WCC - Gathering Prayer - Day 1 (October 30)

Bexco foyer - huge!

the huge auditorium for day 1 - gathering prayer

Great expectation was in the air with people gathering in the huge space set aside for worship at Bexco Exhibition and Convention Centre (it’s massive!). The booklet for this morning’s prayer has English, French, Spanish, German and Korean translations – a reminder of the global gathering of people from many continents, countries and communities. We were called to begin our gathering by the striking of a large Korean drum. There was an entrance procession of WCC leadership to begin. During the lamentation prayers, several participants from an ecumenical theatre group in the Philippines – Teatro Ekyumenikal - were at the front, on their knees as a physical symbol of lament, rubbing ash on and tipping it over themselves.
The prayer began: ‘God of life, we come to place before you the sufferings of the world and the concerns of our lives. In the midst of scepticism and doubt, tiredness and hardship, we beseech you, O God, hear us and have mercy’.
Prayers were offered for (and from) Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and the Pacific. I felt like joining the ashen people at the end of the long litany of lament, such was the nature of the cries and hopes expressed.
At the end of each section of the prayer of lament, the WCC Assembly delegates sang ‘Senzenina’, a short response meaning, ‘What have we done?’ The word ‘Senzenina’ and the music was traditional Xhosa and Zulu, made popular during the South African anti-apartheid movement.

The gospel reading (the road to Emmaus from Luke 24:28-35) was chanted in Aramaic.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, gave the sermon (in Aramaic, with printed translation). It was titled ‘The Message of Blessing’ rather than a sermon – interesting focus!

This phrase took my attention (speaking about ecumenical initiatives in the Armenian church): ‘Unity in the essentials; Liberty in the non-essentials; Love in all things’. Good wisdom.

He also made this point: ‘It is clear that society in the modern era has very little use or concern for the poor among us – whether they are poor in material needs or poor in spirit. By contrast, it was Jesus who blessed the poor. It was Jesus who offered up his brief life and ministry to bring comfort to the poor in spirit, and relief for the material and spiritual impoverishment of mankind. It was Jesus, extending the legacy of the Hebrew prophets, who made these values a central concern for the entire human family – indeed, who made such concerns the very measure of our humanity. The church is to be the vessel of Christ’s ‘nearness’ in the world.

He also spoke about peace.

‘Peace remains an elusive reality in our world. We believe that this realization is the most terrible and demoralizing surprise of the 21^st century. At the turn of the millennium, we all had more positive, more hopeful expectations for the world, than what we see around us today. Especially painful are the civil unrest, intolerable violence and active warfare being carried out in the Middle East – especially in Syria and Egypt. Surely our hearts go out to all the people suffering under lawlessness and violence. We pray for all families regardless of ethnicity, faith, creed or race; and we implore God to bring an end to all conflicts, so that reason and dialogue can prevail'.

He spoke about the plight of Christians in the Middle East who have been singled out be extremists. ‘Since the time of the Apostles, these Christian communities (including Armenians) have lived productively and at peace throughout the Middle East, contributing to their adopted lands. Christians have historically played the role of peacemakers in the region. And their treatment is a test of justice in their respective countries: a test of whether basic human rights are honoured by the local authorities and the majority populations. The Christians succumbing to violence in the Middle East are the witnesses of martyrdom in our own day’.

‘This reality speaks with special force to the Armenians. The torments of our Christian brethren are all too familiar to our people. In the year 2015, Armenians in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, and in every nation on earth will commemorate a tragic anniversary – one hundred years since the greatest cataclysm of our history: the genocide of the Armenians, committed by Ottoman Turkey. Four generations have passed since 1915; but the memory of our time of horror remains alive. And the quest for justice – if only through the simple act of official recognition and universal condemnation – will not die’.

‘This should stand as a reminder that the violence and misery in our world today will cast dark shadows into the 22^nd century and beyond. We are grateful that in recent years the WCC, our sister Churches, and more than 20 countries have made official statements recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide. But imagine the pain and misery that could have been spared – not only for our people, but for the later victims of genocides in Europe, Cambodia and Africa – if the world of a century ago had taken action to prevent the atrocities, massacres and ethnic cleansings of 1915’.

‘As churches, we must protest the crimes going on before the eyes of the world today. And we must speak forcefully for a universal doctrine of human rights: whether it involves the fight for life itself in Syria and Egypt, or whether it is a struggle for the right to self-determination of a free people in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh. We must assert, with one voice, that the violation of these basic rights will not be tolerated in any part of the world; because without a foundation of justice and human rights, the peace we seek will be only temporary and fleeting’.

In drawing the sermon to close, he then referred back to the Bible reading about the risen Jesus joining the despondent disciples on the road to Emmaus. ‘That is a message we must embrace as the church – as the Body of Christ on earth. Our quest to promote justice and peace – and every human good – begins by meeting our people on the road. We must approach them with compassion; share their journey; help them with their burdens. Acting among them with the presence of Jesus Christ’.

We then sang ‘Peace must be dared’ (this phrase based on a quotation by Dietrich Bonhoeffer) and written by Shirley Erena Murray.

Peace must be dared, it is a great venture,
Peace must set out with hope as the crew
Peace must take hold and sight a new landscape,

Peace must take risks when chances are few:
Chorus:
People of God, whatever your label,
look to the Way, the Truth and the Light,
See in the life and challenge of Jesus,
all that makes peace, and all that makes right!

Crosses and creeds have nailed us and failed us,
Powers of the state betray and connive,
Wickedness wins while good people falter,
Weapons and words destroy and deprive.
Chorus:

Peacemakers work with passion and purpose
Peacemakers stand and argue their case
Peacemakers give their blood and their being
Knowing the cause, the courage, the grace.
Chorus:

And still we had more in this opening worship – the Korean choir (in traditional Korean dress) sang the anthem, ‘God of Life’ by Ruy Hyung Sun (based on the Korean folksong, Arirang’). Very stirring and strong, and a reminder of the opportunity for hope even in the midst of challenges - to dream that the God of life can indeed lead us to justice and peace.

And then the Intercessions, punctuated by a short sung refrain, ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace’, followed by the Lord’s Prayer in many languages (always stirring), and the sending word:

Go in peace:
be of good courage;
hold fast that which is good;
render to no-one evil for evil;
strengthen the faint-hearted;
support the weak;
help the afflicted;
honour everyone;
love and serve the Lord,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And we finished with a great traditional Caribbean tune (‘Junkanoo’) with the words for the song, Now Go In Oeace (words by Michael Mair, Mission and Discipleship Council of the Church of Scotland):

Now go in peace, now go in love from the Father above.
Jesus Christ the Son stay with you till the day is done.
Holy Spirit encircle you in all you think and do.
Once again, God’s blessing be with us. Amen.

Then it was time for lunch……