Call to European Churches to Support Immigrants

Delegates at the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) concluded their weeklong gathering in Sibiu Romania last weekend with a call to the churches of Europe to support immigrants and other ethnic minorities.

In a four-page Assembly Message citing 10 recommendations for the future, delegates urged the continent's churches to focus that care on to the Roma people in particular and to make efforts to "offer better pastoral care for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees".

Acknowledging the continuing quest for Christian unity in Europe, the assembly recommended that churches renew their common mission "to proclaim Christ as the Light and the Saviour of the world".

It also encouraged churches to continue dialoguing towards a "mutual recognition of baptism", create more opportunities for common prayer, pilgrimages, theological education and study in support of Christian values, and that churches work towards "the full participation of the whole people of God", including "young people, the elderly, ethnic minorities and disabled people."

The assembly reaffirmed the Charta Oecumenica, a set of guidelines agreed in Europe for Christian interaction and cooperation, calling it a "stimulating" resource "for our ecumenical journey in Europe".

The assembly exhorted European churches and European institutions to be courageous in addressing the needs of the whole world, while the Message recommended support for the UN's MDGs and the creation of a new "consultative process" among church organisations on the European role in addressing ecological justice, human rights and other issues of globalisation. It also recommended the backing of initiatives for debt cancellation and fair trade.

EEA3 concluded with a new consensus to set aside the period between 1 September and 4 October on an annual basis to pray for the protection of creation and "the promotion of sustainable lifestyles that reverse our contribution to climate change".