wfn.org | WCC to ponder future at assembly in Zimbabwe

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Nov. 2, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York     {637}

NOTE: This story is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS #638, and an info
box, UMNS #639.

By United Methodist News Service

As United Methodists join Christians from around the world at the World
Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly Dec. 3-14 in Zimbabwe, they will
consider:

* what direction the ecumenical movement must take to be effective in
the new millenium;
* how the various denominations can move forward in unity despite
difference in theology and practice;
* how Christians outside Africa can support the hope and opportunities
for the growing churches there and help the continent deal with issues
such as its debt crisis.

Jan Love of Columbia, S.C., a United Methodist member of the WCC Central
Committee, believes the assembly comes at "an opportune time" in the
life of the council.

"We've come through a series of hardships if not crises," she explained,
referring to such issues as the threatened withdrawal of Orthodox
membership, financial difficulties and attempts to restructure. "In that
respect, the assembly has a lot of potential to take a fresh look and
set some new directions."

About 2,000 official participants are expected to attend the event on
the campus of the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, along with an equal
number of visitors. Highlights of the assembly, according to United
Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert, San Francisco Area, will include
celebrations of the body's 50th anniversary and the closing of the
ecumenical decade for women. A "decade festival" precedes the assembly.

Talbert, a central committee member, also is excited about a new
assembly feature called the "Padare." A Shona word meaning "meeting
place," Padare is a Zimbabwean tradition of people coming together to
receive and share wisdom, particularly about community problems. More
than 200 member churches and ecumenical groups will interact with
assembly participants during the five days of the Padare setting.

"It's kind of a hands-on, do-as-you-desire setting where people are
going to be free to do their thing," Talbert said.  

The assembly theme, "Turn to God - Rejoice in Hope," will be explored
through Bible studies, daily worship and plenary presentations. "The
theme is a call to turn from a culture of indifference,
self-centeredness and violence to the very source of life," according to
assembly planners. "It is an invitation to celebrate the hope that is
rooted in the faithfulness of God."

Talbert has been named moderator of the nominating committee, which
meets throughout the assembly to help the body elect officers and
central committee members.

The Rev. Bruce Robbins, general secretary of the United Methodist
Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, believes the
assembly will offer "a great opportunity for the United Methodists there
to get a glimpse of the world church."

A discussion of the common understanding and vision of the WCC should
command more attention than any other single agenda item, according to
Love. "I hope we can see more clearly together a vision of where the
21st  century might lead us," she said.

Because of the council's own evaluation process and the influence of
various social issues, Robbins explained that "it is clear to most
people now that the World Council of Churches will not continue in its
present form."

He added that the Rev. Conrad Raiser, the WCC's general secretary, has
made a "clear call" for an ecumenical council that would include
participation by Roman Catholics and Pentecostal groups.

Another change may be brought about by the proliferation of Protestant
communions among the membership. Their numbers, Robbins said,
demonstrate that "the present method of counting member churches is a
theological as well as a political problem for the Orthodox."

Will the Orthodox be part of  whatever future direction the WCC takes?
Some Orthodox leaders have expressed their discontent about council,
believing it to be over-influenced by a liberal Protestant agenda.
Hostility also has been sparked by the work of Protestant missionaries
in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the last few years.

The Russian Orthodox in particular "are clearly taking a wait-and-see
attitude," Love said. "They suffer severe internal strife over matters
of ecumenism. My guess is that it's something of a tossup whether
they'll continue to be active participants or not."

But while the Russian Orthodox have downgraded the size of their
delegation to the assembly, they are not boycotting the event, she
pointed out. And other Orthodox groups, such as the Greek, "are coming
in full strength and with enthusiasm."

Robbins also said Orthodox members of the WCC remain "deeply committed
to ecumenism."

Talbert acknowledged that some Orthodox members could leave, but he
doubts that all would. 

"I think the doors are open to any member church that decides to stay at
the table," he said.

The assembly's setting and the participation of many African church
leaders is expected to bring a focus both to the faith of African
Christians and the challenges there caused by such factors as ethnic
conflicts, economic crisis and the effects of globalization. The WCC
hasn't met in Africa since 1975, when it gathered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's frank hostility toward gays and
lesbians has been a matter of concern for the WCC, but it has received
assurances from Mugabe that anyone invited to the assembly may come,
according to Love.

However, neither she nor Robbins expects assembly delegates to pass any
significant resolutions supporting gay and lesbian rights. In Love's
opinion, both conflicting cultural mores and internal struggles within
the denominations themselves would prohibit such an outcome. "For many
individual churches," she explained, "(homosexuality) is the toughest
issue they've ever faced."

Love , Robbins and Talbert are among the official United Methodist
delegates to the assembly. The Rev. Kathryn Bannister, of Bison, Kan.,
also is a WCC Central Committee member and denominational delegate and
has been a part of the assembly planning committee.

Other episcopal delegates are Bishop William Boyd Grove of Charleston,
W.Va., the United Methodist Council of Bishops' ecumenical officer;
Bishop Arthur Kulah of Liberia; Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader of the
Wisconsin area; Bishop Roy Sano, Los Angeles area, who is president of
the Commission on Christian Unity; and Bishop Ruediger Minor of Moscow.

Other delegates include Betty Jane Admussen, Kansas City, Mo.; the Rev.
Minerva Carcano, Dallas; Luz Dado, the Philippines; Lois Dauway, New
York; Courtney Goto, New York; Stephanie Gray, Evanston, Ill.; the Rev.
Susan Henry Crowe, Atlanta; Richard Grounds, Tulsa, Okla.; Ngoy
Ishinwaga, Zambia; Thelma, Johnson, Cincinnati; Edith Jokomo, Zimbabwe;
Nkulu Kahole, Zambia; Beate Kraus, Germany and the Rev. Djundu Lunge,
Congo.

Also, Junior Markie, Sierra Leone; Anne Marshall, New York; the Rev.
Randolph Nugent, New York; Samuel Padron, the Philippines; the Rev. Jean
Miller Schmidt, Denver; Joyce Sohl, New York; Marcus Thorne, Dorchester,
Mass.; Anna Toledo, Galt, Calif.; Anekumba Umandjela, Congo; and Molly
Vetter, Claremont, Calif.  

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/