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The Fifth General
Assembly: Lomé, Togo
Theme: You Shall
Be My Witnesses
Rev. Harry Henry
18 Acts 1:8
18-25
August 1987
Opening
Ceremonies
Over 3,000 people attended the opening
events of the 5th General Assembly. Dr. Emilio Castro, the WCC
General Secretary, began the Assembly by urging patience in
Africa’s struggles. He said that the continent’s cry of “How
long?” mirrored the apostles’ own worries 2,000 years ago. God
has a reason for not answering this plea in a simple way. Dr.
Castro also said that the Holy Spirit brings energy to the
ecumenical movement, and the church must be discerning in
using this spirituality for evangelism. Finally, Dr. Castro
called for action: “The Kingdom comes every time people work
beyond their chains of bondage and begin to dream of the
possibility of a different tomorrow” (Utuk, 1997, p.166).
President S.E.M. Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo was the
next to speak, opening the Assembly officially. He immediately
drew the Assembly’s attention to their task of human rights
work. He was grieved to think of the amount of money that is
spent on war in the continent while so many people starve. He
stressed that poverty, famine and development are not just
issues for the government; the church needs to take
responsibility for effecting change as well.
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