Christmas Message from the Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCAs
Let Christmas Renew Us
The year 2004 was not an easy one. On the one hand, we saw tremendous human-made calamities as wars and conflicts continued to dominate the daily news. We saw many lives being lost violently, every day, in Iraq, in Darfur, in Palestine/Israel, and in many other parts of the world.
We also saw severe floods in Bangladesh, destructive hurricanes in Haiti, the Bahamas and Florida, and huge earthquakes in northern Japan. All these natural calamities, also, took numerous lives, and destroyed property on a massive scale.
In many nations we saw sudden financial crises, causing immense social turmoil, as unemployment rose in towns and cities, and the farmers in the villages became increasingly impoverished.
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However, amidst these grim realities there were also some lights of hope. Those moments of hope and new life came about when people extended their love and expressed their solidarity for justice and peace. In the YMCA this came about when YMCA volunteers and staff committed themselves to sharing their resources with those in need, not only in terms of funds, but also as precious human resources. Thus, YMCAs got involved with people's concerns not only within their own communities, but also wherever it was possible, in different continents.
This is the beauty of our YMCA Movement. It is this international character that makes us unique. This international fellowship began one hundred and fifty years ago, in 1855 in Paris, when YMCA leaders met at the first international conference. That meeting, on 22 August 1855, gave birth to the founding statement of our Movement, the Paris Basis, which basically emphasises two important elements. Firstly, that we have joined together to "unite" people everywhere. Thus, the motto "That they all may be one" (John 17: 21). And so, we are meant to work for unity amidst differences of cultures, races, ideologies, and religions, and build community. Secondly, we have joined together for the "extension of the Kingdom (Reign) of God", which, in my view, means we are to work for building a community that is made up of justice, love and peace.
No wonder, our mission statement is so meaningful and dynamic! Of course, in building that community, our core values come from the teachings of Jesus Christ. And, it is He who is our model and path.
Christmas is a special season for Christians around the world to celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, our saviour and liberator. Christmas, therefore, is a time for all of us to reflect on how we can be true "christs" to liberate those who yearn for freedom, freedom from the clutches of poverty, famine, exploitation, consumerism, greed, violence, occupation and neo-colonisation.
On this note, let me share with you a song I wrote in Bengali, some years ago titled Muktidatar Kache Cholo - "Let us go to our Liberator":
Let us go to our Liberator
Come, let us go to our Liberator,
Come, let us go to our Liberator.
He came to our world
fulfilling the promise of liberation.
He came to our world
to show us new life.
Come, let us go to our Liberator,
Come, let us go to our Liberator.
He came in our midst
fulfilling the promise of peace.
He came in our world
to show us the life of love.
Come, let us go to our Liberator,
Come, let us go to our Liberator.
By remembering and celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ, let us recall the words of hope and promise from the prophet Isaiah: "… the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned" (Mt 4: 16).
Let us also take a moment to recall and be hope-filled by the words from the prophecy of Zechariah: "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Lk 1: 78-79).
May Christmas renew our commitment towards the mission and purpose of our coming together in the YMCA.
May I take this occasion to thank you and your movement for all your collaboration and support of the work of the World Alliance of YMCAs during this year. Peace and God's blessings to you.
