Called to be a diaconal community through a pilgrimage of justice and peace.

Phiri, Isabel Apawo ; Dongsung, Kim

The aim of this article is to explore what the call to be a diaconal community would mean for the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the context of the pilgrimage of justice and peace between the 10th Assembly 2013 and 11th Assembly in 2021. To achieve this aim, the article will analyze the local and ecumenical understanding of diakonia. It will also reflect on how the WCC envisions a response to some aspects of diakonia in its programmatic work within the framework of the pilgrimage of justice and peace, where the Christian value of dignity for all is upheld.

Understanding Diakonia

From the outset, it is important to come to a common understanding of diakonia. Exploration of the different dimensions of diakonia has already been done by many authors. (1) Within the limits of this space, this article will focus on three dimensions to understanding diakonia. They are: service to the needy, advocacy by speaking to power, and service and advocacy about creation.

Diakonia as service

First, diakonia is often understood as service. In many instances it has also been regarded as acts of charity and benevolence that have been conferred upon the less fortunate or needy in one's community. When the World Council of Churches was founded in 1948, this form of diakonia was focused on bringing services to the prisoners and refugees of the Second World War. The churches in Europe worked together to form Inter Church Aid in order to coordinate their efforts for service to the victims of war in Europe as well as to the displaced Palestinians after the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. The first general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Dr W A. Visert't Hooft, highlighted the importance of diakonia as service. In the WCC report New Dehli to Uppsala, he is quoted as saying that "an ecumenical organization concerned only with study and academic questions would not be of interest to him; it must also, he asserted, be intimately involved in practical matters of service." (2) As a result of that conviction, there was tremendous growth in the practice of diakonia as service which involves sharing resources and bringing healing to the needy by the member churches of the WCC in the global North and global South.

However, our experience has shown that for the majority of the Christian faithful, diakonia remains an abstract and distant theological term that is sometimes difficult to understand. In many instances, Christians are involved in diakonia without realizing that they are actually doing so. This is because for most Christians what they are doing in their communities is understood as "service" and "witness." In many instances such works of service are undertaken as an outward expression of one's faith in God and Jesus Christ that needs to be expressed in Christian love of the neighbour who is in need. The various ministries of service conducted by the churches are regarded as benevolent acts on behalf of those who are in need and suffering from difficult circumstances. In such ministries the churches and the Christians regard themselves as the servants of Christ serving the needs of the world, much like Jesus himself, who declared that "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Within this framework of understanding, for the Christian, diakonia is the positive outworking of one's faith in specific actions of service and caring for the world that God so loved to the extent that God sent God's own Son to sacrifice himself for its salvation. As such, the various ministries of service in which the church engages is not only service for the sake of serving, but it is service with the intention of bearing witness to the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ. It is an effort by the Christian faithful to share the fullness of life presented to the world in Christ Jesus, the good news of the Christian gospel.

In recent times, this aspect of diakonia was well expressed by a participant to an international consultation organized by the WCC in 2012 to discuss the theological understandings of diakonia. After three days in which presentations were made on the different theological characteristics of ecumenical diakonia, this participant said, "I now understand that what I had been doing in my local congregation, the various activities and ministries that we had been undertaking in our communities, is diakonia/" For her, the activities of serving the community through the various forms of ministry, such as visitations, offering health support, education support, community building initiatives, local empowerment projects, and other forms of the church's social engagement, did not register as "diakonia." This inability to understand such contributions as diakonia can only be understood if one compares this local church diakonia with its base in the community as opposite to other forms of diakonia, which involve well-structured Christian development agencies. Nevertheless, despite the difficulty in quantifying this aspect of diakonia, (3) it is foundational in the work of the local church, and it is what has added value to humanity in times of great need.

