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The Overseas Mission and Partnerships Policy GroupTerms of Reference Review and Develop policy on:
Synopsis
Recommendations(1) That the Council for World Mission be a primary relationship of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. [paragraph 4.3 in report] (2) That the relationship between the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu and the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand be a primary relationship in overseas mission. [paragraph 4.2] (3) That the General Assembly: (a) Receive the supplementary report of the Church of Scotland on Israel Palestine and commend it as a document for study in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. (b) Express profound sorrow and deep concern for the situation in Israel-Palestine where a continuing cycle of violence is bringing only suffering and despair, and offer continuing prayer and support for the people involved. (c) Offer support to all the Christian churches in the area in their difficult task of building peace and reconciliation (d) Condemn the attacks on innocent Israelis by Palestinian suicide bombers, gunmen and those who encourage them, as terror against innocent civilians is unacceptable to all civilised people. (e) Condemn Israeli attacks against innocent civilians and calls on the Israeli Government to work to ensure the safety of Palestinian non-combatants. (f) Support the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel; and ask the Global Mission Office, in consultation with the overseas Mission and Partnership Policy Group, to explore ways to express this support. (g) Affirm the conviction that justice demands a viable independent Palestinian state guaranteed by international treaty and action. [paragraph 6.3] (4) That the Assembly endorse the paper on Climate Change attached to the report of the Overseas Mission and Partnerships Policy Group. [paragraph 5.4.1] (5) That the Assembly receive the Church of Scotland report on Iraq and ask the Service Team to prepare a statement on the bombing of Iraq and the continuing sanctions against that country for consideration and action by the Council of Assembly. [paragraph 6.4] Report1. An Overview1.1 Overseas mission and ecumenical relationships are a fundamental and integral part of the nature of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Church is called to carry the gospel to the whole earth and to be part of the worldwide fellowship of those who seek to follow Jesus Christ. If we lose these dimensions to our life as a Church, we lose a significant part of our integrity and identity. 1.2 Our understanding of mission is based on what has become popularly known as the "5 faces of mission". These are;
2. Background2.1 The transition process from the Council for Mission and Ecumenical Cooperation has now been completed. The Policy Group is aware of the huge contribution that so many people made to COMEC over its 17 years. They are too many to name. The Global Mission Office has now moved to St David's Khyber Pass, Auckland. The Methodist Mission and Ecumenical Secretary, the Rev John Roberts is also located at St David's. The two Churches continue to work together on areas of common interest through a Joint Partnership Group. This group is made up of 4 representatives of each Church and oversees and develops areas of cooperation. 3. Key Priorities and Developments3.1 Two major appointments have been made; The Rev Chris Nichol has been appointed as Ecumenical Relations Officer and the Rev Andrew Bell as the new Global Mission Secretary. A communications plan has been developed for implementation. A mission statement has been prepared and is submitted to the Assembly - Appendix 4. . The intention of the statement, which includes our priorities for the next 3 years, is to be a measure against which all our policies and decisions can be tested and assessed. 3.2 The Policy Group sees a crucial part of its task as creating policies by which congregations and presbyteries can be directly engaged in global mission. It is equally crucial that a whole new generation of Church members be nurtured who will be informed and competent in dealing with global mission issues. The Policy Group is working towards these objectives. The Policy Group has commissioned a Christian education pack on global mission, which contains resources that are appropriate for the 7 to 13 year old age groups. This will be available to congregations later this year. We have made exposure to overseas mission contexts by young people a priority and are working towards creating youth exchanges with overseas Churches and Christian bodies. The Council for World Mission's Training in Mission programme in South Africa and India, and a Presbyterian Church of Taiwan initiative of youth exchange between India, Taiwan, Japan, Wales and New Zealand are two examples. The intention is that we create in our Church a generation of people who are personally informed and committed to global mission issues. 4. Key policy initiatives Overseas Mission4.1 We are systematically reviewing all our traditional and current partner Church relationships. We are open to the possibility of new relationships forming. We seek to identify and enhance the quality and depth of those overseas relationships in which we can most usefully invest our time energy and resources. In forging such relationships, we have adopted the following principles: we will respect the integrity of the partner Church and we will be available to encourage and enable their mission. We will allow ourselves to learn from and be changed by the ministry of the other and will seek to clarify the unique nature of each relationship. 