7th Assembly: Bangalore, 1981

Programmatic work was discussed under the groups ‘Confronting the structures of power’, ‘A call to the community’, ‘For the renewal of the Church’, and ‘Meeting Asia’s emerging challenges’.

A report from the Assembly reads:

“It is Christ who calls us to the community. It is Christ who is the centre of Christian communities, and in faith, we also believe that no human community is outside the love of Christ. If that is what we believe, then, every Christian community at all levels—local, denominational, national, and international—is, at the same time, part and parcel of the broader human community.

“We are called to a fully and truly human community only through Christ because in Him “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female”. People who are really in a community are people who belong to one another, care for one another, and share with one another. Through creative interaction and tension, the community draws together despite differences.”