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Expanded Ecumenical Tables

| Reconfiguring ecumenism | Youth/young adults | Cooperation on social issues |

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What are examples of expanding ecumenical tables?

The World Council of Churches, mindful of its special responsibility for the ecumenical movement's "coherence and effectiveness," has given attention to the changing dynamics of ecumenism. In 2004 it gathered a group from the churches together to consult on "Ecumenism in the 21st Century." In a final statement the consultation group pointed to some of the issues, saying, "There are important new ecumenical actors who are not formally included in the existing [ecumenical] structures and there are some in the ecumenical family who do not feel valued by others. Many new ecumenical organizations have been created, giving rise to fears that all of these ecumenical bodies cannot be sustained." Out of its consultation on Ecumenism in the 21st Century a continuation committee developed.

In the U.S., Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Churches in America, dealt with some of the issues around expanding ecumenical tables at a symposium about The Future of Ecumenism in the 21st Century.

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Reconfiguring ecumenism

"Ecumenism in the 21st century" asks questions about the path to unity

The Continuing Committee on Ecumenism in the 21st Century first convened in late 2007, coordinated under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, as a think tank composed of members from over twenty churches and international Christian organizations. As the committee addresses the challenges of the changing context of ecumenism, it seeks a common vision for the ecumenical movement. The PC(USA)'s Robina Winbush has been part of this process. Through the offices of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the committee last met in Rome during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January 2010. (See the words of Pope Benedict XVI at his general audience while the group was in Rome.) At its meeting, the committee formulated questions for broad discussion on future pathways toward unity that will be sent to sponsoring bodies in the spring with a request for feedback.

When the committee met in January 2009, it invited six young theologians who had written winning essays in a WCC contest to join with it. Among them were Chad Rimmer, a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Erin Brigham, a U.S. Roman Catholic. To learn more, see "Mapping the Oikoumene: A Study of Current Ecumenical Structures and Relationships," a working document by Jill Hawkey, 2005; and other papers on the WCC process.

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  Widely differing groups engage in faith sharing with one another

The Continuing Committee on Ecumenism in the 21st Century reflects on new ecumenical initatives such as a Global Christian Forum (GCF) process that burst into view in late 2007. Though it had been quietly forming since 1998 the GCF became visible when some 250 people from 72 countries and over 20 church "families" came together in Nairobi in 2007.

The GCF process had early been fostered by the WCC but developed a much broader focus, became autonomous, and based itself upon "participation" rather than "membership." Participants had differing views on ecclesiology, mission, and evangelism, and the gathering provided an open space for encounter.

The Nairobi gathering produced a message, a purpose statement, and a continuing committee. Its members include Americans Wesley Granberg-Michaelson (right, Reformed Church of America) and Cecil Robeck (left, Pentecostal). Both are also active in Christian Churches Together (CCT) in the U.S.

In November 2008 a GCF consultation worked to establish a three-year program, including plans for a global meeting in 2011 preceded by a series of regional meetings. The report noted, "It would be helpful to consider further how to apply the faith-sharing approach to more specific questions, not least so that we can help spread the Forum process to other bodies and structures."

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WEA and WCC heads meet again

Geoff Tunnicliffe (pictured), international director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), and the new World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit, who first met at the Global Christian Forum in Nairobi, have now met in Geneva to discuss matters of common interest, including mission and evangelism, efforts to achieve a code of conduct on conversion, religious freedom, and care for the vulnerable. They expressed continuing support for the forum.

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Evangelical self-identification expressed in a manifesto

Conciliar ecumenism includes evangelicals and, beyond this, works with other evangelicals. Who are they? A group of evangelicals attempted to clarify their identity and rethink their place in public life by issuing an Evangelical Manifesto in 2008 in which they took a stand against faith that is privatized, politicized, or ideological. They expressed a concern for the common good that argues for rights for all, including "all the believers in all the faiths." See a summary of the document, the full text, and a study guide. Presbyterians John Huffman (pictured) and Richard Mouw were listed on the effort's steering committee. Charter signatories included Presbyterians Roberta Hestenes, Sam Moffett, and Vic Pentz. Huffman has been a member of the PC(USA) delegation in the National Council of Churches.

