into being, that we should find a new home that was more suited to the ideological shift in our understanding of mission. We never did anything about it, but it was part of our strategy that we consider the relocation question. In October 2010, we decided we should remain in the UK, but in February 2011 we discovered that with the influx from eastern Europe, the UK had changed its immigration practices and I got caught up in that. We already had this strategy that our staff should be drawn from across the regions of the organisation, and the UK was no longer viable. In 2016, the board of directors took a very freeing decision to say, given the nature of immigration today we should consider having three offices, rather than one global international office. We have agreed to retain an office here in the UK, establish one in South Africa and keep the one in Singapore. This gives us quite a bit of leverage – talk about dancing in Babylon! This is one of those dances where we can continue to operate, notwithstanding some of the challenges that we’re faced with.

The question of immigration has been very much in the news here as we’ve heard about the treatment of people from the Caribbean and elsewhere. For me, the Windrush question is one of justice. People who came here in the 60s came to support the economy and maybe did not do the paperwork because they thought they were already at home here. Now to be told that you have no home, no status, is not only an affront but an act of injustice. I think this has to be one of the issues about which the United Reformed Church concerns itself. The United Church in Jamaica and the Guyana Congregational Union need to be talking to the URC about: ‘Together, how might we address this injustice?’ So it’s not just about the UK church speaking out. Yes. Join hands together. Those who are recipients of what’s happening need to be part of the conversation. Immigration, though, is becoming a much bigger issue than just the UK. Even in Singapore we are experiencing some of these challenges. We have to ask: Is there a platform where international immigration policies and practices are addressed?

In India, we could not hold our board meeting recently, because too many of our directors did not get visas. I could not get a visa for our annual meeting in Calcutta and had to join them electronically. In the USA, they are separating families. It’s a big issue. You mentioned in your address to the URC General Assembly that the treasurer of the London Missionary Society was a slave holder. What is your opinion of those old missionary societies that CWM is descended from? There are two things I would say about them. One is the amazing amount of good work they have done in evangelism, in education and in social engagement. They have planted seeds of hope in many parts of the world, which we are benefitting from today, so we have to embrace and celebrate that, and in that sense walk in their footsteps. On the other hand, the missionary movement was complicit. The way empire works is that it co-opts into its network all the people it possibly can, and at points the missionary movement got caught up in that as well. So for example, education, which we understand to be a good thing, was used as a tool to make the slaves more subservient to their masters. A lot of our missionaries participated in that. February 2019 | 36

VIEWPOINTS Not all missionaries did that. John Smith was sentenced to death [in Demerara in 1824] for having taught the slaves to believe in themselves and to take action that would liberate them. So there is positive and negative. CWM has been a pioneer of a different understanding of what mission is. How would you describe its approach? CWM came about in 1977 because a number of our partners, particularly from Africa, said: ‘The time has come for a moratorium on receiving missionaries from the global north. We have come of age. We have valued the gift of the missionary society to us, but now we should be able to take responsibility for our own nation.’ A consultation was held in Singapore in 1974 on the question of the ideology of the missionary movement. And so this organisation was born, radically different from what it was, because it is based on the principle of mutuality – mutual sharing of people, of ideas and of money – equal representation at the table, a collective.

But how we embrace each other’s narrative and learn from each other so that together we may participate in God’s mission, that is what we’re about. We do a lot of listening, we do a lot of reflecting on what we’ve heard, and then we plan a direction together based on what we’ve heard.

to give them their rightful place in the community.

Can you tell me about the churches that are part of CWM?

Is your hope to join Churches together to be heard on the world stage, or to help individual churches impact their local environment?

There are six Churches in Africa; in south Asia, four; east Asia, six; in the Pacific, ten; in the Caribbean, two and here in Europe, five. Some very large Churches, some very small. And basically each Church is committed to reading its context locally and engaging in ways that allow it to be relevant. The URC for example is a very giving Church – in the last decade, scores of people have served CWM in different ways, as staff, directors, in policy writing. Each member comes to the table with their context and issues, so we are very conservative and very liberal, we have

The URC is doing just that, but these are the stories that sometimes we are not told about, so we are looking at how we network, how to do better at communicating our stories.

