Chennai Affirmation
We,
the participants of the National Consultation on 'Diakonal Church in the
Radically Changing India', held at Chennai on the 23rd and 24th February
2015 jointly organized by the Church of South India Synod and Christian
Institute for the Study of Religion and Society hereby declare that...
The ‘Diakonal Church’ is the
one that is sensitive to the concerns of poor, oppressed and socially,
traditionally and historically excluded communities. It is to prepare a Table for 'all' to join
the 'koinonia' of the
resurrected Christ's community without any discrimination by affirming
everyone's dignity, respect, identities and differences.
The motto of ‘Diaconal Church’
is to serve but not to be served (Mark 10: 45). It facilitates the Christian
faith communities to embark on a journey
to serve the earth communities leaving the comfort zone to take up a 'kenotic'
and servant leadership. It is to bear a public witness politically in the
presence of resurrected Christ and to re-embark
on a journey of accompaniment with the struggling communities for fullness
of life and livelihood.
This 'diakonia' demands not only the 'service' but also preparation of the space to create communities of equals and dignity as described in Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4: 61-21). It is to explain the vision of God and symbolize the ‘reign of god' with the values of Love, Justice and Peace by prophetically healing, restoring and reconciling the societies of conflicts and disparities towards fullness of all lives.
Context
We
realize that, the 'mantra' of Economic Globalization and Developmental paradigm
of the States change the whole world to be
'flat' through communicating and consolidating the capital accumulations
of wealth through trans-national corporatism, extractive industrialization and ecological exploitation and victimization of the earth communities by uprooting of habitats from their traditionally
living and culturally rooted environments.
These 'flattening' policies and
principals of the 'Economic Globalization' are creating the tailor-made
'flat' societies and communities by inculcating the values such as 'consumerism',
'privatization' , 'individualism', 'competition' and 'inequality'.
We
observe that, in the context of
radically changing Indian contexts, the
'majoritarianism', rise of
'right-wing ideological fundamentalism' and hate campaigns are creating
panic and insecurity among the 'minority communities', 'economically poor' and
'religiously and culturally excluded', such as Dalits, Adivasis, Tribals, Women
and Children. They turn the communities to be against one another with hate and
hostility.
In this context of crisis,
the churches as called and committed faith communities are to be prophetic and mandated to work 'on' equality
and 'for' equality. The 2010 Edinburgh declaration calls the churches
of our times to re-look and review our vision, theologies and ministries from
the growing influence of 'prosperity theologies', 'individualistic eschatology',
upholding caste and patriarchy, and becoming the mammon worshipers.
We affirm that...
·
The Diakonal Church as a prophetic community, is
called to ensure respect, dignity and life of the earth communities including
the human communities through the appropriate interventions and encounters with
the oppressive attitudes of the
'Powerful, Dominant Empires and States' by engaging in 'diakonia'.
· The Diakonal Church is a conscious servant 'of' and
'to' all by prophetically engaging and
encountering conformity with the Powers
· The Diakonal Church is called to promote and
prorogate the liberative and transformative Gospel values of Love, Justice and
Peace in combating the exclusivism,
fundamentalism and economy based prosperity gospel and theology
We Confess that...
· the 'diakonia'
today is mainly dependent on funded projects and serving from comfortable zones
· the Indian Church today is panicked and
suffocated by the 'minority phobia' with
exclusive demands of 'minority Rights
rather than working towards promoting, defending and affirming the fundamental
rights of every individual
·
the churches today are mostly crawling with the exclusive
and prosperity theologies rather than having faiths on 'theology of fullness of
life and Economy of Life'.
·
the diakonal expressions were initially founded to serve
the poor and the excluded communities but now it meets the expectations of the
elites and rich involving in commercialization and comodifaction of
knowledge through our Institutions
·
the Churches today are strategically made silent by
the law enforcement of States while it is supposed to be prophetically
accompany the journeys with the victims.
We are committed to...
·
charting a discourse on vision, mission and diakonal
expressions of the churches today in terms of Kerigma, Metanoia and Koinonia as embedded in the Scripture.
·
envisioning a world with fuller humanity and
fullness of life by enabling truth and reconciliation with the entire earth
communities towards Just-peace
·
ensure the 'transparency, accountability and
responsibility in all our structures and institutions and launch a campaign for
'transparent India'
·
listening stories of the 'diakonia' of neighbors of other faiths to encompass the diakonia 'of' all and
diakonia 'for' all
We call upon all the churches and ecumenical movements:
·
to draw a
creative and relevant, radical and prophetic 'diakonia' for today
·
to strategically plan and execute 'prophetic 'diakonia' by facilitating the
local congregations for public witness
·
to be united in combating the hate campaigns such
as 'Ghar Wapsi' constitutionally and politically.
Proposed Activities
·
Net-working
with the churches, Christian Institutions and Ecumenical Movements to promote a relevant 'diakonal Church'
·
Initiate
the process of organizing conversation with the church leaders and ecumenical bodies at the regional level enhancing
the capacities of the laity and clergy engage in the 'prophetic-dia'konia' towards transformative
mission in the Socio Economic and Political Context of India
·
Initiating
process to develop, articulate and promote a new context specific and relevant 'diakonia' for all
·
Facilitating
the theological fraternities and local congregations to move from the
prosperity theology to 'economy of life' and to move from charity to solidarity
and accompaniment
·
Promoting
the holistic vision of theology of life as a pilgrimage of justice and peace