Pentecostals have an impact upon ecumenism

Pentecostalism has had a profound impact upon various churches in the ecumenical movement. Pentecostals are present in both the Global Christian Forum and the U.S.'s Christian Churches Together. Read a report of the joint consultative group of the World Council of Churches and Pentecostals and see a recent report of activity. See also a Cecil Robeck paper on Cooperation and Promotion of Unity: a Pentecostal Perspective (prepared in anticipation of the centenary of the 1910 Edinburgh conference). Watch the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA), a framework for their dialogue, cooperation, and fellowship.

The "Great Emergence:" what is it?

In a book titled The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing (ISBN # 13-978-0801013133), Phyllis Tickle offers a view of Christian history in which there is a major shift in the Church every 500 years. For those who have just celebrated the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, her look at the "emergent church" offers her analysis of what will take the central place in the next period. Phyllis Tickle will speak at the General Assembly breakfast at the PC(USA)'s 219th General Assembly.

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Youth and young adult participation

World Student Christian Federation to have new general secretary

Michael Wallace, first elected to be the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) general secretary in 2004, is leaving that post to return to his native Aotearoa New Zealand. The federation is conducting a search process and will receive applications until February 28. The executive committee will make the choice in April. E-mail for the job description and application. The WSCF vice-chair is an American, Shantha Ready, a Roman Catholic who has served as an intern with the National Council of Churches (NCC). The North America regional WSCF secretary is Luciano Kovacs, originally from Italy, who previously worked on the staff of a PC(USA) congregation in New York City.

New Fire 2009 aims to ignite a youth movement

Some forty ecumenical young adults attended Sunday worship on November 9 in a Presbyterian congregation in Minneapolis, the Church of All Nations, chosen as a venue for considering unity in Christ not only across communions but also among different ethnicities and genders. With a goal of igniting a nation-wide movement of young adults for Christ, they were meeting as "New Fire 2009" on November 7-9 in Minneapolis, prior to the National Council of Churches/Church World Service Assembly. As seasoned ecumenists joined them, they laid plans for continuing their work and shared ideas for encouraging local training and seed grants. This is the second year New Fire event in two years. See the movement's web page, created by the young adult task force of the U.S. Conference for the WCC. See also the report of the 2008 New Fire ecumenical days and page 8 of the National Council of Churches' 2008-2009 report.

Youth body in the WCC now functioning

When three WCC advisory groups met in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, in January to recognize the emphasis of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) on Africa in 2010, the WCC youth body was among them. Known as "Echos - Commission on youth in the ecumenical movement," the group is new since the last WCC Assembly. It is made up of 25 young adults (35 years old and under) selected to work on leadership skills for younger WCC participants and to network and establish consultation with the council. An American in the group, Jennifer Leath of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), also has given service as the co-moderator of the Pentecostal-WCC joint consultation.

Young NCC staffers honored

Members of the Eco-Justice staff of the National Council of Churches (NCC) are, on average, in their early thirties. An award to them from the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches (WCC) highlighted the role of young adults. Elizabeth McGurk (pictured) of the PC(USA) is part of the staff.

Web site links ecumenically engaged young adults

Faith Connects Us is a web site by and for ecumenically engaged young adults begun as a means of providing communication and ecumenical formation. Partners in the project include the World Council of Churches (WCC), National Council of Churches (NCC), the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), Christian Churches Together (CCT), and Sojourners.

Ecumenical cooperation on social issues

Manhattan Declaration brings together diverse individuals

A group of Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians, signing as individuals, has produced a Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience that address the sanctity of life, the family, and religious freedom seen from the perspective of pro-life concerns and a stance against gay marriage. The document reads, "Christians confess that God alone is Lord of the conscience. . . . No one should be compelled to embrace any religion against his will, nor should persons of faith be forbidden to worship God according to the dictates of conscience or to express freely and publicly their deeply held religious convictions. What is true for individuals applies to religious communities as well." Presbyterian signers include Carmen Fowler and Parker Williamson of the Lay Committee, and John Huffman of St. Andrews church in Newport Beach, California.

Micah Challenge, working on Millennium Goals, has broad support

The theological commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) issued a statement written by participants in a mini-consultation held in July 2007 in which they said that "a purely privatized faith . . . [that] has no wider implications for society must be rejected." The Micah Challenge, working on the Millennium Goals, is an initiative of the WEA together with the Micah Network of more than 300 Christian relief and development organizations. In the U.S., the challenge has been endorsed by a broad grouping including Bread for the World, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), and World Vision. The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) has asked the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) to explore possible links between the Micah Project and the Accra Confession growing out of WARC's work.

On this web site:

Viewpoint: the "emergent church" and young adults 

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