Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
The Millennium Development Goals
In April 2005 the Common Global Ministries Board passed a Resolution to Recommend the Millennium Development Goals for Study and Action. The Church is an important part of civil society working to meet these international targets for improving lives around the world by 2015.
Water for All!
Global Education and Advocacy is focusing on Water in 2005-2006. Learn why water is a critical issue for study and action.
Globalization and Common Global Ministries
Economic
globalization profoundly impacts local communities, cultures and ways
of life. While increased private investment and trade may grow markets,
our global partners witness the challenges globalization often poses in
their communities-- wider economic disparity and exploitation.
Communities of faith are called to consider what the church can do to
ensure that international trade policies better serve the interests of
human rights and security, justice and peace, and the dignity and
integrity of creation.
Global Ministries is committed to
restoring the environment and economics to the service of God. At its
November 2004 meeting the Global Ministries Board engaged in a process
of reflection on globalization with its international Board members and
partners. This process enabled our global partnerships to provide a
context for identifying ways of responding faithfully to economic
globalization.
Part of the dialogue for the November meeting
included inviting global partners and the mission personnel who serve
with them to reflect on the impact of globalization, both positive and
negative, in their region. These reports were compiled in a booklet
called Globalization: Faith and Economic Justice, Partners and
Missionaries Reflect on Globalization. This resource is available to
local churches and individuals to help understand our global
relationships and the implications of international trade policies and
thereby to enable informed decisions as consumers, investors, citizens
and people of faith.
The Global Ministries board in November 2004 also passed a Resolution On Globalization and Just International Relationships. This policy complements the 2003 UCC Pronouncement “A Faithful Response: Calling for a More Just, Humane Direction for Economic Globalization",
and together they guide Global Ministries as it engages with other
advocacy groups, international ecumenical bodies and faith coalitions
campaigning for just trade and more a responsible global economic
system.
Global Ministries' Background and Theology of Globalization
Understanding Globalization
UCC 24th General Synod Pronouncement "A Faithful Response: Calling for a More Just, Humane Direction for Economic Globalization"
The
2003 UCC General Synod 24 Pronouncement found "that economic
globalization has yielded some positive outcomes for society as a whole.
But seen through the lens of faith, it has also produced great economic
and social injustice. The rules and institutions that shape economic
globalization must be fundamentally changed if God’s creation and all
God’s children, in both the global south and north, are to benefit."
The
Pronouncement charges Wider Church Ministries and Justice and Witness
Ministries to convene a Coordinating Committee to implement the policy.
For Wider Church Ministries, the Common Global Ministries staff on the
Coordinating Committee are James Vijayakumar, Area Executive for
Southern Asia; Angela Balfour, Program Associate for Africa; and Derek
Duncan, Program Associate for Middle East and Europe.
Trade and U.S. Border Issues
In February 2005 the UCC Globalization Coordinating Committee met in Tucson, AZ at Borderlinks,
a cross-border experiential program that takes residential groups and
students to Nogales, Mexico to learn about the desperate situation of
Mexican migrants who have flooded the northern border with the U.S. to
find work in the maquilladores (factories) that have sprouted up there.
Since many factories have closed or laid off workers as companies have
moved operations to cheaper labor markets, or as work and living
conditions simply prove intolerable, many of these migrants undertake
the hazardous and illegal trip through the desert to the U.S. The
Coordinating Committee heard about the work of church and community
service groups like Humane Borders
that advocate for the rights and humane care of these migrants both in
Mexico and once they have immigrated to the U.S. The group heard in
particular about the innovative work of the staff and congregations of
the Southwest Conference, UCC in these migrant ministries.
Fair Trade Coffee
In 2004 the UCC entered into partnership with Equal Exchange to form the UCC Coffee Project
to encourage congregations to drink fairly traded coffee for justice at
fellowship hour. Through the project small coffee farmers in some of
the poorest countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia earn a fairer
share of income, have access to credit and technical support, and gain a
trading partner they can trust. UCC congregations learn about the
impact of our consumer habits and how to advocate for more just global
economic policies.
