wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Ecumenism is antidote to credibility crisis, Anglican peace advocate says

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

>World Council of Churches - News

ECUMENISM IS ANTIDOTE TO CREDIBILITY CRISIS, ANGLICAN PEACE ADVOCATE SAYS

>For immediate release: 17 March 2010

"We need to emphasize time and again the sense of mutuality and
interdependence as the basis of relationships between Christians", said Dr
Jenny Plane Te Paa, convener of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network
(APJN). This is especially important at a time when "denominations are
increasingly worried with internal, identity-centred issues and therefore
risk a credibility crisis", she added.

Te Paa was speaking at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, after
a meeting of the APJN members with staff of the World Council of Churches,
the Lutheran World Federation (Link:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/ ) and the World Student Christian Federation
(Link: http://www.wscfglobal.org/ ) on Monday, 15 March.

"We all tend to claim our differences in ways that prevent us from
acknowledging our commonalities, so that within the churches, the fidelity
to our denominations becomes more important than our higher fidelity to
our oneness in Christ", said Te Paa. "Only a theology of mutuality can
help us to transcend this through a truly ecumenical attitude", she
concluded.

In welcoming the APJN representatives, the World Council of Churches (WCC)
general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit stressed the deep commitment of
the Anglican Communion to conciliar ecumenism, "which is not about lofty
words, but is rooted in worship and witness so as to inspire our common
service to the Lord who calls us to be one".

Tveit highlighted the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC)
taking place in Kingston, Jamaica, in May next year as an opportunity for
"bringing unity to churches in our struggle for peace". Convened by the
WCC, the IEPC "belongs to the whole ecumenical family, as well as to many
others concerned with peace", Tveit said.

The APJN is an official network of the Anglican Communion. Some 35 of its
members representing more than 25 Anglican churches are meeting 14-20
March in Geneva to reflect on common priorities and to learn how to make
their voices heard within the United Nations organizations headquartered
in the city. The network will also prepare its 25th anniversary
celebration during the meeting in Geneva.

>Anglican Peace and Justice Network (Link:
>http://apjn.anglicancommunion.org/ )

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (Link:
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/?id=2913 )

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 Olav Fykse Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.