September 22, 2011

A Caribbean theologian and church leader says churches in North America and the Caribbean have a responsibility to be good neighbours and proclaim the need for healing and grace in the post 9/11 era.

"The world longs for the example of peace and unity that comes when each becomes a real neighbour to the other," says Yvette Noble-Bloomfield, Regional Deputy General Secretary with the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Noble-Bloomfield will be preaching at the opening service of a gathering of regional churches in the Dominican Republic that will focus on the theme "Who is my neighbour?"

The reference comes from the biblical story popularly known as the story of the good Samaritan found in Luke 10.25-37 that responds to the question of who is to be considered a neighbour and how such a person is to be treated.

Representatives of two regional church networks are set to meet in a joint assembly in the Dominican Republic from 24-30 September to explore the question of what it means to be a good neighbour in light of current regional and church relations where issues of security are at times seen to override concerns for human rights.

"Though the question of how to treat neighbours is age-old, it requires a new level of commitment. For us as churches, we have to ‘get it right' or the world we are seeking to serve will never believe us," says Noble-Bloomfield who serves as Vice-President for Caribbean and North America with the World Communion of Churches (WCRC).

The assembly serves the Caribbean and North American Area Council (CANAAC) of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) and the Caribbean and North America Council for Mission (CANACOM), a network of churches involved in mission in the region. Organizers expect 74 delegates and observers to gather in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo.

The objective of the assembly is to implement the WCRC strategic plan for working more closely with member churches through regional groups such as CANAAC and CANACOM.

Neal Presa, CANAAC Convenor, says the assembly "will put in place strategic initiatives over the next two years to implement and contextualize WCRC's core priorities of communion (church unity) and justice in this region."

WCRC General Secretary Setri Nyomi says: "Our communion can be understood as concentric circles of neighbours committed to building unity and to advocating for justice for all. This image represents the vision, mission and directions to which the WCRC strategic plan points. The theme chosen for the assembly makes it possible for the constituency in North America and the Caribbean to reflect on the best ways of moving forward the vision and aspirations of the communion."

The programme for the assembly features celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of CANACOM. Other programme highlights include a Theological Institute for 15 seminarians and young pastors from the region under the leadership of theologians from Haïti, Cuba and Canada, exploration of the assembly theme through worship and Bible study sessions as well as visits to the local area to become familiar with issues touching the lives of the churches in the Dominican Republic.

Looking back over the period since the last joint assembly in Guyana in 2008, Presa says CANAAC provided significant leadership and funding for the Uniting General Council that founded WCRC. The regional council also sponsored consultations on economic and social justice concerns in the United States, Jamaica and South Africa.

News of the assembly will be posted to the WCRC Facebook site and blog. See links on http://www.wcrc.ch/. Additional coverage will be available by following Twitter hashtag #CANAAC2011. Comments are invited by sending Tweets to @nealpresa or posting to the Facebook site.

WCRC was created in June 2010 through a merger of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC). Its 230 member churches representing 80 million Christians are active worldwide in initiatives supporting economic, climate and gender justice, mission, and cooperation among Christians of different traditions.

World Communion of Reformed Churches