Christmas Bowl

This year, as always, Christians in Australia will be asked to support the Christmas Bowl Appeal. This is adminsitered through the National Council of Churches' Act for Peace group.

The Christmas Bowl appeal for many years has support development and aid across the world, including in parts of Australia where work is conducted with the indigenous community. It has been a valued ecumenical expression of Australian support to the world, and a means of unity and giving at Christmas time. It has assisted many Christians in recalling God's generosity to us, and called us to a generous lifestyle rather than a receiving lifestyle.

This year an anonymous (usually this means 'cowardly') individual has sent us articles denouncing the National Council of Churches work in through this appeal. Not one of their articles is less than 24 years old. All of them politicise this appeal from a non-Marxist perspective, rather irrelevant a quarter of a century later.

It should be admitted that The Salvation Army has in the last few had an uneasy history with the World Council of Churches because of the conflicts between this body and evangelicalism and because of links to armed groups, particularly in Africa in the late 1970s. This is the sort of thing these articles refer to, and also why The Salvation Army (a founding member of the World Council of Churches) ended its membership of that body in 1980. It is why The Salvation Army has been a key particpant in the Lausanne Conferences on Evangelisation, which is a counter body to the WCC (this is an oversimplification, admittedly).

The premise for teh break with the WCC was the murder of two expatriat Salvation Army officers in Zimbabwe, at the hands of militia supposedly funded through WCC appeals such as the Christmas Bowl. But there is always another side to the story. Many national Salvationists had already died in that conflict at the hands of both sides and we did not act - perhaps a greater tragedy. Moreover, our withdrawal of support from the national groups being funded by the WCC seemed to the nationals like The Salvation Army had turned their back on Zimbabwe and there were protests outside our Harare headquarters calling for the removal of our general over this issue.

It is never an easy matter to get the balance right. But withdrawing support is not the answer, especially when it can cost so many lives and is based on outdated and biased information.

Furthermore, the criticism levelled at the appeal comments fasely about "Developmental Education". As someone with a specialty in overseas development (including post graduate studies and practical experience) I cannot emphasise how important education is in development, including education about development. Development education opens the door for civic participation, self determination, empowerment of the poorest, employment and economic development. It is not synonymous with Marxism.

I will continue to support the Christmas Bowl. I will do so to teach my children about giving at Christmas. I will do so to continue to support a powerful expression of Christian unity at Christmas. I will do so because it matters that we act for peace and justice in our world. I will do so because it has an excellent, demonstrable track record in channeling funds to those who need it.

If you have any questions - do the research for yourself.

www.actforpeace.org.au
www.actforpeace/Be_Informed/Publications/Annual_Reports,aspx