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World Council of Churches - Feature

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>For immediate release - 23/12/2008 16:56:00

PEACE DECLARATION TO BE "MISSION STATEMENT" FOR THE CHURCHES

Peace is a way of life, says Rev. Dr Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz,
and it is the mission of the churches to bring up new generations
of Christians to live out God's peace in all aspects of their
lives.

A German theologian, Müller-Fahrenholz coordinated the group
that produced the "Initial Statement Towards an Ecumenical
Declaration on Just Peace" - a first draft for the declaration
that will be presented at the International Ecumenical Peace
Convocation in Kingston, Jamaica in May 2011. In the following
interview, he explains the how's and why's of the process.

Q: The International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in 2011 is
sometimes described as a "harvest festival" for the Decade to
Overcome Violence, which the World Council of Churches (WCC)
launched in 2001. What does that mean, and what has been achieved
so far?

A: The Peace Convocation will not only be a "harvest festival"
but also a "planting season". The hope is that fresh initiatives
will be developed, for the work against violence needs to
continue. The Decade to Overcome Violence needs to be understood
as the beginning of a new phase in the churches' awareness of
what peace means today.

There has been such a wide array of work within the decade that
a brief summary is bound to be unfair. A notable emphasis has
been on peace education, starting from kindergarten to training
educators in conflict mediation skills. In many theological
schools, students have begun to work on their own peace
declarations. These are attempts to define the tasks of peace
theology and peace ethics today and also to identify ways of
concrete involvement.

Q: What impact do you expect the peace declaration to have?

A: Basically, a "peace declaration" is meant to enable the
churches to reframe their understanding of what "God's peace"
means for their witness in today's world. Hence you might call
our effort a "mission statement". It will be up to the churches
to draw concrete consequences in accordance to the situations in
which they are called to live out their faith.

Q: The first draft for the peace declaration was recently sent
to WCC member churches. What is its main message? 

A: The Initial Statement Towards an Ecumenical Declaration on
Just Peace emphasizes that our starting point is God's peace, as
manifested in the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is not "our
peace". We do not have to invent it. God's peace speaks to all
aspects of our life and work. Peace or just peace, therefore, is
not just an issue of political ethics among many others. It is
the frame which determines our approach to all ethical issues.

Therefore, the statement addresses the churches as agents of
peace-building and identifies various ways in which this can be
done. Since the churches are present at all levels of life, from
the personal to the global, peace-building has to do with
different aspects and tasks. Justice is a basic one, so is
reconciliation.

Finally, the statement offers a new framework for the peace
issues by putting "peace with creation" at the centre. Hence it
goes beyond the anthropocentric concepts of peace which have
dominated the churches' agenda thus far. If humanity cannot make
peace with the earth all other forms of peace are bound to fail.
This is the biggest challenge that not only the churches need to
live up to.

Q: The draft lists concrete steps churches can take to help
prevent and overcome armed conflicts. What kind of action do you
expect the churches to take?

A: The statement is quite clear about the sad impact that
Christian churches had by legitimizing armed conflicts for
centuries. They need to repent for that. Hence churches – and
other religions, I might add – need to learn to say a clear "No"
to the temptation of siding with the powerful and mighty. 

On the other hand, as we look at our world today with its
globalized violence, misery and abuses, but also with its abject
fascination with violence in the media and video games
industries, peace must be regarded as a way of life that guides
and encompasses all we think and do.

Peace is not a gift that you have or do not have. It is
something we learn to love in a life-long effort. It is a
spiritual discipline, a process of formation away from fear and
greed, away from the fascination with evil and violence. And this
begins with the ways in which we raise our children.

Q: According to the draft peace declaration, "the scope of just
peace-building encompasses the whole of earthly life": just
relations between peoples, family members, workers, employers and
consumers, human beings and nature. Is it possible to deal with
such a wide range of issues at the same time?

A: Of course it is possible. We humans play many roles at the
same time – as parents, employers or employees, citizens,
consumers and so on. If we begin to realize that just peace is a
way of life, then this informs all our activities.

Q: What are the next steps towards an ecumenical declaration on
just peace?

A: The Initial Statement is designed to be something of a
"starter". It has been sent to the WCC's member churches with the
expectation that they will formulate responses, relate good
examples, suggest new approaches. Responses have started to come
in. Two peace-musicals for children are being developed in
Germany alone!

In early 2010 a second drafting team will go through all these
reactions and compose a second version of an "Ecumenical
Declaration on Just Peace". In fact, it is the participation that
matters, not so much the final product.

My hope is that the Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston
will come up with a text that enables the churches and all others
who care to be involved to commit themselves to promoting the
culture of peace God has promised. 

>[982 words]

>International Ecumenical Peace Convocation:
>http://overcomingviolence.org/iepc

Initial Statement Towards an Ecumenical Declaration on Just
Peace:
http://overcomingviolence.org/index.php?id=6526

>### 
>[SIDEBAR]

Towards an ecumenical declaration on just peace

A declaration that affirms the churches' commitment to peace and
non-violence and recommends good practices is expected to be the
major outcome of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation
in May 2011. The convocation, which is to take place in Kingston,
Jamaica, will culminate the Decade to Overcome Violence (
http://overcomingviolence.org )of the World Council of
Churches (WCC), celebrating fruitful initiatives and witnessing
to the peace of God as a gift and a responsibility for Christians
around the world.

The decision to culminate the Decade to Overcome Violence with
an ecumenical declaration on just peace was taken at the World
Council of Churches' 9th assembly in 2006. Since then, expert
consultations organized by the WCC, its member churches and
partner organizations take place worldwide on eight thematic
areas, including the traditions of Christian peace theology and
Christianity's violent history, violence in family and gender
relations, as well as ecological and economic aspects of just
peace.

A first draft for the peace declaration was recently sent to WCC
member churches. They now have one year to contribute their own
reactions and suggestions for the working document that will be
submitted to the peace convocation.

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

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 Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.