4.2 We have begun with a review of our Partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu (PCV). After a visit to Vanuatu by Revs Stuart Vogel and Lorraine Francis, the Policy Group affirmed the relationship of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand with the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu as a primary relationship in mission. In line with our desire to reassess all aspects of our relationship, a separate visit by Rev Russell Rofe was also made to assess Novota Farm. There are a number of important initiatives that are emerging. One is the visit to New Zealand by the Clerks of the 6 Presbyteries of the PCV. This is a development of a new policy within the PCV to shift initiative and mission to the Presbyteries. 4.3 A renewed relationship over the last few years is our membership of the Council for World Mission. The Policy Group affirms that CWM is a primary relationship to which we are committed. We intend to play a full part in the life of CWM. We have met with the Rev Des van der Water, incoming General Secretary of CWM, and the discussion clarified ways that we might develop our commitment. CWM impacts on our Church well beyond just our Policy Group. The Overseas Mission and Partnership Policy Group wishes to review the processes of CWM management, as they relate to the different Policy Groups of the Presbyterian Church, with the aim of ensuring adequate communication between them. 4.4 Two Global Mission Fora will be held in 2003, one in the North Island and one in the South. We have been negotiating with a keynote speaker of international standing. We believe we need world class speakers who will inspire and teach our people in the local congregations and Presbyteries of our Church. They are the shop front of our Church and the ones for whom these Fora are intended. As we also want families to attend, the timing, venues and speaker have taken some time to clarify and arrange. 5. Key Policy Initiatives Ecumenical Relations5.1 With the Rev Chris Nichol now in place as Ecumenical Relations Secretary, we are able to raise the level of active commitment to ecumenical relations. Protocols by which Chris relates and reports to the Policy Group have been established. We hope this is a dynamic relationship of learning and reflection. The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is, by its very nature, an ecumenical Church. Our understanding of faith requires us to play a full part in the worldwide body of Christ. The General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches Assembly for example, is to be held in Ghana in 2004. Participation in the preparatory studies and discussion of background issues leading to the Assembly is a priority of the Policy Group. We look now for those studies and discussions to be taken up at congregational and Presbytery level. Our major other international ecumenical commitments have been the Christian Conference of Asia, the Pacific Conference of Churches and the World Council of Churches. 5.2 Ecumenism is of course more than an overseas matter. An ecumenical agenda has been agreed by the Overseas Mission and Partnership Policy Group and the Resourcing for Mission Policy Group, and a paper on ecumenism available on the website is informing our approach. (See ReForM report). 5.3 Conference of Churches of Aotearoa New Zealand; In the light of a CCANZ hui held in Wellington in March, and a review of the Programme to Combat Racism, the Council has decided that no contributions be made to new CCANZ programmes at this time and that the present level of CCANZ funding be sustained at least until the end of 2004. This is to enable the new strategic direction to be developed and to give us an opportunity to review its effectiveness with Presbyterian congregations in mid 2004. 5.4 Climate Change5.4.1 The Policy Group recommends the appended statement for endorsement by the General Assembly. Appendix 2. Richard Lawrence, a member of the Policy Group, has adapted our submission to Parliament on climate change for it to be considered by Assembly. The Policy Group has worked closely with the Churches Agency on Social Issues on this issue, and is working on identifying the unique international resources and insights that our policy group can bring to the discussion within our Church and society. These include material from the World Council of Churches and particular partner churches. 6. Key Policy Initiatives; International Affairs6.1 The Policy Group endorsed the initiatives taken at the meeting of June 5 in Christchurch by the interim committee of oversight, towards the establishment of the International Affairs Desk based at the Christian World Service Office in Christchurch. The key strategies of employing and resourcing a researcher have been identified, as have protocols of governance. The Council of Assembly appointed the Global Mission Secretary and the Rev. Kevin Duncan to the Board of Oversight. 6.2 The Policy Group's aims of the International Affairs Desk are as follows. "Through the work of the International Affairs Desk, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa-New Zealand seeks information to enable it to respond in a Christ like way to those areas and situations in the world where human pain and need are felt acutely." 