Asian Churches Advocate Strong Advocacy on Responsible Stewardship

Equitable Distribution and Consumption Will Curb Food Insecurity

BANGKOK, Thailand/GENEVA, 10 December 2009 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in Asia concluded their preparatory meeting for the forthcoming LWF Eleventh Assembly with an appeal to the global Lutheran communion to strengthen advocacy on responsible stewardship over God-given resources.

“Hunger in Asia is not the result of insufficient food production in the region but rather human-made crises” such as corruption, unjust distribution, militarization, colonialism, occupation and overwhelming national debt among others, participants in the Asia Pre-Assembly Consultation (APAC) said in a final message.

The 6-9 December pre-assembly was held in conjunction with the regular gathering of the region’s heads of churches, the Asia Church Leadership Conference (ACLC). It focused on the contextual implications of the July 2010 assembly theme, “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread.” The 100 participants included assembly delegates, LWF Council members and advisers, the Lutheran Council in Asia (LUCAS - comprising heads of churches), women and youth representatives, mission partners, ecumenical guests and LWF staff.

The APAC/ACLC delegates identified human trafficking, climate change, diakonia and diapraxis as the main challenges for churches in the region that hosts more than 60 percent of the world’s population. Asia also accounts for nearly 90 percent of all people exposed to the risk of natural disasters worldwide.

As residents of a region already adversely affected by global climate change, being discussed at the 7 to 18 December United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Asian church representatives urged all LWF member churches to appeal to their governments to seek to achieve a fair agreement to succeed the Kyoto protocol.

They urged the region’s countries to take responsibility for their CO2 emissions and to encourage the development of alternative energy sources that would not further burden the poor.

They pointed out that while countless women and children starve in Asia, “food consumption and wastage is on the rise.” They affirmed the need to evaluate consumption patterns, and urged the Stuttgart assembly planners to minimize costs by emphasizing simple food and life style. “We ask that participants be encouraged to give up a meal to support a hunger-related initiative of the member churches. This is a tangible way in which we can stand in solidarity with those who are hungry,” the final message stated.

The LWF assembly will take place from 20-27 July 2010 in Stuttgart Germany, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg.

The Asian region message also called for greater attention to human trafficking, and especially the need to adopt and enforce the Palermo Protocol, which criminalizes human trafficking, in the hope of preventing more people from being lured into virtual slavery for want of daily bread.

Churches were urged to respect and trust “your young people and invite, encourage and train them to participate in all aspects of your church’s life.” The participants also called for greater support for Asian women’s initiatives “by advocating for and setting up justice mechanisms within your church which will help to promote and build a culture of gender equality.”

They affirmed the religious and cultural diversity that enables Asian churches to bring to the Lutheran communion the experiences of dialogue and diapraxis. They appealed to other LWF regions to join in deepening commitment to conversations and actions with people of other faiths. The Asian delegates emphasized that such interreligious engagement “does not detract from our primary call to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments.”

The Asia area desk of the LWF Department for Mission and Department organized the APAC and ACLC, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand. (608 words)

Journey | Asia Pre-Assembly Consultation

10.12.2009

Asian Churches Advocate Strong Advocacy on Responsible Stewardship

Equitable Distribution and Consumption Will Curb Food Insecurity

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