wfn.org | Worldwide Ministries Division celebrates global unity

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Note #6055 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

29-June-2000
GA00107

	Worldwide Ministries Division celebrates global unity

	by Alexa Smith

LONG BEACH, June 29 – In a celebration of the global unity of the church,
the Worldwide Ministries Division heard the prayers and dreams of partners
at its annual morning breakfast.

	Holding a small microphone, the Rev. Branimer Bucanorrica of the Croatian
Reformed church talked about rebuilding Croatia after years of war.  "Our
prayer is that God will help us live together in unity," he said, referring
to the ethnic and cultural divisions that tore the Balkans apart.  "We want
to be salt and light in the society in which we are."  He thanked the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the work of missionaries Steve and Michelle
Kurtz at the seminary there.

	Dr. Jane Dempsey Douglas, retired professor of church history at Princeton
Theological Seminary, told the crowded hotel ballroom that an ecumenical
academy is getting under way in Southern California to educate churchgoers
on how to speak theologically about social problems.

	"We ask your prayers for this movement," she said, explaining that some
churches are tackling sweatshops that exploit immigrants in Los Angeles,
while others are sending teenagers to assist workers who are locating jobs
and getting off welfare.

	The Rev. Masuo Miyazaki of the Reformed church in Kobe, Japan, spoke about
the pain of people who are still recovering from the massive earthquake that
hit that city two years ago.  After thanking the church for its financial
and spiritual support, he spoke of a planned city-wide Bible fair.  "This is
going to be a bridge between the citizens of Kobe and the Bible," Miyazaki
said.  "And I would be happy if you remember this in your prayers."

	The Rev. Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries Division,
closed the time by saying: "Join me in being moved by the way the Spirit of
God is moving in the world for the sake of mission and unity."

	The group closed with a unison prayer, led by the Rev. Setri Nyomi of
Ghana, the new president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in
Geneva.  It read:

	"We thank you, O God, for calling men and women to serve God's work in the
world.
	For all faithful prophets, ministers and teachers of the past,
	for apostles sent into the world boldly to witness to your deeds of grace,
	for pastors who have lovingly gathered and tended your flock,
	for those who have led us into the way of  faith.
	Gracious Lord, we give you thanks for all saints of the past.
	O God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, set our hearts on fire with a new
love for Christ;
	that we may work with others to shape the world more nearly to your will,
	that we may labor and long for the unity for which Christ prayed,
	that we may be stirred to pray and work for the furtherance of your reign,
	and that it will be acknowledged with joy to the ends of the earth.
	We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

	Moderator Syngman Rhee, a longtime representative of the Worldwide
Ministries Division, welcomed guests to the gathering.

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