World Methodist Council Social Affirmation

 In 1986, the World Methodist Council adopted this Social Affirmation:

We believe in God, creator of the world and of all people;
and in Jesus Christ, incarnate among us, who died and rose again;
and in the Holy Spirit, present with us to guide, strengthen and comfort.

We rejoice in every sign of God's Kingdom;

· in the upholding of human dignity and community;

· in every expression of love, justice and reconciliation;

· in each act of self-giving on behalf of others;

· in the abundance of God's gifts entrusted to us that all may have enough;

· in all responsible use of the earth's resources.

We confess our sin, individual and collective, by silence or action:

· through the violation of human dignity based on race, class, age, sex, nation or faith;

· through the exploitation of people because of greed and indifference;

· through the misuse of power in personal, communal, national and international life;

· through the search for security by those military and economic forces that threaten human existence;

· through the abuse of technology which endangers the earth and all life upon it.

We commit ourselves individually and as a community to the way of Christ:

· to take up the cross;

· to seek abundant life for all humanity;

· to struggle for peace with justice and freedom;

· to risk ourselves in faith, hope and love,

· praying that God's kingdom may come.

Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.

This affirmation seems as relevant today as it must have done nearly 40 years ago. It reminds us to rejoice in every sign of God’s Kingdom when human dignity is upheld, and in every expression of love, justice and reconciliation. We need to take the time to stop, reflect and rejoice to truly acknowledge these events.

We also need to take accountability and responsibility for our individual and collective silence, inaction or action when human dignity is violated, and people are exploited because of greed, indifference and apathy.

Budgets and Taxes

Decisions made in the budget reflect what we value most and taxes are how we resource these priorities. Most of us in Aotearoa want the same things and share very similar values - like ensuring:

· everyone has a safe healthy affordable home to live in

· access to a high-quality education system

· access to health services when we need them

· access to a social support system that protects the most vulnerable and enables them to actively engage in their community and flourish

· protection of our environment.

We need to make wise, pragmatic and common sense decisions for our future. These decisions need to have a long-term perspective to allocate resources for our future wellbeing. If wise decisions about what we need in the future are made now, we will prevent big issues from becoming larger problems in the future.

We are all subject to the same rules and we all have input into decisions made by government. So we have a responsibility to design our economic and welfare support systems to overcome the causes of poverty and ensure our tax dollar is spent responsibly on achieving our shared values and goals. Together we can thrive and create a positive better future for all of us.

We are all subject to the rules of our tax system and we can change the rules. We can also influence and lobby to ensure where our tax money is spent. We hope that the resource the Methodist Alliance Working Group has created will help build on the knowledge everyone has about the inequalities and inequities in our systems and provide questions to further decisions on income security, wealth distribution and debt to government. Together we can seek and advocate for an abundant life for everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand.