Church Ministers must remain free and unrestrained either in conscience, intelligence, or feelings, because they represent diversity in Unity. I'm trying to identify ideas that are true and valuable, and to separate them from misconceptions. The Christian faith isn't about you or me or that power-seeking bishop over there. It's about Christ. To be an Anglican is to be on a journey of faith to God supported by a fellowship of co-believers who are dedicated to finding Him by prayer and service. Ecumenism is about Christians around the world working together locally, nationally and internationally as part of a global Christian movement. The International Free Protestant Episcopal Church ( TIFPEC ) is committed to developing and strengthening its ecumencial relations around the world and it does this through the work of its St. Andrew's Ecumenical Church Foundation Intercollegiate.

THE INTERNATIONAL FREE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH

We TIFPEC continue to provide significant assistance for peace, reconciliation, relief and reconstruction;

We herein put forward the following to enhance and ensure, to wit:

1.           Advocacy being an act of intercession, the Church leaders conference under the coordination of Action by Churches Together (Liberia Network) led by the Liberian Council of Churches, following in the footstep of the Lord Jesus our Advocate, sees its mandate as interceding to God for and on behalf of the down trodden and war weary Liberians, seeks to represent a voice of conscience to the Government and the people of this beloved land;

2.           The Church acting together shall seek to stand up and be visible in the crucial search for answer to the vices in society including:

a.      Social injustice, mass unemployment, security breaches, rising teenage pregnancy, disregard for the fundamental rights and dignity of the Liberian people,

b.      Also including the unconstitutional exercise of power, the ongoing depletion of the environment as occasioned by the wanton and uncontrollable exploitation of the forest, the poor sanitary conditions of our cities, towns and villages,

c.      The persistence attitudes and action that tend to destroy our national image locally and internationally, the continuous destruction and plundering of our infrastructure, the constant imposition of sanction, and the increase in the HIV/AIDS pandemic;

3.           the Church declares that these trends are totally unacceptable in our society and therefore select to engage in constant and interactive dialogue with the Government, Government agencies and requisite partners in the search to remove these vices from the Liberian society;

4.           Realizing that Reconciliation is key to our faith as Christians and is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ as we are called individually and collectively to be ministers of reconciliation; the Church sees Reconciliation as an act of restoring broken relationships and acknowledges the level of division among its fold and the need to be reconciled and empowered for peace building;

5.           The Church notes that there is uneven allocation of national wealth and opportunities, blatant misuse of power and disrespect for authority, disregard for law and order, superiority complex, and pride, all being causes for the continuation of the war and the destruction theta is plaguing the nation and declares that these negative vices must be stopped

6.           The Church declares that for peace and reconciliation to be realized, the following must be implemented:

A.           Immediate and unconditional cease-fire by all fighting forces must take effect;

B.           Deployment of a monitoring force to ensure adherence to the cease-fire;

C.          Engagement of the warring parties in meaningful dialogue and delivers total peace and harmony;

D.          Fostering meaningful dialogue between government and the opposition groupings;

E.           That the necessary mechanism for genuine, free, fair and transparent election be put into place. These shall include but not limited to the following:

a.      Verified national census

b.      Voters' registration

c.      Repatriation

d.      Resettlement, etc.

F.           The doing away with corruption from every sector of our national life;

G.          Ensuring equal allocation of national wealth and opportunities;

H.           Prioritizing health, education, food production, restoration of pipe-borne water, electricity, improved communication, sanitation, and road networks;

I.               Protection of the basic rights and dignity of all persons; and

J.            Fostering genuine confession, forgiveness and acceptance.

7.           NETWORKING is the act of purposefully sharing information with the aim if enhancing cooperation between the collaborating groups connecting one another in love and concretizing working relationship, therefore speaking together, the Church declares commitment to multidirectional communication on issues, concerns, plans and actions seeking to inform its members, inter-and intra-denominational grouping, the civil community, local and national leaders, and other relevant parties of the plans and actions to be fostered through dialogue. Building and enhancing trust, respect for all, and tolerance to the opinions and values of others, even if they differ from our position on the issues at hand.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Church speaking with one voice is calling upon all ministers of the gospel, government institutions, institutions of learning, the civil society, both local and international NGOs, political parties, the print and electronic media to show an outright disagreement for war and the negatives vices of the society. We encourage all to preach, teach and create awareness on advocacy, reconciliation and networking throughout the world. To promote peace and reconciliation, the Church also reaffirms the values of the Christian faith amongst which are the belief in the word of God and One Man – One Wife.

To this end, the church is developing a Plan of Action to foster these goals and values.

For in union strong, success is sure.

+Horst-Karl Friedrich, Bishop Primus Block -TIFPEC 

Redaktion / PM

29.03.2007

 

 

BishopPrimus@DrHorstBlock.de