28^th CMCR Meeting Convenes 24-26 January 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The 28^th annual meeting of the Committee of Mutual Christian Responsibility (CMCR) – involving the EECMY and her partners – is held 24-26 January 2007 at the EECMY Church Offices in Addis Ababa.

The meeting included a two-day workshop to explore the needs and expectations that the Church and partners have for the CMCR and its meetings. A 12-page history and overview of CMCR meetings has been prepared for the workshop.

Brief History of the CMCR

(Committee for Mutual Christian Responsibility)

An Agreement on Integration Policy was signed by the EECMY and its mission partners in 1969, recognizing that the EECMY was fully responsible before the government for all programs and affiliated institutions, formerly run by the missions, but now transferred to the Church.

The practice of regular, formal meetings involving the EECMY and its partners was started four years later, in 1973. An EECMY paper presented to the 14^th CMCR Meeting in January 1983 states that this was made necessary owing to some difficulties which arose in trying to put into operation several stipulations laid down in the Agreement, with special reference to the allotment of funds granted annually and the placing of missionary personnel.

The 1983 paper states that some mission partners were of the opinion that the funds they granted annually should not be spent outside the areas where they traditionally worked. The Church Officers saw this argument as weakening the aim of the Integration Policy and eventually disrupting the unity of the Church.

Therefore, they invited the mission leaders for consultation on this and other issues, and a meeting was held here in Addis Ababa in January 1973. After full and frank discussions, all agreed to work in accordance with the Agreement on Integration Policy.  Further formal consultations were held in 1975 and 1978.

The fourth consultation met in April 1979 in Christiansfeld, Denmark, and was christened the 1^st Meeting of the Committee on Mutual Christian Responsibility (CMCR).

The 2^nd CMCR Meeting convened in January 1981 in Addis Ababa, and has met annually since that time. The meetings have been in Addis Ababa, except for the 1995-2001 meetings, which met either in Nazareth or Sodere.

Terms of Reference for the CMCR were adopted at the 6^th meeting in 1985, indicating that the purpose of the CMCR was to “provide a form of consultation and discussion at which the Partners shall together consider all aspects of the relationships among the Partners. The meetings were to provide for the presentation of papers, the discussion of broad issues and principles of co-operation, and the exchange of information.

Over the years, several issues have been recurring topics of discussion. What is meant by “mutual Christian responsibility?” What is the understanding of co-operation and partnership? How can the needs and interests of mission and diakonia (development) be addressed wholistically – in partnership and in the CMCR meetings?