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Worldview changes for WCC intern
04088
February 18, 2004

Worldview changes for WCC intern

Ecumenical work brings new regard for Presbyterianism

by Theo Gill

GENEVA - Lisa Yablonsky says she knew almost nothing about the World Council
of Churches (WCC) until her senior year at Pennsylvania State University.

But just months after graduation, last fall, she joined the WCC's public
information team as a one-year intern at WCC headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland.

"I still feel a little uncomfortable when helping inform the press about what
the council is doing," she admits. "There is so much to learn, and it's hard
to grasp what the WCC is, without actually having been here, engaging in the
dialogue."

Yablonsky, now 22, grew up in Community Presbyterian Church in Ringwood, NJ.
She has positive memories of a local ecumenical prayer service at
Thanksgiving, and of attending an annual multi-presbytery youth conference in
Lake George, NY. While at Penn State she was active in State College
Presbyterian Church, leading a LOGOS study group for 6- to 10-year-olds,
working with Habitat for Humanity and for the church's hunger program, and
participating in domestic mission trips during college breaks.

Having focused in her studies on comparative literature, Spanish and
political science, she was exploring career opportunities in media relations
and publications when Diana Malcom, a minister State College Presbyterian,
gave her a packet of information about WCC internships. "I didn't take it
seriously at first," she says, "but Diana kept encouraging me to apply.
Finally, I read the papers and then began doing my own research on the
Internet."

Yablonsky is one of six interns serving in Geneva from September 2003 to
September 2004. She and Rachel Medema, a member of the Reformed Church in
America, are the only two from a single country; the others are from WCC
member churches in Zimbabwe, India, Denmark, and Belarus (formerly a republic
of the Soviet Union).

The WCC provides studio apartments and an introductory course in French. As
part of their internships, the six gather weekly in an "ecumenical forum"
hosted by the Rev. Freddy Knutson of the WCC's office for youth and young
adults. Speakers from the WCC and related ecumenical organizations address
the forum and join in discussions. In April, Knutson will lead the interns on
a field trip to Rome, where they will meet with Vatican officials.

During their early months of service, the interns witnessed important
developments in the life of the WCC: Konrad Raiser, a Lutheran from Germany,
retired as general secretary after 11 years in office, and was succeeded by
Samuel Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya, the first WCC general secretary from
Africa.

The interns helped prepare for worldwide gatherings of the Faith and Order
commission to be held this summer, and of the commission on World Mission and
Evangelism in 2005. Just as they arrived in Geneva, the decision was made to
hold the Ninth Assembly of the WCC in February 2006 at Porto Alegre, Brazil.

In her public-information job, Yablonsky helps interpret the nature of WCC
assemblies and consultations.

"The World Council of Churches is a group of churches talking with each other
to see what is possible," she says. "...Ecumenical meetings are not so much
about doing something as about facilitating the work of others - whether
those others are churches, or coalitions for social justice. An ecumenical
conference does not, by itself, produce an international treaty or authorize
a substantial monetary grant for needy people. It usually functions as a
starting point, a recognition of churches' responsibility to take certain
actions, an invitation to partnership."

Yablonsky expresses appreciation for the importance of international
networking, but sees the local church as the primary agent of Christian
ministry.

"I am beginning to get a sense of how churches interact globally," she says.
"None of us is alone in the world. Not as individuals, not as churches. And
our actions have a tremendous impact, far beyond what we see around us. But
the more I hear about how the World Council's ideas are fleshed out, the more
I realize how dependent the world church is on local work by congregations.

"When I began studying the WCC, I was upset at how slowly progress seems to
be made in the search for unity and united action. But now I think the World
Council has to move slowly, simply because we cannot presume to know what's
right in a particular situation. Finding out requires consultation with
people who are directly involved. And that takes time."

For Yablonsky, dialogue is a key concept.

"From my vantage point as a WCC intern, I can see that I have been given an
opportunity to take part in a worldwide discussion of the role of youth in
the church," she says. "I am able to draw on my own experience, to listen
very carefully to what is being said by others on the basis of their
experience, and to make a real contribution to the shape of a new dialogue."

She says she has been surprised to learn about the strength of Christian
student movements around the world.

"Coming from the United States, Rachel and I were surprised to discover how
deeply involved the other interns had been in ecumenical youth networks in
Africa, Asia, and Europe," she says. "...Rachel and I hope to visit youth
conferences while we're in Europe, and to address more clearly how they might
work in the United States."

Yablonsky thinks dialogue can "open doorways to other traditions and faiths,"
but has found that her ecumenical involvement has heightened her regard for
the contributions of Presbyterianism.

"Other worship traditions don't necessarily speak to me," she admits. "It's
one thing to accept other churches, but it's also important to recognize our
differences. One of the goals of the ecumenical movement should be to lift up
the strengths of each denomination."

Yablonsky hopes to make at least one side trip from Geneva. "I took a lot of
Spanish courses in college," she says, "but I never did study abroad. I
consider it my duty to spend at least one week this spring on a beach in
Spain."

Longer- term, she looks forward to returning home, "ready to be involved in
the church at the local level, where people are working for change."

"I'm not clear on the details of my future, but I know that I need to be
patient, to wait, to listen, and the answer will come," she says.

Whatever the future holds, she says, her outlook will have been affected by
her time in Geneva, which has taughter her that "it really makes a difference
what people choose to do."

"Even the largest organizations are collections of individuals," she says,
"and the whole of society can be transformed when individuals become more
open to their neighbors, more aware of injustices in the world, and more
determined to set things right."

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