7 Aug 2016

Caroline Powell: Reflections on Ruth from the Church in a Divided South African City (Stott-Bediako 2016)

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From the 2016 Stott-Bediako Forum on The Refugee Crisis: A Shared Human Condition.

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Caroline Powell

Caroline Powell has worked for the past 8 years with The Warehouse in Cape Town, a worshiping community organization that walks alongside churches as they seek to respond to the issues of poverty, injustice and division in a city that struggles with some of the worst inequality that is seen on the globe. She is currently studying theology at the University of Pretoria, with a focus on leadership in Urban Transformation. She has an interest in the critical role that young Christian leaders plays in social movements and loves to help such leaders marry their personal faith with their activism.

The Stott-Bediako Forum is an annual gathering of theologian-practitioners who are committed to address the realities of the contemporary world in light of the Gospel. Named after John W.R. Stott and Kwame Bediako, the Forum promotes a holistic understanding of mission and the importance of constructive engagements of Christianity and culture. The Forum is sponsored jointly by the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT) and the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS).

This year, the Stott-Bediako Forum focused on the topic: The Refugee Crisis: A Shared Human Condition. It took place at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), UK on the 13th and 14th of June, 2016.

In 2015, Europe alone received one million refugees migrating from Middle Eastern countries, and the crisis continues to unfold. There are similar refugee crises in different parts of the world with many tragic consequences at personal, family and community levels. It is therefore imperative that responses to these realities are sought and formulated in the light of the truth of the Gospel, whose message addresses the entire reality of human existence including that of refugees. How does the Bible present the reality of refugees? How do we, as followers of Jesus, as pilgrims and ‘resident aliens’ in this world, respond to these tragic realities? In what concrete ways should Christian communities engage?

Click here for more information on the 2016 Stott-Bediako Forum, including the official press release, program, and papers.