II. OPENING STATEMENTS AND GREETINGS

Opening Address by Ms. Dianna Khoo (Singapore), Moderator, CCA Youth Committee and Co-Moderator of the Asia Youth Assembly.

ASIAN ECUMENISM AND CELEBRATION

The CCA Youth Desk has for the past 3 years focused her thrusts on people. People representing the marginalised, the out-casts, the oppressed. The programmes have been geared towards encouraging pioneer work with people in their local and national situations. The programmes have also been geared towards building a network of' mutual fellowship and support for people involved in this kind of work. It has and will continue to protect solidarity and hope in a situation of suffering and powerlessness.

Like many other countries in Asia, my country, Singapore, has a colonial past. Christianity, when first introduced in Singapore was basically a. religion of the colonisers. Unfortunately, till today, the English speaking Churches have taken on a very colonial form of' faith and lifestyle. Very little attempt has been made to relate Christianity to local cultures and heritage. What was professed in the West was almost completely transplanted to Singapore.

It is unfortunate that many Christians today continue to perpetuate the form and structure of Christianity manufactured in the West. They do not seem to encourage local expressions and formulations of the Christian faith. The old guards usually use Westernised traditions to defend and preserve the identity and structure they have inherited. Even ecumenism as understood by the established Westernised Churches is wishy-washy, lacks credibility and has no impact on the life of ordinary people.

In a wider Asian context we are gathered here to seek definitions and meanings of ecumenism within our youth and student movements. We want to ask what form of ecumenism are we preserving here in Asia?

If ecumenism is to be credible and found within God's will, we must attempt to define our faith and vision through our response to

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the struggles of our Asian people. Ecumenism and expression of our faith within the will of God must not be defined in Geneva nor in New York or London. Ecumenism which is meaningful to us need not come out of the struggles within the jungles of El Salvador either.

Instead, it should be something that is defined and formulated out of peoples' struggles in the padi-fields, the farms, factories and construction sites of Asia. It should come out of our struggles in the streets of Manila, the prisons of Korea, racial conflicts in Jaffna, religious conflicts in Amritsa.

The Asia Youth Assembly is a time for us to think, to reflect, to grapple with our struggles, our participation, our vision. It is a time to define and redefine the understanding of ecumenism and the form it should take.

Asia is not a homogeneous continent. We must not only recognise the diversity within our part of the world but we must also be aware of diversity within a country. This must continually- be at the back of our minds as we spend time in discussion and in dialogue.

It is the hope of the CCA Youth committee that the AYA can also be a time of celebration. A celebration of youth's participation in the struggles for life, for justice, for righteousness. Through our time of discussion and dialogue of issues and concerns, it is my hope that we 'II be able to come up with a new vision. It is also my hope that we wiII be able to produce more creative means of communicating our visions, our concerns, our experiences with others.

It is also my hope that the establishment of a broad consensus on issues, the role of ecumenism and its concerns may form part of our contribution to the forthcoming UN International Youth Year and to the CCA General Assembly to be held in Korea next year.

Opening Address by Mr. Fructuoso (Jun) T. Sabug (Philippines), past-president of Philippine Independent Church youth movement and Co-moderator of the Asia Youth Assembly.

PART OF A PROCESS

On behalf of the AYA Planning Committee and the Assembly Coordinating Team, I welcome you all formally to the 1984 Asia Youth Assembly.

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We assemble today and for the next eight days to share, to listen and to learn from each other our struggles and our aspirations, to reflect on the theme "Thy Will Be done," to support each other and to discuss our future concerted actions.

Of course, we have not come here empty. We all come to AYA from the concrete conditions in our respective countries — situations where people are in the midst of struggle for a more just and a more humane society.

We come to India from several hundreds or thousands of kilometres away, not as visitors or tourists, but as concerned Christians to affirm our commitment to support and participate in the struggles of our oppressed and exploited people to build God's kingdom here on earth, This commitment is an essential part of our Christian witness to do God's will on earth.