The relationship of diakonia and the life of the church was quite suitably articulated in a consultation organized by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in 2002, where it noted that "'diakonia ... is a theological concept that presumes an ecclesial structure.... The church can never be reduced to its diaconal work but diakonia, embodied in different ways in different situations according to the needs of the context, is always a part of the life of the church." (4) Diakonia is, then, one of the many ways in which the witness of the church seeks to connect with the world in which it is situated. The diakonia of the church is "deeply interrelated with kerygma (proclamation of the Word) and koinonia (sharing at the table)." (5)

Diakonia as advocacy for justice and peace

A second dimension of diakonia is advocacy for justice and peace for all humanity as God's creation. Within the ecumenical movement, and particularly within the work of the WCC, diakonia has also been understood as having a broader implication for the churches' engagement with the world. As part of the ministry of the church in the world, diakonia is "a primary expression of the churches' participation in the on-going mission of God" in which the church of Christ is "not to be [an] exclusive, inward looking religious communit[y], but [has] a calling to be engaged with the world." (6) As the participants to the Lanarca Consultation affirmed, "Diakonia--in all its many authentic forms--cannot be separated from the struggle for justice and peace." (7) In this sense, the diakonia of the church "supports the people in their lives and struggles for justice and dignity." [8] Diakonia is a specific way of living out faith and hope as the people of God living among God's people and creation, the oikoumene. It is one of the specific ways in which God's people bear witness to what God has done in Jesus Christ: liberating the oppressed, opening the eyes that are blind, healing the sick (Luke 4:16), and offering fullness of life for all creation. Therefore, while the diaconal ministries of the church involve actions of care, relief, and service, it goes further and addresses the root causes of injustice embedded in oppressive systems and structures. In this sense, the ecumenical understanding of diakonia is one in which the ministry of service undertaken by the Christian church is one that makes the celebration of life in all its fullness as intended by our Creator God possible. It is the power-filled testimony of faith in Jesus, the great servant whom we are called to emulate as disciples. It is a living faith, effecting change, transforming people and situations so that God's reign may be real in the lives of all people, in all situations and in all times.

Diakonia seeking transformation is "service that makes the celebration of life possible for all." (9) It is not "limited to binding the wounds of the victims or doing acts of compassion." (10) Truly authentic and transformative diakonia "involves both comforting the victim and confronting the 'powers and principalities' (Eph. 6:12). It must heal the victim as well as the one who victimises." (11) Ecumenical diakonia that seeks transformation is "prophetic action which also involves speaking truth to powers." (12) In this sense, service cannot be divorced from advocacy for justice and peace.

At one level it is easy for the practitioners of diakonia to understand diakonia as advocacy when it is at the global ecumenical level but fail to see the same at a local level. This link of advocacy at global and local levels is well articulated in the WCC document "Theological Perspectives on Diakonia in the 21st Century," where it is stated that in emphasizing the transformative and prophetic nature of ecumenical diakonia it is important to recognize that "every Christian community in every geo-political and socio-economic context is called to be a diaconal community, witnessing to God's transforming grace through acts of service that hold forth the promise of God's reign." (13)

The capacity to engage in authentic diakonia that is transformative and prophetic is, therefore, not tied to nor limited by the financial capacities or resources at one's disposal. As "a community called into being through baptism and led by the Holy Spirit," the church "participates in [God's] mission through its very being, proclamation and service." (14) Each church, each congregation, is endowed with the gifts of the Spirit and empowered by the same to carry out its calling as a diaconal community. As such, there is no church that is so deprived that it does not have the power of the charisms with which to engage in transformative and prophetic diakonia.

It is this conviction that all are called to participate and contribute to bearing prophetic witness that transforms the world, ushering in God's reign into every aspect of our community life, which enabled the WCC to "challenge all people of good will to engage their God-given gifts in transforming actions" in a way which would empower the churches to "be communities of healing and compassion" that "seed the Good News so that justice will grow and God's deep peace rest on the world." (15)

Diakonia as care and advocacy for creation

The third dimension of diakonia is care and advocacy for creation. Just as the churches are concerned about the dignity of humanity through care for the needy and advocacy on the issues that undermine quality of life for humanity, the same applies to God's creation. This aspect only makes sense theologically when one affirms the Genesis teaching that God created humanity to live in harmony with Godself, with other humans and with creation. Here one finds an intrinsic connectedness in the interpretation of the universe. The abuse of creation will eventually lead to the destruction of humanity. This element of interconnectedness is well articulated in the worldview of the majority of the people from the global South. (16) Globalization has separated economic growth and the care of creation. However, the WCC's long engagement with economy for life for all and with climate change has continued to place the struggles for economic and ecological justice as diaconal issues for the churches to grapple with.

