Economic systems must serve the needs of ordinary people, WARC churches say

A new global economic order that puts people first is urgently needed to help the poor, says the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) following a meeting of the G20 nations on the worldwide financial crisis in Washington.

A number of WARC member churches in Latin America have made similar calls in the past several weeks as fallout from the financial crisis hits the people of their region.

“This crisis demonstrates the urgent need for a new global economic order, which puts people at the centre and which recognizes the necessity for a broader and more inclusive discourse on the imbalance in the global power structures,” said Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth of the Office for Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership.

“As the United States and Europe rescue their banks and financial agencies with trillions of dollars to clean up the mess at home, they must also be called to address the devastating impact of their mistakes on the South.”

Sheerattan-Bisnauth said that a financial crisis of this magnitude has severe implications for poor people in the poorest countries.

“In fact, when crisis strikes, whether it is an economic meltdown or a natural disaster, it is the poor and the disempowered whose live are negatively affected—the poor in poorer countries and the poor in rich countries,” Sheerattan-Bisnauth added.

Last week the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America (AIPRAL) sent an open letter addressing the “painful consequences” for the poor of the region brought on by the financial crisis.

“Today we need to recognize the prophetic role taken over a decade ago by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and its member churches, when it raised its voice against the neoliberal system imposed by the transnational corporations as the only imperial model, which forced states and governments to open their economies… and devastated the lives of millions of persons,” the letter states.

The AIPRAL leaders said the Accra Confession, issued by WARC in 2004, rightly critiques the neoliberal economic order for demanding “an unending chain of sacrifices on the part of the poor and creation. It promises the fallacy of saving the world by means of creating wealth and prosperity, attributing to itself sovereignty over life and demanding loyalty equivalent to idolatry.”

Last month both the Evangelical Church of the River Plate in Argentina and the Reformed Calvinist Church of El Salvador urged reform of the economic system so that it takes into consideration the welfare of ordinary people.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together 75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries—united in their commitment to making a difference in a troubled world. The WARC general secretary is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. WARC’s secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Contact:

John P. Asling

Executive Secretary, Communications

World Alliance of Reformed Churches

150 Route de Ferney

P.O. Box 2100

1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

tel. +41.22 791 6243

fax: +41.22 791 6505

web: www.warc.ch