6.3 The Policy Group brings to this Assembly a statement about the situation in Israel and Palestine. Appendix 3The Assembly of the Church of Scotland adopted the report, which is attached below on May 29, 2002. We have brought the report to our Assembly, as a resource from a partner Church. We believe it demonstrates what we hope for in reports dealing with such tragic and complex situations. These qualities are: first rate and wide ranging research into contemporary issues, a priority on compassion for those who are victims, a deep concern for justice and a faith that believes that such complex situations can be resolved by negotiation. 6.4 This report invites us to continue to weave our way towards an understanding of the complexities of the situation in the Middle East. The Policy Group will seek to assist our Church to do so on the basis of the qualities above. We particularly want to acknowledge the right of all people, Israeli and Palestinian, in the region to have the assurance of a just and peaceful future. The report invites us to explore what that means and how that might be achieved. The Church of Scotland has produced a similar paper regarding sanctions against Iraq. Appendix 4. The Policy Group wishes to submit this paper as a study document for Assembly's consideration. We propose also to ask the International Affairs Desk to research both the sanctions against Iraq and the effects of the bombing on innocent civilians. We hope then to prepare through the Global Mission Office an informed statement and plan of action on this matter. 7. Conclusion.7.1 Many commissioners to Assembly may feel wearied, even in despair, by the burden of difficult issues facing the Church. However, there are also opportunities for global mission that are bursting with potential. The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand has a unique set of relationships with Christian communities around the world. There are exciting and wonderful, almost endless, opportunities to experience the light and grace of God at work in global mission. We should not underestimate the power of that world wide Christian Community to take the good news of Jesus Christ to every corner of the earth and bring peace and healing. Nor should we underestimate the respect with which our Church is held within that community. 7.2 We ask the Assembly to do more than simply accept and adopt these deliverances. We ask that Assembly and our whole Church accept these challenges with joy and faith. It is a good time to be a member of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a time to celebrate and to stand up for the gospel with our sisters and brothers around the world. Stuart Vogel Convenor Appendix 1Church of Scotland Committee On Church And Nation Supplementary Report On Israel-Palestine DeliveranceThe General Assembly:1. Receive the Supplementary Report. 2. Express profound sorrow and deep concern for the situation in Israel-Palestine where a continuing cycle of violence is bringing only suffering and despair, and offer continuing prayer and support for the people involved 3. Offer support to all the Christian churches in the area in their difficult task of building peace and reconciliation 4. Condemn the attacks on innocent Israelis by Palestinian suicide bombers, gunmen and those who encourage them, as terror against innocent civilians is unacceptable to all civilised people. 5. Support the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel; and remit to the Board of World Mission, in consultation with the Committee on Church and Nation, to put this support into effect. 6. Reaffirm the conviction that justice demands a viable independent Palestinian state guaranteed by international treaty and action. Commissioners will know only too well of developments in Israel-Palestine. Since the Church and Nation Committee reported to the General Assembly last year, the situation has deteriorated considerably. Even since the brief mention was written for this year's Committee report (in the Action Taken section) an already deplorable level of violence and suffering has become unimaginably worse. The Committee, with the Board of World Mission, issued a statement on April 3rd 2002 which condemned both the suicide bombings and the continued occupation which needs ever-increasing levels of violence to sustain it. The statement said: We condemn the present occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel and the ruthless manner in which its military machine is terrorising the Palestinian people, endangering international observers, violating churches and destroying the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. We call on Israel to recognise that its policy of meeting violence with more violence is utterly futile and leads to greater insecurity for its people. Equally, we condemn the attacks on innocent Israelis by Palestinian suicide bombers, gunmen and those who encourage them ... Terror against innocent civilians is unacceptable to all civilised people. The working group set up after last year's General Assembly to study the Theology of Land and Covenant (which will report to the General Assembly of 2003) visited in March 2002 and were able to visit Bethlehem twenty-four hours after the tanks pulled out. They saw at first hand the devastation left behind. At the same time the Conference of European Churches was writing to the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nation in Geneva expressing deep concern