wfn.org | Reconciliation an Implicit Theme at the NCC 50th Anniversary

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	50th Anniversary Newsroom - Nov. 8-12, 1999 call 216-696-8490

Reconciliation an implicit theme at the NCC 50th Anniversary

By David A. Leslie

Although "reconciliation" is not explicit in the NCC 50th anniversary 
theme, "Unity in Christ: Gift and Calling," it is clearly the tie that 
binds together a myriad of this week's activities.

On Sunday, Nov. 7, the Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, NCC General Secretary, 
set the tone  in a sermon preached at the Old Stone Church, saying, 
"Reconciliation is the glue of the good society and it is the ecumenical task."

Many of the anniversary forums Nov. 9-12 picked up this theme.  "Living 
Faithfully in America: A Multifaith Conversation," "Jubilee 2000," "Justice 
for Women: Beyond the Ecumenical Decade," "Challenging Racism," and 
"Inclusiveness and Justice" were just a few of places where attendees 
shared insights about the challenges and opportunities related to being 
engaged in the task of reconciliation.

The theme of reconciliation was further enhanced through the name of the 
NCC anniversary newspaper, Jubilee People.

But it was at the Old Stone Church on Nov. 10 when the reconciliation theme 
was most dramatically apparent.  A "Service of Recognition and Remembrance" 
was held to commemorate the massacre of refugees and non-combatant 
civilians by the U.S. military at No Gun Ri, Korea, in July 1950.

Gathered together in worship, Korean survivors and U.S. Army veterans and 
their families and friends together remembered the past and publicly made 
their commitment to a reconciled future.  For many in attendance, the 
service demonstrated how the ecumenical community can be a force for change 
by addressing injustice and bringing together those who are separated by 
pain, fear, national agendas and war.

But not all differences and divisions have been reconciled during the 50th 
anniversary celebrations or by the NCC General Assembly, the Council's top 
legislative body, at its 1999 annual meeting here. Differences still remain 
as to the organizational form and program content of the NCC beyond this 
Assembly.  Discussions and negotiations about the future relationship 
between the NCC and Church World Service and Witness demonstrate that there 
is still an ongoing need to address old rifts and to find constructive ways 
to reconcile operational differences and discover equitable ways of working 
together.

The Interfaith Assembly of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) 
Caucuses and Affirming Organizations, in a pamphlet distributed to Assembly 
participants, called on the NCC to "welcome into membership any communion 
which confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, including those communions 
whose members are primarily LGBT persons."  This is not currently the 
situation at the NCC today.

Furthermore, as several regional, state and local ecumenical leaders 
observed, there remain questions as to the level of the NCC's commitment to 
support local and regional ecumenism throughout this country.

Queried one such leader, "What will happen to Ecumenical Networks, and 
collaborative programs such as the climate change initiative sponsored by 
the NCC in partnership with state councils throughout the country? Will the 
nurturing of denominational relationships preclude the active support of 
local and regional ecumenical organizations?"

Reflecting on the Jubilee 2000 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 
in South Africa, the Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele, Lutheran pastor in South 
Africa, said reconciliation, like jubilee, is ultimately about the 
restoration of balance in relationships.

"Through the process of reconciliation in South Africa, we are envisioning 
new structures, new systems, and new relationships so that the future may 
indeed be much different than the past. The jubilee tradition-a theology of 
reconciliation-is an intrusion of a different set of rules in a game where 
the winners and losers are always predetermined.  Jubilee, complete with 
its important distinctive mark, reconciliation, challenges the past and 
leads to the important reordering of life resulting in new life possibilities."

Throughout the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Council of 
Churches, reconciliation has intruded on the day to day activity.  And as 
one participant noted, "If taken seriously, this intrusion will indeed be 
good for the NCC, support the ecumenical movement in this country and give 
new energy and cause to our work together as ecumenical colleagues."

David A. Leslie is Executive Director, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, 
Portland, Ore.