In greetings given to the Council of World Mission (CWM) Assembly, Setri Nyomi, interim general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) said, “Each time I bring greetings in any context of the CWM I sense that I am among family in a special way. Because 30 of your 32 member churches are also members of the WCRC. That is how close our relationship is.”

“We celebrate even more our common understanding of God’s mission as entailing our being God’s agents for transformation and being at the forefront of justice in the world,” he said. “For about two decades now, the CWM and the WCRC have strengthened our journeying together in close partnership in this quest to challenge the forces of the empire and affirm that Babylon has fallen.”

Inspired by the Assembly’s theme, “Rise to Life: Together in Transformation,” he noted the many ways in which the WCRC and CWM have collaborated, saying, “together we:”

• raise questions about how our programmes can foster life-flourishing communities. 
• have committed ourselves to living out the implications of the Accra Confession … and the theological statement that the CWM developed based on it. 
• are working on outcomes such as NIFEA and the GEM school. 
• are working on gender justice. 
• are working on advocacy. 
• shall overcome the forces of death and injustice.

“How can a mission community such as the CWM live into the message of resurrection?” he asked. “This Assembly and this theme can provide that rallying call to rise to life. It comes with that sober reflection that we are not called to this mission in lonely silos—doing things alone under our various banners.

“The rising to life is possible when we commit ourselves to engaging in God’s work of transformation together. Rising to life is an emerging reality when all member churches of the WCRC join hands together for the work of transformation and when CWM joins hands with its ecumenical partners for this important mission,” Nyomi said.

The CWM Assembly is being held in Durban, South Africa, 12-19 June. Besides Nyomi, WCRC staff participants have included Minwoo Oh, coordinator for gender justice; Muna Nassar, executive secretary for mission and advocacy; and Philip Vinod Peacock, executive secretary for justice and witness.

Image courtesy of CWM/Sandile Sarh.