We are all aware that we come from different backgrounds and situations. We speak different languages and use different accents. Asia is such a vast, multi-faceted, multi-cultural continent which contains and sustains over half of humanity.

Notwithstanding these differences, we do share basic issues and common struggles. As committed Christians, we see God:

- in the demands of the students for their rights and welfare;

- in the struggle of the urban poor against ejection and poverty;

- in the demands of the workers for fairer wages and more humane working conditions;

- in the struggle of peasant farmers for land of their own and to be free from the shackles of feudalism;

- in the demands of cultural minorities for the return of their ancestral lands and the preservation of their cultural heritage;

- in the struggle of Third World countries against imperialism;

- in the fight of our people against human rights violations and military atrocities.

The exposure program in various parts of India affirmed the basic similarities of our situation.

Why then is the AYA significant?

The AYA is the first major ecumenical youth assembly in Asia in 20 years. The last one was held in the Philippines in 1964. We are therefore thankful to the CCA Youth desk under the leadership of' Rev. Chris Tremewan, CCA Youth Secretary, and the WSCF-Asia Pacific regional office under Mr. Ahn Jae-Wong for initiating their endeavor. It is now our task to put substance to this herculean effort of gathering together around 250 young people from all over Asia

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and other regions of the world. By our participation in the AYA we are reaffirming our faith in the people and in the life of Jesus, and in the process we challenge all Asian Christians to do God's will in Asia.

Let us therefore look at the AYA as part of a process. The commitment to do God's will and establish God's kingdom on earth does not begin, nor does it end with the 1984 AYA in Delhi. Let us bear in mind that the movement of our peoples in struggling for their basic rights and in struggling for a more just and more humane society are signs of hope for all of us.

Thus, I would conclude by inviting all of you on behalf of the AYA organizers and the ACT, to join us and to share with us your experiences actively in our common task for the next eight days and to share together our common vision, our common purpose and common hope.

Opening address by Bishop Dr. Poulose Mar Poulose, Chairperson, WSCF Asia/Pacific Region.

BE A DISSENTING MINORITY

Dear sisters and brothers, I have great pleasure in bringing greetings to you from the World Student Christian Federation Asia/Pacific Region. WSCF Asia/Pacific Region considers that our partnership with the CCA YOUTH is of great importance, and we want to assure you of our commitment to maintain a strong link with you so that our ministry to and our common struggle with the youth will be most meaningful in our time.

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you two things.

First, we have the theme for this assembly 'Thy Will Be Done' We know that it is not only a prayer but also an affirmation that we will commit ourselves for the fulfillment of God's will.

But how shall we know God's will? In the past we have conditioned the people to think that the patriarchs, bishops, and church leaders are the depositories of wisdom and guardians of knowledge, that they have the key to understand the will of God. The people were mere passive recipients. Today people are coming of age, and time also is changing. People have their own experiences of God and of the reality they live in. And it is by listening to their

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voices, their cries, their whispers, their shouts, their aspirations, their frustrations that we discover newly God's will.

But in order to listen we have to give up our attitude of' self-righteousness, self-defences, pride and money-power. Listening to the people was the methodology ofjesus during his ministry. He grew up in wisdom and knowledge by listening to the people, living with them, and obeying God. Let us also follow his cue.

Secondly, today in the highly industrialized societies of Asia, the human being is understood only as a part of the machine; she has become a commodity, and she experiences herself and values herself only as a commodity. She is totally dehumanized.

This picture of human beings is a terrifying one indeed. Mass technological society has become capable of turning women and men in to automatons. By automatons it is meant the kind of person who simply does not think out his own actions, measuring them against consciously held goals or purposes. Instead, such a person acts in a routinized manner doing what society expects him to do. It is a well established principle of modern society that one tends to be the kind of person that his society expects him to be - engineers tend to act like engineers, physicians tend to act like physicians, and, of course, bishops tend to act like bishops!