Diakonia within a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace

One of the outcomes of the July 2014 meeting of the central committee of WCC was adoption of the document "An Invitation to a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace." This document elaborates in more detail the call which was in the message document of the 10th Assembly of the WCC. The origin of this call is linked to the WCC programmatic work on economic and ecological justice. In the Economy of Life and a Call to Just Peace, documents which were approved by the central committee of 2012 in Crete, there was a proposal to launch a pilgrimage of justice and peace. In the report of the Programme Committee of 2012, it was recommended:

   That the World Council of Churches launch a pilgrimage of justice
   and peace based on the basic parameters found in the Economy of
   Life document, "Commitments and Call," para. 21-26 at the assembly
   in Busan (until the 11th assembly) for and of the churches to focus
   on faith commitments to economic justice (poverty and wealth),
   ecological justice (climate change, etc.), and peace building. The
   WCC should "set the table" for the churches (as well as other
   organizations and communities including the Christian world
   communions, specialized ministries, interfaith organizations and
   social movements) to share spirituality and practice developed in
   their search for transformation for justice and sustainability.
   (17)

This recommendation was echoed in the report of the general secretary, Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, when he stated:

   This is why I find that a pilgrimage of justice and peace should be
   the vision for what we do together in the period until the next
   assembly. I am increasingly convinced that the proposal from the
   central committee in 2012 to develop the programme work and life of
   the WCC as a pilgrimage for justice and peace is very wise. (18)

It is the 2012 recommendation echoed in the general secretary's report which was approved at the 10th Assembly of the WCC, as shown in paragraph 12 of the Programme Guidelines Committee of 2013. The recommendation states: "The assembly affirms the decision of the central committee (September 2012) regarding a pilgrimage of justice and peace." (19)

As the document adopted by the 2014 central committee states, this invitation was issued as a response to the challenge of the discussions, debates, and deliberations that shaped the Busan assembly experience. As such, the invitation served as a calling for "all people--young and old, women and men, differently abled, people of different faiths --to engage their God-given gifts in transforming actions, together." (20) As a worldwide fellowship of churches, the invitation was first addressed to the member churches of the WCC itself. However, in keeping with the spirit of the WCC, which seeks to enlarge the engagement, participation, and contribution of the wider ecumenical movement, the invitation is also extended to include various ecumenical partners. The invitation encourages the entire ecumenical movement to "walk together in a common quest, renewing our vocation of the church through collaborative engagement with the most important issues of justice and peace, healing a world filled with conflict, injustice and pain." (21)

It is interesting to note that for the WCC this pilgrimage of justice and peace is regarded as "a transformative journey that God invites us to." In recognizing that justice and peace are "signs of God's reign to come which is already visible here and now wherever reconciliation and healing are seen," the invitation is a call for Christians in all places to "partake in these signs of God's reign and to struggle for them in response to God's will and promise." (22)

It is important for us to recognize that this invitation is not addressed simply to the institutional structures of the church. Rather, in seeking to identify the diverse categories of people who are the church of Christ in the world today, such as the young and old, women and men, the differently abled, and even people of different faiths, the WCC is inviting all God's people to be part of the pilgrimage. However, it is also worthy to note that this pilgrimage does not seek to place human initiative at the centre. Instead, it grounds the pilgrimage of justice and peace in "God's own mission for the world and the example of Jesus." (23) Therefore, the specific act of journeying together, of walking together as fellow pilgrims on this pilgrimage of justice and peace, implies following Jesus, which in turn means "meeting him wherever people suffer injustice, violence and war." (24) It means to "experience God's presence with the most vulnerable, the wounded, and the marginalized." (25) In this way the pilgrimage of justice and peace is a transformative experience" in which Christians, alive in the Spirit, "discover their deepest power and energy for the transformation of an unjust world, joining with other faith communities and all people of good will as companions on the way." (26) It is in the next section that we examine what the vision of diakonia is when seen from the perspective of this call for the pilgrimage of justice and peace.

