World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org For immediate release - 27/04/2007 12:29:09 PM
HUNDRED YEARS AFTER MISSION CONFERENCE GAVE IMPETUS TO START OF ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT, KOBIA CALLS FOR ECUMENICALLY RESPONSIBLE
EVANGELISM
On the threshold of the 100th anniversary celebration of the 1910 Edinburgh World Mission Conference, widely regarded as the symbolic starting point of the modern ecumenical movement, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia offered a sober analysis of the past century's achievements and failures, and called for an "ecumenically responsible evangelism".
Speaking today in Edinburgh, Scotland, at a meeting to prepare the 100th anniversary celebration of the landmark event, Kobia affirmed: "We need a new Edinburgh and can only hope that the celebration we foresee for 2010 will be a step in that direction."
Such a re-edition depends on involving today's newer and most dynamic mission movements, Kobia said. These "are to be found among Christian traditions not represented in any of the formal fora that exist as a consequence of the structures of last century".
Only after acknowledging Christianity's new face, the result of the "spiritual revolution brought by the Pentecostal and charismatic movements and churches," can a "fruitful theological dialogue on priorities and disciplines in mission" be envisaged.
In that sense, it is particularly urgent that mission "be understood and practised in a way that does not lead to an increase of hatred and violence". New forms of "non-aggressive evangelism" must keep "the bold witness to Christ and God's kingdom in creative tension with respect for men, women and children of all convictions".
For Kobia, "ecumenically responsible evangelism" means "a proclamation which, while critical of human pride and sin, makes it clear that God wants peace and not war, life and not death, unity and not division, forgiveness and not vengeance".
Healing of memories
Reflecting on the famous Edinburgh motto "the evangelization of the world in this generation," the WCC general secretary acknowledged that 100 years later, the number of Christians in the world is proportionally the same: roughly a third of the world population.
"Realistically speaking, it doesn't make sense to just repeat the Edinburgh watchword," Kobia argued. Instead, and in view of the extent to which both the world and the landscape of Christianity have profoundly changed since 2010, he proposed to focus on "this generation's mission in a globalized world".
According to Kobia, this course should include "the healing of Christian divisions, building communities of healing and reconciliation, challenging all justifications of violence, striving for peace as God's gift, and sharing the gospel in Christ's way".
Amongst wounded memories in need of healing is the rift between "Christians of the evangelical mission family and Christians of the conciliar or ecumenical mission family". "We should find a way to confess mutual exaggerations and disrespect" so as to favour "an authentic reconciliation process" if any progress in co-operation around 2010 and beyond is to be achieved, Kobia said.
The WCC general secretary is halfway through a 24 April - 4 May visit to the UK and Ireland.
The full text of Kobia's keynote speech at the planning meeting for the 2010 centennial conference in Edinburgh is available BUT EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY (at 19:30 on 27 April): http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=3496
More information on Kobia's visit to England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, including a detailed schedule, is available on the WCC website at: http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pr-07-25.html
Media contacts in
The UK: Bob Fyffe (Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, general secretary); +44-(0)794-066-0099 bob.fyffe@ctbi.org.uk Republic of Ireland: Gillian Kingston (Irish Council of Churches, president); +353-(0)87-235-0287 gmkingston@eircom.net
This material may be reprinted freely.
Additional information: Juan Michel, +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
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The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
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