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tight budget

9/4/2003

World Council of Churches facing transition with new leader, tight
budget

by James Solheim

[Episcopal News Service/World Council of Churches] At its August
26-September 2 meeting in Geneva, the Central Committee of the World
Council of Churches sifted through a range of international issues,
elected a new general secretary, tightened its belt a few more notches,
and continued its search for a broader and more inclusive ecumenical
vision.
In his parting comments, General Secretary Konrad Raiser called for a
major shake-up and "reconfiguration" of the constellation of global and
regional ecumenical organizations to "rally the partners again around a
common set of values and attitudes, to sharpen the sense of a common
mission."

Raiser has been arguing that a more cooperative system of cooperation
could reduce duplication of efforts and lead to more efficient
operations but the issue is more than money. "Important as a
consideration of the funding base may be for the different partner
organizations, this is just one factor within a larger goal of
sharpening the profile of a value-driven ecumenism."

He told the committee that "the future of the ecumenical movement cannot
be left in the hands of the churches alone" because the goal is "not to
centralize the ecumenical movement and to bring everything under the
control of the WCC." Rather, the WCC would continue as a "fellowship of
churches" with a mandate "to foster the coherence of the ecumenical
movement without claiming a position of central control."

At its 1998 General Assembly in Zimbabwe, the WCC backed creation of a
global forum of Christian churches and ecumenical organizations that
could include not only WCC members but also the Roman Catholic Church
and major Pentecostal and Evangelical bodies. The WCC has called a
top-level meeting in November in Lebanon to consider concrete ways to
streamline the structures and support such an initiative.

First African leader for WCC

Implementation of that new ecumenical vision falls into the hands of the
Rev. Sam Kobia of the Methodist Church in Kenya, the first African
elected to head the WCC. In his acceptance speech, he echoed Raiser's
emphasis on "working together." He predicted that the 21st century is
one "when spirituality will take centre place" because people are
searching for "meaning in life and for security" while many lead
"meaningless and insecure lives."

He shared the vision of an ecumenical movement that would include Roman
Catholics, Pentecostals and Evangelicals as well as the rapidly growing
African churches, many of them expressing interest. "And we want to
encourage them so they can contribute their own spirituality and enrich
the WCC and the global ecumenical movement."

Kobia also expressed some relief that he was assuming his post at a time
when the financial situation of the WCC seems to be improving, after
seven years of decline that included staff cuts. "The financial
situation of the council is completely under control," said the Rev.
Anders Gadegaard of the finance committee. Yet he cautioned that his was
a "realistic kind of optimism" because there is "no room for optimism
when you look at the income side." The committee is projecting a
decrease in income for 2004" that dictates "a need for cost-cutting
measures to continue."

Prudence led the Central Committee to cut in half the amount of funds
available for the next General Assembly, scheduled for Brazil in
February 2006. The meeting will also be two days shorter and have a
third fewer delegates than the Zimbabwe meeting. The finance committee
also pointed out that the next assembly will be held in a much less
expensive venue than previous meetings.

Some Central Committee members worried that the pared-down assembly
would mean that some churches would be under-represented-and fewer young
people would be delegates.

Role of youth?

During a hearing on youth, participants said that young people are fully
capable of changing he world and the role of churches is to give them
the time and space to organize for action. "Young people know the world
is inherently unfair and unjust," said Tale Hungnes, leader of the
largest political youth organization in Norway, Changemaker. "And they
are eagerly seeking the tools to change the structures and address the
root causes."

Changemaker is directing its considerable energies to Third World debt,
spearheading a campaign to persuade the government of Norway to be the
first to address "dictator debt," the burden created in many developing
countries who suffered under periods of repression.

Matome Makgoba, president of the South African Council of Churches Youth
Forum said that youth in his country face problems of unemployment,
HIV/AIDS, drugs, crime and violence so he argued that "the church has to
open time and space for young people to find their way through these
dangers and to express themselves." Facing the AIDS pandemic "youth must
be prepared for leadership today. We cannot wait for tomorrow."

A special commission established to deal with longstanding grievances
among Orthodox members of the WCC over worship styles, theological and
political pronouncements and the decision-making style of the council is
producing "good results," according to a representative of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was also noted that all 20
Orthodox members now contribute financially to the council, a
significant improvement over recent years.

In other action the Central Committee:

- called for acknowledgement in the new constitution for the European
Union of the "central role of Christianity and the contributions of
other religions" in European history and civilization.
- decided that the United States would be the focus next year of the
WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence, bringing together American churches
in their peacemaking efforts.
- urged its member churches to engage persons with disabilities in every
aspect of the church, to advocate the framing of a United Nations
Convention on Disabilities, and develop a new culture of caring and
affirming the lives of those considered by others to be disabled.
- announced that the next Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
will be held in May 2005 in Athens under the theme "Come Holy Spirit,
Heal and Reconcile: Called in Christ to be reconciling and healing
communities."
- called for the replacement of the United States-led coalition forces
in Iraq with United Nations troops, repeating its condemnation of abuses
by the regime of Saddam Hussein but arguing that the war itself was
"immoral, ill-advised and in breach of the principles of the UN
Charter."
- Denounced violence in Zimbabwe and called for international support
for the country's churches as they work to "restore the rule of law and
put an end to arbitrary arrests, torture and killings."

--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service. This article is
based on reports from Ecumenical News International.