ACT Alliance Holds its 4th General Assembly in Indonesia

Video - Exclusive Interview with the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay:

“Dialogue must be the way forward and we need to get people together

The voice of the youth is needed for making change"

The Middle East Council of Churches – Indonesia

Photo: Albin Hillert/ACT

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in" (Matthew 25 :35). Based on this call from Jesus Christ, serving with love has become an essential and necessary action today more than ever, in order to sow hope in the hearts of those who have tasted the bitterness of wars, conflicts, and crises. Many are striving to embody this call through action, solidarity, and standing by the most vulnerable and neediest people, to heal their wounds and restore peace to their lives.

In fact, this call was carried by the 4th General Assembly of ACT Alliance, the main partner of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which took place under the theme "Hope in Action, Together for Justice," from October 28 to November 1, 2024, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The Middle East Council of Churches participated in this Ecumenical and international developmental event, where there was a meeting with the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay, who spoke in a special interview for the the Middle East Council of Churches’ website about the importance of service with dignity and the need for collective efforts to achieve the long-awaited justice.

Serving God and His Message

At the beginning of the interview, Reverend Pillay highlighted the work of the ACT General Assembly, explaining that it "focused on many issues related to development, humanitarian assistance, advocacy, and finding ways to provide support." He emphasized that "these issues are very important for ACT Alliance, as well as for the World Council of Churches, as they work together to have greater impacts for a better world by seeking to serve God and His message in this world."

In this context, Reverend Pillay pointed out that "these topics are integrated into the Liturgy of both the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance. Therefore, Liturgy must be connected to our work. The Liturgy has to speak into people's lives and experiences. The Liturgy has to provide hope and it has to provide a sense of assurance of God's abiding presence in the midst of conflicts and wars, challenges and personal difficulties. So the relevance of Liturgy is crucial for today.”

International Efforts to Save the Middle East

Back to the activities of the General Assembly, it is worth noting that the Middle East region was very active in this international event. What is Reverend Dr. Jerry Pillay's vision regarding the painful developments in the region?

Reverend Pillay mentioned that "with the current, activities that are taking place with [Israel's] attack on so many places in Gaza, the Middle East becomes more volatile and expressive of concerns. The same situation applies in Lebanon and Iran, where it has become essential to put an end to the ongoing developments, to avoid any regional war. We, at the World Council of Churches, hope and pray for the end of these painful events. Therefore, we are also actively mobilizing and working, with Churches and with political authorities to be able to ensure that this does not blow up into a full scale war in the Middle East. We are very concerned about what is happening."

He continued, "We do believe that political authorities that are behaving in reckless ways, that political leaders who are, really not taking any cognizance of damages that they are creating, the destruction that they are bringing, the recklessness in which lives have been lost and properties destroyed, really needs to be looked at, and political leaders who have the ability and authority to speak into this context, to keep certain political leaders in check and to control and manage them in a more, decent way and in a more controlled way, need to act and act fast because the situation in the Middle East is really unacceptable, and we have to address that in order to continue to work for peace and ceasefire."

Dialogue and Meeting Towards a Better World

But what are the main solutions that could lead to peace and justice?

Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay explains that "dialogue must be the way forward. We need to get people together to talk about what is happening, to talk about how can we get beyond these impulses, to talk about what are the solutions we can find to establish peace in our communities. We really need to meet and work together.

In fact, it very disappointing that today we seem to be conveyed with violence and the way many people seem to think that they can resolve the conflicts is through violence, but the way forward is dialogue. So what we are proposing is that the way we can find just peace and the way we can find solutions to this unacceptable violent, situations is for people, political leaders, Church leaders, community leaders, and all stakeholders to gather together and talk about how we can establish peace together.”

Youth, the Hope of the Future

However, alongside all the regional and international discussions, we cannot forget the role of youth in creating change through their diverse energies and abilities. Reverend Pillay emphasized the will of young people to build a “world for peace, accepting people, accepting diversity, working with inclusivity. They are very mindful of creation care issues and environmental issues, and they are wanting to see a world where there is peace."

In a message to the youth, Reverend Pillay said: " you are the ones who have to continue to keep that message flowing. You stand up and you speak. You continue to mobilize for action. You continue to work towards a better world for all people. You continue to keep faith in God. You continue to allow your faith to find expression in actions to change and transform the world. The voice of the youth is critical, urgent, and needed in order to make a change. Young people have the ability to teach us new ways of moving forward, and my message to young people is precisely that. Keep the vision, mobilize the vision, work for a better world, and work as people who love God themselves.”

World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches

At the end of the interview, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay, praised the relation between his Council and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). He said: "We've been working well together. I think recent times, the volatile situation, the conflicts in the Middle East has brought us even closer together.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with the General Secretary of the MECC. We worked together on a digital visit to Gaza and to Jerusalem. We work together in having conversations about how we can address the situations, what we can do together to bring about cease fires, in different places.

I think the current context has strengthened our relationship and our collaboration together so that we are able to work together to make significant differences. So I am deeply appreciating the deeper connections that we are having with the MECC and the closeness that we are enjoying together is brought about by the current context and situation."