The World Communion of Reformed Churches
U.S. Presbyterians can participate as new Reformed body is born
The new thing: A new logo (pictured above) already in use signifies the imminent arrival of a new entity for which it was created. In a major contribution to Christian unity, the World Alliance of  Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) will form a single new body, the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), at a Uniting General Council meeting (UGC) on June 18-28, 2010. The UGC will be preceded by a Reformed Youth Forum whose planners include Kathleen Owens of the PC(USA) (pictured left). Deadline for registration is the end of March. There will also be a pre-council women's gathering (see p.3 of the Update).
The new body will represent some 75 million Reformed Christians in 230 denominations from 107 countries. Its definition as a "communion" is new for Reformed Christians and articulates a commitment to "mutual caring, respect and service of one another, as witness to our common calling by the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ.” No church in the communion may claim precedence or dominance over any other. The ordinations and rites of each will be accepted by every other part of the communion.
  Ways to participate:
 • Join in Bible study. The Bible study and reflection resource for the Council meeting can be used by individuals, congregations, and other groups as a way of sharing in the event without being present.
• Be a visitor. The Uniting General Council will meet in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to delegates, guests and volunteers will be present; some 1000 total are expected. See the main schedule. A visitors program is also being developed (see the March Update, p. 5). May 31 is the closing date for reservation as a multi-day visitor, though single day visitors may get a day pass when they arrive.
• Volunteer. Opportunities are being posted online. Congregations within a fifty-mile radius of Calvin College are especially sought to host delegates on specific occasions. Additional volunteers are needed for various reasons and functions, none of them involving strenuous physical labor. See full information on signing up at the web site. See also the March Update, p. 4).
• Come to worship. Some 5,000 worshipers anticipated for a mass worship. U.S. Presbyterians are honored that "Bonds of Peace," written by PC(USA) minister Barbara Price-Martin (pictured right) and her sister Linda Price Draper, has been selected as the theme song for the occasion.
See a brochure about this historic event. A series of documents are available online in preparation for the Grand Rapids event. See, for example, a timeline and a history of the current process,and a paper by Clifton Kirkpatrick on the future of the Reformed movement.
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Manifesto will focus on theology and justice
 Leaders of the two bodies that will together form the new World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) have declared a continuing focus on justice.
Now a panel of pastors and theologians from around the world is preparing a "manifesto" on church unity and social justice to be presented to the Uniting General Council of the new Reformed communion. The new WCRC will have two foci:
(1) continuing to develop the theological basis for inter-church cooperation and (2) encouraging joint church initiatives in support of the economic rights of vulnerable peoples and the sustainable use of natural resources. A consultation to draft a manifesto was chaired by Ofelia Ortega of Cuba (pictured). Clifton Kirkpatrick of the PC(USA) was among the consultation participants.
South African church status addressed in Reformed letter
The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) executive committee has sent a letter to its members in South Africa concerning the status of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NHKA). The NHKA was suspended from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) membership in 1982. When it was later seeking full WARC membership, it balked during a process requiring it to declare that a theological defense of apartheid is heresy. In 2005, NHKA became a REC member. The REC letter repeats that, in the constitution of the newly forming World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), there is a provision that a church under suspension in either preceding body shall remain under suspension in WCRC. This is meant to apply to NHKA.
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The World Alliance of Reformed Churches
| WARC member churches list | What WARC does | WARC history  | WARC information sheet  |
| CANAAC membership list |
| An Anniversary Observed: the slave trade | Seeking Justice in the economy and ecology |
WARC's president is the PC(USA)'s stated clerk emeritus, Clifton Kirkpatrick. Other Americans on its executive committee include Susan Davies (United Church of Christ) and Oliver Patterson (Reformed Church in America).
Calvin 500th anniversary celebrations leave resources in their wake
As the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth comes to its conclusion, some easily overlooked resources created for the celebrations remain. Read the Calvin09.org prize-winning sermon submitted by PC(USA) minister Ben Daniel of San Jose, California. Download a simple "John Calvin -- 500 years after." Take the Trouw C-Factor quiz that tests whether you are a Calvinist. Use the PC(USA)-prepared DVD, "John Calvin: His Life and Legacy." See a trailer of the DVD.
Caribbean and North American Area Council looks at context
 CANAAC is WARC's area council for 20 churches in the Caribbean and North America. It
is presently seeking to contextualize the core priority of WARC of Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth in this region.
A new initiative has worked toward establishing a Reformed youth network with the Caribbean and North America Council for Mission (CANACOM). CANAAC will also provide services to delegates from the region going to the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. PC(USA) minister Neal Presa (pictured) is in his second term as CANAAC's convenor (and serves on the WARC executive committee). Robina Winbush serves on the steering committee. See links to the member churches of CANAAC.
A timely resource on the Caribbean was announced in January, a downloadable educational resource guide titled Power to Resist and Courage to Hope: Caribbean Churches Living out the Accra Confession. It has been called a cry for life. Its contents include analyses of the global economic and ecological crisis, Bible studies, sermon and liturgical resources, and examples of how churches have played a role in challenging injustice in the Caribbean region. Presa believes the resource will be useful in North America. "For us in the industrialized North, this book is a needed call to pay attention to how many of the policies and principles by which we live have adverse consequences on the Caribbean and indeed, the whole world," he said. See information on the Accra Confession.