It is both, but I think the latter is more germane at the moment – we’re committed to helping Churches read and engage their context. One of our programmes is called Hearing God’s Cry, and we run workshops in local communities, saying to a member Church: ‘This is your context; let’s read it together. Let us see what is going on. What are the groanings? And how does God cry? How do you respond to the cry of God?’ However, we are still interested in the global scene, in partnership with our 32 member Churches and our ecumenical partners. We have a very dynamic relationship with the World Council of Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, Cevaa (the Paris equivalent of CWM), and the United Evangelical Movement in Germany. We work with these bodies to address global issues, and in so doing, not only advocate for justice but heighten the consciousness of all member Churches.

[Empire is a system and a power structure, it is not about a place. In every era of history, empire has worked against the majority of our people and it has destroyed the environment. ]

It was a ‘from everywhere to everywhere’ principle: you’ll have people from Bangladesh serving in Zambia, people from India serving in Wales. Alison Gibb from the URC is in Zambia, but there is a mission partner from Taiwan Shou-Hui Chung, from Taiwan, who is here in the UK working through the United Reformed Church. The principle behind it is a simple one: I cannot stay here, in the UK, and determine what the needs of people are in Johannesburg. The people in Johannesburg must tell me what their needs are and invite me to join them in their mission. So CWM facilitates the sharing of people but the relationship is really between the sending and the receiving church. It’s a diverse community of churches It’s a very diverse community. It’s a community of narratives and every narrative is different.

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Churches that focus on evangelism, some that are very active in social work, so it’s a diversity of Churches but it is in that that we find our strength. There must be difficulties when you’re spread so far – geographically, and culturally as well. I’ve found visits like this one to the URC very enriching. When we visit the Churches, we see a completely different side than when we’re in a board room. And we’ve found that we’re touching lives. I’ve just come from the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, visiting some of their pioneering churches, seeing new approaches to ministry. Those are things that you don’t hear about until you visit. In the More Able Church project, we’re trying to see how we work with persons living with disability,

You’re focussing on empire as the context of everything a Church does. What difference will it make to us when we understand that better? Empire is a system and a power structure, it is not about a place. In every era of history, empire has worked against the majority of our people and it has destroyed the environment. That has not changed, but it is renewing itself in daunting ways, like what is happening in the United States of America – separation, occupation. Once a Church understands this as power, and not place, it allows us to engage differently.

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So for example, if one were to understand it as talking about the British empire, immediately we exclude all of the people from Britain. If we understand it as a power dynamic then it then gives freedom for all of us to engage, including those who live within the belly of empire, and to say ‘We are all caught up in this’. If we don’t address power dynamics in our world today, then it’s going to affect us all in the long run. My dream is that all of us will agree that we belong to a hostile history that has landed us in different places – some of us have ended up becoming more privileged, some more underprivileged, but it is the system that has located us where we are. If we agree together that this hostile history does not define us today, then we can own the problem and share the solution. How can local churches engage more in what CWM does? The strategy that we are about to embark on is meant to be a very participatory and open. All we want to do in the coming months is to listen to what people have to say. We are not just looking for the bureaucrats from the denominational organisation to participate, we’re hoping that the URC will provide space for different conversations to happen at different levels. You could bring a group of local pastors to say: ‘This is what we would like to say.’ You could bring together a group of young people whose perspective may be very, very different, and say: ‘You tell us what you’d like to say’. We’re looking for that kind of input to inform the next process. Also, short term opportunities for partners in mission are available. If somebody for example just wanted three-month sabbatical somewhere, you can immediately speak to your General Secretary and say: ‘Sign me up with this organisation to see if something could happen.’ We also run different kinds of programmes like Training in Mission, Face to Face – these are there. Our website is quite dynamic and we’re trying to make it even more dynamic, so people can look for it for themselves and make the approach. Each of us can be part of the communication strategy.

