October 17, 2011

CHENNAI, India/GENEVA – Christians must rethink their spirituality and mission to engage a constantly changing world, Rev. Dr Augustine Jeyakumar told Lutheran leaders from throughout India gathered for the 28th Triennial Conference and General Body of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI).

"Engaging in mission in a pluralistic context such as India is a challenge but we must not be fazed by the challenge," said Jeyakumar, a member of The Arcot Lutheran Church (ALC).

Around 100 leaders from the 12 UELCI churches attended the gathering held 26-28 September in Chennai, India, under the theme "Participating in the Mission of God." Founded in 1926 as the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India, the UELCI represents 4.5 million members, predominantly from the Dalit and Adivasi (aboriginal) communities. Eleven of the churches belong to The Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

The Triennial Conference and General Body, which meets every three years, is UELCI's highest decision-making body. Delegates set direction for the grouping and address the major themes confronting their churches.

Discussion ranged from gender justice, HIV and AIDS, peace building and health ministries, to youth leadership, capacity building and human resources development.

Reflecting on the theme, Jeyakumar noted that Christians had a unique and holistic mission to look after the needy of the world. "Today, the new generation translates mission so that it addresses the total transformation of life, both physical and spiritual."

Churches were called to show concern for the poor, needy and suffering, and to demonstrate the love of God through both words and deeds, added Jeyakumar, a member of the LWF Meeting of Officers. Discipleship

In his keynote address, LWF Deputy General Secretary Rev. Dr Chandran Paul Martin, noted that mission was the raison d'être of the church, which flowed from its nature as a witnessing community.

"To be a missional church is not an option, it is discipleship," said Martin, a former executive secretary of the UELCI.

In his presentation, Martin highlighted the significant landmarks in the history of the Lutheran churches in India, noting the engagement in diakonia, women's ministries, as well as the partnership between Lutheran churches and mission boards developed in the 1970s. He underlined also the emergence of young dynamic leaders in the 1980s and the ordination of women by the ALC and Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1991.

On the local contexts, the LWF deputy general secretary pointed out that "One cannot discuss mission in India without speaking of the ethical trappings." Martin maintained, "Scores of communities, both adivasis and dalits, continue to be dispossessed, displaced and discriminated against.

"Caste, according to many, has been the most heinous of all systems of discrimination, keeping a large section of the people under the bondage of several forms of slavery. The existence of such a system in itself is an invitation, a calling to participate in the journey for justice for Dalits and other marginalized communities in India," he stressed.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, however, offered new hope and identity to the marginalized, oppressed and excluded, he said. It calls for inclusion and emancipation of the dispossessed and urges Christians to be involved in these struggles.

Christians were "the salt of the earth" and were called to be the conscience keepers of society and agents of change in the world, Martin added. Ordination Ministry

Presenting the UELCI Women in Church and Society (WICAS) desk report, Ms Ranjitha Borgoari pointed out that there were two churches that were not ordaining women yet and women were asking when they would start to act on this. She noted that there were churches ordaining women but not providing them a place to develop that ministry and that women were asking for action in this area as well.

Sharing reflections from the LWF WICAS Desk, Rev. Dr Elaine Neuenfeldt said discussion on women's ordination should not be taken as a "women's issue" but as a church concern – "a theme which defines what image, what practice the church wants to be known, wants to witness. It is an ecclesiological concern, and therefore, should be discussed in every level in the church, especially in the decision-making body."

The ordination ministry, said Neuenfeldt, was more than a "rights issue; it is a call, a gift we receive from God." The question therefore is of the kind of human structures that churches set up to enable all people – women and men – to develop, live the call they receive and want to follow.

In his closing sermon, ALC Bishop R. Devadoss Vijayakumar affirmed, "Mission is part of God's nature, and it is meant to become a part of our nature too. It is not just an option, it is a mandate."

The governing body re-elected Jeyakumar as executive secretary. Others elected included Bishop Godwin Nag of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States as UELCI president.

Lutheran World Information
By UELCI Communications Secretary Rev. Timothy Melvyn