Vision of Diakonia from the Perspective of the Pilgrimage

The 10th Assembly made it clear that "in the responsibility and the identity of the church in the wider society, public witness and diakonia are intertwined and essential." (27) Therefore, as we reflect on the vision and practical work of diakonia from the perspective of the pilgrimage of justice and peace, it will not be separated from its public witness component.

Local congregations as diaconal communities

The local congregations, as diaconal communities, as members of the one body of Christ who are called to fulfil their diaconal vocation, are the subjects of this pilgrimage of justice and peace. The Christian church, regardless of where it is situated, irrespective of its size and financial resources or capacity, exists as communities that are "called together to a vocation of service in the way of Christ, who laid down his life while serving." (28) Each is equipped with and empowered by the charisms of God's Spirit to bear witness to the life-giving, hope-inspiring good news of God's reign through word and action, through proclamation and as a prophetic voice in the wilderness. Therefore, it is important that the local congregations as well as the national institutional structures of the church "recognise diakonia as an essential expression" of being church in the world today. (29) The WCC, through its recognition and support, encouragement and accompaniment of the local expressions of transformative and prophetic diakonia can expand the network of pilgrims. Likewise, by proactively expressing their vocation as diaconal communities, local congregations can become the subjects of the pilgrimage of justice and peace, thereby paving the path of justice and peace in their own contexts through their own processes and with their unique charisms and strengths. This dynamic interplay of the local and the global will contribute to making the pilgrimage of justice and peace a concrete and specific reality in the life of local congregations. It will also serve to provide specific examples of how the diverse expressions of transformative and prophetic diakonia come together as one in establishing the reality of God's reign here and now.

Diaconal assets mapping

For local congregations to be diaconal communities, there is need for the local congregations to be aware of their assets as diaconal communities through a process of mapping diaconal assets. For most of the global South, people assisted each other as communities even before they became Christians. Christianity gave them a new language to describe what they always did to affirm their own humanity and help others in need. This was well demonstrated in the story we shared above of the 2012 consultation, where a participant was not aware that what she has been doing amounts to what is described as diaconal work.

The mapping of diaconal assets is also in line with one affirmation of Ecumenical Conversation 21 at the 10th Assembly of the WCC, which stated:

   Churches, ecumenical partners and the WCC must respond to the signs
   of the times by developing a common diaconal language. We are
   faith-based and rights-based and we need to identify what it means
   in practice, which includes defining our mandate and our core
   values and by mapping our diaconal assets. (30)

Using the methodology of working together as churches, ecumenical partners, and the WCC, important advance work done by the Norwegian Church Aid in developing tools for assessing diaconal assets (31) is to be commended, and efforts should be made to work in collaboration so that a project can be developed to map diaconal assets of the member churches of the WCC.

Strengthening theologies undergirding diaconal work

In the coming years, it will be essential to strengthen further the theologies undergirding our diaconal work in order to establish a link with the theology of the pilgrimage of justice and peace. (32) This will require further reflection on the "Theological Perspectives on Diakonia in the Twenty-First Century" document, which was approved at the 2012 central committee meeting. Building on the insights of this document, and in the context of the pilgrimage of justice and peace, there is need to engage diaconal communities to reflect together on what the pilgrimage means in their local contexts. This would be in line with the observation of the 10th Assembly Programme Guidelines Committee that "a common call throughout this assembly has been to ensure that all WCC work has a strong theological foundation." (33)

Strengthening advocacy in all diakonia work

Drawing from the 10th Assembly Programme Guidelines Committee, it was stated clearly:

   Speaking as a fellowship which has the unique perspective of
   working at local, national and international levels simultaneously,
   the WCC has a distinctive advocacy role in the context of a
   pilgrimage of justice and peace, representing not only general
   opinions but the real experience of, and commitment to, its members
   around the world. The WCC has a role of being prophetic voice of
   the fellowship of churches to the international community and also
   speaks to its own constituency. (34)

In addition, the WCC Strategic Plan 2014-2017 highlighted the cross-cutting nature of advocacy in the work of WCC. This emphasizes the fact that accompaniment of the churches in diaconal work goes hand in hand with advocacy, which is understood as struggling for justice so that there is dignity for humanity and care for creation. In the spirit of the pilgrimage, this requires listening to the voices of the marginalized, those who are suffering discrimination, those who are sick, and those who are silenced on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation.

