Escenarios de futuro para la cadena productiva de

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He urged h is fello w A sians: "We must r e s i s t t h i s te m p tatio n and fig h t i t to o th and n a i l ," and assu red th e IMG and th e WGC le a d e rs p resen t a t th e m eeting;

This co n feren ce, though E ast A sian, i s in an ecum enical s e ttin g and lin k ed in th e stro n g bonds of ecum enical fe llo w sh ip . I t i s r ig h tly OF E ast A sia and FOR E ast A sia but i t i s a t th e same tim e OF th e ecum enical Church and FOR th e ecum enical Church. ^

But i t was only on the seventh day, two days b efo re th e c lo se of th e C onference, th a t Ranson took up th e ta sk o f le a d in g the d e le g a te s to

accept what had been decided a t M anila. In concluding h is in tro d u c to ry

ad d ress, he s a id , "The two world bodies /SmC and WC^ must g iv e f u ll ex­

p re ssio n to th e i r u n ity o f purpose and to th e ir ecum enical in terd ep en d ­ ence, and be ready to move forw ard unhampered by p re ju d ic e or p a st

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tr a d itio n , as God shows th e w ay." But a l l th i s having been s a id , i t

could be argued th a t th e IMC and th e WCC le a d e rsh ip were very r e lu c ta n t to h elp A sian C h ris tia n s fin d f u l l ex p ressio n of th e i r u n ity o f purpose and ecum enical interd ep en d en ce; f o r th e m inutes concerning th e e s ta b lis h ­ ment o f an E ast A sia o ffic e now read :

He /R ansoïy re fe rre d to the p o ssib le dangers of reg io n alism w ith in th e ecum enical movement and the d e s i r a b i l it y of avoiding the estab lish m en t of u n necessary a d m in is tra tiv e m achinery. On th e o th e r hand, th e re may be a c re a tiv e reg io n alism which w ill

enrich th e ecum enical movement. I t i s th e main ta s k o f t h i s con­ feren ce to fin d how to g iv e ex p ressio n to t h i s c re a tiv e re g io n a l­ ism in E ast A sia. One im portant element in i t may be th e a p p o in t­ ment as has been suggested o f a re p re s e n ta tiv e of th e IMG and th e WCC fo r E a ste rn A sia. Upon t h i s q u estio n the advice o f th e con­ feren ce i s sought. In co n clu sio n , Mr. Ranson expressed h is p erso n al hope th a t, i f such an appointm ent were d e f in ite ly recommended, i t would be conceived in p a s to ra l r a th e r th a n in a d m in istra tiv e term s, and th a t i t would prove to be th e means o f deepening the sense of C h ris tia n s o lid a r ity between the churches and c o u n cils o f E ast A sia. 3

Thus Ranson made c le a r what he h im self d e s ire d ; and th e fin d in g s o f th e M anila m eeting and th e a t tit u d e s and fe e lin g s of th e IMC and WCC 1. Bangkok 1949 R ep o rt, pp.

2. I b i d ., p. 142.

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tow ards th e whole development would have been w ell known by th en to th e d e le g a te s. The IMG and th e WCC le a d e rs p re se n t a t th e m eeting must have f e l t extrem ely pleased w ith th e f in a l outcome of th e d e lib e ra tio n s

(which la s te d ju s t one m orning, in c lu d in g th e tim e spent on H anson's a d d re ss), fo r th e recommendation, which was said to be "unanim ously

re so lv e d ", was very s im ila r to the one adopted a t M anila. I t asked th a t

a jo in t s e c re ta ry be appointed and

. . . th a t th i s person g iv e h is f u l l time to v is i t i n g th e churches and C h ristia n co u n c ils in E ast A sia, h elp in g the churches to share more f u lly th e ir thought and experien ce, w ith a view to stre n g th e n in g th e churches in t h e i r e v a n g e lis tic ta sk in E ast A sia, and e s ta b lis h in g c lo s e r co n tact than a t p resen t e x is ts between th e E ast A sian churches and co u n cils and th e w orld-w ide movement of the Church. ^

Indeed, a t th e end of th e C onference Ranson and V is s e r't Hooft were happy to re p o rt:

The development o f "regionalism " w ith in th e ecum enical movonent m ight conceivably lead to frag m en tatio n . But th e

reg io n alism o f Bangkok was not d iv is i v e — i t was c re a tiv e . I t strengthened th e t i e s which bind the A sian churches to th e

U niversal Church. I t w ill e n ric h th e whole ecum enical fe llo w sh ip . The conference gave firm and unanimous support to th e

proposal th a t they /iMG and the WC^ should have a JOINT Sec­

re ta ry in A sia. There was an evid en t d e sire to avoid th e c re a ­ tio n o f new ecum enical m achinery. This found ex p ressio n in th e em phatic recommendation th a t th e new o f f ic e r should n o t b u ild up an " o ffic e " , but should r a th e r serve as an ecum enical ambassador among th e A sian churches, in te r p r e tin g them to one an o th er, f o s te r in g m utual s e rv ic e and e f f e c tiv e w itn e ss, and stre n g th e n in g th e bonds between the Church in A sia and th e Church U n iv e rsa l. ^

