(Beril Huliselan)
As
we all know, the 26th General Council of the World Communion of Reformed
Churches (The WCRC) will be held in Leipzig (Germany) from 29 June to 7 July
2017 under the theme “Living God, renew and transform us”. This theme echoes
the spirit of the 26th General Council, which is to reflect its heritage and to
transform it for the transformation of the world. This position is clearly
shown in Chris Ferguson's (the WCRC general secretary) statement that renewal
of church ‒ thinking, acting, and understanding in
a radical way ‒ is imperative for the WCRC. Right at
this point, I want to make some critical notes about the form of presence that
the WCRC chose in Indonesia, namely the founding of the regional council.
Many
things need to be critically reviewed in the context of ecumenical challenges
in Indonesia, especially considering the increased divergence of its landscape.
However, in this writing, I just want to focus on the issue of ecumenical
partnership that has been part of the ecumenical journey since the era of the 1960s
and is still important now. This idea (ecumenical partnership) is important in the
ecumenical movement because it places local churches (fellowship of churches at
a local level) as the center of the ecumenical journey. That means all
ecumenical talks and achievements should have an impact at a local level. And
on the other side, all challenges at a local level should also have an impact
on ecumenical talks and achievements at various levels (national, regional, and
international).
Right
at this point, I want to make some critical notes about the founding of the
WCRC regional council in Indonesia based on the significance of the local
churches. To put it simply in one question, is a regional council the right form
of presence for the WCRC to respond to the complexity of the situation at a local
level in Indonesia? For me, frankly speaking, the answer is “no”. Why? First,
because the founding of the regional council in Indonesia showcases how the WCRC
has moved away from the CWCs theological position — made in the CWC conference
of 1967 — to encourage its member churches to form church unions in their locus.
In other words, to help churches at a local level to grow together in their
locality and to find a way for local convergence between different churches at a
local level. In this context, the founding of the WCRC regional council in
Indonesia is counterproductive to that purpose, including the problem of
dividing lines at a local level.
Second, the reality of the ecumenical movement in Indonesia showcases how
churches at a local level have been living almost without an effective local
ecumenical table for many years; the table where different churches at the local
level get connected one another to reflect their common life and mission as the
people of God. If the WCRC is committed to the idea of ecumenical partnership,
then this problem should get more attention so that all ecumenical talks and
achievements can be translated at a local level. By doing this, the WCRC also
helps the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (the PGI) to develop an effective
ecumenical structure at a local level that will: (a) connect local churches to
other levels of the ecumenical movement and (b) helps churches overcome the poor
level of communication as shown in the 2013 ecumenical survey in Indonesia.
Unfortunately, until now churches in Indonesia still don’t have an effective ecumenical structure at a local level.
Third, according to the 2013 ecumenical survey in Indonesia, many
churches see the biggest challenges they’ve been facing for the last ten years
are the issues of human rights, poverty and ecology. These issues are not easy
to deal with because: (1) churches have lack human resources and experience in
these issues, (2) the problem of weak ecumenical structure at a local level,
(3) theological gap between churches, and (4) the overlapping church identities
(confessional identity, sense of territory and ethnic identity) that bring tension
in the mission field. In the 2016 research on ecological justice and church
response in Indonesia, we can see the other factors that weaken the church's
role in facing the current challenges, namely conflict of
interest between churches and church institutional weakness. In this context,
the founding of the WCRC regional council in Indonesia is like taking a
direction that is not connected to the real challenges at a local level, even
contradicting it.
Fourth, many inter-church and intra-church institutions
in Indonesia finally make the ecumenical landscape become a bit crowded and
have an impact on ecumenical architecture in Indonesia that looks confused and
ineffective. That’s why in some areas, according to the 2013 ecumenical survey
in Indonesia, these different institutions even compete with one another
because of different agendas and interests they have. If we compare it with the
2016 research on ecological justice and church response in Indonesia, we also
can see how these different institutions play a weak role (ineffective) in
facing ecological injustice at a local and national level.
Fifth, the 2013 ecumenical survey showcases the tendency of growing
institutionalization of the ecumenical movement in Indonesia. This problem has
made confessional identity, sense of territory, and ethnic identity finally
being institutionalized in church existence. That's why, sectoral and
jurisdictional ways of thinking are growing and have an impact on the
mission field, church institutional culture, and other parts of church life.
All of these issues raise serious doubts about the WCRC's form of presence in
Indonesia, especially the regional council. This type of presence is largely
unrelated to the genuine issues that many churches in Indonesia experience at a
local level. If the WCRC wants to transform its heritage to respond to the
current challenges in Indonesia, then some challenges that I mentioned above
should be put into consideration to bring renewal of its presence in Indonesia.
I think the 26th General Council is the right time for the WCRC to do it. As I
said before, Chris Ferguson (the WCRC general secretary) already made a very
strong statement that renewal of the church is imperative for that the WCRC.
So, now we are waiting for the renewal.
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