This document is the result of work on economic globalization
from Harare to Porto Alegre. It was prepared by the commission
for Justice, Peace and Creation under the direction of the
central committee. Its final version was received by the
executive committee in September 2005 which also approved the
use of the document in the economic justice plenary.
Introduction
We, representatives of churches gathered at the ninth assembly
of the World Council of Churches (WCC), emphasize that a world
without poverty is not only possible but is in keeping with
the grace of God for the world. This conviction builds on the
rich tradition of ecumenical social thought and action, which
is centred on God's option for the poor as an imperative of
our faith. It captures the results of a seven-year global
study process of the churches' responses to economic
globalization with contributions from all regions of the world
and involvement of a number of Christian world communions,
particularly through the 2003 assembly of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) and the 2004 general council of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) (see appendix).
This process has examined the project of economic
globalization that is led by the ideology of unfettered market
forces and serves the dominant political and economic
interests. The international financial institutions and the
World Trade Organization among other such institutions promote
economic globalization. The participants in the AGAPE process
shared their concerns about the growing inequality, the
concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few and the destruction of the earth - all aggravating the scandal of
poverty in the South and increasingly in the North. In recent
years the escalating role of political and military power have
strongly surfaced. People all over the world experience the
impact of imperial forms of power on their communities.
Meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the home of the World Social
Forum (WSF), we are encouraged by the constructive and
positive message of the movements gathering in the WSF that
alternatives are possible. We affirm that we can and must make
a difference by becoming transformative communities caring for
people and the earth.
We recognize that the divisions of the world are present among
us. Since we are called to be one in Christ, we are called to
be transformed by God's grace for the sake of all life on
earth, overcoming the world's division. Challenged to monitor
and transform economic globalization, we call ourselves to
action as churches working alongside people of faith
communities and movements.
AGAPE Call - for love and action
God, Creator, endowing your creation with integrity and human
beings with dignity;
God, Redeemer and Liberator, freeing us from slavery and
death;
God, Holy Spirit, transforming and energizing us.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit let us witness to your love, life
and transforming grace.
All: God, in your grace, transform the world.
We have become apathetic to suffering and injustice. Among us
are many who suffer the consequences of economic
globalization; women, abused and yet caring for life; children
who are denied their rights; youth living in economic
insecurity and unemployment; those labouring under
exploitative conditions; the many caught in unjust trade
relationships and debt slavery. There are people with
disabilities and those living at the margins of society,
people of colour often the first and most painfully hit by
poverty, those pushed away and alienated from the land, the
earth - battered, depleted and exploited. Denied of their
sustenance, these people are often the most vulnerable to
diseases such as HIV/AIDS. We confess that many of us have
failed to respond in solidarity.
All: God, in your grace, transform the world.
We are tempted to give in to comfort and its empty promises
when we ought to choose costly discipleship and change. We are
driven to accept oppression and suffering as a given, when we
should keep our hope and advocate for justice and liberation.
We confess that many of us have failed to take a stand in our
faith and act against economic injustice and its destructive
consequences on people and the earth. We are tempted to give
in to materialism and the reign of money. We play to the rules
of greed and conform to political and military power when we
should align ourselves with the poor and excluded people.
All: God, in your grace, transform the world.
God, we ask your forgiveness.
All: God, in your grace, transform the world.
God, let our economic structures be inspired by the rules of
your household of life, governed by love, justice and grace.
Let us not be afraid of change, or to seek alternatives.
Let us work for justice by resisting destructive economic
structures,
Proclaiming with hope the jubilee year of the Lord, the
cancellation of debt, the release of the captives and rest for
the land,
let us work for an agape economy of solidarity.
All: God, in your grace, transform the world.
God, you send us out,
to care for the earth and to share all what is necessary for
life in community;
to resist and to denounce all that denies life,
to love our neighbours and to do what is just,
so that where there was death, there will be life.
We call each other
to respond to your love for all people and for the earth
in our own actions and in the witness and service of our
churches;
to work for the eradication of poverty and the unconditional
cancellation of debts;
to care for land, water, air - the entire web of life;
to build just and sustainable relationships with the earth.
In the world of labour, trade and finance to study and engage
power in its different forms and manifestations, remembering
that all power is accountable to you, God. God in your grace,
help us to be agents of your transformation and to hear your
call to act with courage.
All: Creator God, may the power of your grace transform us,
Christ, give us courage and hope to share our life with each
other and the world,
Holy Spirit, empower us to work for justice for people and the
earth.
God, in your grace, transform the world. Amen.
In the spirit of this uniting prayer, we challenge ourselves
to have the courage to take action. The AGAPE call invites us
to act together for transformation of economic injustice and
to continue analyzing and reflecting on challenges of economic
globalization and the link between wealth and poverty.
1. Poverty eradication
We recommit ourselves to work for the eradication of poverty
and inequality through developing economies of solidarity and
sustainable communities. We will hold our governments and the
international institutions accountable to implement their
commitments on poverty eradication and sustainability.
2. Trade
We recommit ourselves to work for justice in international
trade relations through critical analyses on free trade and
trade negotiations, and to collaborate closely with social
movements in making those agreements just, equitable and
democratic.
3. Finance
We recommit ourselves to campaign for responsible lending;
unconditional debt cancellation and for the control and
regulation of global financial markets. Investments should be
redirected towards businesses that respect social and
ecological justice, or in banks and institutions that do not
engage in speculation, nor encourage tax evasion.
4. Sustainable use of land and natural resources
We recommit ourselves to engage in actions for sustainable and
just patterns of extraction and use of natural resources, in
solidarity with Indigenous peoples, who seek to protect their
land, water and their communities.
We recommit ourselves to challenge the excessive consumption
of affluent societies so that they will shift towards selfrestraint
and simplicity in lifestyles.
5. Public goods and services
We recommit ourselves to join the global struggle against the
imposed privatization of public goods and services; and to
actively defend the rights of countries and peoples to define
and manage their own commons.
We recommit ourselves to support movements, groups and
international initiatives defending vital elements of life
such as bio-diversity, water and the atmosphere.
6. Life-giving agriculture
We recommit ourselves to work for land reforms in solidarity
with landless agricultural labourers and small farm holders;
to advocate in various ways for self-determination over food
concerns. To oppose the production of genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) as well as trade liberalization as the sole
directive. We commit ourselves to promote ecological farming
practices and to stand in solidarity with peasant communities.
7. Decent jobs, emancipated work and people's livelihoods
We commit ourselves to build alliances with social movements
and trade unions that advocate decent jobs and just wages. We
commit ourselves to advocate for those workers and bonded
labourers who work under exploitative conditions and are
deprived of their rights to form trade unions.
8. Churches and the power of empire
We recommit ourselves to reflect on the question of power and
empire from a biblical and theological perspective, and take a
firm faith stance against hegemonic powers because all power
is accountable to God.
We acknowledge that the process of transformation requires
that we as churches make ourselves accountable to the victims
of the project of economic globalization. Their voices and
experiences must determine how we analyze and judge this
project, in keeping with the gospel. This implies that we as
churches from different regions make ourselves accountable to
each other, and that those of us closer to the centres of
power live out our first loyalty to our sisters and brothers
who experience the negative impacts of global economic
injustice everyday of their lives.
This AGAPE call is a prayer for strength to transform unjust
economic structures. It will guide our reflections and actions
in the next phase of the ecumenical journey. Our engagement
will build on the findings, proposals and recommendations to
the churches from the AGAPE process as outlined in the AGAPE
background document.
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© 2001 by Ulrich Schmitthenner •
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