Reformed and Disciples churches plan for joint action

["Daphne Martin_Gnanadason" <Daphne.Martin_Gnanadason@wcrc.ch>]

World Communion of Reformed Churches  
News Release
22 February 2011
 
Reformed and Disciples churches plan for joint action
 
The leaders of two families of churches with roots in the
Protestant Reformation and a shared commitment to seeking visible
church unity through cooperation have held talks in Geneva,
Switzerland aimed at strengthening links among their member
churches at the local and regional level. 
 
The meeting between the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative
Council (DECC) and of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
(WCRC) comes in the wake of the decision in June 2010 by the
global governing body of the WCRC to accept the DECC as an
associate member.  
 
The designation allows the DECC, a worldwide fellowship of
Disciples of Christ/Churches of Christ churches, to participate
in programmes of the WCRC. Previously the DECC had been a
“partner” of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, one of
the predecessor organizations of the WCRC.
 
Senior leaders participating in the discussions included Robert
Welsh, DECC General Secretary; Setri Nyomi, WCRC General
Secretary; David Thompson, past moderator of the DECC and
consultant on dialogue with other Christian churches; and Douwe
Visser, Executive Secretary for Theology, Mission and Communion
for the WCRC. Their discussions coincided with meetings of the
Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in Geneva that
conclude today. 
 
Welsh believes the move from partnership to associate member
status opens new possibilities for creative sharing  among
members and congregations from the two organizations and will
lead to increased cooperation at regional and global levels. He
notes this model is consistent with the vision of unity shared by
the DECC and WCRC. 
 
“We prefer this to building up our own initiatives as separate
organizations at the expense of what is being done in the broader
ecumenical arena,” Welsh says. “For example, we can alert each
other on programmes of mutual interest, such as consultations on
the ordination of women in member churches or conferring about
our respective dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church.” 
 
The American church leader also pointed to a shared commitment
to justice issues. “The language used at the founding meeting of
the WCRC identifying the two 'pillars' of communion and justice
as interrelated, and not separate, concerns resonates positively
with Disciples,” he says.
 
Nyomi welcomes the move from partnership to associate membership
as a signal of the commitment of Reformed churches to the unity
of the church. 
 
“WCRC member churches seek to work together in meaningful and
respectful ways to address common concerns for justice and to
deepen their theological understanding of mission in today’s
world,” the Ghanaian theologian stresses.
 
WCRC was created in June 2010 through a merger of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical
Council (REC). Its 230 member churches representing 80 million
Christians are active worldwide in initiatives supporting
economic, climate and gender justice, mission, and cooperation
among Christians of different traditions.
 
Media Contact: 
Kristine Greenaway
Executive Secretary, Communications
World Communion of Reformed Churches
PO Box2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
tel. +41 22 791 6243; fax +41 22 791 6505
dma@wcrc.ch; www.wcrc.ch ( http://www.wcrc.ch/ )