However, th a t th e re was r e a lly no d e s ire in th e minds o f th e d e le g a te s fo r a kind of permanent and a d m in is tra tiv e ecum enical m achinery o r o ffic e se rv in g the common needs and a s p ira tio n s of th e churches and c o u n c ils in

th e whole re g io n i s a q u e stio n a b le assum ption. The m inutes, f o r example,

do not e x p la in why i t was f e l t n ece ssary fo r the re s o lu tio n fo r a sec­ re ta r y to be read ag ain in th e a fte rn o o n of the same day "to ensure 1 . Bangkok 1949 R ep o rt, p. 143*

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thorough understan d in g " ^— was i t p o ssib le th a t th e d e le g a te s somehow

f e l t th a t i t was not a s a tis f a c to r y arrangem ent? On th e l a s t day

b e fo re th e Conference came to a c lo s e , th e morning "v/as devoted to a d isc u ssio n of p r a c tic a l m easures whereby g r e a te r c o -o p e ra tio n among th e

Churches of E ast A sia may be achiev ed ". The d e le g a te s wanted a news-

sheet fo r th e re g io n , in terch an g e o f film s t r i p s , l i t e r a t u r e and o th e r

v is u a l a id s . They wanted in terch an g e of p erso n n el, o f th e o lo g ic a l

te a c h e rs , w r ite r s and jo u r n a lis ts and w orkers in o th e r f i e l d s . They

agreed w ith the youth d e le g a te s ' proposal th a t " th e re was a d e f in ite need and d e s ire fo r an ecum enical i n s t i t u t e in E ast A sia, e ith e r attach ed

to a c o lle g e in some co u n try , o r fu n ctio n in g through a team o f le a d e rs

who w ill move from country to c o u n try ," Above a l l , they wanted th e

A sian churches to h elp one a n o th e r in th e "g re a tn e ss and urgency o f the u n fin ish e d C h ris tia n ta s k in E ast A sia", and a study o f th e r e la tio n s

between the A sian churches and th e m issionary b o ard s. They were i n t e r ­

ested in "a more ecum enical approach to th e problem of m eeting th e m issio n ary needs o f c e r ta in a re a s of East A sia, p a r tic u la r ly in cases where lo c a l churches a re unable them selves to assume r e s p o n s ib ility fo r work which can no lo n g er be c a rrie d by m issio n ary s o c ie tie s w ith which

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th ey have been a s s o c ia te d " . A ll th e se d e s ire s and needs im plied th a t

some kind of re g io n a l ecum enical m achinery or a d m in is tra tiv e o ffic e in

E ast A sia was n e c e ssa ry . These d isc u ssio n s should of course have been

brought forw ard b efo re a d e c isio n on th e q u estio n o f an o ffic e o r a s e c re ta ry was made; th e d e c isio n might as a r e s u lt have been q u ite d if f e r e n t. But a p p a re n tly , i t was thought th a t a l l th e se a c t i v i t i e s and needs could be organised and co -o rd in ated between NCCs and between NCCs and th e IMC and WCC o f f ic e s in London and New York and Geneva.

1. Bangkok 1949 R ep o rt, p. 145 2. I b i d . , pp. 145-149•

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Indeed, Ranson and T is s e r ' t Hooft did not even encourage th e id e a of

having a se p a ra te new s-sheet published in A sia. They wanted a l l news

from A sia to go to th e I n te rn a tio n a l Review o f M ission and th e Q u arterly N otes of the IMC and th e Ecumenical P ress S erv ice of th e WCC, which were p rin te d and p u blished in London and Geneva, thousands o f m iles away from

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E ast A sia.

I t i s a lso s ig n if ic a n t to n o te th a t a t Bangkok th e q u estio n o f th e in c lu s io n of A u s tra lia and New Zealand did n ot come out u n ti l a f t e r th e

re s o lu tio n fo r a s e c re ta ry had been decided. D.B. C h elliah o f M alaya

proposed th a t th ey should be in c o rp o ra ted in th e East A sia ecum enical a re a . But a t th e end of th e d isc u ssio n , two d e le g a te s from A u s tra lia and New

Zealand decided them selves not to come in b u t to w ait u n ti l such tim e as

i t was f e l t th a t th e ecum enical f ie ld could be e n larg ed . J .S . Murray o f

New Zealand h im se lf ad m itted : "For purposes o f jo in t planning and co n fe r­

ences, A u s tra lia and New Zealand belong to th e o ld e r churches. T h eir

2 problems are not the same as th o se o f the p re se n t group in E ast A sia ." By t h i s sta g e , however, no WCC or IMC le a d e r was concerned any lo n g e r

about th e ir in c lu s io n ; had th e q u estio n of t h e i r in c lu sio n become le s s im portant in th e li g h t of the d e c isio n to ap p o in t only a m obile s e c re ta ry r a th e r th an s e ttin g up a permanent reg io n a l s tru c tu re ?

By and l a r g e ,i t could be m aintained th a t th e development o f the ecum enical movement and the advancement of C h ris tia n u n ity in evangelism and se rv ic e in E ast A sia were s e t back by about e ig h t y e a rs, m ainly by th e delayed a c tio n , su sp ic io n and f e a r of narrow A sian n a tio n a lism and r a c i a l ecum enical reg io n alism on th e p a rt of th e world ecum enical le a d e r­

sh ip . I t was very u n fo rtu n a te th a t th e Chinese churches and NCC, who so

much wanted an o ffic e in E ast A sia, could not be p resen t a t Bangkok. But

1. Bangkok 1949 R ep o rt, p. 145* 2. I b i d ., p. 149'