“As Christians, we dare to hope”. This is the message that the delegates of several European Churches, Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic ones, gathered in Lyons from July 15th to 21st for the XIII General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (KEK), send to Europe. “Hope – reads the final message that was voted on last night – gives us joy, peace, courage, boldness and freedom. It relieves us from fear, opens up our hearts, and strengthens our testimony of the Lord Resurrected. We, as Christians, are called to one hope in Christ, the source of love, forgiveness and reconciliation”. In the message, the Churches express some concerns. “As we work passionately for a united and reconciled Europe, that we impatiently await – they write –, we deplore the fact that new walls of separation are being raised between nations, cultures and religions. We see new divisions appear – between resident and migrant citizens, between rich and poor, between employed and unemployed, between those who see their rights respected and those who see them harmed”. The message also mentions climate change and the “serious financial crisis” and adds: “Despite all this, we firmly believe that as Christians we have a special hope to be shared just in situations that seem to be hopeless”.
“We state – the message goes on – that there is a hope, while we persevere in our fight for truth and justice. There is hope when we resist any form of violence and racism, when we defend the dignity of every person. There is hope when we insist on the imperative of a selfless solidarity between individuals and between peoples, when we fight for the sincere respect of Creation”. “The challenge thrown by the General Assembly to the member Churches – write the delegates of the Kek Assembly – is the bold message of hope. A hope that is not expressed in empty statements but in concrete actions and in a lively faith. We state that the Churches must work for justice and tell the truth to the powerful. This means pulling down the walls between people, cultures and religions to learn to distinguish God’s image in the face of our neighbours. This means respecting, and not just tolerating, the other human beings. Above all, though, this means finding new ways to express our solidarity with the poor, distant from and close to us”.
© SIR july 21 2009