about "wanton and brutal attacks on Christian personnel and property, particularly educational institutions," especially in Bethlehem. On April 12th the World Alliance of Reformed Churches wrote to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, arguing that, "the unnecessary suffering and loss of life that have resulted from this invasion cannot be justified." The Middle East Forum of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland wrote on April 11th to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, urging that pressure be brought to bear on the Israeli Government to "change its current, ultimately self-destructive, policy". That letter also recognised the importance of engaging fully the administration of the United States of America in the search for peace. Within the context of the Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches seeking Reconciliation and Peace, the World Council of Churches has called on member churches and ecumenical partners "to focus attention in 2002 on intensive efforts to End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine" and to join non-violent acts of resistance to the destruction of Palestinian properties and to the forced eviction of people from their homes and lands. Further, the WCC has called on member churches and Christians world-wide to join in international prayer vigils to strengthen the chain of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The Board of World Mission and the Board of Stewardship and Finance have each contributed £20,000 to give assistance to partners in Palestine as they attempt to deal with the human misery, ruined infrastructure and wider consequences of the Israeli attacks. However, partners all around the Middle East have been asking, through the Board of World Mission, how the western churches can be more active in highlighting and seeking to bring a halt to the humiliations being practised on the Palestinian people - Christian and Muslim - by the Israeli military forces. It is therefore right that the General Assembly be given an opportunity to add its own voice to those who have spoken on the events in the Middle East. In particular, we believe that the General Assembly can give its backing to the development by the World Council of Churches of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). This project will seek to train and equip civilian volunteers to go to Palestine and Israel for a period of three months:
We believe that the Church of Scotland can seek to channel such resources as can be devoted to this project through the Middle East Council of Churches. In the name of and by authority of the Committee Alan D. Mcdonald Convener Morag Ross Vice-Convener David Sinclair Secretary Appendix 2 - The Church and Climate ChangeWe believe that people in our church should know more about accelerated climate change and should be acting together to prevent further harm and risk to our Earth. People of churches all around the world are already working to lobby their governments to pursue policies in line with international agreements to lessen emissions of greenhouse gases. In many places individuals and communities are striving to bring about the necessary changes to reduce further changes in the earth's protective atmosphere. All actions to lessen greenhouse gas emissions are timely. It is ten years since the Earth Summit in Brazil, when the Framework Convention on Climate Change was formulated. Though many nations signed the agreement to cap greenhouse gas emissions, the target reductions have not been met. In fact, greenhouse gas emissions have increased all around the world. Furthermore, as the years go by, as pollution and the felling of forests increase, there is a growing scientific consensus that catastrophic disasters are likely and that the greenhouse effect could run out of control if the earth's atmosphere is burdened with more and more carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. More concerted thinking and efforts from the Church are necessary. To fulfil our church's fifth face of mission, the care of creation, we must care for the earth. Today this means protecting the earth's atmosphere, as well as the earth itself. In the matter of accelerated or anthropogenic climate change, many environmental and justice issues come together. Significantly, our neighbours of low-lying Pacific Island nations will be amongst the first to suffer the consequences of increases in sea levels due to global warming. In other parts of the world most likely to be adversely affected, impoverished people, in areas such as Bangladesh, will suffer first and suffer most. We must take our stand with the poor of the earth. As at July 2002 the New Zealand government has made clear its intention to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an agreement to continue to press for reduced emissions of greenhouse gases internationally. Though there can be plenty of debate about the adequacy of this protocol, the General Assembly believes it is the best instrument possible at this time for international efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. There may be debate about whether New Zealand should sign the protocol, given that there will be changes needed and economic consequences. Are we prepared to act as a nation on principle, rather than waiting to see what other nations do first? Are we prepared to invest in further research and development into renewable forms of energy? There are many important