Jesus Christ: For the Healing of the Nations

The World Methodist Council and Conference met in Durban, South Africa from the 1st of August 2011 till 8th August 2011 under the banner of the above theme. The Council met from the 1st till the 3rd and the Conference from the 4th till the 8th. The Council was more a business session whereas the Conference was more a celebration of the larger body of Methodists coming together to worship, study God’s Word, listen to renowned speakers, etc.

World Methodist Council (WMC)
The Methodist Church in Malaysia was allowed to send two delegates. Rev. Dr. Su Chii Ann, President of the Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference and Mr. Anthony Row were selected by GCEC to represent the MCM at this meeting.

One hundred and thirty years ago the first Methodist Ecumenical Council was held at Wesley’s Chapel Methodist Church, City Road in London England. Four hundred leaders from the Methodist/Wesleyan family from around the world gathered and formed what is now The World Methodist Council. Today the Council is composed of seventy-four member churches which have ministries in more than 132 countries.

The Methodist/Wesleyan family of forty five million Church members and followers of Jesus Christ are engaged in ministries which reach over seventy five million people helping them to become reconciled to God and to each other through Jesus Christ.

The five-hundred member Council meets every five years. It is a self-governing body which derives its advisory and administrative authority from the churches which constitute its membership.

This year the WMC elected a new General Secretary in the person of Rev. Ivan Abrahams. He is the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of South Africa. He succeeds Rev. Dr. George Freeman. The Council also, as part of its deliberations, elected other new staff, Officers, members of the Presidium, Standing Committee Chairpersons and Operational Committee Chairpersons.

During this Council meeting, a significant amount of time was spent in approving a new Constitution to govern the affairs of the Council. As always, when dealing with Constitutions, it was a long drawn and tedious affair. At times tempers flared and at times there was a lot of jovial banter. Everyone wanted to have a say and the Chairperson had a very difficult time trying to balance time constraints and allowing everyone to speak. The whole proceeding reflected many of our Annual/General Conference sessions. It was not a place for the faint hearted. Some took the easy way out and skipped the sessions and went shopping or sight-seeing. The two of us took our task seriously and participated actively in all the sessions and did not give in to the temptation to do otherwise.

The WMC also received reports from various committees on Youth and Young Adults, Education, Social & International Affairs, etc. Most of the reports can be found at the WMC website (www.worldme thodistcouncil.org).

Our impression of the WMC is that it is very much driven by the Churches in the North as they were the main contributors of finance. As for Asia it is apparent that most have very little knowledge of what the Methodists are doing or how we are faring. Their only knowledge was of the Korean and Singapore Churches. The rest of us don’t seem to exist. We made our observations known at private and open sessions. No one responded to what we had to say, except to comment during tea-breaks that what we stated were valid points. We did have a talk with the new General Secretary and asked that this issue be addressed in future meetings.

World Methodist Conference
The purpose of the Conference is to help realise a wider awareness and support for the ministries in which the Methodist/Wesleyan family is involved, and to help establish unity within the Body of Christ. Its purpose is inspirational, educational and fraternal in nature. The Conference is composed of duly nominated members of the Council, as well as Delegates representing member Churches and Accredited visitors, etc.

The delegation from Malaysia increased from two to nine members with the arrival of Rev Boh Che Suan (President, CAC), Rev Ling Heu Uh (President SPAC), Rev. T. Jeyakumar, (TRAC), Rev. Dr. Ng Geok Hooi, (CAC) Mr. Hii Chi Chong, (SCAC), Mr. Wong Hai Yew (SPAC) and Mr. Wan Fook Chean (CAC).

The Conference sessions were more heart-warming. Led by different choirs everyday, the worship services were very enriching. Prayers, music and hymns from different parts of the world, readings, reflections made it a joy to be in South Africa, in the midst of other Methodists. Bible Studies were led by the Rev. Dr. Joy Moore an ordained Elder from UMC. She provoked us to think outside of the box as her preaching was not confined to the normal manner of doing bible study. She reminded us that we have become too familiar and know by heart, texts/verses without really knowing/understanding the story behind them. She also reminded us that God is not fooled by our slogans/bumper stickers and catch phrases on our t-shirts. We have to live our faith out in community and not just in isolation. Unless the Church really lives and witnesses as "community", the world will never take us or the Lord we profess seriously.

The address by Archbishop Elias Chacour of Nazareth, Galilee was absolutely inspiring. He kept us glued to our seats as he recounted story after story of happenings that were going on in Israel. He lamented that the world at large does not know the truth of happenings and sufferings of Arabs, Arab Christians, Palestinians and Palestinian Christians in Israel. He invited us not to be just tourists to the Holy land but to come and visit them too and to listen to their “real” stories.

Another high point of the Conference was the awarding of the World Methodist Peace Award 2011 to Ros Colwill and the work of the Amuado Itumbauzo Methodist Church Nigeria. Her testimony during the presentation was indeed inspiring. She recounted how she used to daily, pass by people who were mentally ill or having learning difficulties and one day the Lord moved her heart and inspired her to do something about it. In collaboration with the local communities and under the auspices of the Methodist Church Nigeria, she opened Amaudo (Village of Peace). Her work has led to hope for people with mental problems in Nigeria.

On Sunday morning we worshipped in different Methodist Churches in Durban. And in the afternoon it was time for "Jabulani" (joyous abundance) - celebrating jabulani by marching through the streets of Durban culminating with a worship service on the footsteps of the City Council building. It was quite amazing to be part of this and to see the peoples of Durban come out in great numbers to greet all of us.

The Conference closed on the final day with the installation of new officers and Holy Communion.

It was time to leave Durban, South Africa and we left with many lingering memories. The rich "ubuntu" (fellowship), making new friends, a reminder that we are "ubunye" (one), to enjoy and experience "amandla" (power, energy, life force) of the music and dancing of Africa, which brought life to the worship services and every time we congregated. It was also a time to celebrate with the peoples of Africa, a continent ravaged by famines, wars, killings, oppression, and who now are providing new leadership and meaning to Christian life through their "liberated "singing, dancing, praying, preaching, and theology. It was refreshing to be part of such experiences.

We further enjoyed the fellowship amongst ourselves. We bonded, shared about our churches, our Conferences, we looked out for one another and felt responsible to ensure that everything was alright with us. We are grateful to God for giving us this opportunity through the General Conference to be part of all that happened in Durban. In many ways we were blessed and our lives were enriched.

By Anthony Row

[Mr. Anthony Row, member of the Tamil Annual Conference and the Secretary of the General Conference.]