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News release - Local churches need global vision


From "Karin Wisniewski" <kaw@warc.ch>
Date Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:25:52 +0100

World Alliance of Reformed Churches News Release 15 January 2007

LOCAL CHURCHES NEED GLOBAL VISION, WARC LEADER SAYS

Local churches need to take on a global vision, says Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) in a series of addresses to pastors of his home church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, ending on 11 January.

?It is up to the church to model a life-giving global vision that the Lord of the church has called us for. Our mission can be summarized as a call to follow the Lord Jesus whose self-understanding of mission includes a global vision which frees all who are oppressed, gives good news to the poor, clothes the naked, feeds the hungry and frees captives.?

Speaking to the Evangelical Presbyterian Pastors? Association at Ho, Ghana, Nyomi added, ?Effective engagement in God?s mission entails a creative play between the local and the global dimensions of our calling.?

He called for reflection on the connection between local and global dimensions of church life so that the Reformed churches can become more effective in their ministry and remain relevant at the local level.

?If we are to be God?s agents of transformation in the world, we cannot afford to ignore a global vision. In this vision we need a clear analysis of what is going on in our world in order to position ourselves to respond effectively. This has been a mark of Reformed self-understanding for centuries.?

Nyomi, an ordained minister of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, said the worldwide Reformed family cannot afford to be apathetic about the effects of globalization, economic injustice, ecological degradation and violence.

To tackle these issues Reformed churches around the world need each other for the analysis they can provide as well as the stories they can share about the various expressions of the injustice in the world.

?The churches in other parts of the world need us. No part of the church ought to entertain a feeling of being alone. We are a big family. When one suffers, all suffer. For example, when in the 24th General Council of WARC we developed the Accra Confession, it was because we believed we can covenant together to make a difference on the basis of our faith. It takes a global vision to see this as relevant to our calling.?

Nyomi said that throughout the history of the Alliance there has been a good blend of global vision and local action, particularly around the efforts to dismantle apartheid and the continuing work for gender justice.

?The call to have a global vision is not simply an end in itself. It is meant to strengthen our ability to engage in effective prophetic action. Such actions will be general and of very little relevance to local communities in which we live unless they are strongly connected to local action.?

Nyomi said local churches can, for example, create the space for congregati onal members to understand how the globalized neoliberal economic system is effecting the local community and then call for action. While ministerin g to local needs they can advocate for change globally.

The WARC general secretary also called for a healing of divisions within churches, including those within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. ?The Bible says we should seek peace and pursue it. By the love that exists among us, others will know we are Christians.

?We should do everything possible to overcome divisions.?

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together 75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries * united in their commitment to making a difference in a troubled world. The WARC general secretary is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. WARC?s secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Contact: John P. Asling Executive Secretary, Communications World Alliance of Reformed Churches 150 Route de Ferney P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva, Switzerland tel. +41.22 791 6243 fax: +41.22 791 6505 web: www.warc.ch

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