In this situation what shall be the role of Christian youth? I would say that they should be a dissenting minority; they should non-conformists. If we learn lessons from the life style of Jesus and the community life of early Christians, we will be compelled to stand as the community of Jesus, as a dynamic force within the society, acting as a dissenting minority. To live as dissenting minority is never the same as the present tendency to foster minority consciousness among Asian Christians. Rather it means to involve ourselves with the aspirations of the people of the land for a better future, to raise a dissenting voice against the oppressive forces of our time.

We have lessons from history. Student movements and youth movements, let it be religious or secular, have played a significant role to control and shape the future of the nation. In Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea and in places like that students and youth could either shake or topple down governments who were not governing in the interest of the people. They have protested and fought against all sorts of oppressive forces and unjust structures. The role of students and youth in India during the freedom struggle is also worth mentioning. In a broad sense, it was not only a struggle

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for freedom, but also for social justice. In all these places students and youth have been branded non-conformists, revolutionaries, and subversives. And yet they rose to the occasion and raised inconvenient questions against those who were in authority, and they were suspected by the establishment.

It is clear, then, that for the transformation of any society or social structure it is always important to have some dedicated people who, while standing within the structure, would think and act against or above its basic trends. I hope and pray that those who attend this Assembly, by their living and learning together here, would gain strength and courage to become non-conformist in the pattern of Jesus and of the prophets.

Greeting by Mr. Boyette Jurcales (Philippines) on behalf of the Asian Team of the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS)

EXTENDING SOLIDARITY

On behalf of the International Movement of Catholic Students in Asia I take this rare opportunity of extending our deep wishes and solidarity to all delegates at the AYA. We are with you in this noble endeavour of searching for a meaningful ecumenical vision relevant to the challenges faced by Asian people.

In its search for relevance, IMCS-ASIA encourages Catholic student groups and movements to link up with the broad-based student movements and other sectors of society. In this context we ;ire open to other religions, ideologies. We also initiate and respond to appeals for solidarity from all over.

The Asian coordination is based in Hongkong comprising ten affiliated national movements and has extensions in four other countries in Asia.

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Greeting from Rev. Carlos Sintado. WCC Youth Director.

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

I shall attempt an almost impossible task which is to speak on behalf of this group of international guests from other regions, the non-Asian faces in front of you today. But, first, I want to share with you a Story.

In Bolivia, the church sent an overseas co-worker, to work among a community of peasants in the High Andes, a very poor group of people. Mike, a young and committed person started slowly to learn the people’s language and to get to know the community. After some months in one of the weekly meetings of the group in which the common problems were regularly discussed and proposals made to solve them, Mike dared to suggest certain actions. One elder of the community, after hearing Mike's speech, said to him, "Young man, your words are not bad, but we would like you to live as we do, and not in the kind of house you are living in now." Mike learnt the lesson: he moved to one of the poor huts, very much similar to the majority of the people there. Words can carry some meaning when they spin from real life situations.

Some time passed and, in another communal meeting, Mike stood up and suggested certain other things. Women from the group said to him: "Young man, show us your hands." Mike was surprised, but in showing his hands he discovered how different they were. "You are not used to working the land, your hands are not the hands of a peasant," said the women. Another lesson for Mike.

He decided to start on working the land, ploughing it by traditional means; working hard in the dry and crusty land of the High Andes. His hands started to become callous. He felt he was working the land. Some more weeks went by. Mike gradually felt assured of himself, his confidence grew. In one of the weekly meetings he again stood up, and preceded his contribution by showing his hands, his "newly" acquired hands, fruit of his labour. After he finished, a person stood up and kindly said to him, "That is all right young man, but you should know one thing: you do not have an Indian mother." The possibilities and limitations of the identification process!

Well, sisters and brothers, neither do we have an Asian mother, though we do feel your struggles, which are also ours, and we want

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to continue in solidarity with you in this process of the struggle for justice and peace.

We, the foreigners to these Asian lands, were not observers in your event, but active and committed participants. We have been warmly received and welcomed by you. For this we are extremely grateful. You allowed us to partake in your life and vision.

We have also "heard the cry of your people" and have seen with our eyes and hearts the deep suffering of the peoples of Asia, of your own people.