Rev Cowan preaching during the sending service of Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Arusha, Tanzania, 2018. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

This article is by Reform - URC’s magazine that provides fresh perspectives on theology, personal spirituality and Christian viewpoints on current affairs. Visit https://www.reform-magazine.co.uk for more info. February February 2019 2019 | Pg | 38 88

TAKE A LOOK

On 22 June 1948, the MV Empire Windrush arrived on Britain's shores, with people invited from the Caribbean and Poland. Also known as the “Windrush Generation”, they assisted with labour shortage in National Health Service (NHS) and other work in post-war Britain.

CWM in partnership with its member church Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) has produced “Let’s Bring Them Here”, a short film on the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. Some Dutch people within and without church had travelled to Greece to experience the crisis first-hand. Witnessing the unjust treatment of refugees, this film is their way of sharing these heartbreaking images and stories. Living out their Christian faith (Leviticus 19:33-34), they implore countries to open their borders and their hearts to the displaced and broken. May this film inspire you and your church to compassionate engagement in mission in your various contexts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-5MyeuhUC8&t=10s

Shoki Coe was among the first to speak of contextualisation in theology. Yet he remains little known outside his native Taiwan. This book introduces Coe and evaluates his contributions to missiology and ecclesiology. Coe shaped a generation of reflection on God, culture, and history. For thousands, Coe guided their contextual theological pursuit to the living reality of God. The chapters in this volume - including original essays from Stephen Bevans, Dwight Hopkins, and Enrique Dussel - tackle the critical, methodological issues related to doing theology, reading Scriptures, and being in church.

United Reformed Church (URC), a member church in CWM Europe region, launched a short film “Longing to Belong”, depicting their journeys through the lens of a granddaughter in loving memory of her kin. It is a story of courage, resilience and the power of the human spirit, despite being left in the margins of society, silently bearing prejudice, hardship, and being denied legal status in the country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ZO5UOSJN4

Email empowerment@cwmission.org for more information.

Mitos is one of the estimated 40.3 million people who were victims of modern slavery last year. A few months ago, she escaped after living as a slave for three years. BBC News tells the story of her life as a modern-day slave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59KGc6UyjAw

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TAKE A LOOK

International Justice Mission (IJM) is said to be the largest international anti-slavery organisation in the world, with a team of undercover investigators, lawyers, social workers, advocates and a plan to eliminate the slave trade everywhere. Check out their website to see how you can play a part in this meaningful mission: https://www.ijmuk.org

The CWM’s ‘Prophets from the South’ book series is a dedication to alternative and critical voices which have contributed to a theological vision of liberation and life for all. It celebrates and uplifts voices from the geo-political south, as an offering to the global Christian community to stand as an inspiration in the continued struggle for a just world. After the first book in honour of Allan Aubrey Boesak of South Africa, this second book pays homage to The Life, Legacy, and Theology of M. M. Thomas from India. A committed socialist, ecumenist and leader, Thomas emerged from the margins of both church and society and participated in the construction of alternate societies and communities based on the values of justice, equality and life. Email empowerment@cwmission.org for more information.

Each week, one domestic worker dies from suicide or a botched escape attempt, according to statistics from a Lebanon study on the death rate of domestic workers. The Secret Slaves of The Middle East is an investigative feature that brings you the story of how poverty leads Asian and African women from countries such as Philippines, Kenya and Ethiopia to be deceived and trafficked into slavery in Middle East countries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb_pBhWi1YM

