ONENESS OF HEART AND SPIRIT

For the New Ecumenical Centre

(Extract of Message delivered during the YMCA of Ipoh/CCM Building Fundraising Dinner held on 6 April 2008 in Ipoh.)

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Dinner Organizing Committee for their faith, courage and commitment on embarking on this daunting task in the oneness of mind, heart and spirit in bringing the churches of this region to this historic event of experiencing the oneness in Christendom. To organize an event to bring all the churches here together is a demanding task. Though it is a fundraising dinner for the new ecumenical building, this gathering here brings about a greater calling and to quote from the brochure, “This is not an appeal to put together bricks and mortar. More than anything else, this is about linking churches together and providing an opportunity for all Christians to grow with one another and offer the nation a good Christian witness. We need your help … for CCM to respond to the challenges facing Christians in the nation.”

The Spirit of God has moved the leaders of the church to this great responsibility. The amount that is needed may be an Utopian dream for the pessimists but to those who can dream, it can be summed with the words of Robert Kennedy, “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation.”

61 years ago, circumstances brought the Christian leaders together when they were forcibly interned at Changi prison during the Japanese Occupation. The difficult experiences together gave birth to the ecumenical movement 61 years ago and the same Spirit of God continues to move us even now. We move forward in confidence with a spirit of oneness upholding each other and cherishing the experiences in the body of Christ. 61 years have gone by and today we live a technological advanced society where we benefit its fruits with better lifestyles and facilities. The time has come to renew ourselves in the settings of the technological world. The old building (of CCM) has become dilapidated and hence we see the need for this new building for the greater tasks and responsibilities that have been spelt out. We need to move with the changes and needs of our times just as, Felix Adler once said, “We cannot accept the way of living that was satisfactory a hundred years ago. The world in which we live has changed, and we must change with it.”

Christians may be a small percentage in this country but the church is a dynamic reality in this nation of ours. We are called to be the transforming agents in society and therefore we need to be submissive to the Spirit to move us. To achieve and realize this vision, we must have the conviction of Edward Everett, who said, “I am only one. But still I am one. I cannot do everything. But still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” We must have the persistence of Mother Theresa when she said, “What I am doing is only a drop in the ocean. If I do not do what I am doing, then the ocean will be one drop less.” And we must have the Spirit of Christ when He said that we are to be the lighted lamp on a lamp stand so that others will benefit from the light.

It is with these words I urge all of you to support the work of the Council of Churches and make this vision of the CCM Building a reality in our time. Uphold us in your prayers, give without hesitation, move with conviction and reap its vision by being instruments of God where He has placed us.

I thank all the churches here for sharing in the vision of Christ for establishing an ecumenical centre. Let us move together in the oneness of heart and spirit that in and through us we will continue to be a blessing for our Lord. I take this opportunity to thank all of you who are here. It affirms your commitment in this faith journey in this land of ours.

Rev Dr Thomas Philips
President, CCM