Skip to content

Voices of Partnership

November 16, 2011

By Adele Finney

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

PWRDF’s Executive Director, Adele Finney, is currently visiting PWRDF partners in Asia.  Here is her third blog from her trip:

“As those who oppress people around the world have all the time to come together, the churches can be the spaces where those who suffer can come together,” said Father Rex, NCCP (National Council of Churches of the Philippines) General Secretary. Hmmm, I thought. What would that look like in Canada? Maybe the weekly Saturday lunch the church hosts for those who may not have enough money to buy food for a whole month or need the companionship of a friendly table.

“We love company,” said Bishop Nathanael Lazaro, NCCP Chairperson. What better people with whom to talk about partnership! The NCCP has 20 international partners, ten representatives of whom are here at the table for the Bilateral Partners’ Conference and to mark the beginning of NCCP’s 50th anniversary.

You may be asking, “What is a bilateral partner, and who cares?” Good question. It’s a World Council of Churches’ term for the relationship between national councils of churches and external churches and agencies.  The funding part of that relationship has always been a challenge because it skews who holds the power.

The Filipino and bilateral partners at this meeting have tried to redefine their relationship and spent Friday afternoon finding words for how they want live out their partnership from here on. None of the action items are funding requests, but rather common causes and commitments to base all our work together in the Filipino people’s struggles and joys.  That makes church partnership a different kind of animal than we’re used to in Canada.

What does partnership mean in a country declared by the United Nations as the third most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change? In a country where 4000+ people leave the country daily to work overseas because there are not enough jobs to provide sustainable living? In a country where over 1200 human rights activists have been the victims of extra-judicial killings, and the perpetrators ride away on motorcycles with impunity? The Filipinos at this meeting say partnership means a lot. It means they are not alone, that someone hears and works to make spaces for their voices and concerns to be heard in the wider world.

At the closing dinner and celebration, partnership was a lot of fun. There was a wonderful children’s anklung (Asian bamboo instrument) ensemble. The Teatro Ekyumenikal kept before us hope in the midst of injustice and suffering. There were great songs, great singers, great food…and an item called “The Ecumenical Partners Creative Offering” that took two attempts to get us on our feet””our partners were not letting us walk away from the celebration without contributing to it in kind. We finally asked the children’s anklung ensemble to replay a song, and we did something like a conga line and then invited new partners to join us. We weren’t great, but our hearts were fully on the dance floor.

All News Posts

For media requests please contact Communications Coordinator Janice Biehn at (416) 924-9199;366.

Asia Pacific Stories

Field Blog

Philippines