Religion has power structures that require and justify its existence, spread its influence, and mask its collaboration with other power structures. Power, like religion, lies in collaboration. Along this line, this book affirms that one could see and study the power structures and power relations of a religion in and through the missions of empires. Empires rise and roam with the blessings and protections of religious power structures (e.g. scriptures, theologies, interpretations, traditions) that in return carry, propagate, and justify imperial agendas. Thus, to understand the relation between religion and power requires one to also study the relation between religion and empires. Christianity is the religion that receives the most deliberation in this book, with some attention to power structures and power relations in Hinduism and Buddhism. The cross-cultural and international contributors share the conviction that something within each religion resists and subverts its power structures and collaborations. The authors discern and interrogate the involvements of religion with empires past and present, political and ideological, economic and customary, systemic and local. The upshot is that this book troubles religious teachings and practices that sustain, as well as profit from, empires. Email empowerment@cwmission.org for more information.

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Your Say

DO YOU HAVE BURNING ISSUES TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Looking for an outlet to contribute your reflections on social, socio-political and economic issues which plague our world today? Is your passion taking the stand against the current structures of society, and empire?

If you want to be heard, we invite you to be part of this publication by sending your material(s) to insight@cwmission.org You may also write to: C/O INSiGHT Council for World Mission Ltd 114 Lavender Street, #12-01 CT Hub 2, Singapore 338729 *We reserve the right to edit articles for space and clarity

YOUR SAY

“It is totally heartbreaking that Zimbabweans’ prolonged journey of hardships is nowhere near the end despite ousting Mugabe in November 2017.The current president Emmerson Mnangagwa has failed to manage Zimbabwe well and prevent violence that left many people injured and some people dead. The situation in Zimbabwe makes me feel totally sick as I expected the country to change for the better instead of becoming a zone of rioting and rotting of the economy. Zimbabwe is not open for business but it is open to mismanagement and butchering its citizens in gruesome, cruel circumstances. Mr Mnangagwa should immediately resign and South African president should condemn the situation as the failure of Zimbabwe will create many refugees in South Africa either political refugees or economic refugees. We cannot afford a failed state.” - Tapiwa Muskwe, United Kingdom

"It is so much more than forgiveness, it's seeing humanity in every single person. We have listened to each other's stories and been on a journey to try and heal the broken relationship. By example we can show that these broken relationships can be healed". - Sangkhuma Hmar, United Kingdom

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February 2019 | 44

YOUR SAY

“PLEASE” IS NOT FOR ME By Michael Mc Gregor, MC Expressions Promoting Positivity from from Guyana Congregational Union (GCU)

Exercise every day and I am still not fit Got me worried - I am still not giving in The pressure of the world just wouldn’t shift Pushing against the walls but they keep caving in The mold of society is just not my pick I am expected to fight these GIANTS with a piece of stick Thinking about living sometime makes me sick Tell me! Tell me! What exactly am I supposed to do with this? Don’t play like you can’t hear me! I am asking you?! What exactly am I supposed to do with this? They are robbing me in numerous ways Framing me in numerous ways And daily I strive for a way to escape their numerous ways And the beautiful thing about it, is that: They are conscience that you are conscience that they are conciously... Conciously and deliberately; target, focus and marginalize - ME! Like! What have I ever done to be treated like this? I will tell you why! I have committed a few crimes! I was not born on a bed nor in a room where the medicines were readily available I was not born in the prestige hierarchy I was not born in an able family Just for these crimes I am treated with scorn Sometimes I wish I could have viewed the conditions before being born The only time I am acknowledged is when the system needs statistics for their report Paying millions of dollars to do a documentary and to conduct researches on me I guess it gives them pleasure to hear me say - please for piece I hope someone can inspire the EMPIRE to share OUR BREAD AND CHEESE

Michael Mc Gregor was inspired to write this poem after attending training sessions and events hosted by Council for World Mission (CWM). “It opened my mind to Christianity and our role in the earth. ‘Man deh in a city hungry and nuh eat, and food down a country just a drop off a di trees dem, you say poverty nuh real den, is what the reasoning revealing’ ~ The lyrics of the song “who knows” by protoje and chronixx speaks of economic injustice and connects deeply with the latter part of the poem. The earth belongs to all of us, and the creator (God) is sufficient and inexhaustible but greed is the heart of most systems and poverty is the product,” he said.

