WCC INFO: Christmas Message 2011

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World Council of Churches - Media advisory

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2011 FROM THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES GENERAL
SECRETARY

For immediate release: 25 November 2011

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all.”
Titus 2:11, KJV

Grace to you and peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the
appearance of the gracious salvation of the Triune God enlighten our
hearts, minds and spirits in this joyous season.

New Testament accounts of the advent and nativity of Jesus stress the
all-encompassing nature of the Christ event. Without reservation, the
Biblical text says that God’s grace appears to all, offering the promise
of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation with God in heaven and with our
neighbours on earth.
The grace of God has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ. He appears for
the sake of marginalized shepherds and their families in his homeland. He
attracts the attention of well-to-do scholars in distant nations. He
appears to Mary and Joseph as a gift of God’s mystery.

Through these faithful witnesses, and the proclamation of good news down
the ages, Jesus appears to us. We, too, are called to respond to his
presence among us today.

In May 2011, one thousand people gathered in Jamaica under the theme,
“Glory to God and Peace on Earth.” It is the heart of the Christmas
message and gave heart to the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation
(IEPC). This song of angels recorded in Luke called our attention to the
need for Just Peace for all in the 21st century.

Praying that the peace of God will appear to all, the message of the IEPC
made this vow:  
“With partners of other faiths, we have recognized that
peace is a core value in all religions, and the promise of peace extends
to all people regardless of their traditions and commitments. Through
intensified inter-religious dialogue we seek common ground with all world
religions.”
And the IEPC message offered this exhortation to Christians:  
“We as
churches are in a position to teach nonviolence to the powerful, if only
we dare. For we are followers of one who came as a helpless infant, died
on the Cross, told us to lay aside our swords, taught us to love our
enemies and was resurrected from the dead.”

May the grace and peace of God appear to many more through this season of
Christmas! On behalf of the World Council of Churches, I wish you well at
the turning of this year, and I pray for God’s blessing on our common
journey in the years to come.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
General secretary
World Council of Churches

This message, read by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, is available as an audio
file for downloading (7.7 MB) (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=f27034257b977fec0f30 )


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 349 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 Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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