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From COBNews@aol.com
Date Fri, 10 Jun 2005 14:28:05 EDT

Date: June 10, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com)


CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NEWSLINE
June 10, 2005

World mission conference discusses healing and reconciliation.

By Carol Spicher Waggy

June 10, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- "Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile." This
prayer of invitation was the theme for the World Council of Churches (WCC)
Conference on World Mission and Evangelism held near Athens, Greece, in May.
As
the Church of the Brethren representative, I was excited to participate in
this international gathering of Christians to discuss mission in relation to

healing and reconciliation, and to worship with ecumenical brothers and
sisters.

The conference was hosted by the Orthodox Church of Greece, and the
influence of orthodoxy was evidenced in the many flowing black robes, the
liturgy and
songs, and, sadly, the inability for participants to share together in the
bread and cup. In addition to the WCC member church representatives, there
were invited delegates from Pentecostal churches and from the Roman Catholic

Church.

I delighted in the rainbow of human diversity--skin color, languages,
cultures. Every day was scheduled full of worship, plenary sessions,
workshops, and
"home group" meetings. I led my home group in the morning lectio divina
exercise. The scripture was read slowly three different times by different
people, and followed each time by silence. After the first reading we shared
words
or phrases from the text that stood out for us. After the second reading we
shared how the text related to us personally. Following the third reading, we

shared a prayer or reflection.

My home group included a Romanian Orthodox priest, a theologian from Norway,

a Swedish theological professor, a retired nurse from the Lesotho
Evangelical Church, a Greek Orthodox layman, a Syrian Orthodox female
physician from
India, a Disciples of Christ seminary dean from St. Louis, and a Romanian
orthodox seminary student. The relationships in this group became very
important
to each of us. One shared, "I thought I would become homesick, but I
did not because I came back to my home group every evening."

Unlike previous conferences on world mission and evangelism, this conference

did not spend much of its time hammering out the wording of an official
statement. We did try to agree on a message to the churches, but there was
insufficient time to come to consensus on exact wording so the message was
sent to
a WCC commission for final wording on behalf of the delegates. Delegates
were
each able to make their suggestions in writing to the commission.

This year is the halfway point of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), and

the youth delegates assisted with a short drama to introduce the DOV report.

DOV is a commitment, a choice, and an invitation to all Christian churches to

refuse violence as a way of life. We were encouraged to go beyond naming,
analyzing, and unintentional promotion of violence, to overcoming it. The
unhelpful confusion of violence and conflict, often by the media, was noted.
As
one who works in conflict resolution I had to agree. Whereas violence in all
its forms is not good, conflict is a given and can be used profitably to
move a
group or relationship forward.

I am grateful to the Church of the Brethren for offering me this experience.

I return with a renewed vision for the ecumenical church and for the need
for healing, reconciliation, and
peacemaking to be part of our work of carrying out God's mission in the
world.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its
faith in
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its
300th
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.

--Carol Spicher Waggy is an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren,

and served on the steering committee for the Church of the Brethren mission
conference, Mission Alive 2005.

# # #

For more information contact:

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100 ext. 260
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_
(mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org)

*****************************************************************

The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,

director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board.
Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the
source.
To receive Newsline by e-mail, write _cobnews@aol.com_
(mailto:cobnews@aol.com) or call 800-323-8039 ext. 260.


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