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By Dr Razafindramary Parfaite Rakotondramasy CWM missionary from 1994 to 2016

Acts 1:8: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ In this issue, I would like to share some hot points I experienced while in the field. I left my country, Madagascar, 24 years ago, as a CWM missionary. During that time people understood a mission of God to be a work where you stand in front of a public or visit a community of non-believers to talk and convince people to follow Jesus. That mindset has not changed too much until today.

I would never forget what he said and I am thankful to God for having sent me there and that people acknowledge the service I rendered, gratitude to CWM for having facilitated my being there. Usually, on Kiritimati I was asked to pray on behalf of the others, especially during functions, and one day when we were welcoming the Ambassador of Taiwan, I was asked to say the grace in spite of other people who could do it. Personally, I cannot forget the joy of the receiving people having me singing with them in their choirs, in spite of my not speaking their languages properly.

I went to the Solomon Islands as a dentist. I do not have a skill for preaching but I was and still I am convinced that I had a part in Jesus’ ministry: He went and took care of the sick, He healed them. So I worked as a dentist according to the skill God has given me. In the Solomon Islands, I had to look after people’s oral and dental health, I was teaching the children to look after their mouths, I initiated the making of dentures. I taught the relieves (a dentist and a dental assistant) to take over from me. You still might remember what one lady said when people started to wear the first dentures: “Dr Parfaite, you have given us back our smile.” I stayed in the Solomon for 14 years. Then I moved to Kiribati, exactly on Kiritimati Island, where I had to start anew, because there was almost no infrastructure for dentistry at that time. People had to rely on passing tourist dentists or to touring dentists from the capital before getting help for their oral and dental problems, otherwise they had to travel two time zones away for proper dental care. I did almost the same job as in the Solomon. One patient said: “What a wonderful work CWM is doing in helping the people in remote places” in sending workers such myself to take care of the unfavoured.

During my missionary work in those places, I have learnt different things such as how people worship God, how they face bereavement, how they get together to fellowship, how they sing, how they cook, and I could interact with other people of different nationalities too. In term of dentistry, I could share with visiting French and American specialists. I could manage broken jaws while I was there, something I would not have done if I was at home in Madagascar where there are specialists and facilities….

There are other good and happy souvenirs to share but let us stop here for now. I praise God for having been with me during that long time of mission in his field. May the work of CWM continue in helping people to cope with this difficult life they experience daily and to spread the knowledge of Christ throughout the world in different ways. May God bless us all.

February 2019 | 46

YOUR SAY

A GOOD

FIGHT By Warren Pendergast from United Kingdom

It’s practically everywhere, and I’ve seen it numerous times. It’s loud, in bold and above all – so very appealing to a fast-paced materialistic generation. It shouts: “Good news! All Bible-believing Christians are assured of divine physical health and prosperity through faith. Best of all, no need to fight sin! Once saved, always saved!” It’s a message that we can (and have) easily bought into, that something must be very wrong with our faith if we struggle so much. In other words, when we are in the thick of our struggle and sinking in our spiritual walk, it messes up our view of what we think the “victorious” Christian life should be: free of pain, fighting and struggling with sin especially coping with broken sexuality and homosexuality. What bothers me most about it is the absence of a serious doctrine of the biblical necessity and normalcy of suffering. I say this because my view is that if you’re fighting against sin (especially sexual sin) in your life, it may very well indicate that something is actually very right! It’s a daily fight – a daily grind, and throughout the New Testament, it’s called godly living. It is a call to redefine our lives, by the meaning and implication of the cross in our lives. Scripture isn’t shy when talking about sexual brokenness and wrestling with it. In fact, if you were to take out of the Bible all the places where it speaks to the reality of sexual sin, struggle, and temptation among God’s people, you’d be taking out large portions of Scripture. Our sexual temptations and struggles don’t take God by surprise, nor do they shock Him. Rather, He expects it. He knows our nature is to seek out and fall for false worship, that we give our hearts to “false gods” and pursue them as having ultimate purpose and meaning in our lives, rather than seek out him and his purposes. The results of what happens when people live for themselves, following their own fallen sexual desires, are well-documented in Scripture and in countless personal lives. It is clear: when we begin to repent and surrender our desires and longings, a vicious war breaks out in our lives and hearts. Conflict. Adversity. Suffering. Struggle.