questions around the proposed reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We believe that, through faith, we must act for our children and our children's children and the world they will live in. Furthermore, we must act now in a precautionary way with a long-term view. This means reducing greenhouse gas emissions now, even before all the evidence is in. The signs are ominous and the call is clear. Appendix 3 - IraqThis report was received and the deliverance approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 29 May 2002. It is reprinted here for information and consideration by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. Sanctions Against IraqDeliveranceThat In the light of the severe suffering being inflicted on the Iraqi people through economic sanctions and the failure of this policy to bring about real change in Iraq, the General Assembly call for the immediate suspension of sanctions. "The General Assembly call upon Her Majesty's Government, through its membership of the Security Council of the UN, for a clear plan to be produced for the reduction of sanctions against Iraq in order to bring speedy benefit to the health and welfare of its people and the return of Iraq to normal international relations." (General Assembly, 1995). (1) When the General Assembly declared its mind on Iraq in 1995, economic sanctions had been in place for four years. Seven years later they are still in place and, despite their devastating effect, there seems little hope of them being lifted. (2) As recently as 30 November 2001, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was unequivocal: Iraq holds the key to its re-integration into the international community - compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1284. There must be independently verified compliance with the international community's insistence that Iraq give up its weapons of mass destruction. In the meantime, we will continue to fulfil our obligation to contain the threat that Saddam Hussein still poses to the International community. (3) With the exception of the UK and US Governments, virtually the entire international community, including Kuwait, is now urging the lifting of economic sanctions, the regeneration of Iraq's economy and the ending of Iraq's isolation. If the aim of economic sanctions was to bring a dictator to his knees they clearly haven't; instead they have brought 23 million civilians to their knees. The UN has stated that: Infant Mortality rates are the highest in the world, chronic malnutrition affects every fourth child under five, only 41% of the population have regular access to clean water, 83% of all schools need substantial repairs and the Iraqi health care system is in a decrepit state. In August of the same year, UNICEF reported: If the substantial reduction in child mortality during the 1980s had continued through the 1990s there would have been half a million fewer deaths of children. In February 2000, following a visit to Iraq to assess the impact of sanctions, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development summed up the wider consequences as follows: The damage, which has been inflicted on every sector of society, has resulted in a complex of problems, which are mutually reinforcing. Inadequate diet and dietary deficiencies, particularly of protein and vitamins, makes people more vulnerable to opportunistic diseases. Hyperinflation means that people routinely have two jobs. At the same time, the unemployment rate is estimated at 50%. Yet people still cannot afford to go to hospitals/clinics and medicines, when available, are beyond their reach. Young people are taken out of school to look after their siblings. Crime rates have soared. Prostitution has emerged as young women try to help their families. All this has led to a breakdown in normal family life, has undermined moral values and is slowly eating away - like a biblical plague of locusts - at the very fabric of society. (4) To alleviate some of the worst excesses, a UN/Iraq Oil for Food programme was launched in December 1996, with 72% of oil revenue held in a UN account in New York for basic needs. Although the UK and US Governments insist this is adequate, the UN's own Humanitarian Panel conceded, "There are some things that Oil for Food simply cannot do". (5) After eleven years, the UK Government is proposing to introduce various changes to the sanctions regime (sometimes referred to as "smart sanctions"). The changes would lift most "holds" on civilian goods, but the "dual use" category would still prevent essential components getting through; oil would be the only permitted export, undermining all other economic activity; no foreign investment would be allowed, and the Iraqi Government would not be permitted to use oil revenue to reconstruct society. (6) Even "smarter" sanctions are envisaged with zero holds but stricter controls, but these will still be based on the premise that Iraq continues to constitute a military threat. However, Scott Ritter, former head of the UN weapons inspection (concealment) unit stresses, "it was possible as early as 1997 to determine that, from a strictly qualitative standpoint, Iraq has been disarmed". (7) On 4 February 2002, Iraq informed UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that it was ready to hold talks "without preconditions". US Secretary of State Colin Powell insisted that any discussion with Iraq would be "very short" and repeated his demand that UN Weapons Inspectors be