Latin American Presbyterian and Reformed Churches Meet to Celebrate and Contextualize the Accra Confession – by The Rev. Dr. Antonio (Tony) Aja
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Accra Confession. Representatives of the member churches of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin American, AIPRAL by the Spanish language acronym, met in Barranquilla, Colombia, June 2 – 6, 2014.
The Accra Confession of 2004 was drafted and adopted by delegates of the former World Alliance of Reformed Churches, now the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), in their 24th General Council which met in the Ghanaian capital. “The Confession is based on the theological conviction that the economic and environmental injustices of today’s global economy require the Reformed family to respond as a matter of faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Accra Confession calls upon Reformed Christians around the world to engage injustices in the world as an integral part of their churches’ witness and mission.”[i]
The AIPRAL delegates met to discuss how the Latin American churches can concretize in the world the principles and theological declarations outlined in the Accra Confession to bring about justice in the world, specifically within a Latin American context. This was accomplished in an environment of celebration through study, worship, prayers and hymn singing, giving thanks for God’s Grace in Jesus Christ and under the care and nurture of the Holy Spirit.
Hellis Barraza Diaz, Vice-president of the WCRC and administrator in the Reformed University in Barranquilla, the host site for the convocation, shared with the participants that the “Accra Confession gives value to the WCRC and other church bodies. Our question for this convocation should be: What are we going to do with the Confession?”
Other representatives also spoke from their respective perspectives and concerns. Dora Arce Valentin, from the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba and Executive Secretary for Justice and Partnership of the WCRC, explained how many issues, including finances, affect the ecumenical movement in its efforts to carry out the application of the Accra Confession’s mandates. She added that “Confessions are like maps for the church that need to be updated because the topography and geography change constantly.”
Maria Jimenez Ramirez, representing the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela and director of AIPRAL’s women ministries, said that the Accra Confession is still today’s “God’s answer to the excesses of economic globalization.” The question is, “Would the ‘Rich North’ be willing to adopt the Accra Confession – a primarily Global South document – as their own?” She challenged people to adopt a “theology of sufficiency” instead of the current practice of hoarding material things which create scarcity in other parts of the world.
Moreover, Chris Ferguson, the newly elected General Secretary of the WCRC commented that “Accra is saying that the world today is not how God intended it to be.”
Francisco Marrero, dean of the Evangelical Seminary in Matanzas, Cuba, spoke about how the Confession gives Christians “an ethic of responsibility” for all creatures of the earth.
Dan Gonzalez Ortega, representing the theological community in Mexico, said that the Accra Confession should not be seen as a “doctrinal document like other confessions that become something to defend or memorize, but it should be a dynamic document for our times for prayer, education and above all, practice.”
The delegates also visited El Tamarindo Community, made up of internally displaced people from other parts of the country by the war between the government and the guerrillas. This group of “campesinos” or farmers had settled in a vacant land just outside Barranquilla, where they worked the land for five to ten years. When the property became a “Duty Free” zone because of the Free Trade agreements between Colombia and the U.S., the local police and army forcibly evicted the families, bulldozing their homes, destroying their crops and in some cases even killing their animals.
While many have left for other parts of the country, a small group has organized as the ASOTRACAMPO Community Organization aided by Colombian Presbyterians and other organizations. They have been in negotiations with the Colombian government for several years so that they can purchase land elsewhere in the area and relocate.[ii]
Authorities and other sources estimate there are more than five million such internally displaced people in Colombia. The AIPRAL participants reiterated that this tragic “migration” and dislocation of families is a direct result of the economic globalization and injustices highlighted by the Accra Confession.
As a result of this consultation, the participants drafted a document which will be presented to the November WCRC Global Consultation meeting in Hannover, Germany. In this declaration the AIPRAL churches covenant to:
- recuperate a proper spirituality that will challenge a culture of consumerism and individualism;
- develop pedagogical processes to educate and encourage all member churches to include the Accra Confession in their books of Confessions or catechism;
- place the principles of the Accra Confession in public forums such as world banks, governments and other international organizations;
- participate and support community efforts that build economic, cultural and political alternatives that place human dignity and care of the environment at the forefront and;
- make stronger alliances with our sister “northern churches” to develop new economic systems that give God honor and glory for the welfare of all of God’s people.”
The Accra Confession continues to be a watershed document for the church. Its principles and challenges, however, are still to be adopted fully by Christ’s church. The gap between the rich and the poor grows uncontrollably, especially in Latin America and other “Global South’’ areas. Wars, migrations, political upheaval and unchecked human greed still keep most of the human race in poverty and despair. The need for oil and gas destroys our environment. This goes against God’s designs for God’s earth.
The “Barranquilla Declaration” drafted by the AIPRAL participants, reminds us that “The Accra Confession unmasks the ideal of the ‘human being’ from a capitalist system that excludes many, and is also characterized by exploitation and selfishness. The Confession exalts humanity as an object or means to rescue the biblical idea of the human being created in the image of God.”
Sarah Henken, PCUSA mission co-worker and Regional Liaison for South America, summarized the spirit of the consultation with these words:
“The Accra Confession shines the light of God’s loving intentions on our fearful and greedy impulses. Do we trust in God or the Market? If we trust in God, we will loosen our grasp on the money and possessions we so carefully accumulate and open our hands and hearts to one another. As a Presbyterian mission co-worker, I have the privilege to be of the global North but rooted in the South. Friends like the members of El Tamarindo are eager to share their life and their stories with us. Will we stand with them? The choice is simple, if not always easy. Day by day, I ask God for the energy and courage to say a joyful “Yes!”
[i] Taken from a resource developed and published by the North American Covenanting for Justice Working Group, which includes representatives from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Presbyterian Church in Canada, United Church of Canada, Caribbean and North American Area Council, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and World Council of Churches. Produced by RCA Communication and Production Services, 2007, p.1. http://www.oikotree.org/wp-content/uploads/accra-confession.pdf This publication includes the entire draft of the Accra Confession.
[ii] For a full account of this community’s plight, see the article written by PCUSA Mission Co-Worker the Rev. Sarah Henken. Here is the link to it: http://andeanjourney.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/uncertainty-for-el-tamarindo/
Tony Aja is a minister member of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (USA) who serves as coordinator for the presbytery’s Hispanic/Latino Ministries. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at McCormick Theological Seminary. A former refugee from Cuba, Tony has developed new ministries with refugees and immigrants in Florida and Kentucky. He has been a missionary, pastor, executive director of an ecumenical community ministry and staff at PC(USA) headquarters. Tony has served in many local and national boards and committees dealing with social justice and immigrant and refugee issues. He has helped develop grass-roots organizations with both local and national scope.
As the coordinator for Hispanic/Latino Ministries of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, a judicatory of the Presbyterian Church (USA), his work includes the development of an educational process with the congregations and leadership in the presbytery related to demographic changes, cross-cultural dynamics, and immigration issues. At the same time he works within the Latino immigrant communities to assess needs and provide services such as English as a Second or Other Language, workshops on immigration issues, health clinics, opportunities for worship and fellowship, and other interventions as needs arise. He does this with the help of several congregations, individuals, as well as alliances and networks with organizations working with immigrants in the area.