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And to make matters worse, our human nature and instinct calls us to adopt a faulty, unbiblical theology of struggle and suffering where we stop calling sin - sin! We soften our response to it. We become dismayed over the enormity of the fight and struggle, and we try to find short cuts and selfish excuses as a means to an end. I’ve seen this happen with pornography usage where we see too often the compromise of: everyone’s doing it; it’s no big -deal. And it’s private and it’s not really hurting anyone. It’s the same when it comes to homosexuality. From what I’ve read and observed, individuals most often became aware, over time, of unexplained feelings and “pulls” towards their same sex. These attractions feel strange and shameful but exciting, and in an odd way, they meet a perceived emotional need all at the same time. What often follows, though, is a pursuit of these feelings with many small choices and decisions along the way, and it is this process which makes it all seem like it was their core nature to begin with. That’s why, even though the Scriptures speak to many of the underpinnings of same-sex attraction and homosexual desire and practice, an exhortation to just not feel that way, or not be bothered by it, is unloving and unrealistic. Scripture does speak with clarity to all this, with both truth and grace. That’s also the way we must approach it. When we over-simplify the issue, or vilify it, or even make it more than it is, we fail to speak with Scripture’s authority into it. We are complicated beings with complicated hearts. We need to see God’s word not as a magic pill or a cure-all to life’s dilemmas or confusion, but as God’s heart toward us about real human struggles and issues of the heart. Heart change takes time. Repentance that is lasting and deep takes time. We have to see the larger-themed sin areas in our hearts, see how they grieve God and the damage they cause us and others around us before true repentance can happen. Jesus yearns to enter the struggle of our hearts in deeper ways than just getting us to ‘stop this’ or ‘do that.’ As someone so candidly put it, “Jesus just isn’t a self-improvement program.” Here is my point about whether the gospel has power to transform our sexual struggles: when your inner being struggles, wrestles and fights with sin to obey God - no matter how small and weak it may feel in the moment, is proof of spiritual life! Repentance is what fans that spark into flame. Whether it’s repentance with a capital “R” when we first begin to follow Christ, or repentance with a small “r,” the ongoing, daily repentance and struggle, to repeatedly walk away from darkness and turn toward Christ—this is the true Christian life and walk. It’s an ongoing battle. And it’s not going to get any easier. Sin has so tainted everything, even our sexuality, that everything that exists is as it should not be. No part of our persons, hearts, or affections has been left untouched by sin. All efforts at self-repair don’t work; even our deepest, most sincere vows to ‘get it right’ the next time always come up short. We fight, we fall. We become broken. We become discouraged. We want to give up. But it is through our battles and brokenness that we become filled with hope and His purpose for what God is going to accomplish through and in us, while we continue to “toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within (us)” (Colossians 1:29).

