wfn.org | Title: Central Committee actions set future course for WCC

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release 03-29-18e
For immediate release
2 September 2003

CENTRAL COMMITTEE				      18   

Central Committee actions set future course for WCC    

A memorable Central Committee meeting saw the election of the World Council
of Churches' (WCC) first African general secretary, a commitment to explore
new ways of configuring the whole ecumenical movement, and an in-depth
examination of the place of disabled people in the life of the churches.   

In a speech made immediately following his election, WCC general
secretary-elect Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia from the Methodist Church in Kenya
reaffirmed his commitment to the ecumenical vision: "I believe very strongly
that working together and walking together will help us stay together". He
stated, "This is a spiritual journey we need to sustain, to fulfill the
prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ that all may be one, that the world may
believe."    

Responding later to questions from the press, Kobia referred to some
distinctively African qualities that he would bring to his new role. For
example, "One thing we say marks Africans out is the ability to celebrate
life in the midst of death, and the capacity to hope in a situation that
looks hopeless," he said. Asked what he would change in the way the WCC
Central Committee operates, Kobia evoked his support for a "consultative,
participative, listening approach".   

Retiring WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser used his final report to
underline the importance of including Roman Catholics, Evangelicals and
Pentecostals in a broader and more inclusive ecumenical movement.
Reconfiguration will be discussed in November in Antelias, Lebanon, at the
invitation of the moderator. Churches will be directly involved in the
consultation, and will be enabled to take a full part in the process.	

Raiser also reflected on his recent visits to churches in Asia, and addressed
the "Caring for Life" theme highlighted in Central Committee plenary
sessions. The theme, he said, "confronts us with many of the fundamental
spiritual and ethical concerns of our time", such as issues arising from
developments in bio-technology.   

Raiser expressed satisfaction at progress made on the financial problems
which the WCC has faced over the last two years. Describing the forecasts as
"modestly encouraging", he also acknowledged the pain involved in reducing
budgets, programmes and staff levels.  

In a farewell service held on Sunday in the Ecumenical Centre's chapel,
Central Committee moderator, His Holiness Aram I, thanked Raiser for his
years of service to the WCC.  According to the moderator, Raiser's ecumenical
work has been characterized by quality, commitment and vision. H.H. Aram I
described him as a sensitive pastor, a brilliant professor, and a humble yet
courageous man, with a deep sense of responsibility.   

The place of disabled people in the life of church and community was explored
in a profoundly insightful document entitled "A Church of All and for All",
prepared by the Ecumenical Disabilities Advocates Network (EDAN) and the
WCC's Faith and Order Commission. Urging the inclusion of people with
disabilities just as they are, the report says, "Without the full
incorporation of persons who can contribute from the experience of
disability, the Church falls short of the glory of God, and cannot claim to
be in the image of God." The Central Committee reaffirmed the WCC's
commitment to the work of EDAN.   

Following intense discussions, the Central Committee's programme committee
announced that the theme of the Council's 2006 assembly will be: "God, in
your grace, transform the world". More work will now be done to devise a
programme that develops the theme in the light of WCC member churches'
particular contexts.   

Major statements were made on various public issues, particularly Iraq,
Europe and Liberia. In a statement on Iraq, the Central Committee called for
the United Nations to be given the lead role in rebuilding the country's
institutions and infrastructure, and for withdrawal of occupying forces. A
statement on Europe welcomed the EU's recognition of the importance of the
churches, and called for human rights, ethics and morality to be at the
centre of EU development and security policies.  In a statement on Liberia,
the Committee recognized the suffering of the Liberian people during the
recent wars, and expressed its support for the actions of Liberian churches
in their work for peace and restoration of harmonious community life.	

Reflecting the perceptions of US churches as well as those of the wider
ecumenical family, the Committee announced that the WCC Decade to Overcome
Violence will focus on the United States of America next year. The 2003 focus
is Sudan. According to the stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Rev.
Clifton Kirkpatrick, "If ever there is a part of the world where work for
peace is important, it is the USA." Kirkpatrick referred not only to the
churches' concerns over the war with Iraq, but also to issues such as the
death penalty and the size of the country's prison population.	 

In a challenging report, the Central Committee moderator His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of Cilicia, spoke of the importance of inter-religious dialogue.
"More and more, globalization will create a profound crisis of identity. The
only force strong enough to stand up to this threat and protect identity is
religion. Through dialogue, people of faith must come to see their identity
within one household of God and as part of one common identity in God," he
declared.   

The WCC's financial situation was outlined in a report from the Central
Committee's finance committee. All loans have been repaid, and a credit line
guaranteed by a mortgage on the Ecumenical Centre has not been used. By
focusing on core programmes and carefully controlling expenditure, the WCC is
overcoming the financial difficulties faced over the last two years.  

Further steps to help bring financial stability to the WCC were approved by
the Central Committee, including the intended allocation of over CHF 2m to
reserves by the end of 2004. A campaign to increase contributions from member
churches is beginning to bear fruit, with 66% of churches now contributing.
The target is for 100% to be contributing by 2005.  A new "fair, transparent
and objective" system to calculate membership contributions was approved.   

The Steering Committee of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in
the WCC met in Neapolis, Greece, in June 2003. Its reflections included
consideration of the consensus model of reaching decisions, WCC membership
criteria, ecclesiology, and common prayer. In his own report, Raiser said
that the Steering Committee had "revitalised" the spirit of the Special
Commission. Its concerns and insights will be part of the wider discussion
over the next three years about reconfiguring the ecumenical movement.	

The Central Committee meeting was held against the backdrop of an exhibition
by the Ghanaian sculptor Kofi Setordji, "The Scars of Memory", on the theme
of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. His haunting images were a reminder to
delegates of the spiritual and material needs of the world, the gospel
imperative to work for peace and justice, and the central role "Caring for
Life" - the overall theme of this Central Committee's deliberations - has in
Christian witness.  

All press releases, documents and photos from this 53rd meeting of the WCC
Central Committee can be found at  
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/ccdocuments2003.nsf 

Selected free photos are available at:	
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/ccpix.html

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office, tel: +41
(0)22 791 64 21 /61 53 

********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of 342 churches, in more
than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions.
The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with
the WCC.
The highest governing body is the Assembly, which meets approximately every
seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the
Evangelical Church in Germany.

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