As the apostle Paul said, speaking about the body of Christ, the community, the people of God when one of the members suffers, all the others suffer with it; and when one of the members rejoices, all the others do likewise. There is a deep and hidden reality in this kind of reflection.

This event is the first in a line of events in which the sub-unit on Youth of the WCC, together with the regional ecumenical youth organisations, is associated with aimed at an international exchange of young people from all over the world in relationship to the International Youth Year.

We are convinced that the process of networking among young people is a key to express solidarity in the struggle. Your issues are very similar to other region's issues, and a global perspective is essential in this respect.

We want to assure you that our solidarity, our peoples and our thoughts are with you. For different reasons, we lack representatives from Africa in our delegation. So symbolically, we want to use a powerful saying that rose out of the struggle of one of the newly independent African countries as our last words to you: ¡A LUTA CONTINUA! ¡The struggle continues!

Greeting from Mr. Roberto Pineda (El Salvador), representing WSCF Latin America.

COMMON CHALLENGES

I want to share with you some common challenges that are faced by young Christians in Latin America and the Caribbean as in Asia and the Pacific.

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We face the challenge to be faithful to our understanding of the message of Jesus Christ as a message of peace and justice, of liberation.

We face the challenge of understanding our concrete national realities and the role we as Christian students must play.

We face the challenge of being involved with the poor, with the oppressed, with the people in their fight for their fundamental rights, against poverty, against dictatorship, against foreign domination.

We share the dream that some day we will be able to build new societies based on love, peace and justice.

Greetings from Rev. Annette J. Cook (U.S.A.) on behalf of YCGJ.

CALL TO UNITY AND JUSTICE

Greetings dear sisters and brothers in Christ from Young Christians for Global justice: An Ecumenical Council within North America. Thank you for inviting us to be a part of the Asia: Youth Assembly.

Young Christians for Global justice (YCGJ) is the ecumenical youth council in North America; it is binational, that is, Canadian/America; and it is composed of local, regional and national groups of young people committed to justice in this world.

It started only five years ago. This January we will hold our Sixth Annual Event under the theme: "Central America and the Caribbean: Christians responding". Thus, our focus will be liberation theology, political/economic histories, women's issues, militarization, and the response of the people both within the region and from within Canada and the U.S.

The purpose of YCGJ is to call all Christians to unite as the body of Christ and respond to God's call for justice. To do so, we seek to conscientize North American young people to the global and domestic issues of political and economic justice. It must define anew what it means to be North American in this world. It seeks to create a network among young people to support one another in our struggles. And we explore creative ways in which we can channel our collective energies and expressions of faith.

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This means that as an Organisation we covenant to use a consensus style of decision-making. This long and often tense process is a matter of justice as we had to listen to and struggle with one another unit 'I all can agree and own a decision. It is an attempt to work in a cooperative and collective manner rather than the tradition competitive parliamentary procedure.

In addition we are continually reminded of our binational nature. YCGJ is the only Canadian and American council within the church. It needs to preserve the unique identity of both nations while at the same time seeking unity and solidarity in our struggles.

The justice issues we have addressed are many and varied. We have focussed on issues including the following: South African apartheid and U.S./Canadian investments in South Africa; native people's concerns; racism; sexism; spirituality and justice-making; nuclear-free Pacific; peace and disarmament; political prisoners in Latin America; and U.S. intervention and Canadian influence in the Philippines.

For the fourth year, we join our sisters and brothers in Latin America and in Europe as we celebrate the life and commemorate the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero who was martyred on March 24, 1980, while serving the eucharist in the church. This Day of Solidarity is recognized across North America through worship services, marches, demonstrations, posters, publications, and the media.

This summer (1985) we will focus on two North American issues through international workcamps. One workcamp will be in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern U.S. It is here coal mining and strip mining have ruined the land and strangled a people with high rates of black lung disease and cancer. As unorganized labourers, they are exploited in their wages and working conditions. Over half of the population live below the poverty line.