February 2019 | 48

YOUR SAY

STILL SHAMED AND SHUNNED By Tong from Asia

I refer to the previous article, Retaining 377A In Singapore: ‘Equality For All?’ in the October 2018 issue of INSiGHT. I thank the author for sharing his/her personal views on the issue - where it was suggested that homosexuals in Singapore are accorded the same level of equality, freedom and space with the rest of society. Unfortunately, I disagree with this and offer my personal views to refute these claims of ‘equality’. Yes, views and mindsets about homosexuality - and even transgenderism, have come long way and have changed somewhat for the better. A long way to go? A big resounding ‘yes’ to that as well. A report released by the United Nations found at least 76 countries have laws used to criminalise and harass people on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, there alarmingly high rates of violence against homosexuals. Among others, the report cited the murder of transsexual women in Uruguay and of black lesbian women in South Africa, and the killing of a gay man in Chile by neo-Nazis who carved swastikas into his body. In Brazil, a project that collects reports of homicides of transgender people, lists more than 1,600 murders between 2008 and 2014. Even more shocking were reports of a woman arrested in Bangladesh for being a lesbian and allegedly being raped by police while in custody. In Egypt, four people were arrested for their alleged sexual orientation and were reportedly sexually assaulted by other inmates while in detention. Closer to home, Mercer’s LGBT Benefits Around the World survey found that companies in Asia still lag in terms of offering LGBT employees the same level of benefits as their heterosexual peers. Gathering responses from more than 50 countries - including Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the survey found that only 49% of Asian companies offered its LGBT employees the same level of benefits as its heterosexual staff – the lowest among the seven regions covered in the report. In Singapore, that percentage plummets to 15% – the lowest among all Asian countries surveyed. And as if having the lowest percentage of companies offering equal benefits to LGBT employees isn’t bad enough, only 5% of companies in Singapore are planning to implement equal benefits for their LGBT employees in 2018, compared to 7% of companies in Malaysia and Hong Kong that are planning to do the same.

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And contrary to what the writer has suggested, I am of the opinion that homophobia and heterosexism still runs rampant in Asia and in Singapore. Behind façades of welcoming smiles and tolerant mindsets lies hidden well-disguised seeds of thought that homosexuality - or other forms of sexuality, is unacceptable. A survey conducted by a non-profit organisation working with LGBT and gender-diverse individuals, found that discrimination and rejection are still prevalent in Singapore’s society. Different LGBTQ groups in Singapore also have encountered the many faces of discrimination, ranging from bullying in school, harassment on the streets and online, to rejection by healthcare providers. The T Project, a shelter for homeless transgender persons, was rejected as a non-profit group by the authorities in 2017 on the basis that their services “would be contrary to the national security or interests…". Even public displays of affection and intimacy are still frowned upon and sometimes looked upon with disgust. Hugging and even the simple innocent act of holding hands, are seen as unnatural, deviant and ‘wrong’ in the public eye. I personally have witnessed - and myself have been victim of such treatment, and till this day ‘shamefully’ keep my public show of affection to less crowded or private spaces. While it is true the LGBTQ community doesn’t experience overt discrimination, such as being fired from a job, the negative perception has not only impacted them, but has also shaped their lives in subtle but profound ways. This conservative wave of social biases and rejection actually morphed itself into an invisible oppression that has led many homosexuals to become resigned to little public space carved out for them - so much so that they have actually adapted their behaviour to suit (or survive) their environment, allowing them to blend and hide further in the shadows. A former colleague who works at a Fortune 500 company with a formal, written non-discrimination policy told me that he “…couldn’t be fired for being gay. But when partners at the firm invite straight men to golf or drinks, they don’t invite gay men.” He adds: “I’m being passed over for opportunities that could lead to being promoted. I actually had to change my presentation in the corporate world by lowering my voice in meetings to make it sound less feminine, and avoid wearing anything but a black suit.” And it’s found in the public sector too. When a teacher at a prestigious secondary school wrote about being gay in his blog while still teaching, he was besieged by angry letters from parents calling for his immediate resignation. Although the school stood by him, the teacher removed his blog post, after being pressured by government officials. In another incident, a close childhood friend of mine - who was always fearful of the consequences and stigma of coming out, was near suicidal for a period of time after being constantly told by her parents and relatives that her ‘unnatural’ attraction to girls was a mental condition and at one point forced her to undergo psychiatric treatment. A family friend of mine who has a lesbian daughter summed it up well with these words of encouragement: “We knew that it wasn’t our child who needed to change — it was us. It wasn’t an overnight process, and we wonder if your own parents - at one point, did struggle with it too.”

