True faith is often measured not by words spoken inside a church, but by the actions and love one demonstrates in the world. On 27th May, the Malawi Branch of the Bartholomew Tribe of Shincheonji recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its dedicated environmental cleanup initiative through the completion of its 17th "Day of Light and Salt" street purification campaign in the Mbayani area of Blantyre.

In June 2025, the public waste management system in Blantyre had reached a breaking point. For years, the Central Business District struggled with neglected waste, posing a threat to both public health and the city’s image. While many saw a problem, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus Malawi Branch saw an opportunity to practise the core Christian values of being "Light and Salt", and took collective action. Over the past year, they have consistently gathered twice a month to restore the cleanliness of Blantyre’s streets, turning their faith into a reliable pillar of civic support.

For this milestone 17th cleanup, approximately 70 congregation members rolled up their sleeves to clear waste from major roadsides and narrow alleyways. Their efforts resulted in the collection of 56 litter bags, each with a 25-litre capacity, significantly improving the sanitation of the neighbourhood.

The long-term consistency of the programme has done something even more profound: it has shifted the mindset of the local citizens. Daniel Jim (27), a resident of Mbayani who participated in the volunteer work, shared his journey:

An official from the Shincheonji Malawi branch highlighted that the ultimate goal goes beyond just picking up litter: “Moving forward, we want to continue these activities not only to solve immediate environmental problems but also to foster a shared sense of community ownership and responsible civic culture among the public.”

The church has no plans of slowing down. To scale up its positive impact, Shincheonji Malawi plans to expand the cleanup workforce to over 100 volunteers for larger-scale operations. Furthermore, looking ahead to next year, the branch is preparing to launch a major blood donation campaign in collaboration with the national hospital, cementing its role as a vital contributor to Malawi's public welfare.

In the '2024 Social Indicators of Korea' report published by Statistics Korea, a significant 51.8% of respondents answered that interreligious conflict is at a grave situation. This figure marks a substantial increase of 9.5 points from 42.3% in 2023.

As a solution to this conflict, the Shincheonji Thomas Tribe has been conducting a 'handwritten letter exchange' directed at the domestic religious community since 2019. To date, roughly 400,000 letters containing transcriptions and meditations on biblical texts have resulted in 5317 substantive conversations with church leaders and pastors based on the Word.

The response from pastors has been overwhelming, resulting in direct visits and regular exchanges. Presbyterian Pastor Jeong, who has been ministering for 15 years in the Jeonju region, recalled the letter he received and said, “If it had been a printed document, I might have passed it by, but seeing the handwritten Bible verses and meditations, I read it to the end.” He added, “The process of seriously sharing thoughts over a single Bible verse was impressive in itself.”

To date, there have been a total of 66 instances of joint activities centred in the Jeonbuk region, including joint Bible study meetings, seminars, pulpit exchanges and a Pastors' Peace Forum.

This method of interreligious harmony, purposed not to “proselytise" but to understand one another and share communion within the Bible, is a novel approach that is expected to transcend interreligious and interdenominational boundaries.