wfn.org | WCC FEATURE Today, Faith and Order dominant note is hope

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

World Council of Churches - Feature
For immediate release: 22 July 2004

"TODAY, THE DOMINANT NOTE IN FAITH AND ORDER IS HOPE"
INTERVIEW WITH DAVID YEMBA

	By Juan Michel (*)

The voice sounds kind and humble on the phone and does not reveal that the 
owner is just recovering from a touch of malaria.  The Rev. Dr David K. 
Yemba, a United Methodist minister in the Church of Christ in Congo, and 
currently Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Africa University in Mutare, 
Zimbabwe, gave this interview just a few days before the world's most 
representative theological forum for Christian unity gathers for the first 
time this century.  As moderator since 1998 of the World Council of 
Churches' (WCC) commission on Faith and Order, which is to meet in Kuala 
Lumpur, Malaysia, from 28 July to 6 August, 2004, Yemba seems to be the 
right person with whom to talk about such a gathering.	He speaks 
confidently of hope and of churches growing together in communion.

On various occasions you have insisted that Faith and Order (F&O) will make 
its call to visible unity "more audible to the churches." Thus my first two 
questions are: What are the causes of the churches' seeming deafness? And 
how is F&O going to overcome that phenomenon?

The causes are numerous and differ from one place to another in the 
world.	The main cause is the strong attachment to denominationalism, 
especially among the new churches in the so-called third world, which came 
into being as a result of the evangelization of the 19th century.  In many 
of them, the faithful do not distinguish their denomination from the 
Church, the body of Christ.  Very often there is some confusion between 
their own denomination with the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church 
that they confess every Sunday at worship.

F&O will continue to take into consideration the numerous obstacles to 
church unity and address them with the only tools it has: its studies and 
supporting services to the churches and Christian World Communions.  One of 
the specific ways in which we are addressing the problem of 
denominationalism is, for instance, our study on ecclesiology, in which we 
deal with the issue of the church as a reality both local and 
universal.  But since denominationalism is combined sometimes with other 
non-theological factors - for instance in some African countries 
denominations coincide with tribes - we also address it in our study about 
ethnic identity, national identity and the search for the unity of the 
church.

Historians of F&O have said that at the outset of the movement expectations 
were high.  The belief that the goal of visible unity was really attainable 
added a note of expectancy and optimism, noticeable for instance at its 
first meeting in Lausanne in 1927, even if it took place in the middle of a 
continent ravaged by the first world war.  What is the dominant note in a 
F&O gathering today, at the beginning of the 21st century, in a world 
struggling with the effects of economic globalization and the so called 
"war on terror," among other issues?

It is interesting that to a certain extent there are similarities between 
the atmosphere in the world when F&O was born and today: war and fear, for 
instance, are present now as they were then.  Within the F&O movement one 
difference is that churches at that time did not have the experiences we 
have today in terms of study processes and convergence documents.  Some of 
them, like Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM) at the beginning of the 
'80s, were accompanied by a very optimistic mood.

Today, I would say that the dominant note in a F&O gathering is hope.  I 
personally have hope in face of current developments like the church union 
processes.  And I know that this hope is totally shared by those who are 
most involved in the F&O movement.

It has been said that BEM is the most successful work done by F&O to date 
and also the best example of the contribution that theological dialogue can 
make towards church unity.  What would be the equivalent of BEM in the 21st 
century?

BEM was a great achievement in the history of F&O and of the ecumenical 
movement as a whole.  It was a step towards full communion.  Today we look 
forward to the time when churches will have more convergent views on the 
nature and purpose of the Church of God in our broken world.  So I would 
say that at the beginning of the 21st century the main contribution of F&O 
could be in the field of ecclesiology.	What is the church, its nature and 
purpose? It is when the church is united, speaking with a prophetic and 
united voice in a country and in a region, that the churches can address 
effectively those issues you mentioned before, such as economic 
globalization, "war on terror" or HIV/AIDS.

What are the main challenges the commission will face in its meeting in 
Kuala Lumpur?

The challenges will be several.  Among them, to interpret the theme of the 
gathering - "Receive one another, as Christ has received you, for the glory 
of God" (Romans 15:7) - in the light of the fruits of our previous and 
current studies, and to make the discussions of the commission meaningful 
for the visible unity of the Church.  The Muslim-majority context of the 
meeting will also be a challenge.

Will the fact that the commission meets for the first time in a 
Muslim-majority country have a particular influence on the meeting?

The context of Malaysia as a Muslim-majority country will be taken into 
consideration, without of course losing sight of the mandate of F&O.  The 
question of the "plurality of religions" has been discussed in recent 
meetings of the F&O Standing Commission.  This is new ground for F&O, since 
so far we have concentrated on the issue of Christian unity.  But some of 
our studies, like those on theological anthropology and on the unity of the 
church and the renewal of human community, are showing us that we need to 
address the issue of plurality of religions with a theological approach.  I 
would not be surprised if it becomes a new study.

What are the main outcomes you expect from the meeting in Kuala Lumpur?

I believe it will be an important ecumenical gathering in many respects: it 
will be the first F&O plenary commission of the 21st century, the first 
meeting after a number of changes introduced by the WCC central committee 
in both the Council's and F&O's structures, and it is going to take place 
just a year or so before the ninth Assembly of the World Council of 
Churches.  Our expectation is that Kuala Lumpur will come up with specific 
steps to help churches to grow together in communion within our changing
world.

Why is the unity of the church relevant for the life of the world?

The unity of the church is relevant for the life of the world because 
Christ prayed for this unity "so that the world may believe" (John 
17:21).  God's plan is "to bring all creation together, everything in 
heaven and on earth, with Christ as head" (Ephesians 1:10-11).	This is 
what the F&O movement and the whole ecumenical movement are all about.

(*) Juan Michel is WCC media relations officer.

Additional information on Faith and Order and the Kuala Lumpur meeting, 
including a detailed agenda and a form for media accreditation, is 
available on the meeting website at
http://www.wcc-coe.org/kualalumpur2004.html

Media coverage:  An ecumenical media team will provide daily feature and 
news stories in English, German, Spanish and French, as well as photos. All 
material can be viewed and downloaded free of charge from the meeting
website.

Kuala Lumpur features: Although written according to the usual journalistic 
standards of accuracy and balance, since this article is intended for the 
general public it should not be read as a formal academic or theological 
text, nor should it be considered an official statement of the Faith and 
Order commission.

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect WCC 
policy.  This material may be reprinted freely, providing credit is given 
to the author.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153  +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches is the world's most inclusive ecumenical 
organization, whose purpose is to promote Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service to the world.  A fellowship of churches inaugurated in 1948, 
today the WCC brings together over 340 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and 
other churches in over 100 countries, representing more than 550 million 
Christians.  Although not a member church, the Roman Catholic Church works 
cooperatively with the WCC.  The WCC's highest governing body is the 
assembly, which will meet in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14-23 February 2006, 
under the theme "God, in your grace, transform the world".  The WCC general 
secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya.
Headquarters: 150 Route de Ferney, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
http://www.wcc-coe.org - http://www.wcc-assembly.info