February 2019 | 50

YOUR SAY

CLASS & DIVIDE By M. Ganapathy from Bangladesh

Gen 1:26-28 (NLT) Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 28

Homo sapiens. Humankind. Woman. Man. It’s stated in the Bible, that the image of man is made in the likeness of God. And in the grand scheme of creation, man was to set forth and multiply, to fill the earth with people and to tame all of God’s creatures and tend to the plant life, allowing them to flourish in the providence bestowed to us by a loving God. If indeed so, the world certainly has strayed far from what God has intended for us. We live in a world that’s ruled by the social constructs that exist in any and every environment; country, city, state, town, and neighbourhood. It tells us who were are, where we are from, determines our worth and value, where we stand in society, and who belongs in our circle and who or what is not within the acceptable norms we identify ourselves with. With our own pursuit of the excellence that’s been established by our society, we’ve looked to incentivise ourselves by outdoing others, who are also made in the image of God, so that we could catergorise or even distance ourselves from them so that we could feel more important and privileged. Status. Division. Class. Do people strive to be the better version of themselves rather than of their peers? Why are humankind driven blind by this need to excel in favour of material richness? Does achieving greatness in what society identifies as elitist, satisfy the individual down to the very core of the soul? If so, wouldn’t living the word and becoming more of how God has intended us to be a greater and ideal objective for man as designed? We have allowed ourselves to be segregated by worldly temptations and ideals, driven blind in attaining material needs and possessions that are only as important as how society deems it to be. We abandon our family, neighbours, fellow mankind and we trample on the weak and meek to feel more important, and significant with those on the same social plane.

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As we allow ourselves to indulge in encouraging this divide, we turn a blind eye to those who are less fortunate. Their problems are theirs alone and we are oblivious, if not, indifferent to them. We willingly pull a veil over our eyes to cloak them in invisibility, basking in a glory of non-permanence and sin. This intentional separation from people becomes a rift that eventually becomes impossible to bridge. We are widening the gaps in the circle that binds us together when we should be bridging the gaps and widening the circle to include more people within. Why are we deliberately judging others, rating them with scores and labelling them in classes? Shouldn’t we open our hearts to accept anyone despite their differences? Do we really feel better to demean others and degrade them to levels beneath us? How is that a godly thing to do? Classes can be derived from a plethora of aspects which forms our society. It could be determined by the jobs we have, the streets we live in, the friends we keep, the money in our banks, what cars we drive, how much we spend on food, our educational level, the clothes on our back, the family name that we carry, the grades we receive in school, the countries we’ve visited, the schools we went to, the languages we speak and so on. All these come together as social merits which leave others excluded from the circle when they are lacking in these areas. People who have it doesn’t seem to realise that they treat those outside their circle differently. They tend to be more tactless and insensitive with the words used in conversation, and very often undermines the other party, be it intentionally or not. The individual will then be lacking in the sense of belonging in common ground with the others. How many times have we witnessed first-hand, people holding on to honest but lower tier jobs being outrightly mistreated in their work environments? Service people are being spoken down to on a daily basis, as the customer makes unreasonable demands because they are the pay masters. Or the menial workers driven to work extended hours on end for a measly sum while their miserly employers grow fat in their coffers through this exploitation just because they can and will. I’ve personally have had acquaintances who wouldn’t bat an eyelid spending $300 for a meal, and they would expect the same for those in the company they keep. You will meet with scorn when the slightest comment is made on the frivolous show and opulent waste of money. Some would flaunt their cars, latest cosmetic surgery done, or properties bought along a prestigious postal code just to put the listener in their place, rarely theirs. The divide is very real and once the discord is there, it may require an immense effort to repair. Distance breeds unfamiliarity and unfamiliarity results in distrust. If only the world could stop with the labels and pursuit of meaningless fixation of material and social gains, then can we be able to truly empathise with the other person and take a genuine approach in living our lives that were created and meant for us.

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