allowed to return to the country. The reinstatement of the inspection team's powers could indeed be a factor in the negotiations which might lead to the lifting of sanctions, but Colin Powell added that changing the Iraqi regime is something the United States "might have to do alone." (8) The people of Iraq face many problems already, and following President George Bush's State of the Union address on 29 January 2002, in which he singled out Iraq as part of an "axis of evil", they would appear to be facing more. There are no quick solutions to the oppressiveness of the Iraqi government, the enormous foreign debt, the internal tension and political uncertainty, the legacy of more than a decade of deterioration in social services, physical and mental health, and under-investment in its infrastructure. The brutal nature of the Iraqi government has not been lessened through the sanctions policy and this policy has led to even greater suffering being inflicted on the people of Iraq. Sanctions have not achieved their original objective and the time has come for them to cease. (Report of the UN Humanitarian Panel, March 1999). Appendix 4Overseas Mission and Partnerships Policy Group Mission Statement Who We AreThe Overseas Mission and Partnerships Policy Group is part of the Council of Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, which aims to develop and support healthy congregations engaged in global mission. Our VisionOur vision is that all people become members of the worldwide body of those who put their personal and common trust in Jesus Christ and who strive to be His disciples. The Holy Spirit joins us to the work of Jesus Christ who saves and renews all creation. Our commitment is to obey Jesus Christ whom we seek to serve by identifying his presence within the world and by pointing others toward him. We will offer what we have to those in need and seek to bring about just communities. The Good News of Jesus Christ affects our relationships with all creation. MissiologyThe Policy Group seeks to draw insights and encouragement from current missiological thinking. For example, the concept of the "frontier of mission" is being used in both Evangelical and Ecumenical writing and themes. The word "frontier" has a double meaning. It indicates both the place where decisive engagement is taking place and that such engagement requires movement, away from long held and entrenched positions, in order to seize a new moment. It takes courage and faith to move over and beyond a frontier, and we believe it is there the Holy Spirit leads and guides us. We want to learn from the way people in other contexts read and understand the Bible. For example, in Asia, people are recognizing how their context changes their understanding. There is a predominance of religious themes and issues in many conflicts and world situations today. A major issue for us is how we relate to people of other faiths. VocationThe Policy Group seeks to enable the members of our Church to better understand and renew their "vocation" to global mission. All Christians have a part to play in global mission, beginning with prayer. The word "vocation" comes from the Latin word for "voice". The Policy Group seeks to enable church members to hear the "voice" of God calling to service overseas, and to help members hear the voices of brothers and sisters in Christ overseas as they minister to us, share with us and work with us. StrategyWe aim to encourage the building of relationships between every person, congregation and regional group linked with the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, and people and communities beyond New Zealand, for the purpose of making Jesus Christ known. All partners will change and grow as a result of this relationship. Priorities for 2002 to 2004The Policy Group is very aware of the need to focus energy and resources strategically. In each case we seek to extend the frontiers, so that we are encountering those who do not know Jesus Christ. These priorities are: (1) To stimulate awareness of global mission among all members of the Church, especially younger generations, aiming to encourage their continuing informed involvement in global mission. (2) To identify and resource those congregations in our Church that have interest and potential in global mission and partnership with overseas Christian communities, hoping that they will be an encouragement and model for the whole Church. (3) To develop Forums or opportunities for people to meet, share ideas and be encouraged, taught and inspired by leading missiologists. (4) To hear and act as our overseas brothers and sisters say to us, "send us your people whom God has in mind to be mission workers with us and we will send our people to work with you." (5) To work within the Council for World Mission as an active, member church. (6) To work, and constantly review our relationships, with the Christian Conference of Asia, the Pacific Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches. (7) To continue working in mission with the Methodist Church of New Zealand Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa. (8) To establish an informed voice on international affairs, and to resource the Church for Christ-like response to specific issues. (9) To provide a voice of sane hope on global warming, particularly as it affects our Pacific and Asian neighbours, and to play a significant role in raising awareness and response. |
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