The issues where both methods should be applied in diakonia work are best articulated in the Programme Guidelines Committee report, where it is stated that, "On the pilgrimage we are respectful of creation and human dignity, and the provision of basic needs for all. In this assembly we have particularly heard people lift up issues of economic justice, climate change and eco-justice, and social justice." (35)

An economy of life for all now

One of the important current developments in the vision for WCC's work in collaboration with the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and Council for World Mission is to implement the "An Economy of Life for All Now: An Ecumenical Action Plan for a New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NFEA)." This action plan is based on the 2012 Sao Paulo statement: "International Financial Transformation for an Economy of Life." (36) It was approved by the WCC executive committee in February 2014, and it formed the background to the economic justice plenary of the July 2014 central committee. Part of the plans will focus on: reflecting on interfaith alternative banking; taking stock of reforms of the international financial architecture; advocating for international tax reforms; establishing an ecumenical school of Governance, Economics and Management (GEM) to develop economic competencies and empowerment within the ecumenical movement; and developing educational materials to enhance the economic and financial literacy of church members. This initiative displays how diakonia is not only positively responsive to situations of crises but can also be a pro-active initiative to reshape and transform structures of injustice. In this sense, ecumenical diakonia can be not only remedial but also preventive and creative.

Advancing peace through social justice

Churches analyze and express their concerns for youth and employment, child labour, and women's often unpaid or underpaid labour, and they offer alternatives that affirm dignity and life for all. What undergirds this pilgrimage is a theology of life: theology which is in service to life and in opposition to the life-denying, death-dealing theologies, ideologies, and practices of youth unemployment, unpaid and underpaid labour for women, and social exclusion and marginalization. Through collaboration with the International Labour Organization and other ecumenical partners, member churches facing high youth unemployment, women's unpaid or underpaid labour, and religious conflict in selected countries will strengthen their common voice for peace and social justice. WCC member churches, along with national and regional ecumenical councils, will be engaged in planning, implementing, monitoring, and report writing on the capacity building of youth to initiate projects for entrepreneurship.

Health and human dignity

The area that will require serious reflection is reconfiguring and consolidating the work on health and human dignity in the pilgrimage of justice and peace. The major challenge is structural. Careful planning is needed to figure out how the work of Ecumenical HIV and AIDS and Advocacy (EHAIA), Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), and Health and Healing projects can be structured within the WCC. At the centre of the pilgrimage of justice and peace, human dignity, health, reconciliation, healing, and transformation are essential aspects for life in its fullness. Empowered member churches, theological institutions, and ecumenical partners are called to play an active role to advocate and promote human dignity, health, reconciliation, healing, and transformation for all. How do the churches, ecumenical partners, and people of good will walk together on the pilgrimage of justice and peace without shying away from dealing with sensitive issues of human sexuality, violence against women, and sexual and reproductive health?

Conclusion

The major contribution of this paper has been to draw from a broad understanding of diakonia in order to reflect on what the fellowship that forms the WCC and its ecumenical partners could be doing together within the framework of the pilgrimage of justice and peace. The concept of the pilgrimage and the use of the word diakonia give a spiritual and theological dimension to service as care and advocacy for human dignity and sustainability of God's creation. The paper did not identify where the stations of diakonia in the pilgrimage of justice and peace are to be located. However, while operating within the framework of the invitation to the pilgrimage of justice and peace, there is a realization that as we walk together on the pilgrimage toward God, we discern together where God is calling us to go and make the presence of God felt through service and advocacy. As the churches bring transformation and healing to all the people of God and to creation, diakonia must be prophetic. Therefore, service, accompaniment, and advocacy cannot be separated.