The other workcamp will be in the Yukon territory of northern Canada. It is here the native peoples face the destruction of their ancestoral fishing grounds and the irreversible ruin of the land by multi-national oil companies. It is here the people face 80% unemployment and the highest rate of suicide among young people in the world.

YCGJ continues to grow as a binational movement educating and enabling young people to understand the world from a third world perspective. It is a challenge to the church to step outside our North American-ness to see human need in terms other than

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material wealth. And we are the church as we join the Asian peoples In the prayer and the struggle for God's will to be done.

"He shall overcome."

Greeting from Mr. Jacques Galle (Netherlands) on behalf of EYCE.

FACING TENSIONS IN EUROPE

The Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE) is a fellowship of national ecumenical youth councils, denominational youth councils or bodies and those representing church youth in Europe.

The council works in a divided continent where there are different social and political systems, different cultures and a variety of denominational traditions. We are strongly facing the tensions between East and West and also between North and South, between Europe and the Third World. We want to contribute to a reasonable co-existence, to detente and mutual trust, to the struggle for more peace and justice. We believe that our faith in Jesus Christ enables us to do so.

EYCE was formed in 1968 as a result of a concern about regionalisation in the ecumenical movement. Consequently EYCE still regards itself as the European partner of WCC in ecumenical youth work. We have also good and regular contact with the Conference of European Churches (CEC).

Through our programme we offer young people from all over Europe the opportunity to meet one another so that their faith can develop and grow through discussion and shared experiences, allowing prejudice to be overcome and trust developed, thereby providing a stimulus for cooperative action.

On the other hand we try to stimulate and formulate the common beliefs of young Christians in Europe. We believe that in view of our understanding of the biblical message, the position of the churches, and decisive political developments, this is necessary and to a certain extent possible.

Each year there are about thirty smaller workcamps and 5-10 larger seminars or conferences.

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By assuming our tasks we are led again and again to certain recurrent priorities in our work despite the fact that EYCE's programmes are appropriate to the character of our youth work in general (are not based on a continuous long-term study programme, but on a series of individual events).

Understanding the Bible: No matter what occasion brings us together, reading the Bible together constantly reminds us of different approaches to and understandings of the Gospel. In seminars and study camps this has frequently been used as a theme.

Worship: Similarly as a result of personal contact, worship has become a permanent theme in our work. Here it is important that we examine the meaning and function of worship in different traditions, comparing the theology as well as the praxis of worship. The search for ecumenical worship plays a particular role.

Detente: Cast by reality into the midst of the political conflicts of our time we are united in our concern as young Christians to make a meaningful contribution to the process of detente in Europe. We hold honest discussions between young people who incline to different social systems and we are careful to avoid a cheap understanding of reconciliation which serves only to conceal these tensions.

Peace and disarmament: The majority of our members are deeply involved in the popular movement for peace and disarmament. Thus EYCE is an important forum for exchanging arguments and information and gaining new motivation.

Social justice: The struggle for social justice for the peoples of the Third World and for a more just world economic order has become a very important concern above all through our contacts with other regional ecumenical youth organisations. So we became aware of the fact that our concern about detente, peace and disarmament would not be credible if we close our eyes for the victims of those wars which are not a horrible dream for the future, but present realities in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. The frightening prospect of a nuclear holocaust contemplated by us people of the North is already a horrific reality for the Pacific Islanders in the South. Only by a continued and strengthened co-operation with other regions we will maintain a right balance in our programme and do justice to the complexity of the issues and see things in its right context i.e. global context.

Youth in Society: The range of problems created by the lack of integration of youth into their respective societies is broad and

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strongly differentiates. In recent years the problem of youth unemployment has become a burning question for many members. EYCE is also trying to change its structures and working methods in order to facilitate a fuller participation of young workers and women.

Denominational Dialogue: The growing participation in EYCE of the Orthodox Church has given closer acquaintanceship with this tradition a special meaning for the Protestant and Catholic members.

To conclude I want to convey to you the greetings of EYCE in the fellowship of our common belief in our Lord Jesus Christ and our common struggle for justice and peace. Shalom!