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The World Council of Churches
WCC membership list | WCC structures | WCC historical overview | WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle |
| WCC program areas: priorities, activities, and projects | U.S. Conference for the WCC |
| An Anniversary Observed: the slave trade | Seeking Justice in the economy and ecology |
 A new general secretary is installed
Olav Fykse Tveit (pictured left) was installed as general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on February 23, 2010. Tveit, a Lutheran, was previously the general secretary of the Church of Norway's council on ecumenical and international relations. His installation sermon is available for reading and listening. |
Korea to be the scene of the tenth WCC Assembly
Busan, the second largest city in South Korea, has been chosen as the site for the Tenth Assembly of the WCC in 2013. Still under discussion is the question of how the assembly might be made "open and more inviting to increase participation and interaction with the wider ecumenical movement." This will require discernment concerning the feasibility of having the various world communions meet at the same time and place.
WCC programs are streamlined
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The WCC, at 60 plus years of age, now has some 350 members. The WCC Central Committee has structured WCC programs into six areas:
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PC(USA) minister Elenora Giddings Ivory (pictured) is the WCC staff leader of the public witness area. Four of the 25-member WCC executive committee come from the U.S.: Vicken Aykazian, Lois Dauway, Larry Pickens, and Tyrone Pitts. Robina Winbush and Judy Angleberger are the Central Committee members from the PC(USA).
Important areas of study are pursued by WCC bodies
 • The Faith and Order plenary meeting in October 2009 on the island of Crete was attended by the 120 members of the commission. Current Faith and Order studies include (1) the issues of ecclesiology, baptism, and worship; (2) how churches relate to their sources of theological authority; and (3) ethical decision making / moral discernment. Moral discernment is a church-dividing issue, not just between different churches but even within a single denomination. Its study will look at proselytism,  economic globalization, homosexuality, and stem cell research from the perspective of the methodology of moral decision (not the content represented in each case). The study process for these is co-chaired by PC(USA) scholar Rebecca Todd Peters (pictured left). Canadian Anglican John Gibaut directs the commission. Hear MP3 presentations on various questions about Faith and Order. Access documents and see its 2009 report. See what Aimee Moiso (pictured right), a PC(USA) participant. has written about the "how" of Faith and Order processes.
• WCC member churches are being particularly requested to study and respond to the document, "Called to be the One Church."
• The Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) has decided to hold only a small 200-person mission conference in 2012, to replace a normally larger periodic event although a more diverse major event will be held in 2010 to celebrate the centenary of the first world mission conference. In 2007 CWME affirmed it would work on evangelism and an interfaith code of conduct on conversion. It will cooperate with Faith and Order on study of The Nature and Mission of the Church and will continue work on health / healing.
• A Global Platform for Theological Reflection is convened yearly to analyze and interpret a major challenge to the Christian witness of the churches. The process brings together church leaders, theologians, ethicists, social scientists, and activists from different parts of the world and different traditions. The 2009 theme was "advocacy -- praying, speaking out, and acting together."
Ecumenical Peace Convocation planners seek workshop proposals now
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An Ecumenical Peace Convocation will bring people to Kingston, Jamaica on May 17-25, 2011, at the conclusion of the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV). The conference is being organized around four arenas for peace: in the community, with the earth, in the marketplace, and among peoples. A publication built around the four themes provides resources for prayer, study, further reading, and action. Download Telling the Truth About Ourselves and Our World. (It is also available in French, German, and Spanish.)
 In Kingston, convocation participants will enact an Ecumenical Declaration on Just Peace for which an initial draft has already been circulated. A drafting teamcoordinated by former WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser includes, from the U.S., Robert Schreiter and Larry Rasmussen.
Many suggestions for local community participation in the movement toward the international convocation are posted. Mark Koenig (pictured) , coordinator for peacemaking in the PC(USA) is a member of the U.S. DOV committee.
Alliances bring together churches and organizations for common action
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 Formally established on January 1, 2010, the ACT Alliance — named as an acronym for "Action by Churches Together" — brings together two former bodies into a  larger whole with an annual income of U.S. $1.8 billion. John Nduna (pictured left), an experienced humanitarian agency worker with a background in banking and economics, is heading the new body as its general secretary. His deputy general secretary is Jill Hawkey (pictured right), who has particular expertise in development. The agency is headquartered at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. Its membership includes not only the U.S.'s Church World Service but also Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) is an international network of churches and church-related organizations committed to campaign together for common concerns, currently especially HIV/AIDS and food. EAA also recently campaigned concerning world trade. Its goals include mobilizing people of faith to advocate local and national governments. Church World Service of the U.S. is a member of the network. PCUSA minister Elenora Giddings Ivory (pictured), as program director for public witness on the staff of the World Council of Churches, is an ex officio member of the EAA board of directors.
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World Christian Communions
While almost all the WCC's programmatic work is already carried out in consultation with ecumenical partners, it is giving special attention now to coordinating these relationships and deepening its partnership with regional ecumenical organizations (REOs), national councils of churches (NCCs), Christian world communions (CWCs), and specialized ministries. |
WCC - Christian World Communions commission meets for first time
 Decades of work for partnership between conciliar and confessional ecumenists has resulted in the formation of a Joint Consultative Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian World Communions (CWC). It includes the global confessional families of Anglicans, Disciples, Eastern Orthodox, Friends (Quakers), Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholics. The moderator of the joint commission is Armenian Apostolic bishop Nareg Alemezian. The moderator for the secretaries of Christian World Communions is American Robert Welsh (pictured) of the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council.
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On this web site:
 Ecumenical Relations: International: for regional councils/conferences of churches around the globe
Seeking Justice: ecumenical organizations' work for economic and ecological justice
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