DOI: 10.1111/erev.12103

(1) Kjell Nordstokke, ed., Serving the Whole Person: The Practice and Understanding of Diakonia within the Lutheran Communion (Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2009).

(2) New Dehli to Uppsala, World Council of Churches report, 1968, 115.

(3) Kjcll Nordstokke, "Mapping and Mobilizing Diaconal Assets," unpublished paper presented at the Norwegian Church Aid global workshop on diaconal assets for active citizenship, Bagamoyo, Tanzania, 12-14 September 2013.

(4) "Diakonia as Understood and Lived Out in (Selected) LWF Member Churches," background paper in Prophetic Diaionia: For the Healing of the World, report of the November 2002 Consultation in Johannesburg, South Africa. P. 11.

(5) Ibid., 6.

(6) "Theological Perspectives on Diakonia in the 21st Century," available at http://www.oikoumene.org/ en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/unity-mission-evangelism-and-spirituality/just-and-inclusive -communities/theological-perspectives-on-diakonia-in-21st-century http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/ documents/wcc-programmes.

(7) Klaus Poser, Diakonia 2000: Called to Be Neighbours--Official Report of the Lanarca Consultation 1986 (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1987), 122.

(8) LWF, "Diakonia as Understood," 16-17.

(9) "Theological Perspectives on Diakonia in the 21st Century."

(10) Ibid.

(11) Ibid.

(12) Ibid.

(13) Ibid.

(14) Ibid.

(15) "Message of the WCC 10th Assembly," in Encountering the God of Life: Official Report of the 10"' Assembly of the World Council of Churches, ed. Erlinda N. Senturias and Theodore A. Gill, Jr (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2014), 35. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/2013-busan/adopted-documents statements / message-of-the-wcc-10th-assembly.

(16) John Mbiti, Introduction to African Religion (Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd., 1991), 44. Mbiti, speaking on behalf of Africans, has said, "African Religion sees nature as a friend of man [sic] and vice-versa. He is an integral part of nature and the priest of nature. The destruction or pollution of nature (including air, water, forests, land, animals, trees, plants and useful insects) brings harm to all life in general and injures human welfare in particular. Therefore man has to preserve nature and use it wisely, indeed mercifully, for his own and its survival."

(17) Gen Pro 10 Report of the Programme Committee, para. 10a, 2012.

(18) Report of the General Secretary, Olav Fykse Tveit, in Encountering the God of IJfe, 225.

(19) "Assembly Committees Reports," in Encountering the God of Life, 244.

(20) "An Invitation to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace," WCC Central Committee, July 2014. Geneva, Switzer land, available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/central-committee/geneva-2014/an -invitation-to-the-pilgrimage-of-justice-and-peace. Reprinted in this issue.

(21) Ibid.

(22) Ibid.

(23) Ibid.

(24) Ibid.

(25) Ibid.

(26) Ibid.

(27) "Assembly Committees Reports," 248.

(28) "Theological Perspectives on Diakonia in the 21st Century."

(29) Ibid.

(30) "Ecumenical Conversations," 21, in Encountering the God of Life, p. 199.

(31) Norwegian Church Aid global workshop on diaconal assets for active citizenship, Bagamoyo, Tanzania, 12-14 September 2013.

(32) "Assembly Committee Reports," 244.

(33) Ibid., 248.

(34) Ibid.

(35) ibid.

(36) The Global Ecumenical Conference on a New International Financial and Economic Architecture was organized by the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), World Council of Churches (WCC) and Council for World Mission (CWM) from 29 September 2012 to 5 October 2012 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Isabel Apawo Phiri is a Presbyterian theologian from Malawi. She is Associate General Secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia of the World Council of Churches; honorary professor and former professor of African Theology; Dean and Head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa; former moderator of the WCC Commission on Ecumenical Formation and Theological Education; former General Coordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians; and editor of the Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa.

Kim Dongsung is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Korea and currently serves as the Programme Executive for the World Council of Churches in Diakonia and Ecumenical Solidarity.